THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL

Commemoration and Prizegiving Day

Friday 30th June 2017

COMMEMORATION AND PRIZE-GIVING DAY

Friday 30th June at 10.30am

Chairperson: David Williamson

Order of Ceremony

Chair’s Address: David Williamson

Reading: Angus Farquhar, School Captain

Presentation of Prizes: Ms Jill Templeton

Music: Apres un Reve, Gabriel Faure played by Josh McCullough

Former Pupil’s Address: The Right Honourable Kenneth Macintosh,

Presiding Officer, Scottish Parliament

Valedictory Address: Dux of School – Ross Witney-Hunter

Reply by Rector: Mrs Pauline Walker

The School Song

Ceremony of Leave-taking through the Memorial Doors

Passing on of the School Captaincy

Leave-taking through the Memorial Gates to the clubhouse

PRIZES & SCHOLARSHIPS

Session 2016/17

FIRST YEAR

John Murray Prize for Music Charis Stockton 1S2

Lady Glenorchy Prize for Religious Education Matteo MacKenzie 1P2

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Eloise Stirling 1A1

Jessie Young Prize for Meritorious Effort Lois Egner 1B2

Merit in French Emma Walsh 1B1

Merit in Drama Grace Read 1A2

Merit in Music Hannah Foster 1P2

Merit in Modern Studies Isla Newell 1S1

Merit in Geography Lachlan Black 1P2

Merit in Art & Design Sritash Ghosh 1A1

Maclean Prize for Dedication & Hard Work in STEM Subjects Tatiana Honeywell 1A2

Merit in Home Economics Tatiana Honeywell 1A2

Merit in CDT Iona Henderson 1S1

Merit in PE Iona Henderson 1S1

Robertson Bursary (Proxime to Dux) Iona Henderson 1S1

Tait Prize - Proxime to Dux Iona Henderson 1S1

John Murray Prize for Music Mahathi Challagali 1P2

Merit in German Mahathi Challagali 1P2

Merit in Mathematics Mahathi Challagali 1P2

Merit in English Mahathi Challagali 1P2

Robertson Bursary (Dux form 1) Mahathi Challagali 1P2

Boyd Prize (1857) Dux of Form 1 Mahathi Challagali 1P2

SECOND YEAR

The Royal High School PFG Junior Prize (S1-S3) for being an effective

contibutor to the school community throughout the school year Panav Sharma 2S2 in absentia

John Murray Prize for Music Nathan MacInnes 2A1

Sir James Purves Stewart Prize – (II) Dux in German Eilidh Newlands 2P1 Merit in Geography Abbie Bygrave 2S2 Merit in Art & Design Anna Millar 2S1

Merit in CDT Finlay Paterson 2A1 Merit in French Iona Pritchard 2P2 Merit in Modern Studies James Looby 2P2

Merit in English Laura Young 2S2 Merit in German Lauren Fraser 2P2 Merit in PE Mary Nelson 2A1

Merit in RMPS Mia Sloane 2P1

Merit in Drama Naomi Egan 2S1 Merit in Music Olivia Briselden 2S1

Maclean Prize for Dedication & Hard Work in STEM Subjects Cameron Fordyce 2S1

Merit in Home Economics David Smith 2S1

The Royal High School PFG Junior Prize (S1-S3) for demonstrating

responsible citizenship within the school community consistently

throughout the school year

David Smith 2S1

Sir James Purves Stewart Prize – (I) Dux in French Louise MacArthur 2S2 in absentia

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Louise MacArthur 2S2 in absentia

Grigor prize for Debating (Junior) Douglas Macartney 2P2 Mathematics Douglas Macartney 2P2

Ritchie Prize (1824) - Dux of S2 Douglas Macartney 2P2

THIRD YEAR

PFG Prize for Meritorious Effort Anna Pentony 3A1

The William Corlett Memorial Prizes for Art Meara Littlejohn 3B1

Hartman Prize – (II) Dux in German Thomas Nightingale 3S2 in absentia

Alex Skinner Prize for Computing Jack Boner 3P1

Evelyn Small Prize for Drama Abbi Wilson 3P1

Prize for CDT Corrin Shepherd 3P1

Prize for Home Economics Georgia Brennan 3A1

Maclean Prize for Dedication & Hard Work in STEM Subjects Libby Ramsay 3S1

Sibbald Bursary Girl -Maths Harriet Sweatman 3P2

Morrison Bursary Girl -Science Julia Siewiera 3A2

Grigor prize for Debating (Junior) Lucy Krauth 3B2

Donaldson Bursary Girl- English Lucy Krauth 3B2

John Murray Prize for Music Zak McCullough 3S1

Donaldson Bursary Boy - English Zak McCullough 3S1

Hartman Prize – (I) Dux in French Rory Young 3P1

Sibbald Bursary Boy -Maths Rory Young 3P1

Morrison Bursary Boy - Science Rory Young 3P1

Carmichael Club Prize (1878) Dux of Form 3 Rory Young 3P1

FOURTH YEAR

Mary Hunter Memorial prize for best fourth form leaver Julian Moller 4P2

Prize for CDT Hannah Moir 4S1

Richard Green memorial prize for Art & Design Laura Harris 4S2

Alex F Hall Prize for Computing Alex White 4P1

Alex F Hall Prize for Computing Lewis Trundle 4P2

Noreen Richardson Memorial Prize for Home Economics Aisling Fredrick 4B1

Nicholson Prize for Music Rachel Sunter 4P1

Ness Trophy for Craftmanship Roshi Pradhan 4A1

Chisholm Prize -Dux in Geography Ava-Marie Dipnarine 4S1

NH Small Prize in Dux in German Jack Crummey 4A2

Maclean Prize for Dedication & Hard Work in STEM Subjects Aidan Cross 4B1

N H Small Prize Dux in Spanish Jessica Macleod 4B1

Carson Bursary, Dux of English Jessica Macleod 4B1

John Marshall Prize (1910) Dux in Mathematics Megan Aitken 4P1

NH Small Prize in Dux French Megan Aitken 4P1

MacKay Prize (1877) Dux of Form 4 Megan Aitken 4P1

FIFTH and SIXTH YEAR

RHS FP President’s Prizes – (I) Dux in History Thomas Campbell 5P1 Elizabeth Wemyss Prize for Music Josh Murray 5A1 Evelyn Small Prize for Drama Ben Petrie 5A1 RHS FP President’s Prize (II) Dux in Modern Studies Natalie Pearse 5A1 RHS FP President's Prize (II) Dux in Geography Sophie Wright 5S1 William Young Memorial Prize – Dux in Classics Erica Grauso 5S2 William Young Memorial Prize – Dux in RMPS Lauren Tiffney 5S2 Carson Prize Dux of English Ethan Matthews 5P2 Maclean Prize for Dedication & Hard Work in STEM Subjects Maalavisha Sankar 5S1 Dr Barclay's Memorial Prize for Service Audra Nisbet 5B2 James M Moore Memorial Prize – Dux in French Audra Nisbet 5B2 Prize for Accounting Alex Fitzgerald-Peltier

Steadman Prize for Philosophy Alex Fitzgerald-Peltier 5B2 in absentia

Dux in Physics Robyn Smith 5S2 Dux in Chemistry Robyn Smith 5S2 John Turner Prize – Dux in Mathematics James Riches 5B2 Burgoyne Prize – Dux in German James Riches 5B2 Muir Memorial Prize - Dux of Form 5 James Riches 5B2

OPEN AWARDS

Crichton Cup (Announced on the day) MacKelvie Trophy (1928) Award for Best Piper Ewan Napier 5S1 The RHS(London) Club Prize Dux in Art Rosie Biggar 5B1 Classical Studies Prize (Dux) Charlie Cumming 5B1 Dux in Home Economics Rachel McKay 6B1 Royal High School (London) Club Prize Dux in CDT Sarah Gardner 6P1 The George Grubb Award for Outstanding Achievement in Athletics Eilidh Thores 6P2 J W Loudon Prize for Public Speaking Jura Lewis 3S1 J W Loudon Prize for Public Speaking Emma Shopland 3A2 Grigor prize for Debating (Senior) Angus Walker Stewart 4S2 Grigor prize for Debating (Senior) Emma Walker 4P1 RHS PFG Prize for Modern Studies Megan Pathal 4P1 Martin Pearce Family Prize Dux in Business Management Megan Stewart 6S1 John Paterson Small Prize for Music Julia McInally 6B1 Prize for Engineering Technology Aidan Cranna 5S1 in absentia

W J Melrose Prize for Art Jade Meakin 6P1 William Rutherford Bequest Award for Art Emily Lyall 6P2 J G Cattanach Prize for Scottish Literature Daisy Lewis 6S1 Dr W King Gillies Prize for Scottish Literature Yosqi Wilson 6S1 Ian Steadman and John P Mackintosh Prize for Politics Ailis MacLean 6P1 Bruce Prize – Dux in History Aidan Vernel 6S2 Philip Harris Prize Dux in Biology Akhila Sibi George 6S2 Dux in Computing Callum Darling 6S2 RHS FP Prize for Admin & IT Hannah Smith 6B2 James H Scott Prize for Mathematics Sakib Ahamed 6A2 Malcolm Knox Prize for best creative writing Louis Boyd-Madsen 6S1 The Royal High School (London) Club Prize for an English Poem Emma Sunter 6P1 Sir Walter Scott Centenary Prize Emma Gray 6P2 Carson Prize (1851) for an English Essay To Be Announced Mabon Prize for biggest improvement of a pupil Calum O'Neil 6A2

The Royal High School PFG Senior Prize (S4-S6) for demonstrating

responsible citizenship within the school community consistently

throughout the school year

Ross Nisbet 6S1

The Royal High School PFG Senior Prize (S4-S6) for being an effective

contibutor to the school community throughout the school year Shona Tootill 6S1

The RHS Distinguished Award Jordan Devine 6A1 Neil McCurrach Award for Participation and Enthusiasm to the Full Jordan Devine 6A1 Rectors Award for Resilience Ronin Bisset 4P2 Steven Armstrong Roy Memorial prize for Courage and Inspiration Ellen Cameron 5A1 Noreen Richardson Memorial Prize for Courage and Determination Matthew Loughton 3P2 Rector's Award for service to the School Lucas Ferguson 5A1 Nicol Prize for Service Fraser Thomson 6B2

Nicol Prize for Service Erinn Ferrier 5B1 in absentia

Grant Memorial Cup – Dux in Music Josh McCullough 6S1 Nicol Prize for Service Josh McCullough 6S1 Sir John Greig Dunbar Prize for Citizenship Fraser Dunmore 5A2 Nicol Prize for Service Laura Wood 6B1

Hector McIver Memorial prize for Literary Appreciation Laura Wood 6B1 MacMillan club Prize (1865) – Dux in English Laura Wood 6B1 Andrew Wilson Prize for Service and Leadership Angus Farquhar 6B1 James Scott Bursary (1970) Yassine Ghenima 6A2 Mouat Scholarship Alexander Cowan 6P1 Percy Malcolm Stewart Minor Privjyot Jheeta 6P1 J G Cattanach Prize for Scottish History Sasha Lopatinsky 6B1 Percy Malcolm Stewart Median Sasha Lopatinsky 6B1 W J Watson Prize for Original Research (AH Science) Lorna Watson 6P1 Sir David Yule Scholarship Lorna Watson 6P1 Macgregor Prize (1794) – Dux in Latin Sonya Radzinsky 6B1 Percy Malcolm Stewart (Major) Dux Proxime Sonya Radzinsky 6B1 Sir Alexander Stevenson Prize Proxime to Dux Sonya Radzinsky 6B1 Inches Prize Dux in Physics Ross Witney-Hunter 6A2 Tullis Prize – Dux in Mathematics Ross Witney-Hunter 6A2 Inches Prize -Dux in Chemistry Ross Witney-Hunter 6A2 RHS Exhibition -Dux of School Ross Witney-Hunter 6A2 RHS Club Prize - Dux of School Ross Witney-Hunter 6A2

MEMBERS OF STAFF – SESSION 2016 – 17

Rector – Pauline Walker BSc Hons Computer Science (Heriot Watt), PGCE(Edinburgh)

Depute Rectors

David Simpson, BA(Mus) Hons Exon, DipEd

Jen Menzies, BEd(MH), MEd(Stirling)

Paul Chambers, MA Hons (Aberdeen), PGCE (Edin)

Business Manager – Helen Brooks, BA (Napier), PGC Business Management, Assoc CIPD

Art & Design: Sharon Black BA Hons (Edinburgh College of Art), PGCE (Edin), Carol Haley, MA Hons(Edin), PGCE, Lois

Combe, DA(Edin), PGCE, Julie Howie BA Hons (Robert Gordon), PGCE

Biology: Katy Robertson, BSc (Honours) St Andrews and PGDE (Edinburgh), Gillian Kelly BSc Hons (Stirling), PGCE, Claire

Russell, MA (Camb), PhD(Edin), PGCE(Durham), Gordon Rutter, MSc (Edin), BSc Hons (London), PGCE, Alison Coleman,

BSc Hons(St Andrews), PGDE(Aberdeen).

Business Education: Irene KS Brown, Dip Com (Glas Coll of Tech), Yvonne Dagnall BA Hons, PGCE

Chemistry: Dr Avril Henney, BSc (Hons) (Edin), PhD (Lond), PGCE (Lond), Michelle McLernon, BSc Hons (Edin), PGDE

(Edin), Philip Wootton, BSc Hons, (Glasgow), PGDE (Edin), Dr. Fiona Scott BSc (Hons) St. Andrews, PhD Edinburgh, PGCE

(Moray House), Katie Will BSc Hons (Edin), PGDE (Strathclyde)

Computing Studies: G Wendy Reith, BSc Computer Science(Stirling), Frank Lagan, BSc Computer Science(Stirling),

Holly Davidson, BSc Computer Science (Stirling)

Craft, Design and Technology: Mark Stevenson, BSc Ind Design (Napier), PGCE, David Allan, DipTechEd, (Moray

House), Krysia Smyth, BEd Hons, Ashley Marshall, Richard Bueckardt, Emilia Tankard, Interior Design, BA Hons,

(Edinburgh), PGDE (Edin)

Drama: Alan Wilkins, M.A. (Hons) (Glasgow), P.G.C.E (Aberdeen), Ana Costas BA Hons (University of London, Queen

Mary & Westfield College), PGCE (Kingston University)

English: Douglas Arbuckle, BA Hons English (Anglia) PGCSE, Ailsa Clarke, MA (Hons) Glasgow, PGCE (Edin), Daniel Craig,

MA Hons(Edin), PGCE, PGCE, Bernice Ford, MA Hons (Glasgow), PGCE (J’Hill), Helen McHarrie, MA(Edin), Martin

Moonie, MA(Abd), PhD(Oxford), PGCE, Gillian E Pia, MA(Edin), DipEd, Mollie Skehal, BA Hons (Stirling), PGCE, Helen

McLean, PGDE, Alistair Robertson, MA Hons, Andrew Rooney, Jen Farrar, MA (Hons), PG Dip, MEd, PhD, Linda Gray

Geography: Stefania Mariani, MA Hons (Edinburgh), BSc Hons (Stirling), Ashley Fulton, BSc Hons, (Stirling), Liane

Hooper, B.Tech (Edin), PGCE (Nottingham), Andrew Melville BSc Hons (Edin), PGDE (Edin)

History: Kate E Fraser MA(Edin), MA Ed (Open), PGCE, Alison Somerville, MA(Edin), PGCE, Mairi MacDermot, Rory

Murray MA Hons (St Andrews), PG Dip (Napier), PGCE (Strathclyde), Sarah Johnstone MA Hons (Dundee), PGDE

(Strathclyde).

Home Economics: Jill P Templeton, DipHE with F&N (Rbt Gordon’s), CertSecEduc(Abd), Kathryn Kelly, BSc Hons

(Queen Margaret), PGDE (Strathclyde)

Mathematics: Alison Underwood, MA Hons, (Aberdeen), PGCE (Open University), Kathryn Gray, PGDE(Edin),

DipEd(Edin MA(Abd), Abdallah Serhani BEng(Heriot Watt), PGDE(Edin), Joanne Campbell, BSc, MSc (Aberdeen), PGDE,

Isabelle Dupraz B.Sc. Mathematics (UWO), PGDE (Edinburgh), Ryan Docherty, BSc Hons Mathematics and its

Applications (Stirling), PGDE (Strathclyde), Neil Millington, BSc (Hons), PGDE, Andrew Curry B.sc Mathematics (hons)

Heriot- Watt University, PGDE, Helen Crow, PhD, BEng Hons Civil & Environmental Engineering (Heriot Watt) , PGDE

(Edin), Elaine Haldane, Bsc. & DiPed, Laoise Ward Bcs mathematics (Glasgow), PGDE (Edin)

Modern Languages: Caroline Welsh, MA Hons (Aberdeen), PgDip (Napier), PGCE(Edin), Tom Cook, BA, MA(Edin),

CertEd, Morag McCallum, MA Hons (Edin), PGCE, Claire Landsburgh, LL.B Hons, (Glas), PGCE, Bianca Mariani, BA Hons

(Stirling), Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in French with Spanish, PGDE, Franziska Sieger BA (Universitaet Bremen), PGDE

(Strathclyde), Beata Figueira BA (Napier), PGDE (Dundee) PGDip in Spanish (Dundee), Stephanie Mitchell BA Hons

(Heriot Watt) PGCE PGCG

Modern Studies: Gary Snedden, MA(Edin), PGCE, PGDE, Jennifer Reynolds, BA Hons, (Stirling), Bed, (Stirling), Domonic

Forbes, M.A Hons(Glasgow), PGDE

Music: Louise Holland, Bed (Hons) Music (Aberdeen), PGDE, Jennifer Good BEd Mus Hons (RCS), PGDE

Physical Education: Steven F. Raeburn BEd (Hons) Physical Education (Edinburgh), Fiona J MacMillan, BEd(Edin),

MSc(Edin), PGDE, Heather Clark, Bed Hons (Edin), Daniel Lane, Bed Hons (Edin), Mark Gair, BEd hons (Edin)

Physics: Stephen A Bakke, BSc(Lon), PGCE, David Hill, MEng, (Edin), PGCE, Ricky Thorbjornsen BSc (Edinburgh), PGCE

(Edinburgh), Callum Ferguson, BSc (Hons) Physics (St Andrews), PGDE (Edin)

Religious and Moral Education: Sebastian C Sewell, MTh(St Andrews), PGCE, Alexandra Lockhart, Meghan Brady-

McDonald BA Honours History (Laurentian), BA Religious Studies (Laurentian), PGDE(S) (Strath), PGCert Inclusive

Education (Edin)

Support for Learning: Deborah Hislop, BEd Technology (Edin), Ben Davenport, Adam Reed: Bsc (Hons), Heriot-Watt

University, PGDE (Edin)

Support for Pupils: Fiona M White, BSc Hons Maths and Statistics (Edin), Iain Welsh, BA Hons, PGCE, Scott Rodger BEd

Hons (Edin), PGC (Aberd), Hannah Sim MA Hons (Glasgow University), PGDE (Edin), Robert Watson

Careers Adviser: Caroline McArdle

Librarian: Stephen Shiels

Administrative Staff: Diane Aitken, Shirley Duncan, Lorraine Lorraine, Karen Reilly, Lisa Tocher

School Support Assistants: Jill Hunter, Audrey Pannozzo, Lindsay Quinn, Margaret Scott, Elizabeth Sneddon, Lindsay

Howard

Pupil Support Assistants (SFL): Lesley Baird, Elizabeth Baird, Elaine Berry, Elizabeth Ivinson, Julie McKeever, Marian

Wootton, Ami Rowley, Jasmine Ryan, Elinor Barbour

Sports Coordinator: Jonathan Wallace

Community Police Officer: PC Darren Campbell

Senior Service Support Officer: Robert Sloan

Service Support Officers: Brian W Whelan, Fred McBride

Senior Technician: John Stables

ICT Technician: Keith Kittridge

Laboratory Technicians: Ian Young, Kathryn Clark

Workshop Technician: Kevin McQueen

Catering Supervisor: Karen Sloan

SCHOOL SONG

Vivas, Schola Edinensis

Schola Regia venerabilis:

Sicut arx in colle sita -

Sicut sol e nubibus densis -

Splendes, splendeas in aeternum,

Alma Mater atque amabilis.

Liberi tui te laudamus

Laeto omnium cum clamore

Et cum multis posthac annis

Tui, quam iuvenes amabamus,

Senes rursus meminerimus,

Vi clamabimus haud minore:

Refrain: Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Vivas, Schola Regia!

Refrain: Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Vivas, Schola Regia!

THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL

Annual Report

Introduction

Rectors Annual Report, 2016/17 Session

As the 2016/7 session draws to a close it is a great pleasure to look back over our year and reflect on all that has taken

place in The Royal High School.

We began the year with a very positive set of SQA results. Standards of attainment and achievement continue to be

very good and compare very well with results in Edinburgh and across Scotland. We are very proud of our young

people and delighted with the standard of work they produce in exams and the wider achievement opportunities they

engage with to excellent result.

In S1-3 students have made very good progress in their Curriculum for Excellence courses and it is clear students are

working within the 4 capacities with increasing confidence. The majority of students in S1/2 are currently judged to

be consolidating or making secure their learning within Level 3 in all subjects. In S3 most students are working within

Level 4. This gives them a very strong base to work from when entering their National courses in S4.

Our results at the end of S4 continue to be very good. Almost all measures across the middle school have been

sustained with positive trends. Within National 5 65% of learners achieved at least 5 passes and 21 young people

achieved excellent results with 8 passes at A. This demonstrates a very high level of attainment within our S4. In all

measures across S4 at level 5 we have outperformed our virtual comparators. In most cases this was significant.

We also continue to have very good results within our senior school. We judge attainment in S5 and S6 to be very

good with aspects of excellence. Our Higher passes within S5 were very good. The majority of our young people are

able to gain an award in at least one Higher by the end of S5 (78%). A significant number of pupils gained 5 A band

awards at Higher in S5 and 3 A band awards at Advanced Higher in S6. This clearly demonstrates the climate for

exceptionally high achievement is very much evident in the school and we are very proud of these young people.

A number of departments demonstrated excellent attainment and the majority of our departments outperformed

comparators and national performance at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level.

Wider achievement also continues to be an area of strength, with pupils being presented for a number of volunteering

awards, as well as engaging with programmes such as JET (Jobs, Education and Training), Career Academies and the

Youth and Philanthropy Initiative. Opportunities to perform, participate and compete in a wide range of extra-

curricular activities such as Sports, Arts, Music, Dance and to participate in travel opportunities, are many and varied.

Positive destinations are very strong in the school. Almost all young people who left in 2015/16 session are currently

in sustained positive destinations. Our school leaver numbers entering further or higher education, employment or

training continue to be very strong, with sustained positive destination figures of 97%. More than 50% of our leavers

move on to Higher Education.

We continue to lead the way nationally in our ICT provision and all our S3-6 pupils are now equipped with iPad devices

which they use both in school and at home. This initiative allows us to give our pupils access to the most innovative

and relevant materials to support learning and we continue to develop their use across the school. We continue to

expand the use of digital learning across our curriculum including making use of new and innovative devices in subjects

such as Science and Geography. This equips our young people with skills for the future and the ability to make the

best use of range of devices and data sources.

One of our key projects this year has been developing our Outdoor Classroom space which opened in February 2016

in a wonderful torch lit ceremony led by the fantastic Davidson Mains Pipe Band. Our little orchard is beginning to

flourish and our Spring planting will really bring the area to life. The space is well used across the school and we

continue to plan new developments to make this an innovative space to learn and create.

Parents are key partners in the school and we continue to involve them fully. We have a very active Parent Council

who give us great support throughout the year in numerous ways including responding to local and national

consultations. This year the Parent Council have contributed to the national Governance Review, the Scottish

Parliament's Europe Committee Review of the impact of Brexit and the John Cole Edinburgh Schools Building Review.

This gives us our parents a strong voice in the local and national issues impacting Education.

Our Parent Staff Association (PSA) changed their name this year to The Royal High School Parent Fundraising Group

to enable them to be more informally involved with the school. This has led to a very successful fundraising year with

more than £2500 raised across a variety of events for school funds. This has enabled us to buy valuable additional

resources for all our subjects.

We also believe in keeping parents well informed and our email bulletin continues to be very popular with parents

ensuring they receive regular updates on what’s happening in the school. This has also enabled us to conduct a

number of parental surveys which has ensured parent voice is very strong in everything we do. We also continue to

make use of our website www.royalhigh.edin.sch.uk and a Twitter feed @Royal_High_Sch both of which we use to

share news and events.

Our wider curriculum is thriving with a huge variety of clubs, shows, performances and visits taking place. These

enhance the school experience of all our young people and ensure they develop strong skills for life and work. We

have had many competitive successes this year in areas such as numerous sports, debating, film, dance, music, chess

and arts. Our hugely talented pupils continue to demonstrate the skills they have developed and are a credit to the

school.

We provide a wide variety of opportunities for our pupils including residential trips. So far this session we had a very

successful German exchange in December followed by a very enjoyable ski trip to France in March. Our Romanian

Habitat for Humanity trip will also take place later this term and we hope to make a huge difference to the lives of

those who will benefit.

We also planned an action-packed Activities Week in May. Our S1 pupils travelled to Belmont Outdoor Centre for a

week of outdoor education and gained many fantastic memories. 140 of our S3 pupils travelled to the Belgian WW1

battlefields for a real life-changing experience. Our S2 & S3 students remaining in school took part in a wide range of

day trips and in-school activities such as sketching, canoeing, rock-climbing, sports, crafts, bakery, cake-making and

much more!

All our trips create wonderful, long-lasting memories for students and staff and make a huge contribution to the life

of the school. They would not be possible without the hard work and commitment of staff and I am very grateful for

the time and effort they put in to these opportunities.

For the past 18 months we have been developing our community Vision & Values. This has involved staff, parents,

partners and of course all our young people. Our new statement clearly demonstrates our commitment to be the very

best we can be while celebrating the rich diversity of our community.

One of the rich elements of our school is our strong links with our Former Pupils. Both the Edinburgh and London

clubs work very closely with the school and support us in many ways including attending our events and services,

providing work experience, giving inspirational talks and mentoring. Our School and Nation Captains again attended

their annual dinners with the School Captain, Angus Farquhar, giving an excellent after-dinner speech on his captaincy.

We are very lucky to have such successful and rich links and we are always looking for ways to develop these including

planning for the two clubs to be an active part of our 2017/18 Barnton 50th Anniversary Celebrations.

A year in a school is never dull and 2016/17 was no exception. We continue to embrace our traditions and histories

as well as providing innovative learning for our young people. I would like to thank our staff for their work, energy

and commitment and all our many partners, parents and carers who all make The Royal High School such a special

place.

Viva Schola Regia

Pauline A. Walker

The Royal High School Vison & Values

“The Royal High School supports every young person to achieve and attain their very best.

We respect individuality and celebrate diversity. We provide opportunities for success

through a variety of curricular and extra-curricular options and pathways. We encourage

creativity and support our young people to build the skills and resilience they need for the

future. We have the courage to aspire to be the very best we can be. We belong to our

school and we are very proud of our tradition and heritage.”

Staffing News

The school staff continue to give unstintingly and work tirelessly for the school across a remarkably broad front, in

both curricular and extracurricular activities. This year we say goodbye to no less than 19 colleagues.

Our 2 probationary teachers have very successfully completed their 12-month probationary period. Ms Lea in Physical

Education and Mr Melville in Geography leave us as confident and valuable professionals having met and exceeded

the highest standards of the profession. They have added enormously to the school during their time with us and we

wish them all the very best for their future careers.

Three long serving colleagues retire this year. Ms Jill Templeton has been with us in Home Economics for 23 years and

during that time has prepared many new courses and qualifications as well as introducing our students to lots of trips

and opportunities including the annual Royal Highland Show visit and creating a new vegetable garden in one of our

outdoor quads. Ms Morag McCallum in Modern Languages has been with us for 12 years. Ms McCallum taught both

French and German in the school and was also an excellent supporter of our wider achievement opportunities

including the annual Paris trip and S1 Residential. After 33 years as teacher of Drama Mrs Gaye Almond retired from

her post in January. Mrs Almond introduced Drama to school and built up the successful department it is today. They

will all be greatly missed by colleagues and pupils alike and we hope they both enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Mr Darren McKinnon, our Curricular Leader of Maths, left us during the session to take up post as a Quality

Improvement Officer for Edinburgh Council. Mr McKinnon was with the school for 19 years as Principal Teacher and

Curricular Leader and ably led his department to one of - if not the most! - successful Maths faculties in the country.

This included regularly producing the best results nationwide in both Lifeskills Maths and Advanced Higher Maths –

an outstanding achievement. We wish him the very best in his new post where we are delighted to report he will

continue to support the school as part of his new role.

After 18 years Mrs Kate Fraser left her role as Curriculum Leader of History and Modern Studies in April this year.

Fortunately for us she has remained with us in her new promoted post as Depute Rector. Mrs Fraser has been

instrumental in creating one of the best History & Modern Studies faculties in Scotland and we are very excited to

have her working with us in her new senior management role.

Mrs Scott, Support for Pupils Leader for the Scots, has left to take up a promoted post as Depute Headteacher in

Gracemount High School. Having won the Crichton Cup with the Scots for the last 3 years she felt it was time to give

another nation the chance to get their name on the cup.

Mrs Kathryn Gray, teacher of Maths is also leaving us after 17 years in the school. She has inspired many young

mathematical minds and will be very much missed.

Mr Frank Lagan who has been teacher of Computing in the school for 12 years, has left us to take up post closer to

home in Larbert High School. Mr Lagan will be very well remembered for his passion for teaching and his ability to

inspire all. Mr Lagan introduced many new opportunities at the school including CISCO training and IT Essentials. He

was also the driver behind The RuffityBuffs which not only supported many of our students but also provided

entertainment across our community as he took the annual RuffityBuffs Panto on the road to our local nurseries and

care homes. We wish him the very best in his new post – the school will not be the quite same without him!

Two of our Chemistry teachers are leaving us at the end of session as they and their families are relocating. Mrs

Michelle McLernon, Teacher of Chemistry has decided to leave us as her family are moving to Glasgow and Dr Clare

Russell, teacher of Chemistry will also be leaving us in the summer to take up a post in Kenya. We wish them and their

families well in their new adventures.

This year we have also said goodbye to a number of our very valuable support staff. Mrs Karen Fergusson, clerical

assistant, Mrs Lesley Baird, Pupil Support Assistant, Ms Elinor Barbour, Pupil Support Assistant and Mr Michael Duvalle,

ICT Technician have all left us for new challenges. We wish them all well and will miss their input to our school.

A number of temporary colleagues have been working with us this year. Mrs Linda Gray, teacher of English, Ms

Jennifer Farrar, teacher of English, Ms Sarah Johnstone, teacher of History, Ms Isla Boag, School Librarian and Ms

Karolina Towers have all been with us this session and we wish them all the very best in their new posts.

In Support for Pupils, Mrs Saddler and Mrs Casey have had their temporary secondment to the Scottish Government

extended, and Mr Watson, one of our teachers of PE, continues to act as Support for Pupils Leader for S1 in their

absence. Mrs Ailsa Clarke, teacher of English, is also currently on a Career Break and Mr James Todd, teacher of CDT

continues to be seconded to a promoted post in Trinity Academy.

A number of our staff have left us for Maternity Leave this session. Mrs Alison Gallagher, teacher of History, Mrs Mairi

MacDermot, teacher of History, Mrs Clare Landsburgh, teacher of Modern Languages and Mrs Jenny Reynolds, teacher

of Modern Studies are all currently on Maternity Leave. Mrs Meghan Brady-MacDonald will leave us in August to start

her maternity leave. We wish them and their families all the very best with their new arrivals and look forward to

seeing them back in the near future.

We wish all of them well and thank them for their outstanding support of the school.

Expressive Arts

The Expressive Arts faculty saw some changes to staffing this session. Mrs Black joined us as the new Curriculum

Leader of Expressive Arts. In Drama Mr Wilkins joined our growing Drama Department

and Mrs Costas joined us after Mrs Almond retired at Christmas.

SQA Art exams 2016 – notable results- Nat 5 -11 pupils got full marks for Expressive

folios; 31/48 pupils got an A overall.

Congratulations to our Advanced Higher students in Art who have secured places

within the Creative Arts: Emily Lyall -Dundee College of Art, Lily Davidson, Dylan Carter,

Mairi Guild at Edinburgh College and Jade Meakin at Napier.

New areas within the department this year included teaching NPA in Photography

course in the senior phase this has successfully led on to the progression of teaching

the new Higher Photography course starting in August.

Trips and excursions included taking seniors to Edinburgh College to look at portfolio

development; the Portrait Gallery and Jupiter Artland for S3;

Competition winners- Sritash Ghosh in S1, her Fringe poster design was selected as a runner up in the Fringe festival

competition and will be exhibited at Dynamic Earth. Alexander Priestly in S1, winning the Intermediate award and

Ross Blackloch for winning the Senior group award in the annual Rotary photography competition.

Higher Drama students attended professional performances of The Cheviot Stag and Curious Incident of the Dog. Both

plays were used towards their exam. Higher students put on a mini showcase of their SQA performance pieces to an

audience of friends and family in preparation for their final exam. National 5 pupils this year performed excerpts from

Blood Brothers, Dead Dad Dog, Like a Virgin and The Steamie.

In Music Our annual Christmas concert was again hugely popular, with a large

variety of groups performing, from Bagpipes to Show Choir. There was also

the Spring Concert performed in school, showcasing the class work of

students from S1-S6.

Our Advance Higher students going on to study Music this year are: Josh

McCullough – MA Music & French Glasgow Uni, Sarah Cronin – HND Music

Edin College, Lachlan Riddell – Bmus Music Edin College. Exam results last year

from 2016: Outstanding AH results in S5 from Ailis McLean and Harry Docherty. Additional achievements this year in

Music: Julia McInally – Ad Higher Classical Guitar & Voice,Louis Boyd- Madson – Ad Higher piano & bass guitar. Josh

Murray – Guitar & Violin,Lewis Petrie – Guitar & Keyboard, Rachel Sunter - Drums and Cello, Duncan Pittendreigh –

Keyboard and bass, Rihanna Haggart – Grade III ABRSM Piano, Thomas McHarry – Grade 5 theory, Eoin Irvine – Grade

V ABRSM Theory. Cameron Duff – Grade V ABRSM Theory. Cameron Shepherd - Grade 3 Trinity rock school exam this

year.

Our talented musicians this year have also played at various prestigious events including the City Chambers, Scottish

Parliament, Young Apprentice Awards, EICC- Council Achievement Awards, Radisson Blue- World book event and the

Resonate concert - Queens Hall. The Pipe Band in the 'Fair Trade Fiesta' parade to celebrate Edinburgh being a fair

trade City and had 48 children from RHS and Davidson's Mains Primary School perform with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers!

Davidson's Mains & District Pipe Band were 3rd in the 'Novice Juvenile B'

category of the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships. We performed our

arrangement of Ed Sheerans 'Castle on the Hill' which has had a fantastic

response on social media currently with 155,000 views and over 2500 shares all

over the world. The pipe band were also awarded the prestigious 'Endeavour

Award' - Demonstrating a positive ethos and attributes that pipe bands

encourage, apart from excellence in performance they also demonstrated

Community Contribution, Inclusion and Diversity, Enthusiasm and Camaraderie,

Innovation ,Perseverance and resilience!

The Pipe Band were also 1st in the Dundee, Perth & Angus indoor competition and 4th in the British Championships

in May 2017.

Business Education and Computing Science

Business Education

S3 have been working this session on looking at business, they have them completed posters to show their findings.

Computing Fun

The year began with Digital day working with Ambergreen Digital

Marketing. Groups of S3 learners worked in teams to produce a

digital strategy for a problem set by TATA Communications,

Standard Life and Cancer research.

In December we ran the annual make £5 grow. This involved the S1 forming teams of 5 at the start of S1, each team

member was “given £5” to Grow.

Each group then planned their product to sell at

the Christmas Fair. They researched, produced

costing, advertising and made the items. At the

start of the event all was laid out for them to set

up - 20 minutes later and they were off!

The S1 Make £5 made £593.

This money will be split between a charity of their choice (they will decide on their

charity at Belmont) and a ‘reward’ for all their work at the end of the Broad General Education in S3.

Frank Lagan ‘left the building’ at the end of May to return to teaching in his hometown of Falkirk. Frank

taught computing for 12 years and enjoyed every minute of it along with his pupils. On top of his

computing teaching Frank also ran the RuffityBuffs – working with a group of pupils performing on the

stage – in the fringe and around nursery schools in Edinburgh.

CDT

It has been a busy and productive year in the CDT department.

In terms of staffing, we welcomed Emilia Tankard as a full time, permanent member of staff. She has organised a trip

for our Higher Design and Manufacture pupils to Napier University to study 'Fantastic Plastics' and has led six groups

in the annual Rotary Engineering competition. The Intermediate group came first in their category!

Richard Beuckardt (also known as Mr B) joined us in October on a permanent basis, teaching on a Monday and

Tuesday. He is an experienced Design and Technology teacher who likes to offer challenge to pupils, particularly in

relation to Design Thinking and student-led learning.

Bruce Dalzell has been on long-term supply with us, covering for Mr Stevenson, our Curricular Leader. His

commitment to the department over the past year has allowed our pupils to continue to experience a relevant,

hands-on curriculum.

Mrs Smyth has been 'acting up' over the past year, leading the department in Mr Stevenson's absence. We wish him

good health and a swift recovery.

This session has seen the department make significant investment in technology to enhance the experience of our

students. We now have a laser cutter and 3D printer, both of which are being used for design, manufacture and

graphic communication.

Over two mornings this February we held a careers fair within the department. We invited a wide range of speakers

including graphic designers from Edinburgh College of Art, a set designer from the Royal Conservatoire in addition to

former pupils Sarah Drummond (a service designer) and Andy Chan (an engineer at Buro Happold). Further

presentations were given from a furniture designer and maker and a product design student, again from ECA.

The mornings were well attended and we received good feedback from students.

In May we visited MakLab, a design and manufacturing studio in Glasgow to get hands-on training regarding the use

of laser cutting, 3D printing and model making in the design process. Something which we hope to use extensively

from S3 upwards.

Motions have been put in place for us to work in conjunction with the Maths department to take part in the 'Design

Engineer Construct' curriculum. We are currently being partnered with a large engineering company and S3 pupils

will be working on a tailored curriculum focusing on the Built Environment, starting this June.

This academic session we have also taken part in a successful evaluation process, where the department received

positive and encouraging feedback from senior management and teaching colleagues. A particular strength that was

highlighted was the creative and respectful atmosphere in classes across the department. The process as a whole

allowed us to reflect and improve on our teaching - we now hope to further develop higher order thinking

opportunities within our classrooms and workshops.

Many of our pupils have been outstanding this year, working hard to complete coursework deadlines. Particular

merit should go to Sarah Gardner whose Advanced Higher Graphic Communication project received full marks. She

designed a new restaurant for Disneyland Florida based on a New Orleans theme, producing a fantastic range of

technical graphics.

Once again, many of our senior students are leaving their school days behind to pursue futures in design at college

and university. As the year comes to a close, we want to thank them for the last six years: above all we value the

relationships we develop with these pupils and wish them the best for the future.

English and Media Studies

The Faculty continued to see very good results this year in formal SQA exams at all levels. We presented a larger

number of candidates this year and I would like to thank the teachers in the Faculty and our Classroom Assistant for

their exemplary commitment, skill and enthusiasm.

Debating Club goes from strength to strength, with a number of notable

successes this year. The club is thriving and has developed its own established

‘scene’. Highlights of the year included Laura Wood and Sarah Gardner giving a

fantastic account of themselves at the Parliament in the final of The Donald

Dewar national competition. There were other significant wins throughout the

year – not least the crushing victory over the teachers in March. This year also

saw the establishment of our Writers’ Club, who have contributed to the

resurrected Schola Regia school magazine, in addition to entering various

national competitions. Star Wars and Comic Book Film Clubs continue to thrive,

providing a place to enjoy a love of genre-specific cinema and media. Discussions

about the various merits of particular superheroes can get quite heated…

We currently have students involved in Edinburgh Theatres’ ‘Shakedown’

Project. A formal audition process resulted in eight of our young people going

on to rehearse with a professional Director, before a scheduled performance at

the King’s Theatre in June. We are always looking for ways to enrich the cultural

experience within the Faculty and with this in mind, will again be sending a large number of Advanced Higher English

students to the Creative Writing conference and performances related to the texts studied in class. Higher Media have

the opportunity to attend two ‘Media Days’ at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and work with industry

professionals, in addition to seeing two film premieres. We hope to establish all of these opportunities as annual

features of their respective courses.

We are looking for ways to give our young people more support and information, specifically relating to reading. An

exciting development has been the discovery of various digital resources, which we are in the process of promoting.

The Faculty is undertaking training in this area and have also recently taken leadership of new BGE Literacy courses,

to promote reading, note-taking, critical thinking and employability skills. We also participated in the S2 Pathways

initiative, where professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds (sports management, engineering, sales and mine-

clearance) came in to give presentations on the importance of communication in their working lives.

The Faculty has provided formal support with revision classes after school and also during the February and Easter

breaks. We continue to offer online support to Senior Classes through Edmodo and also benefit from a number of

teachers marking examinations for the SQA at all levels. This provides invaluable insight that is passed on to our

students. We have been lucky to have Mrs Gray and Mrs Farrar working with us year. Both have brought enthusiasm

and expertise to the team and we wish them the best of luck in their new adventures. Mrs Gray returns to Orkney to

support her family and Mrs Farrar takes up a lecturing position at Glasgow University.

We look forward to a good set of results in August and another successful year.

Geography and RMPS

The start of this academic session 2016-2017 saw Ms Stefania Mariani, Curriculum Leader, go on maternity leave. Ms

Liane Hooper joined the faculty as acting Curriculum Leader in October and on Ms Mariani’s return to the faculty in

May, after the birth of her baby boy, we were delighted to retain Ms Hooper as permanent Teacher of Geography.

Mr Andrew Melville joined the faculty as a newly qualified Teacher of Geography at the beginning of the session. Mrs

Ashley Fulton continued with us as Teacher of Geography. Ms Alexandra Lockhart, Teacher of RMPS, got married in

the summer holidays. Mr Sebastian Sewell, Teacher of RMPS and Classical Studies continued to be with us and Mrs

Meghan Brady-McDonald, Teacher of RMPS, will go off on maternity leave for next academic session 2017-2018 as

she looks forward to welcoming her second child.

It has certainly been a very busy and productive year in the Geography and RMPS faculty. In Geography S1 pupils

enjoyed outdoor learning by taking part in fieldwork in the local area. S2 enjoyed a trip to Our Dynamic Earth as part

of their Explosive Earth unit. They also enjoyed a visit from Zoolab who brought in a range of creepy crawlies and

animals from the Equatorial rainforest habitat. Pupils learned about animal adaptation and survival in extreme

climates. Pupils took part in a range of active learning activities in the classroom including building 3D models of

Yanomami villages. The National classes enjoyed a visit from Geobus and took part in a workshop looking at how a

river’s course is formed. Fieldwork continued into Higher and Advanced Higher with pupils visiting the Water of Leith

field centre to complete river fieldwork. A small group of pupils in the senior phase also visited Heriot Watt University

to take part in an Urban design competition against other secondary schools. They did very well and were runners up

in the event.

In RMPS pupils enjoyed a range of new units developed in line with national requirements. S1

pupils took part in meditation and mindfulness which brought RMPS and Health and Wellbeing

together. Higher RMPS enjoyed learning all about evolution as well as handling a range of animals

when Zoolab visited the school. The seniors also took part in a Higher and National conference.

Higher Classical Studies ran successfully and is becoming ever more popular as a subject choice

across the school.

Staff in the faculty worked exceptionally hard this year and led a range of fantastic

whole school initiatives. Ms Lockhart led the Equalities group with a range of staff

and pupils. The group worked together to deliver assemblies promoting equal rights

as well as creating a banner to promote the work that they have achieved so far. Mr

Sewell co-led the pupil voice group and worked with pupils to make positive changes

across the school community. Mrs Fulton worked hard as co-leader of the Careers

Ready group and attended a Careers Ready celebration in Perth. Mr Melville

brought his expertise of water polo to the school and launched a pupil water polo

team. The team worked hard all year and have been entered for their first Scottish Schools competition in June. Mr

Melville also ran the S1 school football team organising matches on Saturdays against other Secondary schools.

Overall it has been a very fulfilling and enjoyable year in the faculty and we look forward to building on our success

next session.

Health and Wellbeing

It has been an extremely quick, busy and exciting year for the Health and Wellbeing

Faculty. The introduction of Advanced Higher PE in S6 has been successful and allows

for a full and clear progression pathway through school. We have successfully

implemented Home Economics into S2 with all students gaining a greater hands on

experience whilst learning about nutritional needs, the journey of food and developing

healthy choices. The uptake in all certificated classes has continued to rise, which is

testament to the successful results, and positive experience that the students receive

in the faculty. We have had a particular focus on the formalisation of learner conversations in the curriculum this year

which has allowed students to have clear goals and understand their next steps for improvement.

The S2 career day was highly successful with many of our students gaining a clear vision of what

our faculty offers and the career opportunities available. We have continued to work alongside

Sky Sports and their professional athlete mentors who have inspired many of our students. We

have introduced a number of targeted intervention programs that has seen many of our young

people gain extra experience in Physical Education and Sport and as a result are becoming a lot

more organised and confident around school. This year has also seen the re-introduction of inter-

nation sporting events with the Angles, Brits, Picts and Scots involved in a variety of competitions

throughout the year, which has been well supported by the House Captains.

The extra-curricular program continues to flourish with many teachers, coaches and

students highly committed to the progression of the clubs that they run. This year has

seen the introduction of a swimming, triathlon, water polo, volleyball, lacrosse and

cricket on top of the vast range of other activities available to students. The sports

HUB has allowed for many connections to be created with local clubs and as a result

many of our students are attending clubs out with the school extra-curricular

program. The Wider Achievement Ceremony continues to grow and a record number

of students have been recognised for their achievements. The now annual Sports Day

was another huge success with every person competing contributing to the overall

result in some capacity.

We were fortunate to be successful in obtaining some additional funding through bids and as a result have managed

to order new equipment to kit out our ever growing fitness suite with some functional movement equipment as well

as a range of spin bikes and rowing machines.

We have welcomed Mr Gair as a permanent appointment to the PE Department and have had a range of Student

Teachers with us over the course of the year. We say goodbye to Ms Templeton who is taking retirement after 23

years service to the Royal High School. Ms Templeton has been a stalwart over the years and we wish her all the very

best as she moves onto pastures new.

Follow us @rhs_hwb for all the latest success stories and achievements within Health & Well-Being.

History

The History department started this year, as it always does, with an impressive set of attainment results which

accurately reflected the level of dedication and hard work put in by both pupils and staff.

The department has had a very busy year. Mrs MacDermot and Mrs Gallagher both went off on maternity leave this

year and were replaced by Miss Johnstone and Mr Murray. Miss Johnstone and Mr Murray both hit the ground running

in order to ably prepare the certificate classes prior to exam leave. Numerous hours of time were given up by both

staff and revision classes were put on at every available opportunity. The pupils will have benefited hugely due to the

commitment and dedication shown by both members of staff.

The biggest staffing change has come in the shape of Mrs Fraser who after 14 years as the Head of History and 6 years

as the Curricular Leader of Modern Studies and History has been promoted to Deputy Rector. Mrs Fraser has been a

stalwart of the History department at The Royal High School for nearly seventeen years. During this time, she has led

and organised several battlefields tours, been responsible for the German exchange to Mannheim, been responsible

for memorial events for former pupils and given numerous hours of her own time to support pupils. She will, of course,

be greatly missed by the History and Modern Studies departments and the staff of both departments would like to

thank her for her enormous support of their development and the friendship she has provided them. Mrs Hughes will

be starting in August and will be taking over as Curricular Leader of History and Modern Studies from Mr Forbes.

The History department took part in a transition project with the University

of Edinburgh. The key focus of this transition was to allow senior pupils the

opportunity to see the transferability of source work that they currently

undertake with research work. There were outside visitors to the S2 course,

helping to bring alive their Scottish Wars of Independence topic and the

department worked hard this year to highlight out the subject can prepare

students for many different pathways afterschool. The Advanced Higher

pupils carried on the traditional Sushi meal in order to bring out the cultural

aspects of their Japan course. This exploring of cultures was continued by

the yearly German exchange with pupils from both schools making long

lasting friendships. The department had a very successful battlefields trip which was ably organised by both Mrs

Gallagher and Mrs McLean (English). The History department would invite you to keep up to date with their activities

by following them on Twitter @royal_history.

Integrated Support Team

During this session we welcomed two new Pupil Support Assistants – Miss Ami Rowley and Miss Elinor Barbour. As a

department we have continued to develop our close working relationship with the Pupil Support Team and have

strengthened our joint working as the school Integrated Support Team meeting the needs of our most vulnerable

learners.

We were sorry to see Mrs Scott leave to go to Gracemount High School as Depute and welcomed Miss Sim as her

replacement. Pupil Support Leaders Mrs Casey and Mrs Saddler left on a secondment with the City of Edinburgh and

we were delighted to welcome Mr Watson back as acting Pupil Support Leader for S1 pupils. More senior pupils than

ever have been out on work experience or industry hours this year. Over 130 pupils applied to university or college

with the majority being provided with an offer. Many senior pupils took advantage of courses run by Queen Margaret

University and Edinburgh college while other pupils participated in the JET programme and Career Ready where they

had the opportunity to do work placements and internships. Meanwhile the Mentors in Violence Protection

programme had S6 pupils trained in the materials that challenged perceptions about gender based violence. These

peer mentors successively delivered sessions to our S1 cohort this session

.

The department has continued to liaise with the school librarian regarding the S1 Paired Reading Programme. S6 pupils

support the S1 pupils who take part forming a hugely positive experience for all pupils involved. In addition, we offer

a range of programmes and courses to support the development of literacy and numeracy.

Frequent meetings with parents have taken place, when appropriate, throughout the session and parents have

contacted the department when the need has arisen. There have also been regular visits to our feeder primary schools

to prepare for the transition from primary to secondary

We are continuing to strengthen existing links with our Partnership Services and External Agencies in order to support

pupils with additional needs. This session we have liaised closely with the Additional Support for Learning team and

have welcomed visiting teachers for visually impaired pupils, hearing impaired pupils and pupils with social and

communication difficulties.

In the last few weeks we have moved our location in the school bringing together two key spaces for our pupils who

are unable to access the classroom for a variety of reasons. We hope to build upon this in the new session to ensure

that our pupils are always able to access their learning, even if they are unable to access the classroom.

Mathematics Department

2016-17 has been a very busy year for the maths department, starting with a set of very positive exam results across

the full range of SQA courses from National 4 Lifeskills through to Advanced Higher Mechanics and Statistics. The year

has also seen a number of changes in staff with Mr Darren McKinnon moving to a permanent position as Quality

Improvement Officer, Mrs Alison Underwood taking over as the Curriculum Leader, and three teachers re-joining the

department with Mrs Ward and Mrs Haldane in a permanent capacity, and Mrs Crow covering Mrs Simpson’s classes

during her maternity leave. The staff have been working hard to produce a new BGE course focusing on promoting

investigative and problem solving techniques, and in November the entire department spent a weekend in Peebles

developing ideas and resources. As a follow on, a full day’s training was hosted by the department in May for both

maths department and primary colleagues.

A big priority within the school this year has been numeracy across the curriculum,

and this development has been actively led by Mr Serhani and Mr Millington.

Among many numeracy based activities have been a whole staff in-service

training session, the launch of an S1 and S2 numeracy quiz, and a cross-curriculum

focus on percentages. Posters promoting numeracy can be found across the

school. Another popular development has been the introduction of Ninja maths

for S1 and S2 pupils, and initial analysis confirms that numeracy levels are

improving within these groups in particular.

The department also ran a very successful maths camp in

March 2017 at Auchengillan Outdoor Centre for S5 and S6

National 5 level pupils. During the weekend the pupils worked

hard to prepare for their maths exam, and participated in

outdoor activities for some rest and relaxation.

Other successes within the department include the awarding

of gold and silver medals to two of our senior pupils by the Scottish Mathematical

Council in a nationwide maths challenge, and the continued popularity of the chess club

run by Ms Dupraz every Tuesday lunchtime. Two of our teachers are also leading a

group of S6 volunteers on the Habitat for Humanity project to Romania in June.

In January we were delighted to welcome three professionals who talked to our S2

pupils about how they included maths in their every day jobs. Learners were surprised

to discover how much maths was used by fire fighters on a daily basis! Mr Curry has also hosted a number of events

promoting the schools focus on Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.

Another staffing change is that Mrs Kathryn Gray will be leaving the school at the end of the session and we wish to

thank her for her hard work and commitment over the years and wish her every success in the future.

All-in-all a very exciting year with plans well under-way to move the learning and teaching forward for the maths

department, together with the wider school community as a whole.

Modern Studies

In what has been an extraordinarily interesting and challenging year in the department, with hugely significant historic

events taking place on a monthly basis, it was very pleasing to see the degree of mature engagement with these

powerful events from our young people, who demonstrated a huge appetite to learn about everything from the

implications of the Trump presidency to Brexit.

In the midst of a very busy year for the department we had the wonderful news that Mrs Reynolds needed to leave

us for a maternity leave – but typically not before seeing off every single one of her certificate classes through to the

completion of their courses. She will be temporarily replaced by Miss Ashkanani but will of course still be greatly

missed by the department and the pupils until she returns. In addition to Mrs Reynolds moving away from school life

for the coming session, we were delighted to learn that Mrs Fraser had been moved up within the school by being

appointed as a new Depute Rector. Her successor will be taking up her position in August, but in the meantime, Mr

Forbes was appointed as Acting Curricular Leader of both History and Modern Studies until Mrs Hughes is able to join

us after the Summer.

The Modern Studies department has been able to continue its outward-facing

tradition this year and strengthened its links with the University of Edinburgh. Mr

Forbes and Mrs Reynolds took senior pupils to a lecture entitled “What will a

Trump Presidency mean?” in November. The senior pupils asked the panel of

experts some very in-depth and challenging questions. Following on from this and

in coordination with the Maths department, Mr Forbes took pupils to a Maths and

Social Sciences workshop run by the Q-Steps faculty which the pupils thoroughly

enjoyed.

The department had a range of outside speakers who came in to enrich the pupils’ learning. They included the Law

Society who provided detailed workshops to S3 pupils, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP who spoke to our S4 pupils about the

work of an MSP and a serving procurator fiscal who provided a fascinating insight in to the court system in Scotland

to the Advanced Higher and S3 learners.

Mr Snedden and Mr Forbes coordinated the Sir Tom Hunter Foundation essay

entries on behalf of the school for the opportunity to meet Barack Obama.

Unfortunately, the school was unsuccessful but the standard of the entries

received from the pupils was incredibly high. In addition, a number of S1 pupils

were selected and supported by the Modern Studies department for interviews

by BBC Newsround on what they would do if they were Prime Minster.

In terms of promoting learning beyond Modern Studies, Mr Snedden has continued to lend his expertise in the running

of school shows this year, providing technical support to events such as Strictly Come Dancing, The Summer Dance

show and the Christmas Concert. Prior to maternity leave Mrs Reynolds supported a “Colour Me Calm” club within

the school on selected lunchtimes to better support the health and wellbeing of our young people by giving them

opportunities to better deal with stressful or intense days in school, and Mr Forbes has continued to support the

Debating society.

The Modern Studies Department invites you to follow us on Twitter to keep up with all of the latest news

@RHS_Modstuds.

Modern Languages

The Modern Languages Department has seen a number of changes this session. Mrs Figueira joined the department

last August, Ms McCallum retired in March after 12 years’ service and Miss Sieger joined the department in May. This

year senior students were supported by the Foreign Language assistants, Victor Marbach, Angeline Küß and Liu

Qidong.

The Primary 7 Languages Immersion Day took place in September, organised by Mrs Cullen and Mrs Landsburgh and

supported by senior students. In October the S4-6 Spanish pupils attended a screening of the film ‘El Olivo’ at the

Film House. In November, S4-5 French attended a screening of ‘La Vie en Grand’ at the Film House. In December, S1

German pupils were involved in a fun-filled activity morning, organised by Mrs Figueira and

the Goethe Institute.

In February senior pupils attended the Languages Talk

Conference at Broughton High School. In April S4-6

Spanish pupils tasted traditional Spanish food at Sabor

Ciollo. Finally, in May, some S2 French pupils had the

opportunity to lunch at Café Rouge. Throughout the year,

various junior classes have had the opportunity to taste

traditional French and German food at French and German

breakfasts.

Science

I am delighted to say that every year we seem to have increasing uptake of Science subjects. That vote of confidence

is an enormous compliment. We have an annual Walkthrough, a scheme for evaluation in which senior staff, as well

as teacher colleagues from within the school and elsewhere, provide feedback based on each member of the Science

teaching staff being observed five times in a week. At the same time pupils are interviewed and parents are surveyed.

While there are always things we can improve on, and we strive to do so, the overwhelmingly positive message is one

of a job being done well. That is very much appreciated and reflects the productive, good-quality relationships that

exist between teachers and learners.

We have spent some time as a team recently looking at our S1-2 course because it was changed two years ago. Pupils

now spend some time in each five-week topic doing an assessment that mirrors one of the types of assessment they

will come across in the senior phase. These will be an experimental write-up, a research-and-report task, or using

Science principles to design a solution to a problem. Pupils in a modern classroom will be expected to self- and peer-

evaluate work, and we have built in time to allow teachers to have a ‘learner conversation’ with pupils about what

went well and what can be done to improve next time. This approach is based on research, but also on pupil feedback

that they learnt most about what to do to achieve success in a parents evening interview, so we’ve built it in to our

courses. Pupils should now be able to say what skills they have been working on and what they can do to improve

their work.

A good deal of work has been done nationally to provide Benchmarks, more detailed and complete statements of

what a course should look like across S1-3. These were published recently and it is reassuring to note how much they

reflect just what we are already doing. Again, as we look outwards and reflect on our work, we seem to get positive

feedback.

In December a team from the Royal High journeyed to Heriot-Watt University

to compete in the regional heats of the “Top of the Bench” competition. This is

an annual competition organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry to recognise

excellence in Chemistry and consisted of several rounds of group and individual

questions to really exercise the teams’ brain cells. The team competed against

a number of teams from schools across the region, including Fettes College, St.

Thomas of Aquins RC High School, the James Young High School and Beeslack

Community High School. After a tightly contested competition, and a lecture on

extreme temperatures, the Royal High School team were announced as the

winners of the regional heats. Considerable congratulations to Julia Siewiera

(4A2), Logan Dow (5B2) Cameron Fordyce (3S1) and Sravani Challagali (4P1), on this truly outstanding achievement.

As well as winning a sizeable trophy, the team won the right to represent both the school and the east of Scotland at

the national “Top of the Bench” competition at Loughborough University. It was very unfortunate that we couldn’t

arrange suitable travel arrangements. We know they would have covered themselves in glory.

Senior Biology students also had an opportunity to see a live sheep post-mortem at The Roslin Institute (well, not live,

exactly) and to do some DNA testing using PCR technology at The Scottish

Rural College. As part of this they also had a look at the world of work and

higher education. We also had the pleasure of David Patterson (a former

pupil and now professor of Biology at St Andrews University) talking to the

Higher and Advanced Higher Biologists about career pathways in Biology.

Megan Aitken and Holly Davis went to an International Women’s Day lecture

on women in medicine. They are stars of the future. And Mr Rutter did some

science outreach, giving a talk on science to a bunch of brownies!

At the very top of the competitive ladder, Privjyot Jheeta, 6P1, took part in the International Chemistry Olympiad. This

is an open competition of Chemistry knowledge, but usually based on the English A-level syllabus. She therefore did

extremely well to have been awarded a silver certificate.

We all need a holiday and we hope everyone associated with the school manages to get a well-deserved rest. We wish

all those leaving us the very best of luck, and as always our hopes are with those awaiting exam results.

STEM

STEM Activities within 2016-2017

This year a number of STEM activities have occurred across the School and we have worked to ensure that projects

and exciting opportunities have been made available to all years.

S1 / S2 Students

For all S1 and S2 students, an explosive Science Show was presented by the Institution of Physics. This exciting show

was presented in the hall and engaged our BGE students in Science.

A group of six S2 Students represented Royal High School in

this year’s G04SET competition. Congratulations to Lauren

Fraser, Eilidh Newlands, Douglas MCCartney, Shruthi

Vijayakumar, Panav Vijayakumar and Sandy Matheson who

were all awarded Silver Crest awards following completion

of their project within the competition. As part of the

competition the students were invited to AEGON Offices

where they meet with senior management.

There was also a BP lunch time club for S2 students

designing and launching rockets!

S3 Students

A number of S3 Students attended the Royal Institution of Physics Christmas Lecture while some S3 Students were

lucky enough to become BBC Television stars as they were involved in filming exciting new science clips for the BBC

Bitesize website.

S5 / S6 Students

Our S5/S6 Students were given the opportunity to work for an afternoon with JACOBS – one of the top civil

engineering companies within Edinburgh to gain engineering experience.

A number of S5/S6 Students participated in the “Young person advisory group for Science” working with Edinburgh

University.

Royal High Community

We also extended the promotion of STEM across the community of Royal High School with two evening events.

The Royal Institution of Physics performed an exciting science show for all S1-S3 family and friends. Which was well

received by everyone who attended the event.

The Engineering Development Trust (EDT) in partnership with TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) also provided an

STEM Family Challenge evening at the School to assist in promoting Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths to

our students.

Overall this has been a very successful year for Royal High School STEM activity and it has helped serve to promote

science within the school.

Active Schools

Welcome to the Active Schools and Royal High School Health and Well Being Sports Report for the 2016/2017 session.

This year saw, once again, a number of incredible achievements from the pupils of the Royal High School. In addition

to a variety of successes, the number of pupils participating in the sporting opportunities offered at The Royal High

School has increased for the third straight year. This is a testament to the enthusiasm of the pupils, staff, parents and

club coaches volunteering and participating to make the Royal High School programme one of the best on offer in the

city.

Below you will read a number of brief reports on the fantastic range of opportunities available, and accolades

achieved, from those at The Royal High School across the previous session;

Athletics

Continuing to build on Brian Winning’s Legacy, our Royal High Panthers Athletics programme grows year on year under

the watchful eye of our Head Coach, Keith Ridley, and our Student Coach of the Year, Eilidh Thores. The club not only

provides sessions for our High School pupils but also a development programme from P3 upwards for all pupils

attending our local catchment primaries. Enjoying our continued link with Edinburgh Athletics Club, Royal High

Panthers sent a total of 25 athletes to the Edinburgh Athletics Championships and 10 to the Scottish Schools Indoor,

Outdoor and Cross Country Championships. Medals, many gold, were taken in a number of disciplines. Congratulations

to our all our Athletes, especially our medallists and Royal High School Traditional Award Winners.

Badminton

Off the back of our Under 19 Mixed League Winning Season our senior team continued their progress, narrowly exiting

the Edinburgh Schools Knockout Shield at the semi-final stage. Our Under 14 and Under 16 boy’s teams showed

excellent resolve throughout the year, taking a number of wins coupled with some narrow losses to both George

Watson’s and Firrhill High School in the knockout stages. Our school club continues to be one of our most popular

with over 40 pupils attending each week.

Football

As one of The Royal High’s most popular sports, we fielded boy’s teams at five age groups, alongside our junior girls’

team. Excellent performances from both our S1 and S2 boys saw lengthy cup runs and high league finishes, both

narrowly missing out on the top three positions. Our S4’s enjoyed a goal laden season, scoring more than any team in

the league but unfortunately just being pipped into second place in the last few games of the calendar. Our first eleven

boys represented the school fantastically and, as always, set a great example for our younger groups. Congratulations

to our junior girls’ team who participated in all the Edinburgh Girls Festivals available to them. Regularly facing teams

older than themselves the group used a fantastic team spirt to win the majority of their matches. We look forward to

this group continuing to participate in the hope of entering the Scottish Cup in the near future.

Hockey

Led by Miss Lea and our excellent Student Coaches, Alexander Douglas and Josh McCullogh, our junior team have

literally gone from strength to strength, adding in extra conditioning sessions in addition to their regular on the field

training. A Scottish Inspire Hockey Cup run unfortunately ended prematurely for our seniors but with an excellent

coaching structure in place for next year we hope to see runs for both our juniors and seniors.

Netball

Another excellent season for another of Royal High’s most popular activities. Our S1’s continue to turn out in huge

numbers, we look forward to seeing these girls participate in next year’s Scottish Cup having built an excellent team

spirit this year. Both our S2 and Open Teams enjoyed fantastic cup runs, our S2’s losing in the Quarter Finals and our

Open Squad, after winning all their group matches, being knocked out by the eventual winners by only one goal in an

enthralling encounter. Our standout team of the year was our S3’s. Congratulations to all involved after their victory

in the Scottish Cup Bronze Final. A phenomenal achievement, a first national title in Netball for The Royal High, we are

very proud of this group of girls who are a credit to themselves and the school. Well done! We continue to enjoy great

club links with Barnton and Dunedin Netball Clubs through our coaches Joanne Campbell and Kay Farquhar, we’re

excited to see what next season brings.

Rugby

One of our core sporting programmes at The Royal High sees us classed as one of Scotland’s few Schools of Rugby.

Our Rugby Development Officer, school staff and a huge number of parents and former pupils continue to contribute

to make the programme unrivalled in the local area. Students wishing to commit to the programme are offered core

rugby sessions from S3 onwards, strength and conditioning and nutritional support as well as bi weekly on pitch

training sessions with our coaching staff. Next year is an exciting one as we will begin to benefit from additional

coaching and development support across the full school community. We once again fielded 5 boys age group teams

this year, in addition to supporting a number of standout girls who teamed with Liberton/Lismore to reach the Under

15 Scottish Shield Final. Congratulations. Thanks to all involved with Royal High Rugby and here’s to next year.

Swimming

A legacy of swimming at The Royal High continues with this year’s standout squad. Sending a number of Swimmers,

many training with local club Heart of Midlothian, to the Edinburgh and Scottish Schools Individual and Team

Championships is an excellent achievement, congratulations to all. A number of individuals have also progressed to

the Scottish National Age Group Championships after taking medals in the Scottish Schools Championships. Well done

to all our Royal High Traditional Swimming Award Winners, we look forward to your continued success next year.

Dance

The Royal High School offers an extensive programme led by Samantha Baigrie, with the support of Mr. Sneddon. It

culminates in three summer nights of fantastic dancing, showcasing the high number of pupils participating, and

coaching, throughout the year. Pupils, starting from Primary 1 in the local cluster primaries, can access a range of

classes and styles in a pathway programme catering for all abilities. The high number of pupils involved means a

programme which stretches into the evenings, further demonstrating the commitment and enthusiasm of those

involved at The Royal High School.

Additional Sporting and Activity Opportunities

In addition to the number of activities and sports in which pupils can compete for The Royal High we also have a

number of additional activities on offer to all pupils. From Gymnastics, to Skiing and Basketball we are also fortunate

to enjoy club links with Touch Down UK American Football, #3 Triathlon Club, Royal High Corstorphine Cricket Club,

City of Edinburgh Volleyball Club, Barnton Park Tennis Club and Murrayfield Table Tennis Club. The range of

opportunities on offer is a testament to all willing to participate and donate their time to coach and volunteer. Thank

you to all involved.

Student Coaches and Brian Winning Award

With so much on offer The Royal High School couldn’t support a programme as extensive without the commitment of

a number of excellent pupils who donate their time outside of their studies to pass on their sporting experiences. We

continue to value each pupil and celebrate each of their achievements at our yearly Wider Achievement Ceremony.

This session we introduced a Legacy Award, the Brian Winning Memorial Award for the Top Student Coach. This year

the accolade went deservedly to Eilidh Thores, congratulations.

Summer School of Sport

An addition to last year’s calendar and in partnership with local clubs Royal High Corstorphine Cricket Club, Edinburgh

Athletics Club and City of Edinburgh Volleyball Club, The Royal High School Summer School of Sport is open to all pupils

in S1. The programme offers a four-week opportunity for pupils to take part in specialised coaching in one of three

sports, before participating in a citywide or national end of term competition. The objective of the programme is to

introduce interested pupils to a sport they may not have experienced, hopefully igniting a passion that develops into

regular participation.

Sports Personality of the Year

As a finale to our Sporting Year at The Royal High we invite staff and parents to nominate individuals for our Sports

Personality of the Year. Pupils have the final say through a vote for both a junior and senior winner. All nominated

have achieved a high standard in their chosen sport in addition to displaying role model traits in their participation in

Physical Education. This year saw over 25 pupils nominated across both of Junior and Senior Categories, the results

were as follows;

Junior:

3rd Equal: Jennifer Riches- Squash, Lara McMahon- Ballet

2nd: Calum Smith- Boxing

1st: Holly Hixon- Gymnastics

Senior:

3rd: Lois Shiel- Netball

2nd: Cameron Wood- Climbing

1st: Dance World Cup Team- Aimee Harrison, Emma Kennedy, Rachel Docherty, Charlie Ashcroft & Natalie Pearce

Overall winners: The Dance World Cup Team

Twitter and Wider Achievement Ceremony

Each year we celebrate all Sporting Success at The Royal High Wider Achievement Ceremony. We thank all involved

for their support of the evening.

We also celebrated success throughout the year on our Royal High School and Active Schools Health and Well Being

Twitter account; @rhs_hwb

Yours in Sport,

Active Schools and Health and Well Being at The Royal High School

Parent Council

It has been another busy and challenging year for the Royal High Parent Council, working in partnership with parents,

staff, learners and the wider community.

The future model for the governance of education in Scotland has fallen under the spotlight this year. A Scottish

Government consultation sought views on whether current arrangements were fit for purpose. We were keen to

ensure that the voices of Royal High parents and carers were heard, and have supported a model which would see

more power to run schools rest with headteachers, who we believe know their school community best. Our full

response has been published by the Government and can be seen online at the school’s website. We note the

Government is expected to announce further details of plans from June 2017, so will watch with interest and continue

to represent the views of RHS parents and carers.

Following last session’s unexpected closure of parts of the school building, we were keen to ensure that the thoughts

of parents were reflected in John Cole’s review of the Edinburgh school closures. We welcome the frankness of John

Cole’s final report, and our full submission to his inquiry can again be seen on the school’s website.

A consultation also ran this year looking at the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s communities, this time for the Scottish

Parliament’s Culture, Europe & External Relations Committee. Some parents told us they were concerned about their

right to continue to live in Scotland on the basis of holding a non-UK EU passport, and the impact this might have on

their child’s education. We also heard concerns from parents of UK and non-UK citizens about the possible effect of

Brexit on further study and on potential funding issues for post-school education. Our evidence is published on the

Scottish Parliament’s and the school’s websites.

Aside from multiple consultations, we continued to represent parental views on the development of the curriculum

and supported the new model which had commenced in June 2016. Beyond the school gates, we have been active in

keeping road safety issues (particularly at the back gate on Queensferry Road) very much on the agenda of local

politicians. This has become our longest-running issue, and after much campaigning, we are still awaiting further

developments. In spring 2017, we wrote to make a number of suggestions as to how safety on-site could be improved,

and will continue to press for change. We also raised with the City Council matters relating to the budget for support

staff in school, and with a new administration being set up in the City, we ask all parents to keep a watching brief on

educational impacts ahead of next year’s Council budget.

Naturally, we’ve enjoyed working together with Mrs Walker in her third year here at RHS, and have continued to

collaborate on a range of ways to increase parental engagement at the school. In addition to the much-valued

communications via the school’s e-mail newsletters, our partnership with the school has included parental

representation in the appointments of senior staff at Curriculum Leader level upwards, including the appointment of

the school’s new Depute Rector.

We noted the challenge faced by the PSA in attempting to continue its role in fundraising for the school, and welcomed

the setting up of a group of parent fundraisers at the point where the former PSA disbanded. We invite members of

the new group to have representation at the Parent Council and will support them where we can.

During the year, we have continued to maintain relations with all of our local councillors, our MPs, and our MSPs, and

as we move into the new academic year, we’ll look to build relationships with our newly elected councillors and MPs.

We also link regularly with the city’s North West Locality Group, the cluster Primary Parent Councils, and the media.

The Royal High School Parent Council was quoted in stories on school building safety following the publication of John

Cole’s report, and on road safety. We maintain strong links with the RHS FPs, and I thank David Williamson (FP Chair)

for his continuing interest in issues which impact on RHS life.

Going into the new year, I would expect the Parent Council to focus on representing parental views on the

Government’s education review, and of course maintaining our campaigns regarding road safety and, I suspect, on

the education budget. We will also continue to work with the school on a range of matters. I would encourage all

parents and carers to keep in touch with us throughout the year, and to join us as a parent rep if you can. You can

find our details on the school’s website.

In closing, I would thank all our parent, staff and co-opted members this year for their time and commitment to the

Parent Council – every parent and carer on the Parent Council gives their time as a volunteer and it is hugely

appreciated. Thanks to Liz Leslie for her excellent work as Clerk this year. Special thanks to both Amanda McLeod

and Marie Sheerin, who have volunteered their time to the parental groups at the school for many years, and who

both leave our school community this summer with our very good wishes.

Luke McCullough

Chair, The Royal High School Parent Council

Royal High School (RHS) Events and Fundraising Committee During the last year the RHS Parent Staff Association (PSA) disbanded and became the Royal High School Events and

Fundraising Committee. The committee is part of the RHS Parent Council and we actively support parental

involvement in raising much needed income for our school.

In the last year we have raised approximately £3,500 and in collaboration with the staff at the RHS we have been able

to respond to their requests for purchasing items which have significantly helped the pupils, staff and the overall

school environment. It has also given us the opportunity to work with pupils and be involved in events that we may

not have had the opportunity to be part of. Fundraising efforts have resulted in buying much needed equipment for many departments in the school. This has

included multi-purpose mats for the PE department, new pans for the Home Economics department and CDT and Art

equipment to enhance activities in these subjects. The funds also supported facilitators coming into the school to

undertake German and Geography year group sessions and workshops. More recently our fundraising has allowed

outdoor furniture to be ordered to offer better use of outdoor space for the pupils. The committee meet approximately once a term at the RHS in the evening for at the most, two hours. This meeting

is supported by Pauline Walker, Head Teacher, who helps by advising us of upcoming events and

coordinating between us and the school, including with staff about the types of resources that would benefit their

departments. During the last year parents have helped by supporting events at the school by shopping (for water, juice, sweets and

ice-creams!), baking and selling tea and coffee and raffle tickets. We have run book and equipment

exchanges and we held a fundraising raffle for a new iPhone last Christmas which raised in excess of £1,400. You can contact us for further information via the RHS website www.royalhigh.edin.sch.uk (under the PSA – we are in

the process of updating the page) or directly to claredave@blueyonder.co.uk or sarahannejack@outlook.com