Week 16th - 23rd May

This week the 2nd form has been busy Gorge walking with Mr Nicholls and they had a fabulous time. They all came back tired but having had an excellent day. Every week on a Wednesday they have a trip out with Mrs Haylock and this week they went to the Crieff sweet shop and ate their way through half the shop. Along with this they have been working hard, which showed in all their form orders.

The 3rd form seemed to have been outside for most of the week. They have played Strathallan at tennis and every team won. In addition, congratulations to Jemima who managed to get into the U14 Midlands hockey squad. Michaela and Isobel have received their first international caps for Scotland having played England in the U14 Scotland rounders match. They did really well and had a great time. They also have another match coming up and we wish them the best of luck. They have also been working hard and it has shown as Home has managed to keep the record for having the best form orders in all three terms. Annie has proved this by receiving a sticker in maths for her hard work. Some of the 3rd form having been getting ready for the upcoming performance of The Wiz, directed by Miss Kirk, which comes to the stage this week.

The 4th form girls have also been very busy. Ellie sang at Holyrood House on Sunday in a reception with a select group of singers and others have played Strathallan at tennis and won all their matches too. The 4th form have been revising for their exams that they have after half term, but still managing to get in a bit of R&R by going to the Home and Lothian tennis and rounders afternoon which happened on Sunday, followed by attending the Skrine's fete.

The L6th have been working hard for the exams that are coming up. However, on top of all her work Alice has managed to train for the Scotland Island Peaks Race, successfully completing Arran which is 19.3 miles up and down mountains. We are all very proud of her for completing it and she is eager to go back next year and run it again. The even more exciting news is that the girls' team actually ended up winning the whole competition. We are also proud of Emily and her sister who made it to the semi-finals of the Home and Lothian tennis competition. We have been really lucky with the weather this week and we have experienced scorching heat that a few of us would have paid for.

The U6th have also been busy with their exams and preparing for their other exams coming up. Along with Alice, Mhairi our Head of house has managed to run Mull for the Scottish Island Peaks Race and, on the hottest day of the year, she successfully finished in high spirits. It is sad but we are getting to the end of term and soon we will be saying good bye to our present U6th. To celebrate their many years at the school, they had a laser quest session and a leavers' meal at The Crieff Hydro which was enjoyed by all.

This week has been very exciting and everyone has had lots to do with exams or competing in the house or other related activities. Next week will be the last slog to half term, a break deserved by all. It will be a time of rest and a time to work, but if the weather stays like it is it will be much enjoyed by everyone.

By Emma Macphie

Week 10th - 16th May

Monday the 10th was the whole school dress easy day where we raised money for the Beatson Institute. Monday also marked the beginning of the Lower Sixth Prefect Trial system, in which the Lower Sixth relieve the Upper Sixth of their duties to get a feel for the role of prefect.

The Second form went kayaking with Andre Philips in Reids, Marina went horse riding with Rosie Barge in the U6th. On field day, whilst the rest of the school was either on parade or up a mountain, the second form went to M&D's theme park for the day.

The Third form on field day had a variety of activities such as hiking, canoeing and mountain biking. A large majority of our third form girls also took part in the Fettes Tennis match which they won!

The Fourth form has also had an eventful week, with Annie Liao's return to the school after being delayed at home due to the volcanic ash. For field day, the fourth form joined the CCF with a mixture of activities such as raft building for the RAF, shooting for the Navy and field attacks for the Army. The fourth form also showed off their social skills with a BBQ with the boys in their year, the smell of burgers made many a L6th very peckish!

The Juniors are all to be congratulated for bringing the trophy back to Home for best form orders, we also won the trophy for best all year form orders which Rachael Cobb went to collect in assembly.

The Lower sixth had a very productive week, most importantly of all Alice Strang Steel and Emily Townsend won the Gladstone Scholarship prize, and will be taken to see his private library soon. Field day also saw some of the L6th taking charge of command tasks, and members of the pipe band played during the inspection. AS exams have started with Art and German Oral exams. Good luck to everyone in the rest of their exams. Future vet Alice Strang Steel also showed off her budding skills whilst on an Island Peaks training run, when she helped rescue a dying lamb! Also congratulations go to Caroline Bullen who was confirmed just before leave out.

Finally in the Upper Sixth, we would like to wish Abi Martin a very happy 18th birthday this week. Congratulations to many of the U6th who participated in the Senior Interhouse Tennis tournament and won! Praise also goes to Toto Lambert who is in the first couple of the 1st tennis team!

By Caroline Bullen


26th April – 2nd May, 2010

The highlight of the second form's week was undoubtedly their trip to the Glenmore Bothy where, having walked 13 miles, they spent the night in sleeping bags, telling ghost stories and cooking on the camp stove. They also went to Auchingarrich wildlife park on Wednesday with Mrs Haylock and have been given their parts for this year's second form play.

The third form kicked off their week by making bread over a campfire in their third form activities. We were also glad to welcome back Bella and Rowan after a delayed return due to volcanic ash. Well done to Izzy, Mickey and Amber for getting into the U14 Scottish rounders squad following this week's trials and to Mickey and Mary for attaining stars in the reading challenge. The week was capped off with a Saturday night disco with the theme of time travel.

The Wiz rehearsals have really kept the fourth form busy and we look forward to seeing Sassy, Rosanna, Megan, Ellie and Flora perform at the end of the month. Alice, Rosanna, Jemima and Aglae have been taking part in Athletics training in Perth this week and Sassy also had fun modelling for Blues and Browns at the weekend.

In the L6th, Alice is still training really hard and she is supremely fit for the Scottish Islands Peaks Race in two weeks time. The whole year group were inspired by the gap year lecture on volunteer work in Africa and Asia this week. Huge congratulations to Lisa Robertson who won the piano competition on Sunday evening and to Emily Townsend who came 4th in the Duncan Garrett tennis competition.

In the run up to their exams, the U6th are working extremely hard and this week saw the A2 Art exam and French orals take place, so Flora, Charlie, Emma, Sophie, Juce and Emils were extremely busy with that. Mhairi sat her SAT tests for her football scholarship to the USA. Georgie and Rosie were moved up to become the first partners of the 2nd tennis team and Rose and Toto played in a cup match against Strathallan.

19th - 25th April, 2010

The second form enjoyed a trip to Elcho Castle on Wednesday with Mrs Haylock. Well done to Ellen Douglas who passed her grade one piano exam with merit. On Saturday Ellen, Holly, Tessa and Marina had a great day clay pigeon shooting with Holly scoring an impressive 9/10 in one round. Meanwhile, Rachael had her first round of golf of the term with the second form boys. They are all looking forward to starting rehearsals for the second form play which will be performed at the end of the term.

In the third form, Jemima, Mary and Issy have all been waking early to take part in swimming training and Olivia, Issy and Jemima have also been rehearsing for The Wiz. Huge congratulations to Bella who passed her grade one clarinet exam with a merit and we are still awaiting the arrival of our housemates Amber, Rowan and Bella as their flights were cancelled due to the volcano.

Amongst the fourth form, Megan completed a period of work experience with the Dundee Rep theatre and she, Flora, Ellie, Sassy and Rosanna have been busy with The Wiz rehearsals. Congratulations to Rosanna who passed her grade 3 flute exam.

Emma and Rosalind of the L6th have proudly completed their gold D of E kayaking expedition and Alice continues training hard for the Scottish Island Peaks race. Annabel has a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre for the summer holidays and will be auditioning for RSAMD at the end of June (fingers crossed). We welcome back Rosalind who completed a three week exchange in Germany and now speaks better German than Albert Einstein himself! We are also really proud of Emily and Louisa who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro over the Easter holidays raising thousands of pounds for charity. Both Jennie and Ros attended the Perth foreign film festival this week enjoying films in both French and German.

In the U6th, Cathy gained two distinctions in her grade 8 singing and saxophone exams, a huge achievement. Emily and Mhairi ran the Edinburgh half marathon which will be of great help to Mhairi in her training for the Scottish Island Peaks race. The A2 Art students are preparing for their Art exam next week whilst both French and Spanish orals will take place in the next fortnight. Having been off games for the last two and a half years due to a serious knee injury, Rosie returns to games following her successful operation. Emily has gained her ski instructor qualification and Ellie gained an offer for Medicine at Dundee.

Week of 15th - 21st March

It has been a very busy week for everyone, with practise for the inter House Drama competition, directed and choreographed by Charlie L and Georgie A, which was amazingly successful as Home House won! They sang and acted 'It's a hard not life' from the musical 'Annie', which was outstanding.

We also won the Senior House Netball this week 9-3, and Lydia N had her 18th birthday. Cathy S won an instrumental competition and duet at Perth festival, at the same time Lisa R came 2nd in the instrumental competition senior class. Ellie M also got a Merit and 1st class certificate in the Perth Festival, as well as celebrating her 15th birthday on Sunday. Izzy H also won her section of the instrumental competition.

The 1st lacrosse players won the Scottish schools competition for lacrosse against Fettes, and Lydia and Ellie played for Scotland Lacrosse this weekend down in Wales. In addition to this the 3rd form Bs won against Fettes. Claire P also competed against the O.Gs in a shooting competition, and although the team lost, she got a 99 and won the .22 tankard. Charlie L was awarded her full house colours, and Charlie D and Emily H survived D of E training (kayaking on the River Tay), ready for the real gold D of E this coming Thursday. Good luck!  Juce C has also been very successful and has got into the London College of Fashion, which is a major achievement.

In the 3rd form, Micky got a star in Geography and Rowan got a star in Maths, as well as all the 3rd form putting on a car wash this Sunday and raising over £100 pounds. The 4th form also sold Lollipops, raising a fair amount of money, all going to help Haiti. Alice S also took part in the highland club competition and played in the Pipe Band at St Johnstone's stadium, I'm sure a nerve racking experience.