Amazing Achievements

Lord of the Flies

In June, during the last week of the summer term, there was no rest for a dedicated and talented band of actors who presented Nigel William’s adaptation of William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies for four performances in Trinity Hall.

The dual casting by director Mrs. Lindsay Drummond allowed many of the young actors to experience a variety of roles. The cast brought to life the savage side of human nature as envisaged by Golding in 1954 and transported the audience to the island where they experienced the brutality of man’s internal struggle between good and evil. Audiences were enthusiastic in their praise for the production. As the director said “we have a fascination of wanting to see how people react when stripped of their familiar surroundings, family, freedom and basic human needs. Was Lord of the Flies a precursor for I’m A Celebrity, Castaway and, heaven forbid, Love Island?!”

Aladdin Jnr

For this year’s Junior Musical, the appreciative audience in the Gardyne Theatre were transported to the land of Agrabah, where Aladdin attempted to win the heart of Princess Jasmine.

Over 120 L6 and L7 pupils took part after months of preparation and rehearsal, carefully nurtured and guided by Shona Fish, Shona Morgan and Helen Brian. Their talents and enthusiasm shone from the stage across four evening performances. The colourful production was an entertaining mix of songs, laughter and adventure as Aladdin and his sidekicks took on the evil Jafar. And of course, the magic of the Genie was always there to get them out of sticky situations! As always, the production was an amazing team effort, with staff and pupils from Junior and Senior years working together to ensure the four evenings ran smoothly and already plans are underway for the next musical in 2021.

Ethan McColgan, now F5 (S5), gained the highest, or joint highest, score in the country in this year’s National 5 exams for Maths, English, History, French and Economics. Ethan’s remarkable 5-star feat came courtesy of perfect scores of 100% in four of those subjects – Maths, English, History and French – and 96% in the other, Economics, in which he shared the top mark in the land with fellow HSD pupil Lewis McLennan. Incredibly, with 97%, Ethan was also just one mark off the nation’s top score in Physics, and in the process of recording another overall score of 97% in Chemistry, he actually achieved full marks in the exam. The 16-year-old also recorded a score of 91% in Biology to complete a clean sweep of eight grade A band 1 passes at an average of 97.6%. Ethan wasn’t the only High School of Dundee pupil to achieve the top, or joint top mark in the country at National 5 level, with David Logan, Jenny Shang and Archie Gilmour also sharing that distinction in Maths, and Steven Chen in Mandarin, courtesy of 100% scores. Golfer Excels In Ryder Cup Star’s Event

A budding young golfer from the High School of Dundee demonstrated his birdie-making prowess in front of none other than former Ryder Cup Captain, Paul McGinley.

Harris Landsburgh came 2nd out of 100 competitors in the U14 category at the 7th annual Paul McGinley Junior Cup at Quinta Do Lago in August. The F2 pupil, who is a member at Panmure Golf Club, excelled over the course of the two-day Stableford event, posting scores of 44 and 48 points to seal the runners-up spot and earn congratulations from the man who skippered Europe to victory over the United States at Gleneagles in 2014. Harris’s success at Quinta Do Lago came hot on the heels of another impressive display at the Pinherios Altos Junior Open,

HSD Pupil Scores Top Mark In Scotland In Five Separate Subjects

A High School of Dundee pupil has recorded the top mark in Scotland in five separate SQA subjects.

where he finished in 2nd place in the U18 contest.

High School Pupil Awarded Sought-after Scholarship

Lewis Byers (then F5) engineered a fantastic opportunity for himself after picking up a much sought-after scholarship.

He was one of only 30 pupils in Scotland to have been selected to receive an Arkwright Scholarship, a prestigious award which aims to inspire and nurture high-calibre school-age students to be the UK’s future leaders of the Engineering Profession. As a result, Lewis received guidance and real world, industry insight from a mentor who works in the Mechanical Engineering sector, which Lewis is hoping to pursue a career in, as well as £600 over two years to assist with his development as an engineer. He was awarded the scholarship after coming through a rigorous selection process which began whilst he was in F4 and included a detailed application, a problem-solving aptitude test and finally a panel interview at Heriot Watt University. This marks the fourth year in succession that a pupil from the High School has won an Arkwright Scholarship.

Pipers Compete In World Championships

The High School of Dundee Pipe Band rounded off the competition season in style – with a top 10 finish at the World Pipe Band Championships!

In what was the School’s debut appearance at the event, and only the third-ever major championship the Pipe Band has competed in, the HSD pipers finished 8th out of 21 bands in the Novice Juvenile B category at Glasgow Green in August. With pupil, Pipe Major Robbie Coupar, leading, the youngsters excelled as they went up against groups from all over Scotland, as well as from the United States and Canada. More than 30,000 people attended the championships over two days, with around 8,000 pipers and drummers from 195 bands from all over the world performing.

Curler Represents Scotland In International Tournament

A talented High School of Dundee curler helped to sweep her country to an impressive finish in an international tournament in April this year.

Alex Mackintosh (then F6) flew out to Sweden to represent a 4-strong Scotland squad in the Nordic Junior Curling Tour Under 21s Mixed Doubles competition, which took place in Sundbyberg.

Competing as the ‘Scotland 2’ team, Alex and her partner Jack Carrick successfully negotiated a tough group featuring Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Hungary and Denmark to earn a spot in the knockout stages. As well as finishing as quarter-finalists, the duo enjoyed the distinction of having been the only team to have defeated the eventual winners, Canada. The pair qualified for the event by finishing in third place at the first-ever Scottish under-17s mixed doubles competition, which took place at Murrayfield in March. In addition to being a member of Letham Grange Curling Club and Forfar Young Curlers, Alex is also a member of the Scottish Curling Academy, a Scottish curling-supported programme for elite podium potential athletes.