Highlights Autumn 2022 (Community)

Autumn Term 2022 Highlights

Welcome fromtheRector

As the front cover of Highlights portrays, the Senior School brought the joy of the Austrian Alps to Old Anniesland for a four-night run of the Rodgers & Hammerstein favourite, The Sound of Music. Hours of time were dedicated by pupils and staff in the cast, crew, chorus, band and backstage to make this a success. A huge well done to every single person involved.

Other moments of note this term include the 1st XV competing in the Boys’ Under 18 National Schools Shield Final at Murrayfield in December. Whilst narrowly missing out to St Aloysius’ College, the team played with confidence and flair. Looking ahead to 2023, we wish Maryam (S6) well as she heads to South Africa to compete for Scotland in the Women’s U19 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in January - a truly fantastic achievement.

It’s been a busy term at the Junior School with the much loved Junior 1 Nativity putting everyone in festive spirits. Junior 2 visited Barclays as part of their Enterprise topic and ran their very own zero waste ice cream business, ‘The High Scoop of Glasgow’. Junior 3 Shared their Learning from their Rainforests and Fairtrade topic with their families. Meanwhile, Outdoor Classroom Day had the whole of the Junior School away from their desks and outside for a fun-filled day of learning.

As a Digital Awards Scotland School, we were delighted to receive, as a whole school, the prestigious Digital Wellbeing Award from Digital Schools which recognises schools helping children to maximise their 21st century digital skills while remaining safe and responsible online.

We are firmly in the season of goodwill, but with Community as one of our core School values, giving back to local, national and international charities happens year-round at HSOG. This term has seen a range of charitable endeavours, including: the S6 sleep out for Social Bite, two House Fundraising Weeks, the Junior School Harvest Week food donation, Kindergarten fundraising for Children in Need, a partnership with the Volunteer Tutors Organisation and donations to the Heart of Scotstoun Comunity Centre.

I hope you enjoy reading Highlights, perhaps accompanied by a mince pie! On behalf of myself and everyone at The High School of Glasgow, we wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

John O’Neill Rector

School News

High School pupils have excelled across a number of academic and extra-curricular disciplines during the past few months, with the following stories acting as just a snapshot of many impressive achievements throughout the Autumn Term.

Malcolm Doolin Award

Third Year pupils were awarded a £500 prize for their winning entry into the 2021-2022 Western Front Association (WFA) Malcolm Doolin Memorial Award for local research into The Great War.

Sourcing information from the School’s Book of Service and Remembrance, war diaries from the National Archives and a number of historical online sources, pupils decided to display their learning by producing videos to tell the stories of some of the hundreds of former High School of Glasgow pupils who had fought so valiantly during World War I.

They clearly impressed the judging panel who praised our pupils for the originality, collaboration and clear communication exhibited through their video presentations, with the High School being one of only three winners of the top prize.

Read more about this award on our website.

Enterprising Maths Success

A team of four HSOG pupil mathematicians were runners up in the Enterprising Maths Final at the Glasgow Science Centre in November.

Having advanced from a challenging qualifying heat earlier in the session, the team came up against 52 other schools from across the country in the final organised by the Scottish Mathematical Council.

With dedicated lunchtime practice in the lead-up to the event and a monumental effort on the day, our pupils did brilliantly to finish as runners up, taking home a shield for their endeavours.

Congratulations to the team - Mehik, Amy (both S4), Landi and Rachel (both S3).

Malcolm Doolin Memorial Award

Dedicated Debaters

High School debating has been high on the agenda throughout the Autumn Term, with our young orators excelling in their field.

S4 pupils, Jake and Athena, participated brilliantly at the Young Speakers Scotland St Andrew’s Day Debate in Edinburgh, achieving 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in their events, a particularly impressive feat given it was their first debating competition.

The exciting event also saw Maddie of Sixth Year act as Chair for three debates throughout the day, while First Year pupils, Ali and Aveer, excellently took on the roles of pupil judges.

Elsewhere on the debating scene, following an application that saw him record an impassioned four minute speech, Landi (S3) was accepted into the Scottish Team Development Squad for debating. We wish him all the best for the rest of the year and look forward to following his progress!

Digital Wellbeing Award

The School received the prestigious Digital Wellbeing Award recently, recognising the work put towards helping children maximise their digital skills while remaining safe and responsible online.

Recognised by Education Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government’s Child Protection Unit and Police Scotland, this award acknowledges the increasing amount of time children spend online and the risks they face to their social and emotional wellbeing as a result.

A significant whole school effort has seen digital health and wellbeing embedded across both the Junior and Senior curriculum, with pupil advocacy and leadership encouraged via the Digi-Leads Committee in the Junior School where children play a key role in supporting and interacting with peers, and acting as mentors to promote digital wellbeing across the School.

The School has also been recommended by the external validator as a mentor school for the programme.

Enterprising Maths Final Team

Senior Debaters

Junior School Children with Digital Wellbeing Award

SQA Examination Results

2022 SQA Exam Highlights

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“Following two school years of disruption and uncertainty due to COVID-19, our young people and their teachers deserve rich congratulations on a set of excellent SQA results.

Given our open presentation policy at all levels, the results speak to the resilience and endeavour of our young people, the dedication and expertise of our teaching staff and the invaluable support of our school families. There is much to celebrate and take pride in.

Academic success is something The High School of Glasgow is synonymous with and we are proud of this fact. However, we are a school that offers so much more: just look at our rich extra-curricular activities and our achievements in the arts, music and sport. With that being said, a school is first and foremost a place to learn and these results show what a place of learning the High School really is.”

John O’Neill Rector

S6 Become Tutors for Local Children

17 Sixth Formers have given their time during the Autumn Term to help tutor local children. Senior pupils have been working with the Volunteer Tutors Organisation (VTO), gaining invaluable skills from their leadership programme before putting them to good use at local learning hubs, assisting children with their homework and helping them practise core skills such as reading and maths.

These hubs provide educational support to children and young people who need it most, helping to build confidence and allowing them to fulfil their potential, while the Glasgow-based VTO charity aims to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people who face significant social and economic barriers to their education.

Junior 3 Share the Learning!

J3 pupils have enjoyed an exciting Autumn Term learning about important global issues in their Rainforest and Fairtrade topic, and were even more excited to get to share their learning with their loved ones!

Having gained knowledge about the importance of rainforests and the global threat they are under, the significance of purchasing Fairtrade products and the help this then gives to farmers and workers across the planet, our young learners decided to invite parents and grandparents along to the Junior School to witness first-hand all they had learnt.

This included a dramatic performance that touched on the destruction of the rainforests, viewing pupils’ work on the topic and taking part in a series of fun activities, a great day for all involved!

The Sound of Music

Click any of the images below to read more about the show!

“Great performances by cast, crew,

Senior Musical Production - Senior School

outstanding production.

“An

Well done to everyone! Such Superstars!” crew, chorus & orchestra. Bravo!”

Christmas at HSOG!

It truly was the most wonderful time of the year as the High School injected a little more colour in the run-up to Christmas!

Having spent the last two festive periods in various states of lockdown, this year has been more exciting than ever, with all of our traditional seasonal events able to return.

From incredible Junior and Senior Christmas Concerts, our festive Christmas lunch feast and the sight of colourful and imaginative Christmas Jumpers, to fun-filled Christmas parties for each of our Junior School year groups and Christmas dances for various Senior School year groups, it has been an unforgettable last few weeks at HSOG!

As is tradition, the year came to an end with the Christmas Carol Service in the Senior School Assembly Hall, as we welcomed back the School community for a heartwarming Autumn Term finale. What a way to head into the holidays!

J1 Nativity

The Junior 1 Nativity performance took place on Tuesday 6th December, with parents and guests in attendance to witness the traditional story of the birth of Jesus.

This was the first ever production for most of the children, who did a fantastic job of recounting the tale of a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem.

It was also the first time we had been able to welcome guests to watch our Nativity in-person since 2019!

Our Junior 1 children did themselves proud, belting out festive songs and generally spreading festive cheer amongst the gathered School community!

Well done to everyone involved - from Junior School staff and J1 teachers, to our star performers and all the parents and guests who made the effort to attend - it truly was an unforgettable day at Ledcameroch Road!

We ho-ho-hope you all had a great time!

Sporting Success

High School pupils continue to excel in the sporting arena with successes this term across a number of sports including athletics, tennis, netball and rugby. We are also delighted to share news of a talented S6 cricketer who will soon be heading to South Africa to compete in the ICC U19 T20 Word Cup!

Schools’ Athletics Gold

High School athletes had a hugely successful day in the Scottish Schools’ Athletics Road Race Championships at Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline in October, achieving both team and individual medal success.

Particular congratulations go to the senior girls’ teamLizzie, Anna, Maria, Kirsty (all S6), Lara, Grace, Georgia (all S5) and Amy (S4) - who won team gold in a highly competitive field.

Elsewhere, the S2 boys - Finlay, Jamie, Colin, Conor and Adam - and S1 boys - Jamie, Harry, Rory, Finlay and Lucan - ran impressively to win team silver, while the S2 girls’ team - Emily, Luisa, Anna, Evelyn, Chloe, Amber, Rosie and Mimi - took home team bronze.

Rounding off the medals, Amy of S4 ran particularly well to win an individual bronze medal.

Game, Set and Match!

It has been a highly productive on-court session for the U15 boys’ tennis side, as they became Scottish and North Regional champions for 2022!

A semi final victory over The Glasgow Academy, followed by a hard fought final success over Hutchesons’ Grammar School saw them crowned Scottish champions in October.

The team then followed this up with victory at the North Regional Finals in Sunderland in November, defeating Cumbria’s Queen Elizabeth School and Altrincham Grammar School.

Competing in the LTA National Finals the following month in Bolton, the boys competed fantastically, eventually finishing the weekend in third position in the UK - a brilliant achievement!

Well done to the team - Ferdinand, Callum (both S5), Findlay (S4) and Tristan (S3).

Scottish Netball Cup

Three HSOG netball sides have performed admirably to reach the latter stages of the Scottish Netball Cup.

The S3 girls’ team enjoyed a fantastic run of form as they won their regional league in the Scottish Netball Cup, meaning that they have progressed to the knockout stages, taking place early next year.

Well done to the team - Aania, Beth, Amelia, Nicola, Mae, Rosie, Yasmin, Olivia, Anna and Jeanne.

The Senior and S2 teams followed in their footsteps, competing well as both ended their regional league season as runners up in the Scottish Cup. Both teams will move on to compete in the knockout stages of the Plate Competition.

Best of luck to all teams in the next rounds.

Maryam Heads to Cricket World Cup!

Sixth Year cricketer Maryam has been selected to represent Scotland at the inaugural ICC Women’s U19 T20 Cricket World Cup in Johannesburg next month.

Maryam, who represents Clydesdale and West of Scotland Cricket Clubs, is one of just fifteen players chosen to become the first Scottish female cricket team to ever participate in a World Cup, the culmination of a lot of hard work and endeavour on her part.

The tournament is made up of 16 teams split into groups of four, with Scotland featuring in group D alongside the hosts, South Africa, India and the UAE. The top three teams from each group will then progress to the Super Six round, which will consist of two groups of six, before the top two in each group contest the semi final and final in late January. The opening fixture will see the Scottish team come up against UAE on Saturday 14th January.

Maryam is heading to La Manga, Spain, for a pretournament training camp prior to Christmas before flying out to South Africa in early January for some warm up matches and the tournament itself.

We wish her and the team the very best over the course of the next few weeks. Good luck!

Rugby Shield Finalists

A heroic effort from the 1st XV rugby team saw them come up just short in the Boys’ National Schools Shield Final at BT Murrayfield in early December.

Having overcome Glenalmond College and Kelvinside Academy on their way to the Shield Final, the 1st XV side arrived in great spirits on a chilly evening in Edinburgh, ready to take on the side from St Aloysius’ College.

The team opened up an early lead against a strong St Aloysius’ side but were pegged back just before the break. The match continued to swing back and forth, with HSOG retaking the lead early in the second half before falling behind. They remained right in the game until the last few moments, but were unfortunately unable to get over the line, eventually ending up on the wrong end of a 30-22 scoreline.

Well done to all the boys on a valiant effort - we look forward to seeing how far they can go throughout the rest of the rugby season.

Sporting Round-Up

Senior swimmers enjoyed a fruitful day at the Glasgow Schools’ Swimming competition earlier in the term, with a total of 24 individual and 10 team/relay medals won throughout the day.

Congratulations to gold medalists Fergus (S6) (O16 100m Freestyle), Grace (S5) (U16 100m Freestyle, winning the Corporation of Glasgow Cup), Charlie (S2) (U14 50m Butterfly) and Chloe (S2) (U14 100m Freestyle & 50m Butterfly, winning the Daily Record Cup).

The team gold medalists were: U16 Girls’ Lifesaving - Nicola and Christina; U13 Boys’ Relay - Callum, Harry, Robbie and Lewis; U14 Girls’ Relay - Amelia, Louisa, Chloe and Brodie; U14 Boys’ Relay - Charlie, Peter, Conor and Theo (winning the Southside ASC Cup).

Fifth Year rugby player, Harry, was selected to participate for the Glasgow & The West and Glasgow Warriors U18 squads in October, impressing as he scored three tries throughout the series. Well done Harry!

The 1st XI hockey squad were runners up at the West District Senior Tournament in September, while the Junior 6 team shared the Carol Hamilton Cup with their opponents from The Glasgow Academy following eight evenly contested matches.

Our Primary and Junior skiing teams had an impressive day at the SSAA Autumn Dual Slalom competition in September. The Junior team finished first while the Primary team were runners up, with both going on to compete well at the national Dual Slalom Finals in November.

And Finally...

After accumulating an incredible 179 caps for Scotland over 14 years playing in the Senior Women’s squad, Senior School PE Teacher, Becky Bruce (née Ward) has retired from international hockey.

Becky has travelled the world with the Scottish team, featuring at countless EuroHockey tournaments and three Commonwealth Games, including Glasgow 2014, as well as Captaining the national team on many occasions.

Congratulations to Becky on a tremendous Scotland career!

Thanksgiving & Commemoration

The High School community made a welcome return to Glasgow Cathedral on Thursday 22nd September, the first time that we had been able to fully gather together for the annual Commemoration and Thanksgiving Service since 2019. This poignant ceremony was the perfect way to celebrate the School’s illustrious history and give thanks.

Giving Back

We are proud to be able to give back to the community in which we live. This term, across our Junior and Senior Schools, fundraising activities have helped to raise nearly £14,000 for life-changing charities and incredibly worthy causes.

Fundraising Weeks

Moore and Law Houses got the ball rolling on fundraising for 2022-23, with each house hosting unforgettable fundraising weeks during the Autumn Term.

Moore House were up first, hosting the inaugural fundraising week of the session back in October. Led by Moore Captains, Divyakshi and Toby, alongside Head of House, Mr Leggat, and assistant, Mrs Elsby, a series of Hallowe’en themed charitable events helped to raise the incredible sum of £3,490 for the charity, Rebecca Rocks.

Pupils relished getting involved in a fantastic week of events including HSOG Carpool Karaoke, the Moore Munch and the High School’s first ever Haunted House! Click here to read more about their week.

Law House followed at the start of December, transforming HSOG into a winter wonderland and raising £3,015 for The Scottish Cot Death Trust. Law Captains, Eilidh and Duncan, along with their peers, organised a Christmas market, Soak-the-Sixth-Years, a hilarious teacher-led edition of ‘Through the Keyhole’ as the House Show and much more, spreading festive cheer across the Senior School.

Thanks to Head of Law House, Mrs Peek, and assitant, Mr MacGregor, for all their support in making it a success! Read more by clicking here.

Mini-Marathon

To coincide with the belated London Marathon, the Junior School ran their very own TCS Mini Marathon towards the end of September.

Just ahead of the main event in London, each Junior School year group took it in turn to make their way around a circuit in the local area as they helped to raise money for East Dunbartonshire foodbank.

Great job everyone!

A number of pupils and staff members grabbed their sleeping bags, put on their thermals and braved the cold in early December for the S6 Sleep Out, raising money for Social Bite. They kept spirits high at the Senior School as their efforts helped to raise more than £1,850 for the wonderful Scottish charity, Social Bite, who fundraise in the attempt to end homelessness.

Junior School Harvest Week

There was an incredible response from the School community in October for the Junior School’s annual Harvest Week appeal.

After some trips to the supermarket and a rummaging of cupboards, our pupils were delighted to be able to donate a large number of harvest boxes containing food, toiletries and other essential items to appreciative local charities including the Salvation Army’s William Hunter House, a short term housing support service for adults experiencing homelessness in Glasgow, Focal Point Day Care Centre in Drumchapel and East Dunbartonshire Foodbank.

Children in Need

Our Kindergarten helped raise £1,269 for Children in Need.

Thank you to all High School families who supported our littlest learners as they embarked on a sponsored walk and decorated Pudsey biscuits to help raise this great total for those in need!

What an effort!

HSOG Community

Our Annual Fund has now been running for nearly a decade, raising over £1.4m during this time and having a transformative impact on the lives of High School pupils.

The 2022/23 Annual Fund appeal launched this September and, so far, 114 donors have contributed funds in support of bursaries and wider School projects, as well as our efforts to add a new electric minibus to our fleet of vehicles.

Central to the School’s vision is the ability to provide bursaries to deserving young people so that they may access the best education possible. At the moment, 61 Senior School pupils are receiving financial support, 16 of whom are receiving 100% bursaries. We have been humbled, year on year, by the generosity and kindness of our community.

If you would like to find out further information about our Annual Fund, or are interested in making a donation, please visit our community website: www.hsogcommunity.co.uk/support/annual-fund

We were delighted to be in the company of Chief Commercial Officer for Arnold Clark and former pupil, John Clark (Class of 1991), in early December, who spoke with our community at the HSOG Business Breakfast.

John delivered a highly informative talk about his career to date, with current and former parents, and fascinated Fifth and Sixth Year pupils learning about both the history and future plans of Arnold Clark.

There was a feast of festive fun taking place at the recent Elmbank Coffee Morning!

A number of former pupils from throughout the years had a very welcome catchup prior to Christmas, gathering at the Senior School to enjoy each other’s company while tucking into some delicious mince pies!

Sixth

Our Term in Pictures

An

Junior

Junior 2 pupils had great fun as they visited the new Barclays campus in Glasgow. They were asked about the zero waste ice cream company they had set up, The High Scoop of Glasgow, before writing about their future career dreams and how they would make the world a better place. They posted these into a box and will open them up in Junior 6!

5 participated in their first School rugby matches in November, with ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams in action against their counterparts from The Glasgow Academy. This was a memorable occasion and great preparation for our young pupils before making the step up to regular weekend fixtures.

Year pupils Sadiq and Molly, who volunteer for St Andrew’s Ambulance First Aid, ran a CPR workshop to mark World Restart a Heart Day in October, helping to show younger pupils how to safely administer CPR and use a defibrillator.

Sixth Year pupils, Divyakshi and Campbell, attended Fuel Change Live in Edinburgh, an event which brought together business leaders, MSPs and 30 Scottish Schools to collaborate and educate on real-world issues in the area of sustainability.

unforgettable and fun-filled Autumn Term at Old Anniesland and Ledcameroch Road.

Meet this session’s Health and Wellbeing reps, Kiera and Lucas (both S6). Amongst a number of duties they carry out to ensure the wellbeing of Senior School pupils, our reps run the weekly Peer Hub in the Wellbeing Room, allowing pupils a place to unwind, grab a hot chocolate and have a chat.

Lucky HSOG pupils had the chance to be part of the ball team at the Billie Jean King Cup at the Emirates Arena in November. What an experience!

Some ‘spook-tacular’ costumes were on show at the Transitus Hallowe’en Disco in early November!

Our budding horticulturists at the Junior School returned in August following the summer break, excited to see how their sweetcorn, tomatoes, sunflowers and pumpkins were doing after soaking up the summer rays!

The Senior School received a ‘glow up’ this term, with new wall displays adorning a number of corridors!

Junior School pupils love having the chance to be out and about in the great outdoors. They had great fun playing and learning amongst the beautiful autumnal foliage as part of Outdoor Classroom Day in November.

Advanced Higher Biologists took the boat to Millport early in the Autumn Term, carrying out investigative work and discovering a diversity of sea creatures as part of an unforgettable field trip.

Transitus S were one of four classes to host cake and candy sales throughout the term, helping to add vital funds to the School’s annual festive fundraising drive for East Park. Great job Transitus!

Junior 1 pupils showed off their incredible powers of learning as they took on a ‘superheroes’ class topic, learning all about people who help them.

A number of our talented young singers have been performing with the RSNO this term.

Scarlet, Tessa (both S5), Alannah (S3), Ollie (S2) and Scott (S1) sang in performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the RSNO Youth Chorus at Usher Hall and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

More recently, Scarlet, Tessa, Alannah, Ollie and Scott, alongside David (S5), Landi (S3) and Abigail (Transitus), returned to the Royal Concert Hall to take part in the RSNO Christmas Concert featuring The Snowman, accompanied by a live orchestra - a real Christmas treat!

We remembered the nearly 700 former High School pupils killed during World War I and World War II on Friday 11th November, with some members of S6 travelling to London to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph.

The Junior School Eco Committee have been doing some important work throughout the Autumn Term.

They were delighted to welcome Director of Estates and Deputy Bursar, Mrs Anne Bell, to discuss sustainability developments and targets, as well as sharing advice on the writing of the School’s sustainability charter.

A very productive morning at Ledcameroch Road!

In spite of it being

The Captain’s Committee for session 2022-23 were welcomed back in August. The Committee consists of School Captains, Maria and Ritvik, Bannerman House Captains, Molly and Aaron, Clyde House Captains, Elizabeth and Ben, Law House Captains, Eilidh and Duncan, and Moore House Captains, Divyakshi and Toby.

chilly outside, Junior 2 pupils relished the chance to host their zero waste ice cream cafe, The High Scoop of Glasgow. They dished out delicious treats to hungry pupils and members of Junior School staff!

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