Minerva 2021

The Magazine for the Kelvinside Academy Community January - December 2021

Refurbished Junior School

Rights Respecting Schools Award

‘Wizzy’ - New School Mascot Minerva

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Welcome from the Rector I extend a warm welcome to all the readers of this Spring edition of Minerva in 2022.

I hope that you will enjoy the updates and stories from across both the School itself and our wider Academicals family connecting with the various ages, stages, groups and activities that make the Kelvinside Academy community all that it is.

Public Health With superb levels of vaccination in the UK, public health is stabilising and I am positive that we are moving into the endemic phase of COVID-19 now. Protections or restrictions, however you view mitigations, are easing and we will see the “new-normal” emerge. For the majority of KA children and young people, the past two years will feel like a lifetime. In a recent chat with the school captains, we discussed the resumption of school assemblies after almost

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six whole terms without in person collective gatherings. Our online and remote assemblies and Christmas services have been adaptive and filled a void, but certainly could not replace the cultural gift of gathering together and sharing experiences and thoughts. I was delighted with our Captains’ excited responses and their thought of leading the school as role models and thought leaders once again. Adjacent to their response, I am delighted to be able to speak at our Academical Dinner on Friday 25 March, which will be the largest gathering of former pupils ever seen at an Academical Dinner, a sell-out of over 250 people which is wonderful. Connection, Conversation and Community returning and possibly improving with our enhanced perspective of what is important and valuable.

This edition of Minerva offers some examples of pupil work, giving insight into the School’s core business and the progress our pupils are making. I want to pay tribute to all pupils from our youngest Nursery starts to our recent

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School Leavers, the Classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021. All have experienced disruption to their ti me in school and I celebrate their resilience, their positive approach of making the best of what school was able to off er and doing everything they could to “Be the Best you Can Be.” Leading Kelvinside Academy through the pandemic has been challenging and I want to thank and congratulate our superb staff .

From the early, pre-vaccine days, the courage and commitment shown by staff to care and educate children in-person despite risks to health and wellbeing was an outstanding response, our adaptions and delivery of lessons with face coverings, non-stop cleansing of desks, chairs and equipment, and the balance of freezing winter air and the requirement of well-ventilated classrooms. I thank our collective staff from operations and facilities staff to teachers, middle leaders and our Senior Leadership Team for their outstanding service to the School.

Blah Blah Blah COP26 was a fortnight when much of the world looked to Glasgow and our pupils marched on the Youth Empowerment March for Climate Justice. We were able to host the first meeting of the Afro-Interamerican Forum on Climate Change as a result of our partnership with NuVu and their connections to MIT who sponsored the group. Many pupils provided thoughtful and passionate work based around sustainability and climate change and it is important that we continue to look at Green Skills and the importance of the Green Economy. We will continue to develop our Green credentials and look to set good examples to pupils in upskilling them for a Greener future. A third of our school now come to school by bus and we are keen to promote a positive environmental impact in our community. If there are members of the school community with links to renewable energy and recycling I would be very happy to hear from them about ways in which we can improve and I am grateful to Governors and parents who have been in touch with me about the importance of our environmental responsibility.

Good Humans In previous Minerva magazine welcomes, I have written about the importance of the Arts and Sport and our CCF. I passionately believe in our holistic approach to education and the importance of human skills to prepare young people to make positive changes in their world. I am delighted with the progress we are making at Kelvinside Academy with our Rights Respecting approach. We are currently Bronze Award holders, but are close to achieving our Silver Award this year as it fits perfectly with our ethos to help families educate their children with good values and the skills to be good human beings. Agents for good and positive change in the world, as I’m often heard to say.

As we embrace greater freedoms this year, we will resume activities such as our Outdoor Education Trips, educational visits and larger group activities. Our Co-Curricular offering is very important in providing the vehicles to develop character and skills in all our journeys. I hope that our wide curriculum and co-curricular activities together help to produce school leavers who know the value and importance of hard work, who can work together in teams in a variety of contexts, who can regulate their emotions and react appropriately and empathetically to others and importantly are kind, caring and trustworthy. I am very proud of our School family and recognise the privilege and special ti me we enjoy, despite the global challenges of our time.

Enjoy Minerva!

Take good care all,

Daniel J Wyatt BA (Ed) Hons Rector

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A SHINY NEW INSPIRING

PLACE TO LEARN ● ●

We looked to Scandinavia for inspiration for our classroom revamp Rows and rows of tables are out. Bleacher seating and mobile teaching units are in

In April 2021, during the period when pupils and teachers were at home, we experienced a disastrous flood when much of the Junior School was under a foot of water. At the time the damage and loss were quite overwhelming, but it presented a huge opportunity.

During remote learning, we had to overhaul working practises and our experiences have prompted us to overhaul our classrooms.

The new Junior School classrooms take inspiration from the Scandinavian school model, which is pupil orientated and encourages collaboration.

The fully-flexible spaces feature bleacher seating, mobile teaching stations and whiteboard tables.

Reflection pods, where pupils can absorb what they’ve learned before they move on, have also been installed in each classroom.

Mrs Clare Sweeney, Head of Junior School, had a chance to reflect as the School stood empty for many months over the course of the last year.

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“The last year has been hugely challenging, but it’s also a global pattern interrupt. Everyone has had the opportunity to ask if what they were doing before was really creating the best possible outcome.

“We realised that if we want to teach our children to collaborate, challenge and follow their own curiosity, we have to start with the classroom.

Classrooms haven’t really changed since the Victorian era. They are typically set-up for rows and rows of children to sit and listen to a teacher. This teaches them to be compliant.

“We want them to flourish in every part of life. If your child was to visit a school in Finland or Sweden, their experience would be radically different because of their strong pedagogical approach, which focuses on play and relationships, and allows for learning to take place through their interaction with each other. That’s key to our philosophy at Kelvinside Academy.”

The classrooms are completely flexible. Children

are encouraged to learn where they’re most comfortable - whether it’s on the floor with laptop trays or on bleacher seating.

Mr Daniel Wyatt, Rector, added: “The transformation of our classrooms sends yet another message to our pupils, parents and teachers that we aren’t going to do anything just because it’s the way it’s always been done.

“We will take big leaps to make sure that pupils at our school receive the best possible education. Primary pupils at our school have a huge opportunity to learn not just in these incredible new classrooms, but also outdoors and in our Innovation School.

By giving our pupils the opportunity to experience these different, unique environments, we hope to protect the wonder and curiosity that children all too often lose during school.”

And the pupils absolutely love their new classrooms…

‘Really, really cool’ Annika J4 ‘A burst of colour, just amazing’ Heidi J5 ‘The white board tables are very cool.

You can actually write down notes on them!’ Alasdair J6 ‘It looks so different. Is it even our classroom anymore?’ - Finn J6 ‘Wow. There is a wee sitting quiet sitting area and that’s my absolute favourite place to learn’ - Annette J5

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Rights Respecting

Schools Award On 16 March 2021 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Bill passed unanimously in the Scottish Parliament, meaning it will be incorporated within Scots Law. To mark this monumental occasion, Kelvinside Academy embarked upon the journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School.

2. Equity. There are the same rules for all pupils which frees them up to focus on engaging with the full school experience: academic, social and extracurricular. By communicating clear expectations around uniform for our pupils, we remove material and social pressures around appearance, allowing them to focus on participating in school life instead.

We have committed to the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Awards (RRSA), which is about more than achieving specific criteria: it is about embedding a rights-based approach into all aspects of school life.

3. Removing gender-based expectations. We have agreed on a Trouser Uniform and a Skirt Uniform; pupils should wear the uniform they feel most comfortable in. Gender expectations have been removed from appearance rules, including hair length, jewellery and make-up.

This means that in order for RRSA to be successful, there has to be engagement from the whole school community: staff, pupils, parents and governors.

Before Summer, we mobilised a Staff Steering Group, consulted pupils on key developments and informed all stakeholders of our plans.

Our most significant achievement to date is the review of our Uniform Policy, during which a range of pupils, staff and parents participated in focus groups and surveys to share their thoughts on how we could ensure our uniform respected the rights of all pupils. We created our revised policy based on three key principles: 1. School Identity. Kelvinside Academy pupils are clearly identifiable in the School community and beyond on account of our uniform. This collective identity goes beyond pupil security to the creation of a school ethos. We are thrilled when our pupils take pride in their uniform.

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The resulting Uniform Policy enshrines the principles of UNCRC Article 2 (non-discrimination): “The Convention applies to every child without discrimination, whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status, whatever they think or say, whatever their family background.”

We were delighted to be awarded the Bronze Rights Respecting School Award at the beginning of September, which shows that we are Rights Committed. As we move towards the Silver Award we are extending our work and knowledge around rights-based education to create a school ethos that is Rights Aware.

We’ll share postcards from our journey along the way.

Ms Deborah Gallacher - Deputy Rector

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INTRODUCING

WIZZY What is a suitable name for a giant owl dressed in a Kelvinside Academy uniform? That was the question posed to our Nursery and Junior School pupils when we introduced them to our new school mascot.

Wizzy’s outstretched wings highlight the ten attributes that we look to develop in KA pupils: Resilient, Collaborator, Flexible Thinker, Creator, Empathic, Confident, Communicator, Globally Minded, Problem Solver and Moral.

Our School figurehead is Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, who is often depicted with her sacred ‘Owl of Minerva’. This is where Florence Lang (J6) took her inspiration when she suggested the name ‘Wizzy’.

KA Parent Mrs Vicky Simpson and her design company helped design Wizzy and have been bringing him to life on our digital platforms. Thanks also to Stevensons for the largest school blazer they have ever made!

With his lighting style plumage, Wizzy has been making friends throughout the School, coming out to offer support on first day of term, Open Day and helping J1 raid the KA apple trees. He is looking forward to visiting Balgray for some cheerleading fun in the near future.

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Once again, the majority of our pupils missed out on a Prize Giving event at the end of the 2020/21 Session due to covid restrictions. Junior School pupils enjoyed a Prize Giving gathering in our playground marquee which was live streamed to parents. This was followed in the afternoon by a S6 Prize Giving event which parents were able to join via a live Facebook stream.

Many congratulations to all prize recipients. Here is a round up of winners and some S6 memories of the day.

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Senior School Senior Prep

Art - Flynn Gilmour-Sweeney, Girls’ Athletics Champion - Holly Rowbotham, Boys’ Athletics Champion - Roderick McCall Smith, Drama Lucas Arnot, English - Brodie Webster, French & Mathematics - Tom Sproule, Geography - Beth Scrimgeour, History - Fraser Kingsley, Music Eloise Cross, NuVu Innovation - Kiran Basu, RMPS - Tee-J Mwenebungu, Science - Leila Murphy, Spanish & Junior Chess Cup - Ashley Tandon, SP Cup for Progress - Emily Christie, Class Prizes for Effort, Progress & Achievement - Milly Hailstone, Daniella Robertson, Lula Neilson, Talvin Jhund, James Walker, William Paling.

Academic Excellence - Charlie Rigg MacInnes

S1 Art & Mathematics - Shaan Suvarna, Boys’ Athletics Champion - Arran Hinshelwood, Girls’ Athletics Champion - Katie Reid, Drama - Zackary Crone, English - Louisa Sheridan, Enterprise Lucia Milne, French - Edie Guest, Geography & Science - Lucia Bruce, Modern Studies - Finlay Barr, Music - Thomas Harford-Cross, RMPS Isla Church, Spanish - Stella Cousins, History &

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The Sonny Kiernan Memorial Cup for Effort and Improvement in S1 Games - Laura Bobescu, Class Prizes for Effort, Progress and Achievement Andrew McEwan, Daud Ahmad, Sophie Moyes, Grace Wright, Sebastian Millar, Jessica Marsh.

Academic Excellence - Daniela Garcia Herreros

S2 Art - Jessica Zhu, Girls’ Athletics Champion & Bottomley Handball Trophy - Freya Murty, Biology & Modern Studies - Hayley Kessie, Chemistry Asheer Rizvi, Computing - Matixa Maplethorpe, Drama - Corrie Eccles Boyd, English, Physics & RMPS - Laila Almansoori, Enterprise - Milana De Barros, - French & Boys’ Athletics Champion - Logan Scrimgeour, Geography - Isla Rennie.

History - Aaliah Ahmed, Mathematics - Aryan Munshi, Music - Reaiah Mohit, Spanish - Emma Rigby, Class Prizes for Effort, Progress and Achievement - Teri-Mae Kilbride, Isla McMaster, Stuart Allam, Zoe Robertson, Izzy McKenzie, Erin Bratt.

Academic Excellence - Morgan James

S3 Art - Lola Chastin Saunders, Boys’ Athletics Champion - Lucas Codona, Girls’ Athletics Champion - Louise Kemp, Biology - Sophie Sproule, Business Management - Luigi Cipriano, Chemistry & Spanish - Yahya Cathcart, Computing Studies - Eilidh McLaren, Drama Amie McMurray, English - Manal Mohammad, French - Zahra Munir, Geography & Physics - Libby Armstrong, History - Sophie Cadamy, Mathematics - Nathan Sen, Modern Studies James Ross, Music Technology - Joshua Teo-Winter, Music - Priya Dhillon, NuVu Innovation - Lewis Rennie, McCulloch Senior Chess - Angel Orioha,

Class Prizes for Effort, Progress and Achievement Aideen McAuslane, Orla Kincaid, Amal Jillani, Erin Church, Alasdair MacPherson, Roman Dickinson.

Academic Excellence - Ben Faulkner

S4 Art - Jack McBride, Boys’ Athletics Champion - Gilli Jones, Girls’ Athletics Champion - Gabby McKenzie, Biology & Geography - Fiona Harris, Business Management & NuVu Innovation - Finlay Speirs, Chemistry - Jack Wilson, Computing Studies, Physics & RA Keith Cricket Cup - Gordon Bratt, Drama - Jenny Martin, English - Harry Kerr, French - Samuel Garcia Herreros, History & Mathematics - Harith Javid, Modern Studies

- Odera Onyekwere, Music Technology - Harris Buchanan, Music - Anna Craig, Spanish - Prithika Selvendran, Class Prize & Billington/Ul Haq Cricket Cup - Aaron Joseph, Class Prizes for Effort, Progress and Achievement - Emma Campbell, Morven McKendrick, Tommy Dempster, Adam Cargill, Izzie Cooke.

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S5 Art - Charlotte Reid, Biology - Christie Burns, Business Management & Economics - Daisy Drew, Chemistry - Skye Stuart, Computing Studies Jason Chen, Drama - Alice Ptolomey, English Taylor Browning, French, Mathematics & Physics - Evie Smith, Geography - Cerys James, History - Lachlan Philbey, Modern Studies & Sinclair Fine Art Prize - Nico Rigg MacInnes, Music & Davidson Music Cup - Hannah Burnett-Godfree, McDougal

Quaich for Music - Rachel Gray, NuVu Innovation Rebecca Sloan, Spanish - Molly McKenzie, Lindsay Cup for 1st XI Captain Elect - Emma Williams, Class Prize & KA Shooting Trophy - Elizabeth Stewart, Class Prizes for Effort, Progress and Achievement - Eliza Aman, Isla Bottomley, Ben Taylor. Murray Leven, Sophie McNeil.

Academic Excellence - Mia Cousins.

S6 Art - Ushna Waseem, Biology & Physics Matthew Webb, Chemistry - Amanda Reid, Drama - Ana Martin, English - Joseph Sen, French & History - Evi Brachimi, Mathematics - Kai Ye, Maths of Mechanics - Nicholas Chew, Modern Studies & Spanish - Ciara McGoldrick, PE - Aimee McAlinden, - Photography - Sara Schofield, RMPS - Kirsty Scott, Class Prize for Effort, Progress and Achievement - Duncan Munn, Samir Trache, Kenzie Stewart, Brady Drawing & Painting Prize - Georgia Schmolke, Galloway Cup for Community Service - Poppy Graham, Warden Cup for Citizenship - Emma Neary, Mearns Plate

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for Services to Shooting - Cara Cook-Rankin, S6 Music & Ramsay Cup for contribution to Expressive Arts - Sophia Green, Rector’s Vice Captain Prizes - Daisy Metelli-Smith, Georgia Schmolke, Kai Ye, Amanda Reid, Ethan Wilson, S6 Computing & Muir McLachlan Prize & Cup for Leadership - Lewis Carmichael, S6 Geography & Rushforth Prize & Cup for Leadership - Olivia Carroll.

Proxime Accessit - Evi Brachimi Dux - Kai Ye.

Junior School (J4-J6) J4 Academic Achievement Prize & Music Prize Andrea Bizzi, Overall Achievement Prize - Luciana Davis, Progress Prize - Annika Mallik, Citizenship Prize - Nihal Jhund, Innovation & Creativity - Lana Milne, Helen Kinloch Writing Prize - Laura Wyss, Headteacher’s Prize for Most Improved Pupil - Eva Smith.

J5 Academic Achievement Prize - Maggie Ponte, Overall Achievement Prize - Giorgio Valeri, Progress Prize - Max Mitchell, Citizenship Prize - Annette MacKenzie, Innovation & Creativity - Rebecca Young, Art Prize & PE and Games: Achievement - Oliver Paling, PE and Games: Effort - Selina Stroud, Music Prize - Olivia Donnelly.

J6 Academic Achievement Prize & PE and Games: Achievement - Rory Dalziel, Overall Achievement Prize & Music - Amelie Axnick, Progress Prize & Music - Alex Hazelton, Innovation & Creativity & PE and Games: Effort - Esme Clements, Art Prize - Alasdair MacKenzie & Charlotte Neilson, Drama prize - Lula Milne, Hunter Prize and Cup for Citizenship - Bridget Harris, Ann Boyle Memorial Cup for Most Improved Reader - Thor Paice Dargie.

Junior Proxime Accessit - Rohan Karve Colina M Stewart Jnr Dux Prize & Shield - Florence Lang.

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OUT OF THIS WORLD

It’s not often that the opportunity to meet an astronaut comes along – so when Nicole Stott came to visit our Senior Prep class it was a very big deal.

Nicole Stott spent 100 days in space as a NASA astronaut and runs an art foundation called Space for Art. For COP26, Nicole worked with the charity, ActionAid, to make a spacesuit printed with drawings done by children from all over the world about climate change. The space suited was exhibited at the conference, with the plan to then take it into space. Nicole talked about her time in space, seeing the beauty of Earth from above and the need to protect it for the future. She loved posing in front of the space theme of our Science block stairway mural!

Nicole’s visit made a huge impact on many of the pupils with questions coming thick and fast - we actually ran out of time to answer them all. Reflecting on the afternoon Charlie Biankin (SP) said ‘that was life changing’!

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COP26 COMES TO KA A new forum of Afro-descendant leaders met for the first time during COP26 in an effort to amplify the voices of marginalised communities on a world stage. The Afro-Interamerican Forum on Climate Change came together at Kelvinside Academy to discuss how community-based conservation could be key to the climate crisis. The conclusions from the event, which were compiled our S6 pupils who diligently documented notes from the talks, were then presented the following day during an event at the Panama Pavilion at COP26.

Luis Gilberto Murillo, fellow at MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia convened the event. He said: “The design and innovation work happening at Kelvinside Academy through their partnership with NuVu created the ideal atmosphere for today’s COP26 event, which was a space for global Afro-descendant leaders to think deeply and creatively about the climate issues affecting their communities, and to connect directly with youth who bring a unique perspective, vision, and urgency to the climate challenges impacting the world.”

Epsy Campbell, Vice-president of Costa Rica, Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the U.S. House of Representatives and Mia Motley, Prime Minister of Barbados were among those in attendance either online or in person.

Other representatives came from the Sustainable Panama Foundation, Conservation International and ONECA Organización Negra Centroamericana.

Struggling to find a location for this landmark event, Kelvinside Academy’s Innovation School was put forward by members of MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative team.

S6 pupil Evie Smith said: “At NuVu, we are taken out of normal classes to solve real world problems.

Today, we had the chance to see hugely influential leaders come together to discuss two of the most important issues facing us today - racial justice and climate change.

“Its inspired everyone in the school. Being able to play a small part in these discussions by taking notes on their behalf showed how small the world is and how we can all make a difference.”

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New School Website

The Kelvinside Academy website underwent a redesign at the end of the year. As the public window to our world, it is important the website reflects the ethos of the School, presents an engaging and positive experience for prospective families and also continues to remain an interactive hub for our school community. The new website uses a simpler layout to make it easier to navigate for parents and new visitors alike.

A new strap line - ‘It’s Your Future. Who do you want to be?’ - reflects our mission to develop

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pupils to become agents for positive change in their communities and to “Be the best they can be”. The world needs compassionate and creative leaders able to solve complex and difficult problems.

Images of pupils from J2-S6 situated within areas throughout the School have been used to reflect the opportunities available at KA using a modern and tech-feel gaming theme we hope the result is an exciting and modern School website that is easy to navigate for all users.

New appointments Welcome Reflecting the growth in pupil numbers over the last year, we welcomed a record number of new staff to Kelvinside Academy.

We welcomed Mr Christopher Derrick to the Senior Leadership Team in the role of Academic Deputy.

Music teacher Mrs Karen Clark and temporary art teacher Mr Mark McGhee joined the Expressive Arts Faculty. Design/Innovation Coach Mrs Leigh Goldie joined the Innovation School team and Mrs Fiona Jorgenson is our new computing teacher. PE teacher Miss Robin Robeson and English teacher Mr Christopher Deans are providing maternity cover.

Junior School welcomed four new teachers: Miss Catherine Conejo, Miss Hayley Keir, Dr Richard Walker and Miss Alice Dale; as well as three new classroom assistants: Miss Elizabeth Armour, Miss Roisin McCumesty and Miss Nicole Jodoin.

Nursery welcomed new early years practioners Miss Monica Gallacher and Miss Ailiesh McInnes.

On the Operations Side, Mrs Sarah McQuilkin became one of our nurses, Mr James Magee joined Finance and we welcomed two new Receptionists Mrs Jessica Valverde Gracia and Miss Melissa Dundas.

Farewell We were sad to say goodbye to long serving nurse and rowing champion Mrs Louise MacDonald and wish her well in her new role at Kilgraston School.

Mrs Heather MacLeod retired from Support for Learning and we also said goodbye to computing

teacher Mr Kim Mason and Miss Hazel Duff in Music. Also leaving us were Miss Melanie McNeil in Nursery and Receptionists Mrs Jennifer Aire and Miss Diane Keatings.

SCHOOL CAPTAINS 2021/22 Sadly COVID restrictions prevented outgoing 2020/21 Captains Olivia Carrol and Lewis Carmichael from their traditional bell ringing and public live announcements to the whole school in

June. Mr Wyatt, Rector and Ms Gallacher, Deputy Rector, broke the good news to this year’s S6 captaincy team.

The Captains are Marley Boweh and Hannah Burnett-Godfree.

The Vice-Captains are Martha Armstrong, Mia Cousins, Adam Belarbi and Rory Semple.

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Foraging Forest Friendships

We are delighted to have found a new home for our Junior School Forest School Programme in Garscube Woods on the University of Glasgow Campus.

After the nearby Children’s Wood was becoming damaged by over use, we began the hunt for an alternative Forest Schools venue.

We are extremely grateful to the University of Glasgow for such a positive reaction to our access request for weekly outdoor education visits to the beautiful woods by the River Kelvin next to their Garscube sports facility.

Our two Forest School qualified teachers, Mrs Henderson and Mrs Hill, run weekly sessions for all of our J1-J6 pupils which support play, explorati on and supported risk taking. These outdoor sessions develop confidence and selfesteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. The pupils simply love their time exploring and learning in the woods.

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UsefulFashion!

What if the only thing you owned were the clothes you stood up in? How could your clothes be something more than a mere fashion statement, and serve a meaningful and practical purpose as well. The S4 students have been working to deliver projects that offer something new and innovative: 1) Jack Dalziel (S4) has developed a backpack that contains a living space small enough to carry on your back. He views shelter as an essential human requirement, and built his idea around that.

2) William Sadler (S4) chose to deal with the issue of lockdown and home learning and working, which he felt was something that everyone could relate to. In his design, William wanted to free up some valuable space by creating a portable, wearable desk that would allow him to work wherever he went. William used innovative techniques such as laser cutting, 3d printing and kerf cutting to create his wearable workspace.

3) Olivia Rowbotham (S4) was inspired by the feathers of the peacock to create a wearable that served as a protective shield to protect the wearer.

4) Roman Dickinson (S4) developed and manufactured a jacket with built in LED lighting that gave the wearer a sense of safety in the dark, by adding light to the jacket that he created, while also enhancing the visibility of the wearer.

5) Josh Teo Winter (S4) developed a headpiece that could extend and open to create a wearable protection from the elements of extreme sun or rain. When it is not being worn, it can fold up and be carried as a small over the over the shoulder accessory.

6) Holly Hailstone (S4) worked on a project which was Zen clothing that reflected aspects of nature that she felt were most effective in achieving a sense of Zen for the wearer.

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Shelters of the Future Senior Prep have been working on a World War 2 topic and had discussed the need for Anderson Shelters during the war. In NuVu they explored what we could use a shelter for in the modern world – which led us to designing shelters for climate

change and extreme weather situations. Working in pairs, pupils designed shelters looking at how they can be used around the world, using a range of modelling techniques, from laser cutting, vacuum forming and bending plastic.

Me, Myself & I

J5 learned to use a range of software to create a laser cut figurine of themselves which was cut from plywood.

Looking at computer coding and mechanisms, the pupils were able to use a Servo and Arduino to make the arm of their figurine wave.

Explorers Come to Life J3 were working on their literacy skills in class by creating a story about an explorer. They were able to bring their story to life by designing and creating a pop-up book. Pupils illustrated their pages as well as designing ways to make elements jump out of the book.

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STAMP HERO

For more than 50 years, Royal Mail’s Special Stamp programme has commemorated British history and achievement issuing stamps to honour many British people.

In 2021, the Royal Mail launched a ‘Heroes’ stamp design competition. School pupils were asked to design a stamp honouring people who have done great things during the coronavirus pandemic e.g. frontline workers, others looking after the elderly and people who volunteered to help their communities.

An incredible 606,049 UK entries were received with an amazing 7,479 schools taking part. There were just 120 regional finalists chosen by a network of judges from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the nine regions of England.

Then in November a special panel of judges (Prime Minister, the Family of Captain Sir Tom Moore, Baroness Floella Benjamin and Simon Thompson, CEO, Royal Mail) determined the winning regional designs.

We are very proud to announce that Jessica Zhu (S2) was announced as one of only two Scottish designs to make the final 24.

Eight winning images will be chosen in March as official Royal Mail stamps by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. We will keep you ‘posted’ on whether Jessica’s fantastic ‘Nurse’ design makes the final 8.

PITCH PERFECT

Congratulations to 2021/22 School Captain, Hannah Burnett-Godfree (S6) who sat her Grade 8 saxophone and Grade 8 piano within two days of each other, achieving a pass with Distinction for both instruments. Grade 8 is the final graded exam available from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and to achieve it at this level on two instruments is a remarkable achievement.

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ECO-FASHION

In response to Greta Thunberg’s highly publicised concerns about ethical fast fashion, our S2 pupils worked on eco fashion designs in art. Everything

from fabric scraps, recycled coffee capsules and Ikea bags were put to great use for their designs.

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MUSIC COMPETITIONS Intermediate

A high number of talented pupils took part in the 2021/22 Intermediate Music Competition in November.

Instrumental Category: 1st Laura Bobescu (S2) (piano), 2nd Louisa Sheridan (S2) (flute) and 3rd Ashwin Dykes (S2) (violin)

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Vocal Category: 1st Eabha Hill (S1), 2nd Francesca Coyle (S2) and 3rd equal Max Biankin (SP) & Rory Dalziel (SP) with honorable mentions to Stella Cousins (S2) and Sam Smith (S2).

COP26 PERFORMANCE

Congratulations to Louisa Sheridan (S3) and Hannah Gadegaard (S4) who performed in the Green Zone at the Cop26 Conference as part of the RSNO Junior Chorus. Their audience was made up of politicians and Formula 1 drivers!

OUTDOOR NOTES

Imogen Gillan (S2) and Faith Gerber (S2) recently joined the NYCOS National Girls training choir for an open air rehearsal in the Hidden Gardens.

MUSIC COMPETITIONS Senior

Our Senior Music Competition took place in February 2021 and was adjudicated by Mr Trevor Bowes from his home in London.

Vocal category: Winner of the McDougal Quaich was Rachel Gray (S5) Instrumental Category: Winner of the Davidson Cup was Hannah Burnett-Godfree (S5) (saxophone), 2nd Kai Ye (S6) (piano) 3rd Eilidh McLaren (S3) (flute) with special mentions to Murray Leven (S5) (bagpipes) and Alexander Russell (S5) (electric guitar).

Junior

The top performers in our 2020/21 Junior School Music Competition in June 2021 were: Category J3/4 – 1st Joshua Kingsley, 2nd Kai Levy, 3rd equal Andrea Bizzi and Darcey Douglas.

Category J5/6 – 1st Max Biankin, 2nd Florence Lang, 3rd equal Arthur Harris and Amelie Axnick.

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A BUNDLE OF JOY In December, the Nursery children performed their festive show ‘A Bundle of Joy’ after weeks of learning new songs, dances and dressing up in brilliant outfits!

The Nursery 2 children all took on a different part in the show helping to retell the story of the Nativity which included Grumble the donkey - a very grumpy donkey who was changed forever when recognising the importance of love and happiness in his life.

The younger Nursery 1 children kept a steady beat, adding to the musical enjoyment with their collective timely strikes of claves and shaking of bells.

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Whilst the staff and pupils were especially excited with it being the first performance on a stage for 2 years, they were sad not to be able to welcome a live audience – although we know parents enjoyed the video version. Also, parents were no doubt regaled with snippets of the songs from October onwards as all the children continue to sing the songs with confidence and gusto!

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS MAKE YOUR HOUSE A HOME Junior 2 pupils really enjoyed writing their own version of the ‘The Three Little Pigs’ for their show at Christmas time 2021. They had so many ideas and even managed to incorporate some of their favourite songs such as ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheehan and one of their favourite Adele tunes. The wolf (Blake Davis) was simply misunderstood and with the help of Greta (Julija Williams) (who’d rushed back from COP26) and Hansel (Max Short), he managed to quit his bad habits and befriend the three little pigs (Lennox Hughes, Ted Milne and Reuben Sutherland) and mummy pig (Leen Alhag).

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the stable with baby Jesus, Mary (Hannah Knowles) and Joseph (Arne Gunatillake). It was a toe tapping, sing along extravaganza with a very important message further emphasised by the dancing angels (Klara Wyss, Jessica Young, Summer Wood, Orla MacLeod, Mia Thomas and Sehrena Codona). They let the audience know that it doesn’t matter what type of home you live in, what matters most is the people in your home. Your family and friends make your house a home. The narrators Muir Wishart and Ailsa Chu kept the show moving along nicely with all their many lines being delivered so clearly.

Junior 2 choose all their own parts and helped to write the script, so the show was an excellent example of great collaboration, creativity, flexible thinking and communication. Well done, Junior 2.

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Where the A selection of artwork showcasing fantastic work from SP to S6. The work was of an excellent standard and demonstrated a range of innovative ideas and techniques.

Mia Cousins (S6)

Eilidh Cornwall (S4)

Nico Rigg MacInnes (S6)

Charisse Lam (SP) Grace Bramhill (S6)

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Mia Cousins (S6) Maisie Rampling (SP) Sophie McNeil (S6)

Charlotte Reid (S6)

Edith Maynard (SP)

Honor Johnston (SP) Jason Chen (S6)

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...stream of thought…

Fire in a different eye

by Suha Enosh (S1) It’s staring at me as it looms closer and closer: Its soul glows as my blood chills, it grows glorioser, glorioser Can feel the aura as its divine spark – uplifts the atmosphere I’m trembling with fear.

The lion is approaching showing off with prideBut as the wind comes, it loses the war inside Oh, how I loved its tranquil yet fierce personality.

But now the ashes and smoke vanish in the sky as I cry in this calamity Bye fire, how I loved you so.

However, your pneuma and ethos will be with me for an eternity as you must go.

The Unwanted Toy

by Haaris Shoaib (S5) Rain intertwines with the dirty windows, Rain slowly fades into her face And dripping onto the dark black clothing.

Dark grey clouds like a cage, Engulfing her. Trapped in barbed wire.

Her leather coat soaked, Slowly the water consumes her, From the tears trickling from her face, To the tears flooding her thoughts.

A skinny, petite girl Sat, arms hugging herself like a blanket.

No shivers. No expression.

Sat like an unused toy.

With no fur, hasn’t been used in years.

Unwanted Her face blank.

Life

by Verity Fowler (S1) Dark as night, Light as day, Beautiful as a flower, Cold as snow, Sharp as ice, Daggers in your heart, Brilliant as a bow, Colourful as a rainbow, Butterflies flying by, Life is all the things, But you just didn’t know.

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The petite girl sat still. No movement.

She peers through the corner of her eye.

The other girl pays no attention, Eyes targeted on her phone.

Calling friends. Calling family.

A blue car appears.

Slowly the girl enters the vehicle, She takes a glance back, Observes the girl. She stops. Mind racing, Unsure, confused. sympathetic.

Stood still as a statue.

She looks into her eyes, They tell a story, But one that she wouldn’t be a part of.

The Gaps

by Laura Van Heijnsbergen (S5) I am told that if you lose something suddenly it leaves a gap.

I envy that. A chasm can be filled, fixed, patched over – but when love slips away slowly other things trickle in before you notice.

Poison seeping through the walls that leaves you soft with rot.

I remember crouching in my mother’s land, thirteen and brave, tiles warm under my bare feet. Amsterdam is the only part of that country I can bear – the rest of it, sluggish veins laid bare in patchwork skin, open casket, has always horrified me. Death should show more shame.

He should not stand so openly in fields too prim and preened to be anything but the palest imitation of life, as my mother draws desperately on the living ghosts of her childhood, this phantom family I do not have it in me to love.

As a child I feared for myself, for the blood that coursed through me.

I knew it had been carried here from somewhere else, but I could not fathom how – what sort of magic could tear out roots and force them haphazard into foreign soil.

I was always afraid someone would realise their mistake and try to plant me back.

It stayed with me like a living thing. It followed me every time I set foot outside, every time I spoke or slept or dreamed. Even the drumming of the rain spelled out a missive – ‘We should be falling somewhere else. You tore us out with you’.

I grew up on the edge of a cliff. It is no surprise I was scared the waves would wash me away.

And then they did, but I survived it. That first night I stood in the searing cold and remembered a story my father had told me, of a man who’d been twenty years from home and kissed the shore when he returned. I was ten, half the time needed to grant me the ground, so I claimed the sky instead. I stood outside and swallowed snowflakes hungrily.

I would consume this land as it tried to spit me out.

A childish mistake, to think that ice rather than fire cuts away at impurity.

Perhaps if I had gone inside and sat at the hearth as my brother did I would be happier now. Maybe my skin would sit easier on me if I hadn’t spent so long gutting it of homes.

Sometimes I forget some of my mother tongue and consider it a victory.

And then later it horrifies me, this foreign thing cloying at my throat, drowning me slowly. I can feel it sitting in my mouth and I cannot spit it out.

It reminds me of my mothers name forced between my own, a violation of the self indelible in it’s very nature.

So, where am I from now? Perhaps that question would be better in another tense.

Where will I be from twenty years in the future? Where will my grave lie?

What Earth will I melt into? Could I overcome this sickness when I am so much dust, spread so wide that borders look like pinpricks?

Mycelium

by Laila Almansoori (S3) The stars shine brightly through the nights.

The tree-top gleams; you see its light Every day’s like a year gone by Trying to verify our life.

Up in the sky is the moon, bright and white, like ashes cold.

The tree-tops gleam under its light.

Shimmering droplets just like ice.

But down in the dark, by the roots, That’s my home.

Mycelium – that’s my name.

Moored under mountains Mingling in rain I am joined to all life.

Secretly travelling under beings, each root connected to another telling stories of our mother.

One small planet Connected by neuronic lines Joining each one to the sun.

Zoo Down Below

by Lewis Cadamy (S3) A hypogeal network Organic telephone wires Pulsing whispers lurk Mycorrhizal choirs Above the soil blanket Fruiting bodies with a crown The common may not know it But the body’s the hyphae town Leaves lose as they decay As fungi wins the fight No organism they can’t outplay Mycelium won’t stop at night.

I think I could. I am not so sure about everyone else.

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MOTIVATION - by Georgia Schmolke (S6) Our human instinct is to have purpose. When the 3rd national lockdown was unsurprisingly declared, myself and millions of other exhausted students could not help but feel as though coronavirus had a personal vendetta against us, depriving us of our purpose and future. We felt robbed of most things, but particularly our routine and consistency which have always been our ammunition for success. Is it a surprise that with no purpose we became severely demotivated?

Who would have believed we would miss face-toface contact with our teachers? Little did we realise the extent to which they motivated us. Now, with no choice, we must find the motivation ourselves.

In this lockdown motivation has slowly dwindled into oblivion. Despite seeing lockdown as an opportunity to get ahead, strive, study, and succeed, not to mention stay healthy and fit, I don’t believe students were fully prepared for the severity of this nightmarish pandemic.

up, signing into classes, and then falling asleep again.

I much preferred spending my time on my phone, captivated by the phenomenon of potato Tik Tok than studying higher trigonometry.

But on a positive note, I realised this lifestyle, this pandemic and these feelings would not last forever.

In fact, several studies have found that positivity and self-belief promote better student motivation. While stigma around motivation, is about always using your time efficiently, doing all the work you had hoped to, it should not be the case.

Setting more attainable goals, accepting things will not be perfect and remembering this is only temporary, will help regain control and motivation.

For example, I make my bed every day, something I did not do before covid. This gives me my first objective of the day and creates a comfortable environment to work in.

‘Your coronavirus updates for today’ was all I heard day in day out, and the dreaded online learning began, again. To add insult to injury, this kicked-off in January’s dark, dull and dreich mornings. And I was expected to leap out of bed, brimming with motivation for the next 6 hours?

I can confidently say having lost all motivation and hope and being able to regain it again has steered me in good stead for the future, into higher education.

Changing my mindset for the better. Showing commitment to work and studying is one thing but being able to do so through a pandemic shows huge amounts of resilience and determination - something we can be proud of.

Everyday has felt like groundhog-day, except I was not Bill Murray, and was restricted only to my house.

It was so easy to fall into a perpetual cycle of waking

Georgia’s blog article was published in the Young Voices Column of Glasgow West End Today website in March 2021.

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YOUNG ENTERPRISE A-LISTERS

The Young Enterprise Scotland programme introduces young people into the world of business and entrepreneurship. Each team has to come up with an exciting new product, take on the roles of a functioning business and reach particular milestones throughout the programme. At the end of the year, each team member must take the YE exam which reflects on their time participating in this awesome challenge. Kirsty Scott (S6) reports on the journey of the 2020/21 Team.

“Our team of 4 was called A-List Albums and we wanted to create a cool and upcoming product. We settled on making acrylic plaques with album covers on them (photo). Our plan was to allow customers to personalise this by choosing a special album or song for the plaque. COVID-19 definitely made it difficult for us - being in and out of lockdown meant meetings were difficult to organise and making sure we got off the ground in time for Christmas all added to the pressure. WhatsApp proved to be very handy!

school which we took advantage of. Olivia studied NuVu Innovation which allowed her to communicate easily with our manufacturers and we want to thank the Nuvu coaches for their help.

As Managing Director, I was really proud when everyone in the team who took the final exam passed with credit. My team mates deserved it with all of our hard work and determination through this tough time. Well done to S6s Aimee McAlinden, Ellie Rowand and Jamie Pollock.

I’d like to thank KA for giving us the opportunity to participate in the YE programme and especially thank Mrs Shields who helped and guided us so passionately through this enriching experience.”

Kirsty Scott (S6)

Our strengths within the business were the different qualities everyone brought. Some of us were very creative and then some were more practical. We were lucky to have different connections within the

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SOCIAL SUBJECTS IN ACTION S1 collaborated on several History projects last term including the Sinking of the Titanic and the First War of Scottish Independence in 1296. In Modern Studies, S2 have been documenting the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Arun Patel (S1) and Alex Duncanson (S1)

Maya Das (S1) Lucy Cochrane (S2) and Louisa Sheridan (S2)

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‘SCHOOL IN A BOX’ S2 Enterprise pupils took part in an ambitious and exciting new project in December 2021. The MicroTyco challenge has been a fixture of the Enterprise curriculum for a number of years, but this was the first time Kelvinside Enterprise pupils have participated in ‘Micro-Tyco Innovate’.

Designed to teach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); with COP26 taking place in parallel to the challenge, this programme was well placed to allow the students to come up with ‘real’ business solutions to global problems.

Students had to create a responsible business idea to champion the SDGs in their school or local community. They chose a particular SDG to address, produced an idea, pitched it through video submission and received feedback from industry mentors. Using this feedback, students could refine and develop their idea further before Enterprise staff picked one ‘winning’ idea.

People who then need the stationary can pick them up so that they can use them in their classes, and exams (if they forgot to bring important stationary like a, rubber, pencil, calculator etc) and use the notes and tips to prepare for exams and classes.

It was incredibly hard to choose a winner as all the S2 pupils produced really creative and engaging pitches. Nevertheless, congratulations to Daniela Garcia Herreros, Andrew McEwan, Harmeet Jassal and Edie Guest who were chosen as the KA winning team with their ‘School in a Box’ explained below:

Going into senior school and starting exams can be stressful but having a help box with tips and notes from seniors before us can be really helpful and help relieve some of the stress young students face. It’s important to tackle this issue because many students are worried about different aspects of school and having other people’s input, who have actually gone through that can help not only their education but their mental health as well.”

“We would implement our idea to address SDG 4 ‘Quality Education’ by reusing cardboard boxes, decorating them, and putting them in the school mall for people to donate their spare stationary and helpful notes from their school experiences. Examples of items to donate include pencils, pens, notebooks, jotters, tips on how to organise your studying schedule, notes on what to expect and how to do well in different classes.

The team will pitch their idea at the regional final in May and are working with industry mentors to further refine the pitch. The virtual pitch will be shared on the Micro-Tyco online voting platform so that their school, family and friends can vote for their ‘Fan Favourite’ which will be awarded at the inperson Regional Finals. It would be brilliant for the whole KA community to support them.

SP MATHS Our SP Mathematicians entered the National Primary Maths Competition and 9 pupils were successful in achieving awards: Gold – Jainill Vadalia, Neev Lukhi, Isla Smith Silver – Archie Skinner, Himansh Joshi Bronze – Maisie Rampling, Rory Dalziel, Oona Capeio, Rohan Karve Well done and good luck to them in the February bonus round. Our SP pupils are venturing into new territory during their new weekly lesson with Miss Thrippleton exploring lots of interesting Maths investigations from Happy Numbers to combinatorics!

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ENTERPRISING TIMES S1 Enterprise pupils took over the Mall for a day in December to set up stalls selling their various products and games to pupils and staff. The groups demonstrated great teamwork, planning and finance skills to get to this stage – with many making a tidy profit. #KAenterprise.

A LANGUAGE IS NOT JUST WORDS At the very heart of Language Learning is the art of communication. And what better way to communicate, than by telling stories. Story telling is one of the most fun and effective ways that many of our young learners first experience another language.

play. At Kelvinside, this is very much part of our approach to language acquisition. The J4 classes did an amazing job creating their own version of the story, illustrating it beautifully and of course having time to create some lasting memories of their own.

This January in Spanish, Junior 4 have been exploring some fascinating myths and legends and as part of their Interdisciplinary Learning, they have been getting to know a very well-known Dragon and his famous Knight Slayer – ‘Jorge y el dragon’. Of course, they had a wonderful time exploring this fiery legend but it also encouraged deeper thinking.

Like most good stories, there is often a moral message – in this story pupils discovered about ‘good triumphing over evil!’ And decided themselves, that by trying to keep the ‘dragon’ quiet with small offerings, it doesn’t always work – and you have to be brave and find courage to meet it head on, like Jorge the Dragon Slayer.

Ms Chantal Winning, Language Teacher

Part of learning a language involves understanding about the country’s cultures and traditions. Often the best way to do this, is through story, song and

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CHESS TRIUMPH THE CLASS OF ’22 Members of the KA Chess Club are arguably the most successful athletes currently competing for the School. Why? Well, Kelvinside Academy’s chess team recently defeated both Glasgow Academy and the High School of Glasgow with a score of 5.5-0.5 in both matches. With chess competitions normally tightly fought, a game of inches if you will, these winning score-lines represent a rout.

As a sport, chess is often overlooked, misunderstood, even denigrated. But to succeed in the cut-throat world of chess, competitors must exhibit nerves of steel, mental stamina, commitment, acuity, vision, skill, creativity, memory, and, above all, ruthlessness.

These attributes are all displayed by the members of KA’s new chess dream-team.

KA’s chess club has always been competitive. In the past 5 years we have won an inter-schools cup, placed top 10 in international competitions for individual participants, and performed well in the school league. But the new crop is our version of Manchester United’s famous “Class of ‘92”.

The core members include: Aryan Munshi (S3), Captain - fearless, indefatigable, tough: our Roy Keane Ashley Tandon (S1) – charismatic, creative, skilful: our David Beckham Angel Orioha (S4) – talisman, mercurial, enigmatic: our Eric Cantona Jainill Vadalia (SP) – raw talent, wonderkid, magic: our Paul Scholes Neev Lukhi (SP) – driven, focused, fighter: our Gary Neville James MacCuish (S5) – veteran, reliable, leader: our Denis Irwin Charlie Rigg MacInnes (S1) – new boy, potential, intelligent: our Rio Ferdinand Some highlights of the recent match ups include: Ashley Tandon pulling off one of the most spectacular draws in chess history (in chess, fighting for a draw can be just as important as winning when in time trouble) – with a mere 3 seconds left on her clock, she tricked her opponent into repeating moves and salvaged the draw from a hopeless position.

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Aryan Munshi’s close game. Being one of Scotland’s best players for his age-group, Aryan doesn’t have many tough games at school level, but his opponent at the High School was also a Scotland international.

When he saw his opponent, he whispered to me, ‘I know him from the Scotland team. He’s pretty good’. Coming from Aryan, ‘pretty good’ is praise indeed. Needless to say, despite a tough opening and tight middlegame, Aryan wiped him out during the endgame (as per).

Neev and Jainill are aged 10 and 11. Competing in the Senior league, they play opponents aged 16-18.

It must be intimidating for these older players to be so easily annihilated by a couple of weans!

Angel Orioha is one of our biggest success stories.

When he started at Chess Club in S1 he was a bit unpredictable. The talent was there, but he lacked experience. His dedication over the years puts him now on a par with our best players (and with the talent in the squad, that’s saying something). He won both his matches with relative ease.

Charlie Rigg MacInnes is one for the future. To be honest, due to his lack of experience, I didn’t expect him to win. I just wanted him to enjoy the event and gain match-experience for future events. But Charlie is a very clever chap. He won, of course.

Last, but by no means least, the old vet, James MacCuish. A chess club stalwart from the early days, James and I go way back. James is a great role model for the younger players and he has that wisdom and wile to stay calm under pressure and use his experience to get out of tricky positions.

At one point, I thought he’d lost his match against a tough opponent, but he was able to use his competitive experience to slip out of a trap, and turn the game around.

Onwards and upwards for our chess team in 2022.

With so much young talent on display, I predict big things for the chess club going forward. Perhaps a European Cup (a la Alex Ferguson’s triumph in ’99) is on the horizon!

Report presented by Chess Club boss, Mr Douglas O’Neill.

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LOCH NESS MONSTER RALLY What’s that coming over the hill….is it a monster??

In September 2021, S5 pupil Marc Bannerman and his dad took part in the Loch Ness Monster Rally Event to raise awareness for Epilepsy Scotland. The rally event sees participants driving over 500 miles from York to Inverness in a banger of a car. The rally has no set routes, speed, or clocks to race against, it’s not about how fast you can cross the finish line. Rather, it’s about fun challenges, adventure, camaraderie, fancy dress, and accomplishing something unique in a banger of a car.

Marc is epileptic so the charity is very close to the family’s heart. Marc has always had a passion for cars and hopes that one day he will be seizure free and be able to drive his own car. Their chosen car was an old Toyota Celicia – and they were racing it in memory of Marc’s grandfather Captain Crawford

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who captained the first ship to bring Toyota cars to the United Kingdom in 1965.

The Toyota Celica 2003 was purchased with help from Arnold Clark Linwood and Toyota UK. Marc worked on the car with his dad, replacing parts and getting it ready for the rally, restoring it back to a roadworthy condition.

Epilepsy Scotland works with over 55,000 people in Scotland living with epilepsy to ensure that their voices are heard. They offer support to people with the neurological condition, their families, carers and employers as well as campaigning for improved healthcare, an end to stigma and influencing policies that affect the health, educational and social welfare of people with epilepsy.

REMEMBRANCE COVID restrictions meant that we were unable to gather in person for our annual Remembrance Service. A virtual video service was recorded and shared with our community whilst members of our Senior Leadership Team and CCF Contingent marked two minutes silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day to remember the fallen.

J6 celebrated Remembrance Day by researching family members who were involved in war times. The pupils brought in informative posters about their chosen ancestors and presented the information to the class. It was a fascinating experience and pupils and teachers were extremely moved by the stories of great grandparents, aunts and uncles, some of whom fought in the war or who experienced life as a child during war times. The J6 classes spent time imaging what life would’ve have been like for them and how they must have coped.

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#HELLOYELLOW DAY Minerva

Kelvinside Senior School joined thousands of people, schools, community groups and offices by taking part in #HellowYellow 2021 in October in support of YoungMinds on World Mental Health Day. Some pupils and staff donned entire yellow outfits and some just sported a splash of yellow – but all showed young people that they are not alone with their mental health. A little yellow goes a long way and positive mental health is something that we are all lucky to experience. #HelloYellow helps drive awareness that for some people their mental health has its ups and downs. It is important that people feel supported when things aren’t going right, at Kelvinside Academy we want pupils and staff to be aware that there are a caring team of people that they can talk to about their mental health.

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KA CLIMATE CHANGE With COP26 taking place right on our doorstep, there was lots of additional conversation about climate change around Kelvinside.

Minerva polluted. They also closely examined the structure of the pods for their new class topics on Buildings and Structures.

Junior 4 pupils created their own Dance for the Earth to coincide with the youth climate action protest march in Glasgow. They focused on an ocean theme, imagining how the sea creatures would feel trying to swim through polluted waters.

The end of the dance is a message reminding us all to use recyclable materials. J4 also welcomed the deforestation agreement breakthrough at COP26 by planting acorns and spent time writing to world leaders stating their personal hopes for climate change goals.

A large number of pupils in both Junior and Senior School made their own banners before marching with activist Greta Thunberg and 20,000 other young people at the huge Glasgow demonstration organised by Fridays for Future.

Junior 1 built their own town ‘RecycleVille’ and came up with a detailed plan on how best to look after it and ensure a clean environment for the future. They also explored the impact that vehicles have on climate change – dealing with big traffic jams across their classroom.

Junior 2 visited the Michael ‘Pinsky’ Pollution Pods exhibited in the grounds of Gartnaval Hospital to experience the environments of five different cities across the globe, from the ultra-clean to the heavily

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2021/22 CAPTAINS Emma Williams (S6) is the 2021/22 captain of the 1st XI. The captaincy partnership of Aaron Burgess (S6) and Calum Ferrie (S6) will be leading the 1st XV.

RUGBY KA Warriors

S6 pupils Aaron Burgess, Calum Ferrie, Ewan Brannan and Jared Ebowemen have all been training with Glasgow Warriors U18s. All four players are hoping to be part of the Glasgow Warriors U18 squad, which will then provide them with the opportunity to showcase their skills, aiming for Scotland U18 representation.

HOCKEY GHK U18 Scottish Champions The U18 National Club reached a thrilling finale with GHK taking on Grange at Peffermill. Coached by our own KA PE teacher Mrs Fiona Cafolla, GHK won the U18 Girls’ title for the first time with four KA players in the team – Emma Williams (S6), Mia Cousins (S6), Skye Stuart (S6) and Erica Rice (S4). GHK’s fast-flowing play caused Grange problems and they

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took a 2-0 lead just before half-time. Grange grew into the game as it went on and dominated the final quarter, with goalie Erica Rice making a couple of key saves. GHK held on for a 2-1 win.

Fiona Caffola, was proud of her team’s resilience as they had to work very hard to deny space all over the field to an impressive Grange team.

HOCKEY Scottish Schools’ Challenge Cup Competitions As Minerva goes to print, our S3 girls are in the final of the Scottish Schools’ Junior Challenge Cup and will play Peebles High School on March 11, 2022.

They came back from two goals down in the last five minutes to beat Roberts Gordon’s College in a hardfought semi-final.

We wait to see whether our 1st XI can match this achievement as they play St Margaret’s in the semifinal of the Senior Girls Challenge Cup mid-February for a place in the final on March 18, 2022. Good luck to both teams.

The Future is bright Kelvinside Academy continues to see talented hockey players emerging in the younger year groups. This year is no exception with four KA pupils at both U15 and U14 levels being selected for the West District to play in the Inter-District Tournament in May 2022.

Congratulations to: West U14 - Daniella Garcia Herreros (S2), Stella Cousins (S2), Lily Mappin (S2) & Lucy Cochrane (S2). West U15 - Olivia Kemsley (S3), Ruby Neilson (S3), Daisy Daziel (S3) & Annastacia Hinde (S3). #KAhockey #KAfuture

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HOCKEY Brave Academy Three KA players were selected for the new Scottish Hockey Brave Academy Programme in Autumn 2021. Emma Williams (S6) and Skye Stuart (S6) were part of the emerging talent group and Erin Church (S4) joined that aspiring talent pathway.

Ulster Series

In June 2021 Emma Williams (S5) and Skye Stuart (S5) were both selected to play for the Scotland U17 girls’ squad against Ulster in a 3-match series weekend.

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They have represented Glasgow Thunder in a series of matches. Emma has now been selected for a transition camp in February 2022 and hopes to be selected for Scotland U18s.

HANDBALL New KA Coach In August 2021 Geanina Kirkland was appointed as the new KA Handball Coach. Geanina’s introduction to handball began in secondary school in her native Romania, where at the age of 12 she first took to the court. At the age of 14 she was selected to play for the senior handball team at the High School of Sport in Buzau and in the 5 years that followed, the team competed in the National League and won the championship title 3 years in a row.

In 1997, her passion for handball became a full-time vocation when she signed first to professional club ANEFS Bucharest and then she transferred to CS Zahar Corabia SA where for four years she lived and loved life as a full-time professional athlete, competing in both domestic and international tournaments.

Following her move to Scotland in 2004, handball contained to play an important part of her life; competing for Glasgow Handball Club from 2005 when they won the Scottish National League 4 years in a row. In the last 10 years life may have moved on but her passion for Handball is undiminished and she is relishing the opportunity to share her experience and expertise with the next generation of KA players.

GB Call Ups The GB program started up again after the COVID break and four Kelvinside players trained as part of the MensU18 and WomensU17 GB squads from October 2021.

S6 pupils Rory Semple, Marley Boweh and Oliver Henderson joined the MU18 squad with S3 pupil Freya Murty in the WU17 squad.

Selection for the GB program comes after years of hard work and commitment not only at club/school level but through the Scotland National Academy and is by invite only, the BHA have moved away from open trials.

Now Rory, Marley and Freya are part of reduced 22-player squads. The MU18 squad are training with a view to being selected to play for GB at the European Championships in Summer 2022 and the WU17 program is targeting the same tournament but in summer 2023.

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HANDBALL Scotland National Academy Players The Scotland National Academy program resumed in the Autumn with KA Handball players featuring highly in the line-up. There are 10 players currently in the squad, Rory Semple (S6), Marley Boweh (S6), Oliver Henderson (S6), Myles Macauley (S5), Louis Henderson (S5), Isla Bottomley (S6), Ivy Gerber (S5), Erin Church (S4), Freya Murty (S3), Daisy Dalziel (S3).

Some additional pupils have also now been invited to join the Academy Program: S4 - Jack Dalziel, Louis Coubrough, Yahya Cathcart, Mark Wilson; S3 - Angus Semple, Adam McManus, Riley Dempster, Arran Basu, Mackenzie Craig, Eva Melville, Erin Bratt; S2 - Daniela Garcia Herreros, Isla Church; S1 – Lula Neilson, Holly Rowbotham, Milly Hailstone.

Congratulations to all - they are training hard for their first match as Team Scotland in April.

Girls in Sport S6 pupil Isla Bottomley was invited to join the SHA’s new Equality Working Group to provide a young playing voice to this senior working party. As part of ‘Girls in Sport Week’ and the equality working group remit, the SHA ran a focused campaign to raise the profile of female Handball in Scotland.

Isla spearheaded that campaign and worked closely with the SHA delivering online content and podcasts, some of which feature people from the KA Handball community. Freya Murty (S3) detailed her Handball journey, Monica Sloan (2018) talked about being a player/coach and Mrs Fiona Kennedy outlined how KA Handball began in 2012. New KA Handball Coach, Geanina Kirkland featured in both an online story and as an episode on the KA podcast talking about her professional career and her coaching journey. Well done Isla for such an accomplished campaign.

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Two members of Kelvinside Academy staff have also received their Scotland call up! Congratulations to KA Handball Coach, Geanina Kirkland appointed to the National Academy Girls Programme Coaching Team and to KA Support for Learning Assistant Karen Murty appointed as a member-nominated director of the SHA Board and Girls Academy Team Manager.

CLIMBING Congratulations to Olivia Rowbotham (S4) who was selected for the 2022 Scottish Climbing squad. Catching COVID meant that her training schedule in September was scuppered but she never gave up and managed to secure a 2nd place in the November competition round. Olivia showed huge resilience and determination to produce some great climbing in the final round.

EQUESTRIAN British Dressage Quest Congratulations to Isla McMaster (S2) who competed at the British Dressage Quest National Championships in Buckinghamshire.

Isla and her pony Bryan had been competing all season in the Quest series and came 2nd in the individual Regional Finals. Her team won the Under 21 team competition, qualifying them as individuals and as a team for the National Championships.

Isla and her team, the Red Riding Hooves, and their ponies did very well in the U21 Team competition. They supported each other throughout the whole competition, improving their scores every day and narrowly missed 10th place ribbons by 0.4 points to finish a very respectable 12th out of 19 teams.

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TENNIS

Road to Wimbledon Road to Wimbledon is the biggest junior tournament in British tennis and gives all 14U players the opportunity to progress through various club and regional stages to compete in the national finals on the world-famous grass courts. Almost 9,000 girls and boys from 650 clubs, parks and schools took part – with only 48 making the final stage.

Amazingly, TWO KA pupils made it to Wimbledon in July 2021!

Thomas Sproule (SP) and Olivia McGuire (S2) both won their Scottish Regional Finals to win a place at Wimbledon. Both made the knockout rounds of the competition.

Olivia did amazingly well, winning six matches in a row to reach the semi-final of the county girls’ singles finals, losing out to the eventual winner. Tom also celebrated great success progressing to the quarter-finals of both the singles and doubles boys’ competitions.

It was a memorable summer for both pupils, and Tom shared some insight into the experience.

“For more than two months I had imagined daily what it would be like to play on the Wimbledon lawns.

Of course, when the big day arrived, it was raining steadily and the “covers were on”. Nonetheless, it was very exciting being able to use the players’ lounge, restaurant, café and changing rooms. Later that afternoon, I got my first experience of the Wimbledon grass and immediately felt comfortable

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with my footing and movement. “This is going to be fun!” Over the next two days there were several rain delays but I managed to stay focused and got through my three-group stage matches to qualify for the knockout section. A plus point was I got to know the club driver who had been a ball boy in 1980. With COP26 in mind, he told me all the lawnmowers and the fleet of cars used to transport the professionals, were electric.

The next day was one I’ll never forget. In hot sunny conditions I came through two close singles matches and was on court for nearly 4½ hours. When leaving Wimbledon that evening I was so exhausted I slumped on the pavement outside Number One Court where our taxis picked us up. Whilst sitting there, the club Jaguar drove up and my new friend, the club driver, lowered the window as he called out, “Tom, do you need a lift to your hotel?” The perfect end to a memorable day.

I lost a close match the following morning in the quarter final. Although I was disappointed to lose, I knew I had tried my very best and played a good match. My Wimbledon experience seemed to chime with our school motto, highlighting the importance of “Being the Best you can be.” Thomas Sproule (SP)

Trees for Life

In October 2021, teachers Mr Cameron Watts and Mrs Alison Mullan accompanied a group of S6 pupils, passionate about the environment, on a unique trip with a clean-up mission. Molly Whillance (S6) reports on this conservation trip to help a ‘Trees for Life’ clean up campaign.

“Just before the October holidays 2021, a number of S6 pupils were offered the amazing opportunity to go on a two-day conservation trip involving cleaning up beauty spots wrecked by tourists and a visit to a conservation center. Fueled by my love of the environment and my fascination with the issues that surround it, I jumped at the chance.

Once we left school, it wasn’t long before we were out of Glasgow and on the scenic Glen Etive road, leading us to our first stop, Falls of Falloch. The spectacular waterfall had clearly been a popular spot during summer, but after removing some of the forgotten beer cans, it was restored to its previously magnificent self. Not before saying hello to some muddy dogs enjoying their walks, we hopped back on the bus to our next stop, Loch Etive. Most of the litter had already been rinsed away by rain straight into the loch. This is incredibly harmful to the marine wildlife, so we still did our best to pick the small pieces of plastic caught in the streams.

Despite the drizzle, we stayed for a bit longer, enjoying the picturesque spot, looking at the little boats bobbing on the horizon and skimming stones.

Once we were suitably cold and soggy, we headed to our accommodation for a competitive game of Uno and some well-deserved rest.

On the second day of our trip, we travelled to Dundreggan to the conservation center run by the charity Trees for Life. The center aims to rewild the Scottish Highlands, restoring the fragmented Caledonian Forest and undoing the harm imposed

on the ecosystem by human cultivation. We were given a tour of the beautiful landscape, making our way over streams and through ferns, passing wild boar footprints and the place where one of the oldest trees on the site stands, covered in lichen. We made our way up to the top of a hill for a breath-taking view over the project. From here we spotted deer just behind the trees; an encouraging sign of the wildlife returning to the land and biodiversity being re-instated within the area. Once we made it back, we were shown around the greenhouses and plots of land abundant with saplings that will become some of the many trees forming the Caledonian Forest. After our tour we were put to work, seeing firsthand the herculean effort being put into healing the environment. In the greenhouses we mushed berries to separate out their seeds, producing huge buckets of slop, which was (almost) as funny as it was gross. We then went back out in the forest where we held a very competitive acorn collecting contest and laid out huge tarpaulins to catch any more that might fall from the trees.

Although absolutely exhausted once back home, I had time to reflect on the trip and how it had demonstrated the importance of conservation and preserving the environment; how easy it is to destroy it and what we must do to fix it. The tolerance of our environment is finite, we can’t continue to treat it the way we do. We must protect our evermore endangered planet, or we risk losing it forever.

“Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that… The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.” – David Attenborough

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Forensic Science Trip In December, Senior pupils had the chance to visit the Forensic Science Department at Glasgow Caledonian University. Fiona Harris (S5) reported on the trip.

“Recently our Higher chemistry class had the privilege of visiting the Forensic Science Department at the Glasgow Caledonian University. We were given a presentation led by an experienced chemist (who had been teaching for ten years). She debunked the common misconception that forensic scientists only investigate crime scenes. Forensic scientists can take on a broad range of different roles, their main goal being to provide scientific evidence for use in courts of law.

During a tour around the laboratories, we used microscopes to look at bullet casings to determine the type of bullets fired at a crime scene and some previous experiments carried out by current university students. We also learned about chromatography along with many of the other techniques used to solve cases including samples of debris, DNA and metal detection.

After taking part in discussions about how to collect evidence, we were given a crime related scenario and used this knowledge to analyse and form a conclusion about what had happened. Overall it was a fulfilling experience that allowed us to explore the fascinating career of forensics.

S3 VISIT TO SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT In November 2021, S3 and Higher Modern Studies pupils were invited to visit the Scottish Parliament and attend an information session with the Education Service and tour the Parliament building. It had been over 2 years since the Parliament last welcomed school groups and we were one of the first to visit since reopening the outreach service with covid mitigations in place.

It is always a very relevant and interesting visit for the pupils as it links directly into the Modern Studies curriculum. It provides a valuable opportunity to extend the young peoples’ learning and to enrich their understanding and appreciation of the purpose, function and importance of the Scottish Parliament.

The pupils enjoyed a lively Q&A with Bob Doris, the constituency MSP, and Pam Duncan Glancy, regional

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MSP. The limited opportunity for school trips over the last 2 years made it a very welcome change from the classroom for pupils and staff.

Navy Water Day In June 2021, the Navy Section spent a glorious day on Loch Lomond working on their paddle boarding and raft building skills.

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CCF HANDOVER CEREMONY 2021 As we were unable to stage our Annual Inspection in June, RSM Poppy Graham led her Senior CCF Team in a small outdoor ceremony to hand over leadership roles to the new 2021/22 Senior 6 CCF team. Ctg Commander, Mr Jim Cuthbertson, also awarded Poppy with the Hoey CCF House Cup for Leadership.

Taking over the RSM role from Poppy, is Alice Ptolomey. Alice now heads up the following, Army, Navy and RAF leadership teams for 2021/22: Leo Findlay – CSM Rory Semple – Training CSgt Mia Cousins – CQMS Isla Bottomley – Platoon Commander Martha Armstrong – Platoon Commander Marley Boweh – Platoon Commander Hayley Yao – Coxswain Eliza Aman – Boatswain

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KA HIGHLAND GAMES As we were unable to come together as a community for the celebratory Annual Inspection, our CCF staff and new S6 leadership team staged a Highland Games event for our S3 and S4 cadets.

With a CCF twist on all the traditional Highland Games event, cadets competed in teams taking on ‘Hit the Mess Tin’, ‘Helmet Put’, ‘Bivi Bag Race’, ‘Toss The Caber’, ‘Jump The Minefield’, ‘Resupply Walk’, ‘Combat Boot Throw’, ‘Castle Building’ and ‘Tug of War’.

As the photos clearly demonstrate it was one of KA’s most fun days of 2021.

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S4 - S6 Ceilidhs Whilst changing COVID restrictions meant that we were unable to stage ceilidh events for all senior pupils, we did manage to hold events for our S4, S5 and S6 pupils in December. Whilst it was evident that many of their dancing memories needed ‘jigging’ after two missed years of ceilidh dancing, they all quickly got back in the swing of things. Many thanks to the Cairnhill Ceilidh Band who gave a top performance all three nights.

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S6 Dinner Our current S6 pupils were thrilled that we were able to host their Annual S6 Dinner, albeit scaled back without KA staff guests or the usual visiting captaincy teams from neighbouring schools. However, S6 embraced the event, clapping enthusiastically for the usual dreadful ‘dad jokes’ from Mr Wyatt, Rector, as well as showing their appreciation during witty and slightly controversial speeches from Captains Marley Boweh and Hannah Burnett-Godfree.

After such a long time without the usual social occasions, our S6 enjoyed getting glammed up and spending fun time together.

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LEASE THE LODGE, CHARTER THE YACHT! Did you know that you can hire the John Duff Lodge at our Wilderness Campus or charter Level Best, the School’s 32ft yacht? Visit the kelvinside.org website to see all the Lodge and Yacht facilities and how to check availability.

The John Duff Lodge Set up on the hillside, the John Duff Lodge enjoys sweeping views of the valley and is located just two miles from The Lecht Ski Centre at Strathdon in the Cairngorms National Park. The River Don flows at the bottom of the Lodge’s hillside garden providing a stunning backdrop for evening campfires and barbeques. The Lodge has been fully renovated to accommodate up to 28 people in twin en-suite rooms and larger bunk rooms sleeping 3 and 4 people. With a modern and well-equipped kitchen with generous dining and social areas and expansive grounds – the Lodge is a perfect location for outdoor education groups, corporate team building sessions and family get togethers.

Level Best Members of the KA community can now come on-board the Kelvinside Academy yacht aptly named ‘Level Best’. At 32ft she provides a spacious layout both above and below deck for up to 6 people. She is available for charter over the Summer holiday season to members of the KA community who are suitably qualified to skipper her. She provides a safe and comfortable sail for couples and families alike to enjoy the waters on the Upper Clyde and can be found docked at James Watt Dock Marina in Port Glasgow. Fully coded and kitted out to make your sail as easy as possible, she is both a great yacht for day sailing and stretching further afield on overnight trips.

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Business Breakfast

Business Breakfast In November, S6 pupils, staff, parents, Academicals and friends of KA, were privileged to have an exclusive insight into the global energy crisis from Academical Paul Richards (2000). As founder and CEO of Together Energy, Paul also shared his varied career path and offered valuable advice to the S6 pupils as they prepare for the next stage of their lives. Paul’s career across the energy industry

has taken him from Uddingston, to London and to Mumbai before ultimately leading him back to Clydebank. He founded Together Energy and talked passionately about the radical recruitment policy the company committed to: 90% of its staff coming from the poorest 10% of local postcodes in Clydebank, Bristol and Warrington.

In November, S6 pupils, staff, parents, Academicals and friends of KA, were privileged to have an exclusive insight into the global energy crisis from Academical Paul Richards (2000). As founder and CEO of Together Energy, Paul also shared his varied career path and offered valuable advice to the S6 pupils as they prepare for the next stage of their lives. Paul’s career across the energy industry

has taken him from Uddingston, to London and to Mumbai before ultimately leading him back to Clydebank. He founded Together Energy and talked passionately about the radical recruitment policy the company committed to: 90% of its staff coming from the poorest 10% of local postcodes in Clydebank, Bristol and Warrington.

Friday 9 September 2022 We are honoured that Richard Cooper (1974) will be our Guest Speaker at the next Business Breakfast on Friday 9th September. To reserve your place please email elaine.solman@kelvinside.org Richard is an engineer by profession. Having left Kelvinside Academy in 1974 he studied at Strathclyde University gaining a degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Management.

His first job was with Howden Group where by the age of 26 he was running their facility in Renfrew with 150 employees. At the time they were building parts for nuclear power stations, trident submarines, wind turbines and tunnelling machines for the Channel Tunnel. Subsequently he worked in senior operations roles at companies such as Kelvin Diesels, Hyster and Rolls Royce aero engine repair and overhaul.

In the second half of his career, he was involved with technology start ups in medical devices, cofounding Cascade Technologies in 2003 designing, building, and selling laser-based gas analysers with a successful exit to Emerson Process management in 2014. This was followed by co-founding Novosound in 2018 where he remains a non – executive director.

After a 45 year apprenticeship! Richard is now a non-executive director or Chairman of 5 technology

companies involved in waste steam to electricity, machines to make cardboard, instrumentation to measure oil condition in heavy machinery, instrumentation to determine semen quality to support reproduction in both cattle and humans and Novosound which develops ultrasound technology for use in industrial, healthcare and wearables. In addition, Richard is an angel investor and is closely involved with a few of the angel investor syndicates in Scotland.

In his spare time, he continues to enjoy his family including 4 kids – 10 years to 30 years, doing “get someone else” projects at home and building and racing cars (a life-long passion).

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Kelvinside Academical Club The Academical Club provides a strong foundation for your future and helps you keep in touch with each other, make professional connections, supports various events and is always ready to welcome you and your family back to KA. With the challenges faced in the past two years, electronic communications have become more popular and, to ensure that you are receiving the most up-to-date information, please ensure we have your email address.

We would love to hear from Academicals who would like to feature or contribute to content for the next Magazine, would like to get involved with any aspect of the Club or help with future events.

Please note that the details in this Minerva only cover from January 2021 to December 2021 Elaine Solman Development Manager elaine.solman@kelvinside.org

Alastair Tear (1974) Club President The Club The past two years have impacted on the KA Family globally and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Colin Neill (1972) who kept everyone informed and entertained with his unique style in managing the Academical Club Facebook page.

Colin continues to do a tremendous job and we are all extremely grateful to him for his time and input.

Friday 9 September Business Breakfast Friday 9 September Class of 1990 Reunion Class of 1991 Reunion Class of 1992 Reunion

Dates for your Diary Please find dates set so far for the coming year. If you would like additional information regarding any of these please contact elaine.solman@kelvinside.org.

Sunday 4th September Minerva Day (KA Family BBQ)

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Friday 16th September Class of 1972 Reunion Friday 28 October Class of 1970 Reunion Friday 28 October Class of 1971 Reunion Thursday 17 November London Section Dinner

BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award 2022 Huge congratulations are offered to Academical Sophie Joint (2018) who recently performed her way into the final of the prestigous BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year contest.

Sophie is a final year student on the traditional music course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has previously won a Celtic Connections Danny Kyle award, in a competition designed to highlight promising new talent in Scottish music.

A pianist with a background in Scottish and Irish traditional music, Sophie enjoys composing and arranging in a contemporary style with strong traditional roots and has performed at international festivals including Festival Interceltique de Lorient and Celtic Colours in Canada.

An arranger and composer as well as a performer, Sophie plays with the band Harbour Road and as part of a duo with Glasgow fiddler Breanna Wilson, who also played in the BBC final.

Although her music sometimes takes her far afield these days, Sophie remains close to her local roots, recently finding inspiration for a piano composition

from the history of Mugdock Country Park.

Sophie said: “I was fascinated by the story of how there used to be a zoo at the park with an elephant who used to get into all sorts of bother, once following his keeper down the road to Milngavie.

“I wrote a tune about it called ‘Big Charlie’ after the elephant’s name and was really pleased to perform it during the BBC semi-final.

The final took place in February 2022 in the City Halls in Glasgow as part of the Celtic Connections Festival, along with the other five successful finalists. It was an amazing achievement to make the final and although Sophie did not take the title, The Times gave her special mention in their review of the competition at Celtic Connections: “Other standouts included pianist Sophie Joint, whose rushing lines and fluid textures sounded like Debussy…

Each of the performers played music on which they stamped their identity, refusing to be bound by the shortbread-and-kilts stereotype. It is enough to reassure you that Scottish trad is a genre comfortable with its past but reinventing itself for the future”.

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Young Scottish writer earns big break by calling out lack of diversity Maliha Shoaib (2018) has won a prestigious competition designed to bring more diverse perspectives into journalism. Maliha beats hundreds from across the UK to be hand-picked by Vogue Business as one of the industry’s most exciting young writers. The following article appeared in The Herald in February 2021 celebrating Maliha’s win.

Business Trend Editor. Lucy said: “We received many applications for the Vogue Business Talent competition from people all over the UK. What made Maliha’s piece stand out was her unique take on diversity in the luxury beauty industry, a topic the judges felt was very pertinent. The final result was unanimous among our expert judging panel and we are thrilled to have Maliha as our winner.

Maliha Shoaib, a 20-year-old who attended Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow’s West End, has been named as the winner of the inaugural Vogue Business Talent Competition, which was created to give people from underrepresented backgrounds a break in the industry.

“We created the Vogue Business talent competition in order to bring more diverse perspectives to fashion and beauty business journalism. We hope that initiatives like this will help those from underrepresented backgrounds break into this industry and we are thrilled to work with Maliha and the runners up as they progress in their careers.“

Maliha, who is months away from completing her English and World Philosophies degree at SOAS, University of London, believes there are still issues with access for people of colour to make a career in journalism.

Maliha recently presented at SOAS’s Festival of Ideas on decolonising the media industry, during which she asked whose narratives are being told, whose are silenced, and what hierarchies are sustained through the industry’s lack of representation.

She’s called on the media industry to move towards inclusivity, from hiring practices to the kinds of stories they’re covering. She said: “Studies show that diverse newsrooms outperform their nondiverse competitors because what they publish is more well-rounded. It’s important that we think critically about the unconscious biases behind the information we take in. At an industry level this can be done by introducing diversity training programmes for staff, becoming more aware of the blind spots that our privilege allows us, and providing platforms for marginalised voices to be heard.”

Maliha’s winning article, which asked why luxury beauty brands are slow to make inclusive products, will be published by Vogue Business. She’s also earned an internship at the media outlet and one year of mentorship from Lucy Maguire, Vogue

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The judging panel was a who’s who of fashion and journalism, including Harris Reed, the fashion designer who designed Harry Styles’ latest Vogue cover outfit, Condé Nast global chief diversity and inclusion officer Yashica Olden, TED speaker Sinéad Burke and Phoebe English, a fashion designer who recently exhibited at the V&A. Maliha, who is currently Editor-in-Chief of The SOAS Spirit, SOAS University of London’s student newspaper, realised she wanted to become a journalist while a pupil at Kelvinside Academy, when she heard a speech by Helen Broadfoot at her 2018 Prize Giving ceremony where she was awarded the Dux. Helen was Kelvinside Academy’s first female pupil and is Senior Fashion Editor at NETA-PORTER and PORTER. Hearing Helen’s story inspired Maliha’s already existing interest in writing and journalism, and she’s been working towards a career in fashion journalism ever since.

Dan Wyatt, headmaster at Kelvinside Academy said: “We knew Maliha would be destined for great things and are over the moon for her. This accolade is incredibly well deserved. She has a unique voice and has always been a very passionate storyteller.

“We’re incredibly proud and look forward to reading her excellent journalism for years to come.”

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London Section The London Section held its annual dinner on 11 November 2021 once again in the magnificent surroundings of the Caledonian Club. Some 30 people attended including Alastair Tear (1974) the parent club President, the Rector, Chief Operating Officer and others who had made the journey from Glasgow. A good night was had by all. Phil Stokes (2002) was in the chair for the final time of his presidency before passing the baton to John Burleigh (1972). Thanks must go to Phil for finding suitable locations for the social events we have had in recent years. John Burleigh needs no real introduction as he was one of the London based Academicals who was instrumental in restarting the section back in 2003. A keen golfer, John is a past captain of Clandon Regis GC where we have had several outings over the years.

In addition to the dinner last year the section fielded two teams for the London Scottish Schools Golf Society outing at Denham in July.

KA1 made up of John Burleigh (1972), Bob Reid (1973), Graeme Russell (1989) and Graeme Hay (1993) were overall winners in the morning team competition. Bob Reid and David McGill (1973) were the winners over the front 9 in the afternoon following the usual welcoming Denham lunch.

A warm welcome is extended to any former pupils of either KA or Craigholme who find themselves working in the London area. For information about the section please contact the secretary, David McGill - scotlandend@btinternet.com.

Angling Section In January, Club members were delighted to be able to hold an Annual Dinner again in the Glasgow Grosvenor Hotel, and welcomed the Academical Club President as a guest of honour. Excellent company and hard work by the committee resulted in a successful event, boosted by a fine selection of raffle prizes. Trophies were awarded to Club Champions Fraser Renwick, Andy Smith, Alastair Wilkie, Donald Forbes, Iain McDonald and Malcolm Goddard for their angling skills in the 2021 season. Members fly fished for brown and rainbow trout from boats at 10 outings in the Central Belt last year, starting at the Lake of Menteith in April after lockdown was lifted. As the year progressed we fished Harelaw Dam, then Loch Earn for the first time in years. Some of our anglers continued to catch well through a warm summer at Carron Valley, Frandy and Black Loch, but we came a close second to Heriots in the

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Sinclair Inter Schools Cup. As Autumn took hold, the season finished with KAAC coming Runners Up in the Last Cast Trophy ... yet again!

Club membership is steady at 18 anglers with Academicals being augmented by a number of Associate members including Jane Wright OBE and Joy Penrose-Stupart from the Scottish Ladies Team. Our boat angling is pay as you go, so you can enjoy a day outdoors and compete for a bottle of whisky at as many, or as few, venues as you like.

Former pupils or fellow anglers interested in joining the Club should contact me on 07522 581317 or at iainmcdonald53@gmail.com.

Iain S McDonald (1971) Honorary Secretary Kelvinside Academical Angling Club

Curling Section New, more relaxed COVID restrictions have allowed Kelvinside Academical C.C. to take to the ice once again, in our new home at Greenacres.

This season, the Club has already seen success, having won the Dunbartonshire Province Championship (the Claude Allan Cup).

Championships in Lillehammer, Norway. They finished on 4W-3L, missing out on a play-off spot by the narrowest of margins but retaining their place in the European B-Division for next season. They will play in the English National Championships in February.

Club Secretary, Jim Whittle (2012) along with fellow club member Scott Gibson represented England at the 2021 European Curling

James Whittle (2012) Club Secretary

Stephen McClymont (1986) played in the Scottish Curling Senior Championships Qualifiers in December, his team securing a spot to play for the title at the Scottish Curling Senior Championships in February.

the school, notably with the Rector and Biology Teacher, Mr. Nicholson being active members of the club.

We’re very grateful to continued support from

Jim is pictured below representing England in the 2021 European Curling Championships.

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Academical Weekend at the Wildnerness Campus On an evening of fine food and friendships at the Kelvinside Academicals’ London Section Dinner in 2019, David McDowall (1980) made the winning auction bid for a weekend at the John Duff Lodge at Corgarff. And so it eventually transpired that 15 young (at heart) Accies assembled there on Friday 1 October 2020, some meeting for the first time in over 40 years.

friendships were rekindled and new ones forged, we embarked on a weekend of hill-walking, golf, a distillery visit and fishing. But the biggest part of the time was spent socialising - with thanks to our great catering team of Sally and Finn - with tales old and new traded until late into both nights.

Three of the party even stayed until Monday with another hike being followed by a curry in Ballater.

As we assembled, various questions arose - most importantly, would the old playground rivalries between the 5th years and 6th years raise their ugly heads? The ensemble comprised of 8 from the class of 1979 and 7 from 1980. The 1979 boys have remained close through the years (in fact, 7 of the 8 now live within 5 square miles of Anniesland Cross!) but the 1980 boys had travelled further for this social experiment of “Big Brother” proportions.

Thanks are due to David McDowall, Graeme Bisset (1980) and Mel Scott (1979) for their planning efforts and to Elaine Solman for all her sterling work on our behalf.

The Wilderness Campus provided a fantastic base with two sitting rooms, bar and restaurant areas flowing into each other and the sleeping accommodation warm and comfortable. As old

And the proof of the success of our experiment is that we have booked the Lodge to do it all again next year.

Those present were Colin Anderson, Colin Deas, Ken Hill, Roy Miller, Robin MacDougall, Niall McLean, Mel Scott and David Sturgeon (all 1979) and Graham Bisset, Rory Cuthbertson, Alastair Findlay, Drew Ireland, David McDowall, Graeme Sloan and Donald Wilson (all 1980).

On an early autumn Friday and not far from Glenshee There met one of the strangest groups that you will ever see Some had last met just last week, some not for many a year But they’met up to golf, to walk, to talk shite and drink beer.

Now whether it was down to drink or generosity But David brought together all these kings of industry There were lawyers, there were dentists, there were businessmen as well And others that did bugger all as far as I can tell

Alistair got flighty when he got out his drone Big Roy organised a walk to try to lose 4 stone Deasy and Rory swapped wild stories, the Graemes listened in But hopefully we’ll never hear about Drew’s paraplegic again

Now clearly Mel and Donald vied to be king of the Castle While Rob and Andy clearly thought it wisnae worth the hassle Gnome and Kenny did their best to put away the bevvy While Paddy had one drink then went for a run in case he’d got too heavy

So yes, it’s been a great weekend with loads of fun and laughs And with another night here who knows what will come to pass But there hasn’t been a single fight since we got to this place Though as the booze begins to flow again - just watch this space....

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News Laura Baxendale (2003) Congratulations to Laura and her husband Mark on the birth of their son, George, on 27 October 2021. We would also like to congratulate Laura on becoming the first female Academical Board Member of the Kelvinside Academy War Memorial Trust.

Helen Broadfoot (2005) Congratulations to Helen on the birth of her daughter, Anna Wilde Blacket 7lbs 6oz.

Jenny Halley (2011) and Richard Lonsdale (2011) Congratulations to Jenny and Richard on their recent engagement. Jenny and Richard had their first date twelve and a half years ago when they were in Senior 4.

Andrew Merrylees (2011) Congratulations to Andrew on being appointed as the Legal Officer to the British Judge at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He will primarily be acting as legal counsel and assisting the Judge and Chambers of the Trial Division of the Court in trying crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Since leaving school in 2011, Andrew qualified as a Barrister in London, specialising in international law and domestic crime.

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Duncan Munn (2021) The following article appeared on the Off-side Line website.

DUNCAN MUNN flew under the radar and right into the Boroughmuir Bears team to face Southern Knights last month, then shot down any doubts there might have been about his readiness for the step-up to Super6 by absorbing a ferocious tackle from opposition winger Billy Wara early in the match and diving straight back into the action without a moment’s hesitation.

“It was quite a harsh introduction to big boy rugby,” chuckles the 18-year-old. “The ribs were pretty sore for a few days after that, but at that point the adrenaline was going, and we only had two scrum-halves on the bench so I’d gone into the game with the mindset that I was going to be playing the full 80 which meant I just had to get myself up, dust myself off and get on with it.”

Like hundreds of young players the length and breadth of Scotland, Munn missed the entirety of his final year of under-18s rugby due to this damned pandemic, but the Balloch born-and-

raised centre has shrugged that off and hardly missed a beat since the easing of restrictions since the Summer. He was added to the Bears Super6 squad as an injury replacement for second-row Ewan Stewart three weeks ago and has now played two full 80 minutes, in that gritty away loss to Southern Knights, and in a fine home win over Stirling County which served as a major morale-boost to the Meggetland men heading into last weekend’s mid-season break.

Munn has been a solid presence in the middle of the park for Graham Shiel’s side, displaying impressive composure and maturity given his age and lack of time in the saddle during the last 18-months. While there is understandably a lot of angst coursing through the Scottish game at the moment over the prospect of a lost generation, he has helped demonstrate that there can be a rugby life post-Covid for those in the 18 to 20-year-old bracket who want it.

“I was at Kelvinside Academy and then joined Cartha this summer, I wasn’t a stage three player or anything like that, so I suppose I was a bit under the radar,” he reflects.

“I started playing at Loch Lomond when I was fouryears-old and I was there until I was under-16s,” Munn continues, when asked to fill in the blanks of his rugby journey so far. “It is my hometown club and I still go down to help coach the minis and stuff. My two wee brothers are still there and my dad coaches there as well, so that’s where it all started, and the connection is still strong.

“I got a scholarship to Kelvinside Academy at the end of S4 for my final two years at school and it was really good for me. I think I developed a lot during that period even if it was a bit weird in my second year with no rugby because of Covid.

“It became about trying to get as much out of it as I could considering the circumstances and I was very lucky because my coaches, Thomas Davidson and Davie Wilson, were really good at doing extras with me – mental stuff, one-to-one skills, analysing games and so on. That was really helpful at a time when there was not much rugby going on anywhere.”

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Raymond Nelson (1980) The following article appeared in the GOFF Rugby Report Ray Nelson was a points machine and a dynamic fullback for the USA. Capped 25 by the USA at a time when the Eagles didn’t play a lot every year, Nelson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and he played his first rugby games there. He was talented and went on to play for Scotland at age-grade levels and was also skilled in 7s.

After a move to California to attend Cal State Long Beach, Nelson pitched up for the Los Angeles club and was a standout for the Southern California Griffins and Pacific Coast Grizzlies. He made his debut for the USA 15s team in 1983 and suited up at wing throughout the USA’s successful tour of Australia. Nelson had quickly established himself as a potent attacking force and a strong defender, but he was also an effective goalkicker.

Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales Country (they lost close games to Sydney and to Queensland, and were beaten soundly in the test match against the Wallabies).

Nelson played for the USA in the Rugby World Cup in 1987 and 1991, and his 27 points in the 1987 RWC remained a USA record for a single tournament until 2003. He was a perfect 4-for-4 in goalkicking (all four very difficult kicks), with a try to boot, in the USA’s 21-18 defeat of Japan in 1987.

In Australia he was tabbed as the main goalkicker and helped the USA beat West Australia, South

Ralph Risk (1950) Thank you to Ralph for donating his Chronicle Magazines from 1937-1951 to the School Archive.

Henry Rottenburg (1892) Henry Rottenburg appeared in an article regarding Great Scottish Olympians.

Rugby and racing…kind of. 1948 OK, so this one is an honorary mention since rugby player Henry didn’t technically ever make it to the Olympics. He did however win five caps for Scotland around the turn of the 20th century and went on to have quite the impact on the race track - maybe just not in the way you would think.

adjustable blocks and a system to anchor the machine to the track, that has all the key elements of the blocks that are still in use today.

The following photograph was taken in 1948 testing out the starting blocks.

Born in Glasgow in 1875, the former Kelvinside Academy student was described as ‘quite the most brilliant full-back of the day’ - a compliment he was happy to shrug off, calling rugby ‘a form of recreation extant – not only as a game, but as a moral agent’.

Despite his talents on the field, Henry had his heart set on becoming an engineer and it was during his time as a lecturer in Cambridge that he invented the very first starting blocks for racers to use beneath their feet. It’s his design, with Minerva

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Scott Younger (1958) AYO INDONESIA This book has been brought out to celebrate the 30th year of the Jababeka group, a developer of industrial estates and townships, and the wide interests of Dr Djuandi Darmono, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. Jababeka stands for amalgamation of three cities served by the group, a sort of acronym, namely Jakarta, and the cities to the east, Bekasi and Karawang. Dr Darmono hails from Central Java, from Magelang, close to the World Heritage site, the Buddhist temple of Borobudur, which features in the book. This triggered his great interest in heritage and it made sense that he should also be a patron of the Old City of Jakarta, Kota Tua, for which he was asked by his good friend Joko Widodo, when he was Governor of Jakarta, now President of Indonesia.

The people of the old city, 3 centuries ago, would be amazed at the size of Greater Jakarta today, 30 million inhabitants, reputedly the second largest conurbation in the world.

Dr Darmono recognises the value of education, and has a primary and secondary school, founded in the mid-1990s in Cikarang, to the east of Jakarta, and President University which started with 40 students in 2004, and now has 5500- 6,000 students with 10-15% coming from overseas. It was in 2015, when I addressed the biannual Australian-Indonesian conference, as a member of the European Chamber board, on the subject of Infrastructure. Darmono was my Moderator and, after the conference session was finished, over a coffee he asked me to take on the role of Chancellor of the University, which I was surprised but pleased to accept.

I already had a position as Hon Research Fellow at Glasgow University from 2011, and was trying to raise the profile of the University in Indonesia.

Matters accelerated after I was also acting for President University. Nowadays Glasgow University has a successful marketing office within Jababeka and cooperation between the universities was getting well underway when the covid pandemic struck!

In 2018, Darmono was invited by Glasgow University to accept the award of an Honorary Doctorate degree (DUniv). At the time of the visit to Glasgow University he came to visit Kelvinside Academy and met with Ian Muir, who was then contemplating having an overseas branch of

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the school. We were discussing Indonesia, more exactly Tanjung Lesung, which features early in the book, and is particularly close to Darmono’s heart. It is a fine location, the gateway to Krakatau among other places of interest, and access has just been made easier, a toll road has been put in to link to Jakarta It will not be long before a regional air connection will be added. But there are many many hoops to go through before bringing such an idea to fruition, as I discussed with Graham Bell (KA, Singapore).

The book features a chapter on the forward thinking of the group, and covers the issues of urbanisation and sustainable development and other related matters, which are at the forefront of the country’s agenda.

The title of the book, Ayo Indonesia, is my wife June’s idea as is the Indonesian red and white cover. She attended the Glasgow High School for Girls and Art School. In the past, she was known to run around in the playing field next to the school. That is all I am allowed to say!

Victor Warren (1920) The following article appeared in The Herald and Evening Times in May 2021 Amazing tale of Glasgow Lord Provost’s bravery when sailing trip went wrong TAKING on the Lord Provost role in Glasgow could be seen as a brave move, given the level of scrutiny which comes with it.

But not many incumbents can claim to have an actual bravery award – that is, apart from Victor Warren. Born and bred in Glasgow, he lived in Dowanhill with his father David Dunn Warren (founder of Hunter and Warren explosives) and his mum Jean, and went to Kelvinside Academy.

He became Lord Provost in 1949 (here he is, taking the oath of office). In May 1949 he had to miss the kirking of the magistrates at Glasgow Cathedral because his doctor had ordered him to bed for complete rest after a harrowing experience while on a fishing trip in Loch Arkaig, in Invernessshire, a few days earlier. Warren had been fishing with a friend from Glasgow when their boat was overturned in a squall. The friend’s chauffeur was drowned, while Warren was struggling to help him.

After a brief rest, Warren swam back to the upturned boat, to which his friend was clinging, and they dragged the boat into shallow waters.

Exhausted, they walked three miles to raise

the alarm. Warren later received the Glasgow Corporation medal for bravery and the Glasgow Humane Society’s certificate for gallantry.

Warren took over the running of the family explosives firm and served as Lord Provost until 1952, when he was appointed Civil Defence Controller for West Scotland. He was knighted in the 1951 New Year’s Honours list.

Warren had been the leader of the Progressive group on the town council. He organised defences against nuclear war (in the post-war “duck-and cover” hysteria) and began the waves of slum clearance for which Glasgow became very famous. During the war he had commanded the 15th Scottish Divisional Signals and the 82nd West African Divisional Signals. He died aged just 49 in 1953.

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OBITUARIES The past year has been very difficult for many people and our thoughts and condolences are with those who have lost family members during this time.

Archie Cumming (1962) “Archibald S. Cumming (Big Archie) (1962). Archie passed away peacefully on 17 February 2021 on his beloved Isle of Arran. He was laid to rest in his home village of beautiful Lochranza. Many will remember Archie as the fun loving guy he was and for whom High Jinks was a way of life.

Archie is survived by his loving wife Maureen, his three children Archie(II), Jane and Katherine and eight grandchildren (including Archie(III)). He loved his rugby, golf, fishing, sailing, playing the fiddle, singing and, of course, the very occasional pint of Guinness! but most of all he loved his family. He will be remembered by many for his humour and kindness.”

Walter Johnston (1962)

Murray MacKinnon (1960) Murray MacKinnon was fascinated by the work of photographic pioneers as George Washington Wilson, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, who created remarkable images of Scotland’s people and places in the 19th century. Over 40 years he amassed more than 14,000 photos, capturing every facet of life in Scotland from 1840, which was purchased by the National Library of Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland in 2018.

Murray MacKinnon was born in Glasgow on 15 March 1943 at his parents’ tenement flat on Holyrood Quadrant, off Great Western Road.

He was educated at Napiershall Street Primary school and then Kelvinside Academy.

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Alastair McDonald (1946) Alastair passed away peacefully at Erskine Home on 7 July 2021 aged 92, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Following his family tradition, Alastair attended Kelvinside as a primary school pupil before leaving to board at Merchiston Castle School.

After attending Glasgow University, he completed his National Service, then moved to Liverpool to work in his father’s Grain Merchants business, but in the post war period, the industry and its opportunities were significantly limited by regulations. Returning to Glasgow with a young family, Alastair founded Westcars car dealership in Crow Road in 1960. By the early 1970’s, his three sons - Iain (1970), Gordon (1971) and Andrew (1978) were all at Kelvinside, and both he and his wife Marjorie were ‘professional’ attendees of school activities and parents’ nights!

A change of career and scenery was initiated by the purchase of Brandedleys Caravan Park near Dumfries, and through successful development, a 5 Pennant Award was earned from the Scottish Tourist Board.

Retirement enabled Alastair to renew contact with his fishing companions in the Kelvinside Academical Angling Club, and he was delighted

to become its President in 2000. His enthusiasm for the sport was inherited by his sons, and together they enjoyed quality time during many trips to the lochs of Assynt before his illness progressed.

Iain McDonald (1971)

Neil MacIntosh (1949) Neil passed away peacefully after a short illness at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after a short illness on Saturday 14 December 2019. Beloved

husband of Ann. Much loved dad of Karen, Nikki and Clare. A dear papa to Charlie and Georgia; Katrin, Lewis and Tom; Max, Ella and Magnus.

Ronald Wark (1959) Ronald passed away last October at the age of 80 having just moved 5 weeks earlier to Kinross from the retiral house in Glenfarg, Perthshire. He and Gloria had gone there in 2011. Ronnie had been a Chartered Accountant and followed in his father’s footsteps with the well-known housebuilding firm MacTaggart & Mickel, where he worked all his life, becoming Finance Director, until he retired in 1998.

He married Gloria de Pettis in 1968 and they had 2 children, Amanda and Christopher, and lived in Newton Mearns from this date until they moved to Glenfarg. They always enjoyed a domestic menagerie around, cats, dogs and hens

in Newton Mearns and Glenfarg. Gloria was an accomplished musician, her time spent teaching piano and violin and member of the orchestra. I still remember her playing Liszt proudly showing her Hungarian origins.

One was always made welcome in their house, with Gloria’s bubbling disposition and Ronnie’s good cheer. The world will be poorer without you, Ronnie. He is succeeded by Amanda and Christopher and 5 grandchildren. Gloria predeceased him in 2017.

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Anthony J Macfarlane (1962) Tony Macfarlane, who died on 15 May, 2021, was brought up in Bearsden from his birth in 1944.

He lived with mother, Winifred, father, Henry, elder brother Terrance and “Jock” the family’s pugnacious Scotch Terrier. Having joined KA in Lower 1 in 1948 Tony progressed through Lower School and into Remove in “the Hut”. Always a reserved member of class he participated in all activities and was well liked. As he moved through Senior School his gentle nature and sense of humour were greatly appreciated and Tony formed many friendships which continued throughout his life. Until “Lockdown” in 2020 he met regularly with a group of these friends.

From an early age Tony loved the Isle of Iona where he spent many family holidays. In the 1950s the accommodation had neither electricity nor running water. Pumping water, swimming in the sea and playing by candlelight in the evenings all added a sense of adventure and these holidays were magic. Tony instilled in his family that love of Iona and they have continued to visit that unique island over the years.

In 1962 Tony began an apprenticeship with Doig and Smith, Chartered Quantity Surveyors, in Glasgow. He progressed in his studies to become a much valued member of the Doig and Smith team and in due course he was appointed a Partner of the Firm. In truth Tony never sought the spotlight for himself but he was in all circumstances absolutely reliable and loyal. He was responsible for many projects and was highly respected for his integrity. Amongst the projects of which he was proud was the developments at Coulport, the development of Glasgow Airport and the refurbishment of The Glasgow Film Theatre.

Until his recent illness Tony met regularly with a group of the lads who began their apprenticeships between 1960 and 1965. The fact that these men, many of whom had moved to other employment, continued to meet regularly over all these years speaks highly of the bonds of friendship established during their early years in their profession.

But Tony was, perhaps above all, a dedicated family man. He married Meg in September 1971 and they took great pride in their daughter Fiona, their son Grant and their five grandchildren.

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Tony was a keen follower of Rugby. As a young boy Saturday evening family dinner conversation invariably focussed on the day’s rugby results and this interest continued all his life. He was a regular attender at Balgray and subsequently at West of Scotland and Murrayfield.

Tony contributed much to local community life in Bearsden. He was a member of New Kilpatrick Parish Church and was a past President of Antonine Probus Club where I understand his final address to members was highly acclaimed.

Many will picture Tony walking “Bonnie”, their lively Cocker Spaniel, round the local area. Tony moved at a ‘measured’ pace - but he always had time to chat to friends. He was a man who shunned stress and was rarely hurried - but he was never late.

Everyone who knew Tony appreciated his integrity, his warmth and his friendship. Although he was thoughtful and had opinions on most things, never at any time did I hear him angered, rude or hurtful. He was always an influence for good. He was the gentlest of men and always patient and considerate with others. He has been an example to us all and will be remembered by many.

Craigholme

Former Pupils Club

As we now move to come out of lock down we look forward to meeting in person and throughout the year we plan to hold a number of events where we can catch up with old friends and meet new ones.

Our first official Craigholme Committee Meeting will take place during the Summer Term.

We are always delighted to receive updates from Former Pupils and if you would like to be included in the next Minerva, please send your update to cathy.gibson@kelviside.org.

The connection between Craigholme and the Kelvinside Community goes from strength to strength and this year our School Captains both have links to Craigholme. Hannah Burnett-Godfree is a former Craighlme Pupil and Marley Boweh is the son of a former Pupil, Julie Gilchrist (1988).

Hannah has commented:“I joined Craigholme School in Junior 1, aged 4, the small class education presenting a unique, tightknit start to learning. I was inspired throughout my time there by all of my teachers, in particular, the music department who sparked my interest in the arts, helping me to develop as a musician and student. Transitioning to a new school was something out of my depth, however this was made easy by the welcoming faces of KA, friendships initiated and the real sense of community, with values

and ethos common to both schools. This has made my formative years both rewarding and enjoyable. I have been able to further develop my love for music, involved throughout the school in various ensembles and events. Thus far, S6 has been a memorable year, with countless opportunities to round off my school experience, before moving onto University where I hope to study Law, maintaining the values that have been nurtured from junior 1 at Craigholme through to my senior years here at Kelvinside” Minerva

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News Emma Dickie (2017) Congratulations to Emma on graduating from the the University of Edinburgh in June 2021 with First Class Honours in Business Management MA. Emma said “I absolutely loved my course and felt so fortune to be at such a wonderful University, with a lot of thanks going to the Craigholme community!” Emma is now taking a year out to train and work as a ski instructor in Whistler, Canada before hopefully moving to London and starting a career in field marketing. Emma also has a previous connection to KA as her dad is Academical Willie Dickie (1985).

Catherine Conejo (2008) We are delighted that Catherine has joined the KA staff.

She has given us the following update.

“I started Craigholme as a very quiet and shy Primary 6 child back in 2001. I played hockey for the school and golf too!

I left in 2008 to go to Dundee University where I studied Primary Education. I went out to work in Kenya during one of the summers as a student and worked for a school called, The Jonathan Gloag Academy. This school had a bread factory which was funded by Kelvinside Academy.

I love travelling and I was trying to get to 30 countries before I was 30, but Covid stopped me just before my 30th birthday at country number 27!

I moved back to Glasgow after University and worked in schools around Glasgow for years then I finally made the move out to Spain which I had wanted to do for a long time! I worked in an International School out there - King’s College Alicante- It was awesome! I loved it! I loved my life out there, but with Covid making it so difficult to see friends and family I decided to come back - I applied for the job at Kelvinside Academy, so it all worked out perfectly.”

Catherine Mackie (2018) We were delighted to receive an update from Catherine. I passed my third year studying Social Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University with a distinction and am on track to graduate with a first class BA (Hons) Social Sciences Degree.

I successfully completed a Work Placement with the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) and contributed towards SPIRU’s report that will be used by Threehills Community Supermarket.

At Uni I was appointed as Chair of the GCU Social

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Sciences Society, and Vice Chair of the GCU Drama Society for the upcoming academic year.

I am currently working on gaining GCU’s Common Good Award.

Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been volunteering as a Befriender for the Number One Befriending Agency, a local social enterprise that supports isolated and vulnerable adults and also started volunteering as a Social Media Coordinator for the Caledonian Crushers.

Yesteryear The Murdoch Era 1894 -1924 The following was extracted from the book 100 years of Craigholme School by Frances HK Howell

“When this advertisement appeared in the Glasgow Herald in 1894 no-one could have forecast that within one hundred years there would evolve one of the leading schools in the West of Scotland.

Mrs Jessie Murdoch was the daughter of David Donaldson FEIS, who became the Head of the English School in Paisley Grammar and later took over the editing of Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary on the death of the previous editor. She was born in 1856 and attended Paisley Grammar School, where she had a distinguished record by winning many prizes over a wide range of subjects. She taught in various schools including a period of English Governess in Lausanne before she took over the management of Caversbank School in Paisley leaving there only when she married. In 1883 she married Alexander Murdoch, who was a steel founder and merchant. It is a matter of some pride to their descendants that he was a distant relative of William Murdoch, the inventor of gas lighting. In 1893 he died leaving his wife with three young children, Annie who was born in 1883, Janetta, born 1886 and Margaret born in 1888. Faced with the problem of providing a livelihood and suitable home for her young family, Mrs Murdoch made a shrewd decision.

Pollokshields was still an enlarging suburb, convenient to the city, with a growing demand for education for children who were too young to travel to one of the established private schools in the West End. Several small schools offered instruction in private houses in Pollokshields and their popularity was largely dependent upon their exact location. Devonbank School was flourishing opposite the Bowling Green in Maxwell Drive, a convenient place for children living north of Nithsdale Road. As it seemed prudent to offer similar services in new territory Mrs Murdoch bought a villa at the top end of Dalziel Drive, No 63 named Craigholme, where development was still continuing. There was also the possibility of a wider catchment area in the future as it was in April 1894 that two new stations were opened at Pollokshields West and Maxwell Park turning the Cathcart Railway into the Cathcart Circle.

This was also an important period in the history of education for women at all levels. Many schools were opened at the end of the nineteenth century to cater for higher education for women in Glasgow and Edinburgh. (It is of passing interest to note that in 1892 women were admitted to some Scottish Universities on an equal footing with men for the first time).

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Mrs Murdoch and her family moved into No 63 in Spring 1894 and she published her “Mrs Alex Murdoch respectfully intimates that she intends to open a HIGH-CLASS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, at Craigholme, Dalziel Drive, Pollokshields on 3 September 1894”…

“Boys will be received up to eight or nine years of age” “The aim of the School will be not only to impart the necessary instruction, but to develop the pupils, physically, intellectually, morally and spiritually; and to form habits of order, neatness and thoroughness, as well as of propriety of speech and manner”.

Mrs Murdoch’s differed from some other schools by taking girls up to the age of 14 only and boys for the first few years. When the School was opened there were forty pupils and seven full time staff for the more academic subjects and seven other visiting staff for music, dancing, painting and other artistic subjects. Mrs Murdoch was fortunate in the beginning to have a younger sister, Eliza, on her staff. Eliza had already worked with her when she managed Caversbank and immediately before coming to Pollokshields Ladies’ School, Eliza had been a Governess at Westbourne Gardens School, better known as the Misses Levacks in the west end of the city.

As No 63 was home for the Murdoch family as well as being the School it was not long before more accommodation was required. As early as 1896 Mrs Murdoch put in a planning application for a new wing to be added to the house. This was erected on the right hand side and soon served as an Assembly Hall as well as having various other purposes. Ten years later another planning application was lodged for a further ground floor extension. This was on the other side of the building. Thus we can see that the School was immediately successful and many children flocked to “Mrs Mudpies” as the School was affectionately known.

As time passed Mrs Murdoch’s three daughters all became closely involved in the work of the School.

The Eldest, Annie, who had been to the Sorbonne in Paris, taught languages mainly French; the middle daughter, Janetta, trained as a teacher at St George’s Training College in Edinburgh and returned in 1906 to take over the kindergarten; the youngest, Margaret, taught music.

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From the prospectus for 1901-1902 session we see that in addition to English and Mathematics, Latin, French, German and Italian were on the curriculum. On the aesthetic side music, singing, violin, drawing, painting, sketching, elocution, physical drill and needlework were all allotted time. The custom was for the more serious subjects to be taught in the morning, while the visiting staff conducted classes in the more recreational ones in the afternoons. Extra classes in languages and more advanced English could also be taken then.

Fees at that time varied from one guinea per term for the kindergarten stage to four guineas for senior classes, with extra subjects being charged from half a guinea to four guineas but one or one and a half guineas was the most common charge.

Fortunately, there are still a number of former pupils of Mrs Murdoch herself who remember her well. She was always dressed entirely in black, wearing a high-necked dress with a large cameo brooch at her throat. Her hair was drawn back rather severely. She herself was an excellent teacher and one lady claimed, that despite leaving Mrs Murdoch’s at the age of fourteen and progressing to a boarding school, all the education she ever had came from this worthy lady. Girls were frequently sent to boarding or finishing schools for the later stages of their education.

At the beginning most pupils came from Pollokshields and walked there. There were exceptions. One lady remembers that her mother, who was one of the first pupils who enrolled there in 1894 when the School was opened, came from Govan and travelled there in a pony and trap – the pony was called, “Missie”, but the coachman’s name has been forgotten. The pupils entered by the back door, the cloakrooms being near there; each child had a numbered peg for hanging coats and shoe bags, for the girls had to change into slippers. There was no uniform as such, but someone recalls that they all wore navy blue dresses, while another suggests that in the later years there was a hat-band of pale and dark blue worn with a straw boater in the summer and also with the winter hat, of course they always wore hats and gloves.

A typical day started with a prayer in the classroom; one former pupil recalls that this was The Lord’s Prayer one morning and The Apostle’s Creed on the following day and this pattern was

repeated. This was followed by lessons until the morning interval at 11 am when they went to the pantry to collect cups of milk which were laid out in rows. Thereafter lessons continued until 1pm when the pupils went home for lunch. The younger ones did not return as they attended only in the morning, but the older ones returned at 2.15pm until 3.30pm for the aesthetic subjects mainly. No school lunch was provided since most pupils were within walking distance of the School and one who lived in Paisley Road recalls that she was allowed an extra quarter of an hour at lunchtime, but because she was keen to win the punctuality prize she tended to rush through her lunch!

There was a great emphasis on needlework in those days with a very high standard of sewing being reached. Garments which were made included pyjamas, petticoats with frills, and there was always a sewing competition to see who could make the best set of clothes for a doll, knitted vest, flannel petticoat scalloped in silk, and muslin dress; the prize was the doll itself, a much-longed-for goal. There was also a prize of a doll’s bed for the girl who made the best bedclothes, blanket sheet and pillowcase edged with lace. Even boys were taught to sew and one former pupil relates that her father was furious when her younger brother won a prize for sewing!

Physical education consisted initially of drill and dancing. Later Mrs Murdoch in an attempt to move into the twentieth century had wallbars fitted to the right hand side of the Assembly Hall. Dancing was the preferred physical activity.

Otherwise the only exercise was in their break time when they could play in the back garden, where there was a swing.

Former pupils have fond memories of the school maid, Jeanie who helped them; she greeted them in the morning and assisted with the shoe laces and wellingtons, peeled their apples and oranges at playtime and administered first aid whenever necessary.

At the end of the session there would be a show in the School to display the work, in particular the sewing which had been completed by the pupils in the course of the session. The Burgh Hall would be taken over to stage a dancing display and a performance of pianoforte in which the Murdoch family themselves were particularly involved. In the Assembly Hall in School, Prize-giving would

be held, always commencing with a hymn, “Summer Suns are Glowing”. Prize books had a leather cover on which was embossed a rising sun with rays and the words “Let knowledge grow from more to more, but more of reverence in us dwell”. There was a dux medal which was gold originally, but the one presented in 1916 was silver, probably because of the War. The Prizegiving ceremony was concluded with the singing of the hymn “God be with you till we meet again”.

One memorable occasion was the announcement of the Armistice in 1918. Pupils were summoned to the Assembly Hall to be told by Mrs Murdoch.

The School was one of the first to hear the news for the father of one of the staff, Miss Pullen, worked in the G.P.O. in George Square and telephoned Craigholme quickly with the news.

Some time after the end of the First World War the School was renamed. It took its name from the name of the house “Craigholme”, which has remained the name right up to the present day both for the original house and the School, but there is now no connection between No 63 and Craigholme School.

In 1924 after being at the helm for thirty years, Mrs Murdoch retired.

She was presented with some handsome gifts at the Prize Giving ceremony by Baillie Jubb on behalf of past and present pupils. The Glasgow Herald described her as “an interesting and well-known personality to whom some district of the city owe their early education”. Her former pupils remember her with great respect for her high standards of instruction, her discipline and her understanding.

One describes her as being a very human person – she wore woollen mittens in winter to keep warm. It is due to her skill, determination and strength of character that Craigholme was placed firmly on the education map of Glasgow Mrs Murdoch sold the School to Mrs Logie, left Dalziel Drive but not Pollokshields. She moved to a flat in Melville Street where she lived for another twenty years, firstly with two of her daughters and latterly only with Margaret, who continued to teach music for many years. Jessie Murdoch died at the end of June 1944 at the time of the Jubilee of the School, which sadly could not be celebrated because the country was still in the throes of the Second World War”.

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Balgray Summer Party We will be hosting a Summer Party at Balgray and would love to see both the Craigholme and Kelvinside Families come together for what will be

a fantastic night. Please contact elaine.solman@ kelvinside.org to reserve your tickets, which cost £30.00 per person.

Obituary Miss Sheila Gentle Sadly, Miss Sheila Gentle passed away on Sunday 3 October 2021. Sheila spent the latter years of her life resident in a care home near her family.

Sheila had a loving caring nature and will be sadly missed by many within the Craigholme famly and beyond. The following article appeared in the 1993 Craigholme Magazine on her retirement.

“Nineteen ninety three marks the retiral of Miss Sheila Gentle, head of Craigholme Infant Department. This ends many years of loyal, enthusiastic service and marks the beginning of a well-earned rest for Miss Gentle. After training at Jordanhill College, Miss Gentle taught at Bankhead Primary School and then proceeded to the Infant Department at Craigholme, eventually taking over from Mrs Fleming as Infant Headmistress. It could be said that Miss Gentle’s whole life has been dedicated to the school, as she is herself a former pupil. She first came to the school, which was then housed in Dalziel Drive, when she was in Primary Two. A member of Tantallon House, Miss Gentle was also a Prefect and Vice Head Girl.

As Infant Mistress, Miss Gentle has made the Infant Department what it is today – a happy secure family group. All the girls who have been taught by her – will remember her with respect and affection, as will her colleagues on the staff.

Approachable and caring, she has taken great interest in all aspects of the children’s activities and her patience and understanding know no bounds. Her great charm and rapport with parents have meant a close co-operation between home and school throughout the years.

Miss Gentle’s creative gifts are many and her flair for dramatic work and handwork was evident in the wonderful props she made for our concert shows. She is a perfectionist and her attention to

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detail has been an inspiration to us all. Plans for the future include domestic projects (putting the house to rights!) environmental studies (weeding the garden!) and time to read and visit galleries.

It sounds as though her life is going to be pretty full!

Minerva

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DATA PROTECTION In May 2018 there were changes to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and we continue to look at our policies and the ways in which we communicate with the Kelvinside family. Over the years we have worked hard to ensure that we keep your personal information secure and we will never share it with a third party without your express permission.

We will continue to send you Minerva and to tell you about forthcoming events, dinners or reunions, and to send you details of our development plans and sponsorship opportunities. Should you wish to discontinue receiving this information please contact Development Manager, Elaine Solman (elaine.solman@kelvinside.org)

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Minerva