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The School Today
Amazing Achievements
Top marks in Scotland for High School pupils
Life in the fast lane suiting Sandy!
High School of Dundee pupils recorded the top marks in Scotland in six subjects and scored 100% not once, but five times in the 2016 SQA exams. Leading the way by virtue of an incredible scientific double was F6 pupil Alex Smith, who recorded the top mark in Scotland not only in Higher Biology, but also in Higher Chemistry. For Alex, who was presented with awards for both subjects at the Science in Parliament day in Edinburgh in November, the amazing accomplishment was a perfect way to round off a set of results composed of five straight Band 1 A grades, the lowest of which was passed at 96%. Also achieving the highest mark in the country was Ciara Mitchell (pictured p.9), who gained the honour in Advanced Higher Modern Studies. Ciara, who has just begun a degree in Social Policy and Sociology at the London School of Economics will be presented with a trophy from the Modern Studies Educational Trust by Professor John Curtice at an awards ceremony at Strathclyde University in November.
At Donington in October 2016, Sandy Mitchell (F5) motored his way to his second victory in the 2016 British GT Championship. In winning the final race of the season, Sandy and his Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse team-mate Ciaran Haggerty secured an impressive third place overall in the GT4 series and second place in the Silver Cup.
Meanwhile, another three High School pupils also achieved the top marks in the land in 2016 by virtue of scoring 100% in a total of five subjects, including Higher Maths!
Sandy, who made history by becoming the youngest driver ever to compete in British GT, and the youngest-ever winner of a GT Championship race (at Snetterton in August), said, “It’s amazing. Two wins in the final two weekends is a fantastic way to sign off – it doesn’t get too much better than that!”
Thanks to their outstanding efforts across a range of National 5 and Higher subjects, Caitlin Mitchell (F5), Ivan Kapelyukh (F6) and Alice Raitt (F5) were delighted to become part of a tiny minority of pupils to gain full marks in national exams this year (pictured above).
Having been selected for the two-driver Ecurie Ecosse team – whose past drivers have included Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Sir Stirling Moss and David Coulthard – Sandy enjoyed the privilege of putting his foot to the floor of the new McLaren 570S car throughout the season.
