News and Forthcoming Events
Life at Glenalmond is always busy, and this is where you will find all the latest news, galleries and notification of forthcoming events.
Click on any heading to see the full story, or further information on the event. Choose one of the headings on the left to filter the stories shown, or use the Search box on the left to look for news stories or galleries relating to a particular topic.
We are fortunate to have a member of staff, Tanya Adamson who is an enthusiastic rider and coordinates our equestrian activities.
Tanya, who is also a former pupil at Glenalmond, also has stables with livery immediately adjacent to Glenalmond College.
As well as having lovely countryside to ride in, we are lucky to work with a number of other excellent local equestrian businesses, catering for a range of standards of ability.
These include Mrs Sarah Houlden of Strathearn Eventing -https://strathearneventing.co.uk/and Mrs Yvonne Campbell of Wester Dowald Equine Centre.
Pupils and former pupils from around the world joined Glenalmond College’s Virtual Commemoration Day on Friday to mark the end of an exceptional year at the Perthshire school.
The online event included a Chapel Service and addresses by Dr Michael Alderson, Head of Glenalmond College, Chairman, Mr Niall Booker, and the Captains of College, Susie Anderton and Tom Murray-Usher.
The event was rounded off with a live online broadcast of one of the school’s of Upper Sixth Leavers, Ramsay Pagett from Crieff, who piped an atmospheric "Highland Cathedral" in the school’s stunning Front Quad and through the Front Arch before the doors were poignantly closed in the traditional ending to the “Commem” proceedings. Ramsay is pictured with his brother Harris, who also piped for our Commem video.
Our Virtual Commemoration Chapel Service to mark the end of our academic year, on Friday June 26th proved a huge success - our thanks to everyone in our Glenalmond community around the world who joined us.
We were delighted to welcome current and former pupils and staff, and their families to our online event which included a Chapel Service, with addresses by our Warden, Dr Michael Alderson, our Chairman, Mr Niall Booker and our Chaplain, Rev Charles Sherlock. as well as our Captains of College, Susie Anderton and Tom Murray-Usher.
We are delighted to announce our Captains of Coll and prefects for 2020/21.
Our sincere thanks to our 2019/20 prefects who have worked hard during the past year and we look forward to welcoming back our new prefects in September.
Glenalmond this week says a very fond farewell to four members of staff - Mr Jeremy Gardner, Dr Sue Colby, Mrs Lizzie Critchley and Dr Sarah Alexander.
Our grateful thanks go to all four members of staff and send them our very best wishes for the future.
All members of our Glenalmond community - current and past pupils and families, our staff and all those who are friends of Glenalmond - are extended a very warm welcome to join us on Friday, June 26th at 3pm for our Virtual Commem - view here https://youtu.be/0L_GAc6pqnw
Our Virtual Commem will involve an online combination of our traditional service in Chapel which will be followed by members of our pipe band (meeting social distancing requirements) playing in our Front Quad, before the doors under Front Arch are swung closed in the traditional ending to our academic year.
A link to the video content will be published on our website on Friday morning and also posted via our social media feeds: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin.
Please join us online for our academic year-end Virtual Commem event to reflect on the year gone by, to give thanks to all those who have helped and supported us in the past 12 months, particularly in recent weeks, and to wish our wonderful leavers every success in the future.
The event, hosted on our website home page and via our social media feeds will round off with a solo piper playing Highland Cathedral live in our Front Quad via Facebook and Instagram, before the ceremonial closure of the doors under Front Arch.
Masterchef finalist, and former Glenalmond pupil, Claire Fyfe will be sharing her top tips and recipes for the perfect picnic to enjoy after Commem and we hope that our Glenalmond community will send pictures for us to share on social media, of yourselves enjoying your post-Commem picnic celebrations.
Glenalmond College is pleased to support the Boarding Schools Association COVID-SAFE Charter. We are working with the BSA and other organisations, to ensure we have the right steps in place to ensure the health and safety of our pupils and staff.
This code aims to give confidence to everyone that schools which support it, like Glenalmond, are following all appropriate measures to ensure that boarding is a safe environment for pupils.
These schools may then inform parents, pupils, guardians, and agents that they have adopted the Charter and may share it with those groups as appropriate.
Around 30 pupils from Mowden Hall School in Northumberland made a virtual visit to Glenalmond College today (Friday 5th June) to take part in a day of intrigue and adventure, as part of a brand new initiative.
The visit, the school’s first ever Virtual Taster Day for junior school children, saw the pupils take part in a full day of challenges, including breaking secret codes and heading on a virtual adventure round the school’s 300 acre campus and the nearby “Sma Glen.”
Glenalmond staff and pupils, both near and far, took part in the #TakeTheKnee initiative to show our support for the anti-racism message and '#BlackLivesMatter.
Among them were our house matrons who managed to gather, socially-distanced, in Perth to unite behind the initiative. Here are some pictures of those who got involved.
Thanks to everyone who took part!
We are delighted to extend a very warm invitation to families interested in a Glenalmond education for their children to join us at our Virtual Open Day on June 13th.
Our Open Day will provide families with the opportunity to explore our stunning 300 acre campus which provides the perfect healthy, natural environment for learning, as well as meeting key staff. Our aim is to give an insight into our school's vibrant, close-knit community, our values and our commitment to academic and pastoral excellence.
The Glenalmond College community has raised over £4000 for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) in a 24-hour initiative which took place last weekend.
The fundraising total of £4157, including Gift Aid, was the result of donations made by those who took part in a series of 10k runs during a 24 hour period from 12 noon on Saturday to 12 noon on Sunday, and their supporters.
Starting at 12 noon on Saturday May 23rd, members of our Glenalmond community, including current and former pupils and staff and the wider Coll community, are invited to take part in a 10k run.
For people living on site at Glenalmond, we will be running from Front Arch individually or in household groups (strictly meeting COVID requirements) over a 24 hour period.
For everyone not living on site - we would love you to join us by running (or walking) 10k where-ever you are in the world. We will post a stream of pictures from both the on-site (socially distanced) runners and route through our lovely 300 acres of grounds, including our nine hole golf course.
Five weeks after it started delivering lessons online, Glenalmond College is reporting the switch to distance teaching is delivering a range of unexpected benefits.
Staff, pupils and parents have risen to the challenge of online learning and are finding the temporary move away from classroom-based lessons is inspiring innovation and insight which could generate long-term benefits.
We are delighted to have welcomed a clutch of seven Long Eared Owl chicks who are thriving in their home, hidden away in our grounds! We are very fortunate, and pleased, to share our spectacular 300 acres of grounds with a myriad of wildlife.
For the first time in its 173 year history, Glenalmond College is set to host a Virtual Open Day and looking forward to welcoming visitors online to meet staff and tour the school on Saturday, May 9th.
Dr Michael Alderson, Head of Glenalmond College, said he is very much looking forward to welcoming visitors to the Virtual Open Day, which will offer an exciting new way to enjoy a visit to the school which has around 360 pupils, aged 12 to 18.
A week after it started delivering lessons via the internet, a Perthshire school is reporting the switch to online learning is delivering a range of unexpected benefits.
Staff, pupils and parents at Glenalmond College have risen to the challenge of online learning and are finding the temporary move away from classroom-based lessons is inspiring innovation and insight which could generate long-term benefits.
Scotland 7s international rugby player, Kaleem Barreto, is set to attempt his first ever marathon tomorrow (Friday, 24th April) to raise funds for NHS CharitiesTogether.
Kaleem, who is a former pupil of Glenalmond College in Perthshire and currently contracted to Stade Nicois in France, is at home for lockdown with his family in Dundee. His plan is to run the majority of his marathon length round his garden at home to comply with stay-home restrictions.
The 21-year-old scrum-half player has never attempted a marathon, or even a half-marathon, before but is determined to run the 26.2 miles in tribute to those working in frontline medical roles at the moment.
A huge virtual welcome back has been extended to all our pupils today. At the start of a term like no other, our house and teaching staff are ready and waiting to support and encourage all our pupils.
Our staff, led by our new Warden, Dr Alderson, have done a fantastic job of preparing for remote learning over the past few weeks and the results are shining through.
Today we also welcomed two new Third Form pupils with Zac joining us from St Andrews and Frederic in Sydney, Australia.
It has been brilliant to see remote learning being so well received by our pupils today, allowing everyone to stay safe at home and still benefit from an outstanding education.
Conor Swaile, Housemaster of Patchell's, pictured, is one of many staff welcoming pupils back today.
Our new Warden Dr Michael Alderson and his wife Emma have baked a fantastic-looking cake to launch our Glenalmond Virtual Bake-off comp.
In the run-up to Easter we are inviting the Glenalmond community to get baking and submit entries - with a general theme of caring and sharing - for the Bake-off.
Thanks to Michelle Maddox of Clootie McToot Dumplings who is providing three prizes of clootie dumpling kits which she will post to our winners.