Top News Of The Year

Top News Of The Year Appointment of New Rector

Mrs. Hudson, who is currently the School’s Deputy Rector, will become the first-ever female Rector when she takes up the position in January 2020, following the retirement of present Rector Dr. John Halliday after 11 years of outstanding service at the helm. pupils and staff at the School since August 2018. These ranged from the School’s participation in Maggie’s Penguin Parade; money donated at school events such as the Autumn Concert, the Early Years-Nativity and the productions of Aladdin School’s striking WW1 Centenary Armistice display in November 2018.

After gaining an MA (Hons) in Medieval History from the University of St Andrews, followed by a PGCE from the University of Cambridge, Lise began her History teaching career at the High School in 1990. As a Principal Teacher of Guidance, she played a key part in the major development of the pastoral life of the School. She joined the School’s Senior Leadership team as Head of Guidance in 2008, before taking on her current role as Deputy Rector in 2016. Lise is passionate about the importance of pastoral care at the heart of the School’s Integrated Curriculum and developing the High School Family’s relationship with the wider community of the city of Dundee. She said, “I am honoured and privileged to have the opportunity to lead the School forward and to build partnerships across Dundee to improve outcomes for all the young people of the city and its environs.” Mrs. Hudson was appointed following an extensive and rigorous recruitment process which attracted high calibre candidates from

Phenomenal Fundraising Generates £35k For Charity!

The High School of Dundee managed to raise an amazing £35,000 for charity in school year 2018/2019. The staggering figure was the result of a huge variety of fundraising events and initiatives organised by

Jnr and Lord of the Flies as well as the sale of jute poppies from the across the UK. The HSD Wee Sleep Out, which saw the School receive an award for having raised the third largest amount in Scotland, also took place in the previous school year, as did a collection for Dundee Foodbank which resulted in the single largest donation the charity had ever received. As a consequence, a number of local and national charities received cheques from the School for various amounts, including MacMillan Cancer Care, Alzheimer Scotland, Feeling Strong, SSAFA the Armed Forces Charity, Poppy Scotland, Cancer Research UK, the ARCHIE Foundation, Dundee Disabled Children’s Association, Stonewall, Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, RNLI Broughty Ferry, and many more.

High School Pupils Design Mental Health Resources

Pupils at the High School of Dundee found creative ways to embrace the topic of Mental Health earlier this year.

As part of an Art & Design Department project on Health & Wellbeing, pupils in Form 2 created a series of documents, booklets and posters examining and providing guidance about issues such as body image, bullying, LGBTQ+, mindfulness and stress & anxiety. The materials that were produced for the project, which was supported by the School’s Guidance Team and Form 6 Wellbeing Happy Birthday To The Bash Street Kids! this year. In 1954, inspired by HSD children playing in the School’s adjacent playground, cartoonists at DC Thomson introduced the characters of Danny, Fatty, Plug, Sidney, Toots, Smiffy, Spotty, Wilfred and ‘Erbert to the world. Since then, the Beano’s band of mischievous school kids have gone on to find widespread fame, or infamy, as ‘the class every teacher dreads’! The School is very proud of its association with the comic strip characters and when STV visited to film a piece to celebrate the special anniversary, some of our current pupils were delighted to be part of it! Prefects, went on display at the School. A booklet featuring some of the artwork which the pupils created was also sold to raise funds for local charity, Feeling Strong. Founded by Brook Marshall, Feeling Strong’s goal is to make sure every young person in Dundee who has experienced a mental health challenge is supported to reach his or her full potential, by delivering services in the community that are co-produced with young people, delivered by young people and are for the benefit

High School of Dundee pupils helped the Bash Street Kids celebrate their 65th birthday back in February

of young people.

Pupils at the High School of Dundee embraced a series of engaging activities as part of a brand-new initiative aimed at developing and enhancing crucial life skills and values.

Towards the end of May, pupils in F1-F3 took part in the School’s first-ever Activities Week, a programme of events and experiences all linked to aspects of the School’s Core Values. As a result, the youngsters had the chance to participate in a huge range of on and off-site activities based around the themes of Resilience, Creativity, Kindness, Respect and Confidence. With the regular timetable cancelled for the week, the event saw pupils visit eight Care Homes and Nurseries across Dundee to provide entertainment and activities for elderly residents and

children respectively; visit the Scottish Deer Centre to explore some of the issues around respect for the environment and animal welfare; and further their knowledge of the history of Dundee with visits to key sites. Groups of F1 and F2 pupils travelled to Ardèche in France for an action-packed outdoor adventure week, whilst Switzerland was the destination for the geography field-trip. Closer to home, participants in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award scheme completed their final expedition at Loch Ordie; a group of pupils put their backs into gardening at an allotment; and more than 100 pupils contributed to conservation efforts after taking part in a beach clean up at Tentsmuir.

School Announces Appointment Of New Bursar

Earlier in the year, the School was delighted to appoint Claire MacDonald as its new Bursar. Claire is a Former Pupil from the Class of 1994 and was also Head Girl. After studying Law and Economics at Edinburgh, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, also in Edinburgh.

After a spell with RBS, Claire worked in several different company environments, including DC Thomson where she was Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis before moving to Trinity College Glenalmond where she was Director of Finance. Claire succeeded Jill Henderson who, after six years of outstanding service, left the School in May to take up a prestigious position in the commercial sector. Of her new role, Claire had said “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Bursar. The High School has played a huge part in my own life. It equipped me with invaluable skills, provided me with amazing experiences and gave me life-long friends. I am very much looking forward to both the challenge and the opportunity which this position offers.”