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We at Oban High School believe that the school has a responsibility to ensure

that all our youngsters achieve the best possible qualifications.

We also believe that we need to nurture and develop their social, emotional

and vocational knowledge and skills to enable them to achieve their full

potential, throughout their lives.

Area Committee Presentation

Attainment and Achievement

2010 & 2011

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SQA Results 2011

Initial Analysis based on Fyfe Data (August Reports)

The following comments relate only to the raw data provided by Alastair Fyfe for Argyll and

Bute. A more detailed report will follow when the full Fyfe Analysis is published. There are

no comments relating to NCDs, Relative or Progressive Values, or comparator schools etc. at

this time. Although the Fyfe data has information going back more than the usual 5 years

these comments generally look at a five year trend.

Green text shows data that is to be commended (within that level); red text shows results

and trends that need to be addressed.

NOTES

Level 3 – Standard grade Foundation and Access 3

Level 4 - Standard Grade General and Intermediate 1

Level 5 – Standard Grade Credit and Intermediate 2

Level 6 – Higher

Level 7 – Advanced Higher

Percentages are based on the relevant S4 roll

School Roll

The school roll has remained steady at 1146 (1147 previous year).

There were 25 more girls (160) staying on into S5/S6 than boys (135).

The number of girls staying on was the highest (77) of the last eight years.

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Cumulative Whole School Attainment

By the end of S4

The percentage of pupils attaining combined English and Maths at Level 3 or above

has continued to oscillate between 93% and 97%.

The percentage of pupils attaining 5 or more Level 3s, 4s and 5s by the end of S4 fell

this year. The percentage gaining 5 or more at Level 5 fell by 3% to 33%.

By the end of S5

The number of pupils attaining at 5+ at levels 3 to 6 remained steady.

The percentage attaining 3+ at level 6 (Highers) was the highest (27%) since 2004.

The percentage attaining 5+ at level 6 rose to 12% compared with 8% and 7% the

previous 2 years.

The performance of the girls was particularly strong compared with the boys, e.g.

the percentage attaining 1+ at level 6 (girls) was 55% compared to 37% (boys) and at

3+ level 6 (girls) was 32% compared to 23% (boys).

The girls’ attainment was the highest over the past 5 years. 5+ level 5 (60%), 1+

level 6 (55%), 3+ level 6 (32%) and 5+ level 6 (14%).

By end of S6

The percentage attaining 5+ level 6 (Highers) was the highest (25%) since 2005 and

was up 9% on the previous year.

The attainment of the boys was steady and in line with previous years.

The attainment of girls by the end of their schooling was the highest over the past

4 years, e.g. the percentage gaining 5+ Highers was more than double (29%) that of

last year and the highest since 2004.

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The percentage attaining 1 or more Advanced Higher (level 7) rose 3% to 14 %

In S4 pupils gained 5 or more credits and a further 2 pupils gained 4 credit passes. In S5 3

pupils passed 2 Highers, 2 passed 3 Highers and 2 passed 5 Highers. In S6 2 pupils passed

a further 2 Highers each. Although the sample size is small these results suggest that the

concerns raised in recent years regarding under achievement have been successfully

addressed.

Analysis of Pupils not gaining 5+ NQs at SCQF level 3 (includes LAC / LAAC pupils)

In Oban High School session 2010-2011 there were 15 pupils, approximately 7.6% that did

not achieve 5 National Qualifications at SCQF level 3 or above. The cohort of consisted of

197 pupils, 96 females and 111 males.

This compares with last year’s results for session 2009-2010 where there were 19 pupils,

approximately 9%, whom did not achieve 5 National Qualifications at SCQF level 3 or

above. The cohort of consisted of 202 pupils, 83 females and 105 males.

4 of these 15 pupils attended a highly supported small teaching group environment due to

moderate to severe learning difficulties, only accessing mainstream where appropriate.

5 of these 15 pupils fall under the LAC and LAAC umbrella.

2 of these 15 pupils had severe medical conditions that prevented them attending full

time.

4 of these 15 pupils were withdrawn from certain subject areas and did not sit their

expected full complement of exams, due to attendance issues and gaps in learning.

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We at Oban High School believe that the school has a responsibility to ensure

that all our youngsters achieve the best possible qualifications.

We also believe that we need to nurture and develop their social, emotional

and vocational knowledge and skills to enable them to achieve their full

potential throughout their lives.

ACHIEVEMENTS

2010 - 2011

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Every term Oban High School holds Achievement Assemblies where we recognise a variety of

achievements both in and out of school. Often this recognition involves certificates, the

opportunity to perform, or pictures of some activities.

S1 Achievements

S1 have had a very successful term. The vast majority are well settled and enjoying Oban

High School. They have found their feet very quickly, made new friends and are playing a

full part in the school community.

Earlier on in the year the S1 pupil council was elected and have been involved in making the

thoughts and opinions of their registration group

known. They are a great asset to the year group

and we were all impressed as they delivered the

Achievement Assembly at the end of the term.

The Achievement Assembly was also an

excellent opportunity for new talent to

make itself known in the year group.

Tom Campbell-Paine 1.4, Kimberley

Campbell 1.1 and Aaron Hossain 1.2 are

all talented pipers and gave a confident

performance at the assembly giving both

as group and in solo performances.

S1 also has a number of talented dancers who made their debut with the Oban High School

Dance Team.

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The Achievement Assembly is a great opportunity to celebrate the S1 student’s

achievements both in and outside of school. There has been an impressive number of

students receiving awards and recognition out with the school.

There were a considerable number of students who have maintained 100% combined with

100% timekeeping meaning that they had not missed one day of school or been late at all

since joining the school in August. These students included:

Katherine Tamplin 1.5; Lewis Rutherford 1.8; Lewis Owen 1.10; Heather MacKenzie 1.2;

Jamie MacFarlane 1.3; Jack MacAulay 1.9; Aaron Hossain 1.2; Nathan Harris 1.5; Sarah

Green 1.2; Amy Gibb 1.4; Erin Cameron 1.6; Corrie Barrow 1.5.

Outside of school the students have also been busy and the following students received

awards for their involvement in extra curricular activities:

Caitlin Workman – 5 Silver Medals at the Oban Otters Swimming Gala.

Andrew Watson – Won at a stick and pad drumming solo competition in Campbeltown.

Jason Goldie – Received his 3rd Brown Belt in Kickboxing.

S2 Achievements

S2 have built on last year’s successes and racked up an impressive list of achievements,

which are literally too many to be named here. Apologies to all who have not been named.

These successes have been both academic and recreational, and achieved both in and out of

school. Many of these successes were celebrated at December’s achievement assembly.

At the assembly certificates were awarded to pupils whose performance was deemed to be

excellent in all their subjects in the individual categories of: behaviour, effort, homework

and progress. A total of 49

certificates were awarded, not

counting the following pupils who

merited certificates in at least 3 of

the 4 categories:

Alfie Tinline Bartholomew

Charlotte Boyd

Ciaron Black

Rhoanna Black

Kirsty Rutherford

Kirsty Hetherington

Daisy Williams

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Attendance certificates were awarded to a total of 18 pupils who had maintained a 100%

attendance record in the period up to Christmas.

The achievement assembly was also an opportunity for pupils to demonstrate their musical

and gymnastic talents, which they have in abundance. There were entertaining slots from:

Flute solos – Maeve Hannigan and Rachel MacKenzie

Pipes and drums – Ellie MacNiven, Cameron, Bennet, Helen Stage, Cammy Scott and Andrew

Scott

Violin group – Alison Boyd, Merle Harbron and Charlotte Collins

Clarinet group – Caitlin Taylor, Holly Strachan, Amy Boyce and Megan Judson

The Atlantis dance group

The whole event was compered, in his usual unflappable style, by Mathew Hall.

The school dance show this year was a huge success and almost 40 girls from S2 took part –

40% of the girls in S2. Two separate S2 groups performed to “Eye of the Tiger” and “Walk it

Out.” For many in the audience the highlight of the evening was the excerpt from “Cats”

which featured Caitlin Taylor, Maeve Hannigan, Meroula

Hondru and Laura Grout from S2.

The “Cats” group performed at an international dance event held at Disneyland Paris

featuring teams from all over Europe and did brilliantly to come 3rd.

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Our S2 pipers and drummers Ellie, Cameron and Helen are all now regular members of the

Oban High School Pipe Band who swept all before them last year, being crowned World

Champions and “Champion of Champions.”

Our S2 swimmers have had a wonderful season too, winning many medals on the local,

regional and national circuits. Amongst many medal winners were: Connor MacNeil, Aidan

MacCuish, Sam Dairon, Isla Duncan, Clare MacKinnon and Abby MacTaggart

There are many, many other achievements in our year group – from outstanding football,

shinty and badminton players to good citizens who try their best every day. We look

forward to further successes in the rest of S2 and are confident most of the year group are

developing the skills and good habits which will prepare them well for the exciting

challenges ahead when they make their choices for the Standard Grade courses they intend

to follow next year.

S3 Achievements

Best Effort, Best progress, and Best Behaviour in all subjects

• Clare Davies

• Briony Kincaid

• Ruby MacFadyen Donald

• Anna MacKinnon Garvin

• Connie McCreath

• Kyle McKechnie

• Jenny Tamplin

• Emily Black

• Kirsty Campbell

• Craig Livingstone

• Scott Dickison

• Coll MacKenzie

• Duncan MacLean

• Niall Morrison

• Emily Scott

• Jamie Sinclair

• Gordon Thomson

• Well done to Lorna Thompson 3.7

who received a complimentary

Jingles ticket!

Attendance Certificates

• Marion Tinney

• Caroline Tinney

• Emily Scott

• Kyle Ormiston

• Alana Moore

• Alice MacNeill

• Kyle MacKechnie

• Erin MacIntyre

• Megan McGuigan

• Kirsty MacTavish

• Briony Kincaid

• Artus Grigonis

• Heather Ferguson

• Liam Donn

• Gregor Brydon

• William Brett

• Alisha Bovill

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S3 Music Achievements

• Emily Scott – has achieved her

associated board Flute exams

Grade 4 with Merit

• Kirsty Campbell– has achieved her

associated board Flute exams

Grade 4 with Distinction

• Briony Kincaid – has achieved her

associated board Flute exams

Grade 4 with Merit

S3 Mathematics Achievements

• Jenny Tamplin participated in the

Scottish Final of Enterprising

Mathematics

• Nicole Lopez participated in the

Scottish Final of Enterprising

Mathematics

Subject Achievements

Marion Tinney and Connie McCreath,

excellence in Graphic Communication

Class 3.7 Achievements

• Jordan Lyons - has started writing a

book based on World War 2

• Fergus Bradbury - has got through to

the West Final for Rugby

• Alison MacVicar - is part of

Drumchapel Amateurs who have

finished in top half of league and

Alison scored 16 goals throughout

season

3.12 Achievements

• Hazel Dunn played a “posh

person” in a play and did very well

• Niall Morrison came 5th in the

British Championships in Downhill

Mountain Biking

• Ewen McGlynn has been offered a

job with the Oban Times as a

professional photographer

• Rebecca Forgrieve won a goldfish

at the Carnival!

Subject Achievements – Philosophy

Beth MacArthur and Kyle McKechnie

scored a perfect 30/30 in a recent test.

Both these pupils regularly perform to the

highest level and should be commended

on this!

Class 3.2 Achievements

• Kyle Orr – member of world

champion pipe band

• Iain Campbell – preparing to

compete in downhill mountain

biking competitions next year.

Had an accident this year when he

crashed into a tree, broke both his

wheels and cracked his helmet!

• Coll MacKenzie – Plays in Oban

Saints Junior team and has scored

several goals for them.

3.11 Achievements

• Rachel Cameron is doing well in PE

• Lyndsay Weetman has been

helping her Nan more

• Emelynne Byers can speak in 3

languages now

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• Fiona Hardley made a cheese flan

and learned the Darth Vader Rap

• Jenna MacDougall got a grade 1 in

Drama

• James MacPherson plays for OHS

Pipe band they won the Champion

of Champions award and best

Scottish pipe band in the MG Alba

• Rhona Leadbetter is better

organised with her homework

• Craig Livingstone plays for Oban

Saints

• Rebecca Simcox has grown in

confidence in Drama this year

• Danielle walked to school this

month

Achievements

• Briony Kincaid was nominated and

was in the final for Junior Sports

woman at this years Oban and

Lorn Sports Awards.

• Jenny Tamplin in 3.5 achieved her

Baden Powell Award - this is the

highest award a Girl Guide can

achieve.

• She was also part of the School's

Gaelic Choir who won their section

at the Mod.

S3 Responsible Citizens

• The following S3 pupils helped to

serve the teas and coffees at The

Pensioner’s Treat:

• Abby McCallum

• Megan Blair

• Alisha Bovill

• Caroline Tinney

• Joseph Darrah

• James Johnstone

• Jamie Black

• Meghan MacIntyre

• Catriona Cain

S4 Achievements

Scottish Schools Swimming Championships

Shannon Reynolds 4.1 won three medals in the following races:

200m Freestyle

100m Breaststroke

100m Freestyle

Patrick MacKinnon 4.8 won four medals in the following races:

200m Individual Medley

200m Backstroke

100m Backstroke

100m Freestyle

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Girls’ Shinty

Sarah Jane Ferguson 4.8 and Lucy McNiven 4.9 were winners in the South Scotland Schools

Shinty League Tournament held at Ardnamurchan on the 3rd November 2010.

Enterprising Mathematics – Scottish Final 2010

Harry Stage 4.8 and Martin MacPherson 4.1 participated in the Scottish Final of Enterprising

Mathematics.

Argyll College – Skills for Work

Robin McMahon-Harris 4.1 and Jodie Goldie 4.4 both won awards for hairdressing and were

presented with their prizes at the college on Wednesday 15th December 2010.

Paddle Power

Laura MacPhee and Ryan Cairns from 4.6 both Achieved Level 1 of their Paddlepower

Passport which helped them to develop their basic sailing skills.

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Oban High School – Poetry Competition

Zoe Thomson 4.8 won the Senior Section of the Poetry Competition in November 2010.

Senior Jingles – December 2010

The following pupils achieved top ratings in their tracking for 7 or more subjects and were

awarded a free Jingles Ticket:

Mairi Beaton 4.5 Alistair Fothergill 4.5 Keira Smith 4.7

Lauren Buchanan 4.4 Catherine MacFarlane 4.3 Andrew Strange 4.10

Daniel Burt 4.10 Murray Peden 4.6 Zoe Thomson 4.8

Michalina Wilinska 4.9

Rugby

Magnus Bradbury 4.3 continues to make huge progress in his rugby career and has been

selected to train with the Glasgow U17 Squad. This will provide him with the opportunity to

play in national selection fixtures and hopefully be selected for the Scotland under-17 squad.

The under-17 squad play in the Wellington Tournament against teams from England,

Belgium etc.

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The Senior Rugby team have won the Glasgow Regional Final and are now through to the

National Quarter-Final of the Scottish Schools Bowl Competition. The following S4 pupils

have been part of this team.

Magnus Bradbury 4.3 Alastair Fothergill 4.5 Ruairidh MacKinnon 4.7

Colin Davren 4.10 Daniel Smith 4.9 Ruairidh Morrison 4.7

S5 Achievements

Awards for pupils, vocational based

• Sean Dunstaffnage – XL Bronze award • Daniel Hall - XL Silver Award, -food hygiene, health and safety,200 hours volunteering • Hannah Rokitta - XL Silver Award, -food hygiene, health and safety, 200 hours

volunteering, First Aid • Alex Dunnings, Alastair Taylor, Jamie Chapman, Michael Leplar, Lewis Bigham - ROV

Challenge –BP in conjunction with Heriot Watt • Amanda MacNeill- first aid • Steven Ewart -food hygiene, health and safety. • Football Coaching Awards – Hannah Croucher, Angus MacCallum

S6 Achievements

This year is the highest number of S6 pupils staying for further education that we have had

for a number of years. We have had over seventy applications completed through UCAS and

many of them are starting to receive offers.

They have been a very proactive year group in their organisation of the pupil councils and

various committees for jingles, fundraising and year book. The Christmas Jingles this year

were described as the “best ever” with record attendance at both senior and junior.

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The fundraising committee put on an afternoon of entertaining activities which raised over

£2000 for children in need, they are in the process of planning the comic relief day in March.

The team also organised a “help for heroes” assembly which highlighted the plight of injured

servicemen and their families.

They are in the process of preparing for their prelims in order that they all leave Oban High

School with the best set of exam results that they possibly can. They are also planning S6

leaving events.

Head Boy & Girl Report

As Head Boy and Head Girl of Oban High school we regularly contribute

to many different events and running’s of the school. As pupil’s we

know how much of a privilege it is to have the responsibility of giving

the pupil’s of all ages throughout the school more of a voice. From

attending Parent Council meetings, Senior Leadership Team meetings

and arranging Pupil Council on top of fundraising and arranging events

as well as our school work, we both keep very busy and are very

honoured to be able to contribute to the many success of Oban High

School. However, we never do it alone. We have our Depute Head Boy

and Depute Head Girl along with eight sixth year Prefect’s helping us in all we do. None of

the work the pupil’s undertake throughout the school could be done without all of them.

We have many jobs that we do all the time. For example, attending meetings with the

Senior Member’s of Staff to contribute to the Curriculum for Excellence and refreshing the

Clan System for a new way of Pastoral Care which is important as the school knows they are

getting the input from the pupils. We also regularly speak in Assemblies to pass important

information on to every year about events or Pupil Council, for example. We also help out at

school events for example the annual Dance Show where we introduced the acts. We also

contribute to the newsletter and organise items such as the S6 Leaver’s Hoodies. Along with

the Prefect Management Team we run the tea and coffee at Parent’s evenings and the front

desk. This takes a lot of organisation from all Prefects as well as this; we give up our free

time after school to help out.

One of our main roles is organising and arranging our Pupil Council’s. Every class within the

school has a representative who passes issues on to Prefects in monthly meetings. This

information is then passed on to us, so we can get the voices of all pupils’ heard to the Head

Teacher and Depute Head Teacher’s. This is a vital link in ensuring that what goes on in the

school is truly in the best interest of all pupils. Many issues are raised and all of us do our

best to ensure they are taken on board. For example, we ask about how they would like the

school to fundraise for different charities and what they would like to see at their annual

Christmas Dance. Pupil’s are also asked about uniform and how the school can control

issues such as litter and congestion in corridor’s. Throughout the school, you can see that so

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many elements have been thought up by Pupil’s, showing just how vital and successful Pupil

Council’s can be.

As Head Boy and Head Girl, we also take on board the responsibility of fundraising for

charities’, organising both the Junior and Senior “Jingles” and the S6 Yearbook. All of this is

done with our Prefect Management Team. This year, however, we have branched out

further to not only get more

ideas, but also getting more S6 pupil’s involved, making them feel part of the school and

giving them experience which would look great on University, College and Job applications.

We have done this through committee’s which are ran on different day’s at lunchtime and

are ran by different Prefect’s. This way we can get the most out of our events and this year,

it has proven very successful.

In November, Children In Need was a big success and this

was largely down to the Prefect Management Team and

the Charity Committee. With the whole afternoon

dedicated to the charity, we had a Crash Course in the P.E

department as well as a traditional dance. On top of this

we had “Soak the Teacher” in the Court Yard and

numerous stalls within the school such as, Pin the Tale on

the Pudsey”, Nail Bar, Face Painting, Make Up and Leg

Waxing. This was all done with as many people as possible

in pyjamas. Not only was the feedback so encouraging, we

raised over £2000 for the cause. This broke records for

the school! As well as Children In Need, we have helped

raise awareness for Help for Hero’s by arranging to a

presentation and the selling of support bands. This co-in

sided with Remembrance Day where we were part of a

very moving assembly where we both did readings. This

assembly involved the unveiling of new plaque’s dedicated

to two men who both attended Oban High School who lost

their lives in battle after World War Two with both men’s friends and families present.

December is dedicated to our Christmas Dances, “The Jingles”. With the Jingles Committee,

ideas coming from the Pupil Council’s and the Prefect Management Team both the one held

in the school for 1st and 2nd Year pupils and

the Senior Jingles held in the Corran Halls,

were great success’. The Senior Jingles had

sophisticated decor, music from four

amazing talents to involve a disco, ceilidh

and a set of contemporary music. The Junior

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event was lively with a great disco and so much effort put in from all pupil’s. Both event’s

are fun for all ages and are a great way to celebrate Christmas and many achievements

within the school. Pupils are always enthusiastic about both events and it is a pleasure to be

part of putting them on.

Being Head Boy and Head Girl is hard work and takes a lot of time and dedication but the

rewards that we see for all the hard work make it well worth it. Of course, as said, none of it

could be done without the help of many other S6 pupil’s. The fact the school can offer us all

a chance to get involved helps us all when it comes to applying for University, colleges or

jobs. It makes all events more worthwhile and gives them a better atmosphere knowing that

everyone contributes to what we do, which we feel is exactly our job. It is clear, that our

roles are most important for making sure every pupil in the school is heard and everything

which is taken on board makes the school a better place for everyone.

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The following achievements have been nominated by our departments.

Art

ART FOR ALL

Oban High School benefits from a lively, enthusiastic Art & Design

Department which fosters the creativity and skills of each

individual student. Our facilities and expertise enable us to deliver

a high degree of skills in an increasingly wide variety of techniques and media.

Since last session there have been significant changes in our staffing and facilities. From

August 2011 we will have three specialist art rooms and a small IT suite enabling us to cover

many techniques including drawing, printing, painting, collage, textiles and 3-Dimensional

work which can be enhanced by photography, image manipulation (Adobe Photoshop) and

model making. Due to staffing reductions, we have lost a specialist art room and have

reduced the number of senior students we can accommodate. We still aim, however, to

embrace new opportunities and to provide imaginative solutions to the curricular changes

we are experiencing. Art and Design is particularly well placed to deliver the new curriculum

as we have always had the individual at the heart of what we do and creative problem

solving runs through the veins of any worthwhile art teacher !

Alongside this we aim to nurture an appreciation of culture and to develop the discerning

consumers of the future. So whether they can draw effectively or not, we hope our students

can at least make educated choices when deciding on the colour scheme of their first

property or can recognise when and how advertising is influencing their personal decision

making.

In all Art and Design courses, our aim is to help pupils to develop visual and communicative

skills. Practical skills are taught together with a sound knowledge of the visual arts. This

inculcates in the pupils an awareness of Art in general and, in particular, the role of the artist

and designer in society and their relevance to that society. We currently offer Standard

Grade, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher Art & Design and are actively researching

alternative courses which would provide a broad creative experience and act as a stepping

stone to further study in a variety of fields. Problem solving, personal expression and

creative evaluation are all valuable, transferable skills which are nurtured in our enterprising

environment.

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LIFELONG LEARNING………………………………………………………………………………

Early experience and preparation is essential if a child’s full potential is to be reached. We

continue forging valuable links with our feeder Primaries through a Transition Board Game

project which has been developed further in partnership with the Drama Department. This

year at Induction Day, new pupils are given a ‘Visual Mission’ to be tackled during the

summer holidays. These booklets are collected when new S1 pupils return in August and are

a valuable insight into many aspects of our new cohort, whether as a gauge of ability or of

responsibility !

In junior classes we have piloted and developed a range of interdisciplinary projects working

in liason with a diverse range of disciplines including English, Modern Languages, Design

Technology and Performing Arts. Colour and design combined with French vocabulary to

create informative ‘booklets’ and presentations enhanced by an appreciation of the work of

French artist, Henri Matisse. Experience with graphic software is now embedded in the S2

design experience and is currently being applied to S3 expressive work. Experimentation

with such software can effectively inspire further media experimentation and certainly

enhances the imagination.

Our latest joint project promises to be challenging and provocative as, along with Socials,

Drama and Philosophy, our S2 pupils consider The Holocaust.

Our creative expertise will, once more, be utilised in partnership with English in Unpredicted

Voices. In this project non-specialist senior students create visual stimulus as the basis for a

piece of creative writing which is subsequently entered into the Fortieth Prize for Creative

Writing.

Also benefitting from an ‘art make-over’ is the Drama department who invited our new S3

students to provide unique designs for an Alphabet which is used in practical performance

activities.

We also introduced an element of competition for the poster design which will advertise the

forthcoming production ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. Prizes will be awarded for the best design

and also for the most exciting ideas sheets.

Other prizewinners will soon be informed of their success in the Oban Times Logo

competition and yet more Oban High School art work will be published nationally in the

Times Educational Supplement.

A visit from the SQA verifier gave staff an opportunity to ensure that our senior folios are

following SQA criteria effectively. It is reassuring to note that most

senior students work hard to follow advice regarding the content and

quality of their practical work. Many of our students take advantage of

studio space after school. Some seniors attended a ‘folio workshop

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day’ held during the holidays. This provided a relaxed, productive opportunity to put final

touches to practical work.

ETHOS, ENVIRONMENT & ENTERPRISE……………………………………………………………..

The creativity of our pupils can be seen throughout the school, from inspired work in the

English corridor to S1 printmaking in the Conference Room and a regularly changing

selection in Mr Bain’s office. We also regularly host exhibitions of pupils work in our Gallery

which provides a forum for peer evaluation and an opportunity to share our work with a

wider audience. Artwork can be yours to keep with the purchase of our Art Cards which

features a selection of pupils’ images.

Oban High School is about to be enhanced by some of the finest of Scottish art as we will

host a selection of works from the Argyll Collection. As stated on the

www.argyllcollection.com website : ‘The Argyll Collection’ …. was created as a learning

resource for the young people of Argyll and Bute…… It has become a snapshot of Scottish art

and is an important public asset and a rich and relevant teaching aid. A film link can be

found at http://helensburgh.urtv.co.uk/stories/328-art-collection

Some of the finest examples, including a Joan Eardley painting, will remain in our care whilst

others will form a rolling programme which will bring ‘the real thing’ to our youngsters.

Scottish Art was also a feature when S3 visited the Glasgow Boys exhibition at Kelvingrove,

Glasgow. Not only did the Standard Grade pupils view some of the artworks they have been

writing about in their critical essays, but they were also able to examine at first hand the

work of metalsmith, John Creed, who designed the entrance gates to Kelvingrove. Mr

Hamilton’s class wrote about this work in their design studies.

We enjoyed meeting a Japanese graphic designer as part of the Rotary Club

Vocational Placement scheme. Local textile artist, Sharon Pirie,

accompanied Miss Yumiko Inoue from Tokyo on a visit to Oban High School.

Miss Inoue is a graphic designer with fashion retailers, Benetton, and our

senior students particularly enjoyed modelling some of Sharon’s head-wear

creations and trying out a few Japanese phrases. Links were also forged with

local style consultant, Pauline Cameron whose work encompasses fair trade ethics and

fashion recycling initiatives.

OHS & BEYOND……………………………………………………………………………………

Our art team was enhanced last November when we welcomed former OHS pupil,

Laura Currie, to the department. Laura is a recent graduate from Grays School of

Art, Aberdeen, and she spent a month with us experiencing ‘life in the classroom’

before applying to become an art teacher. Laura showed a natural aptitude in the

classroom and built a sound rapport with all of our students who were impressed

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by her art school experience and her purple hair ! We wish her every success.

We maintain strong links with former pupils who frequently return to share their creative

experiences with our pupils and act as valuable role models. Ellis Cameron shared her

Portfolio Course experience with our seniors before going on to study at Glasgow School of

Art.

GSA ~ ACES ……………………………………………………………………………………..

When we live at a distance from the central belt, these links can be invaluable and

undoubtedly foster a sense of potential and opportunity. We are indebted to the Glasgow

School of Art who invited us to propose senior art students who may benefit from their ACES

programme. This provides support and mentoring from the staff of GSA and some of our

seniors have already attended a Textile workshop and had Mock Interview and Portfolio

advice. After attending a Degree Show Campus day in June, they also have the opportunity

of attending free drawing workshops in July. We shall be running our usual visit to the

Degree Show in June for senior art students.

STAR STUDENTS…………………………………………………………………………………..

It is always very satisfying to share in the success of our students and this year gives us

plenty to celebrate. Since completing the Portfolio Course at Cardonald College, Caitlin

Smith and Bridget Woolnough have gained places at Glasgow School of Art to study Visual

Communication and Silversmithing & Jewellery.

Current Advanced Higher candidate, Katie Harris-Macleod, has been offered

places at a variety of art courses, deciding to continue her studies on the Portfolio

Course at GSA. This brings the total number of OHS former pupils currently

studying at this esteemed establishment to four. A worthy achievement,

we certainly look forward to viewing their Degree Shows in due course.

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, will welcome Connor

Macdonald S6 to their Graphics course and we hope that Rebecca

Campbell will have a place confirmed at Abertay to study web based graphics in due course.

Former pupil, Eilidh Orr, has also been accepted to study Jewellery Design in Dundee and,

after studying at Telford College, Shonagh Galbraith has been recognised as top student of

her year at Edinburgh College of Art.

Meanwhile, the progress and success of former pupils. Eleanor

Young and Fraser Hamilton, can be followed online on such

websites as Etsy, funmakesgood and fraserhamilton.net. It is

always satisfying to follow the progress of former OHS pupils

and we look forward to sharing their experiences in the future.

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With the growth of enforced leisure time, perhaps due to lack of work opportunities, it is

increasingly important that we develop attributes of self sufficiency, innovation and creative

thinking. Combined with a ‘what if’ attitude to problem solving and the confidence to try

something different, we hope that time spent in Art & Design will enhance the whole person

and result in an individual who is prepared to benefit their community.

BUSINESS and TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

(ex Business Studies & Computing Studies)

Scottish education is now embarking on one of the greatest changes in its history. The new

initiative called “a curriculum for excellence”, often abbreviated to ACE or ACfE is well and

truly under way in all schools in Scotland. This involves many big changes for every

department in every school, and we feel in this department we have embraced it

wholeheartedly. We feel we have many good ideas and providing a good experience for the

pupils who are undertaking ACE in the curriculum.

With CfE there is increased collaboration and contact with several other departments - we

now have projects done with mathematics, home economics, technical, drama and with

modern languages; we see no reason why this should not continue to increase with several

more departments as they often seek to increase the use of technology in the work they do.

The computing club is working well and we hope to expand the general interest of all things

computing for the school population. When pupils attend this club they are encouraged to

pursue any direction that they feel they are interested in, and are given help and advice by

staff. Work undertaken is often of that nature which will be directly relevant to a curriculum

for excellence. In fact, in general, in non-timetable hours (for example lunchtime and at 4

PM) all pupils are encouraged to attend the computing suites, and staff will be on hand to

help.

Here are some studious pupils

following their interests at

the lunchtime club

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There is ongoing work with primary schools in a

liaison project. This started as a multi cultural

aspects in Oban and the surrounding district,

stemming from the relatively recent flow of

people from other parts of the EU and the rest of

the world. The project is now expanding and will

include work to do with historical aspects of

Oban. The end result will be published as a

website, and if the project continues the site will

become more and more significant.

Not to be underestimated is the involvement with School and Community relations which is

offered by the Department. The staff of the department are valuable contributors to the

spirit and team ethos of the school, being strong and consistent participators in clubs, school

events, sporting activities, trips, social occasions, even staffroom badinage. The staff of the

department are also long standing members of the local community, being friends with

parents and relatives of many, many of the children who pass through the school. This adds

great cohesion to ‘parent stakeholder’ aspect of the department’s work.

Higher Admin

The class have done well so far, now is the time for

concentration towards the prelims. Ms McIver set the

the challenge of working in teams to build the Eiffel

Tower (with

marshmallows and

cocktail sticks) this

proved to be a very

successful and the class

showed excellent team working skills. Well done to the

winners, Kenny Irwin, Rowen MacAskill, Calum MacFarlane

and Kirsty MacLean.

SG Administration

The S3 class were set the challenge of designing a poster for the Junior Jingles. Well done to Lorna

Thompson who’s presented the winning entry.

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Higher Bus Management

The class are progressing well, they have taken part in various activities including a very successful

market research task which involved eating a variety of Jaffa cakes to find out which was the brand

leader. Now the focus is on the prelims and we are working towards a successful introduction for

Business management at Higher for Oban High School.

Also, a team from the Higher class (and an interloper!) entered the Arnold Clark Schools challenge in

November. The task was to design a simple computer game that would be used as a marketing tool

by Arnold Clark and posted on the Website. Although the team did not win they were commended

for their efforts and found it to be a very worthwhile experience. We will be entering a team for next

year’s competition on the back of it. Well done to Jennifer Killorn, Rosie Matheson, Alannah Higgins

and Hollie MacLeod.

SG Bus Management

Ms McIver’s class had a visit from Mrs Lynette MacLeod, owner of Petals of Oban. Mrs MacLeod is

the mother of one of the S3 pupils, a former pupil of Oban High and has a Business Studies degree.

She had indicated her willingness to forge links with the High School and was happy to talk to the

class about her experience running her business as a sole trader. The department is currently in the

process of establishing links with other local businesses to widen the pool of possible speakers as we

move to offering Business Management to the upper school.

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Design Technology

S1 Design & Technology

Our S1 pupils have been experimenting with some of our new units of work that we have

been developing for a Curriculum for Excellence. They are enjoying designing children's

lamps which has given them the opportunity to make use of computer-aided manufacture

and they are also getting an introduction into basic electronics.

One of the main things the pupils have enjoyed learning is how to do 3D computer

modelling. From our pupils surveys, most pupils said they enjoyed this the most, even

though they found it quite challenging.

Product Design - Child's bedside lamp

Technological Studies - Electronics (wiring for child's lamp)

Practical Craft Skills - Mug tree

Graphic Communication - Technical drawing

Interdisciplinary – Memory box (English, Art)

S2 Design & Technology

We have decided to try our new Curriculum for Excellence S2 curriculum with this year’s S2.

This is to allow us the opportunity to evaluate the course ourselves and also to get pupil

opinion on it before we have to implement in August. This enables us to make any changes

necessary to the course in order to best meet the needs of the pupils and the outcomes and

experiences.

The units the S2 pupils are studying are:

Product Design - Bicycle helmet

Technological Studies - Portable amplifier (electronics)

Practical Craft Skills - CD Ends

Graphic Communication - Smokehouse Challenge (packaging for a Smokehouse

product)

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Enterprise Through Craft

Our S3 pupils are working on a number of small group projects. They have designed,

produced and marketed a number of items including; garden benches, chopping board

holders for Food Technology, sensory toys for a local primary school and a septic tank level

indicator.

Our S4 pupils have spent most of last term designing and manufacturing items to go into a

sensory garden. The plan is to develop the school garden into a sensory garden for students

from the Learning Centre to enjoy.

The pupils have explored different materials, sounds, textures, colours, smells, etc. They

have explored all aspects of a sensory garden and over the winter months they have been

making items such as; a small bridge, planters to provide screening, bird tables and bird

houses to encourage birds into the garden to provide sounds and colour.

When the weather improves the pupils will get the opportunity to get out and do some work

in the garden.

Some local businesses have expressed an interest in supporting this venture.

Standard Grade Craft & Design

Our S3 pupils have worked successfully through a number of units so far this year. They

have enjoyed learning about and working with different materials and using tools and

machinery unfamiliar to them.

Our S4 pupils have been working on their final projects. They have designed a product of

their own choice, taking into consideration restrictions such as storage space available,

standard sizes of materials, etc.

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Standard Grade Graphic Communication

Graphics students have been learning to use computer 3D modelling. They are picking up

the skills very quickly and are producing good quality work. They have been focussing

heavily on technical drawing skills. With so many different drawing types to learn about,

they are making excellent progress so far. Some of the folio work the pupils are producing is

very good indeed. Through the folio they are able to demonstrate a range of talents, from

rendering to desktop publishing, 3D computer modelling and knowledge of colour theory,

layout and lettering, etc.

Senior pupils, (Graphic Communication)

Our seniors are fast approaching the end of their courses and with deadlines looming they

are working very hard to complete their work to a high standard.

Intermediate 2 pupils have produced some good quality computer items for their folio and

have made excellent progress with their technical drawing units. They should be very proud

of the progress they have made so far.

Higher pupils are very busy embarking on their Thematic Presentations.

Advanced Higher pupils have made light work of the 3D modelling unit and are currently

working on their Computer Graphic Presentation unit. Again, these pupils are really showing

off their skills with the high standard of work they are able to produce.

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Senior Pupils (Product Design)

Intermediate 2 and Higher pupils are both working away on the Developing Design Proposals

unit. They have learned about product evaluations and research techniques already. They

are now learning about all the different ways to communicate ideas. Through not only

sketches but also the use of rendering, modelling and text.

Senior pupils (Practical Craft Skills)

Although a small bunch, these boys are developing very good woodwork skills. They are

putting more focus into the quality of the work they produce. They have manufactured a

number of items so far, a bathroom cabinet, a mirror and a wine table and will soon be

working on the final project which is a wooden clock.

Extra curricular

The department offer 2 extra curricular activities for students.

There is the ROV club for S4-6 students on a Monday and the Formula 24 club for S1-S4 on a

Monday and Thursday.

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English

Iain Crichton Smith Plaque -On Wednesday 23 June we

were privileged to take part in a ceremony to unveil a

plaque in memory of the late Iain Crichton Smith, teacher,

novelist and poet.

The Plaque was unveiled by Iain’s widow Donalda

Henderson and the event was attended by many eminent

figures from the Gaelic, literary and education fields, as well as members of the public who

hold fond memories of Iain. The event also attracted media attention, including a film crew

from BBC Alba.

Creative Writing from pupils in all year groups formed part

of a visual display, with the work of junior classes

representing an inter-disciplinary project between English

and Art.

Unpredicted Voices Conference -

Approximately 30 new S5 students took

part in a joint English/Art conference

entitled ‘Unpredicted Voices’. Pupils

engaged enthusiastically in the

workshops and by the end of the day

had all produced work which will kick

start their Higher English Writing Folio.

Arising from the day, the Iain Fortieth

prize was won by Leigh Eisler, congratulations to her.

GLOW - Alison MacDonald, Clare Bryden and Rob Harrington have played an active role in

the introduction of GLOW to OHS. They have started their own classes using the resource,

provided in-service training to the English Department and supported staff across the school

interested in becoming involved. At the moment, teachers are posting resources for many

courses on this website, which pupils can access from home. Right now, there are resources

for Higher English, and Advanced Higher English.

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Debating Club –

In the summer term Mrs Bryden started a Debating Society for all year groups.

On Tuesday 14th September, the debating club held an entertaining balloon debate which

saw pupils take on the personas of a wide variety of characters, from Indiana Jones to Deng

Xiao Ping, each trying to convince the others why they should get to stay in the sinking hot

air balloon. General Tito was the first to be thrown out, while John Lennon was saved to see

another day.

The club enjoyed a visit to the Scottish Labour Party Conference at the Corran halls on Friday

29th October. 8 pupils, accompanied by Mrs Bryden

visited the conference, where we spent some time

exploring the various stalls with their information

about a wide variety of topics, from health to

renewable energy, while amassing a substantial

number of freebies! We had seats for the keynote

speech by Ed Milliband, where he discussed the issues

facing Scotland, which gave rise to some animated

discussion amongst the debating club, before sitting in on a Scottish Forum Policy debate on

the future of local government. We were delighted to have this opportunity and it was great

to see politics in action, with animated discussion and assured public speaking. Many thanks

to the Labour Party for their help in organising this event. We have also entered 3

competitions this year - the English Speaking Union's Junior and Senior debating

tournaments, as well as the Law Society of Scotland's Donald Dewar Memorial tournament

and we are spending the rest of our time honing our debating skills by discussing a wide

variety of topics - with increasing energy!

Keith Gray Visit - On Tuesday 23 February 2010, Keith Gray, award-winning author of

Creepers and The Fearful, came to speak to S3 pupils. His well received talk focused on

creativity and the potential of everyday events and objects to inspire storytelling. The pupils

left excited by the prospects of creating their own works of fiction.

S4 Study Skills - In March the English Department taught a series of Study Skills lessons.

These were designed to highlight good study techniques to S4 pupils before they embarked

on their Standard Grade exams.

Reading Certificates - Pupils in S1 and S2 have been busy working towards completing their

Bronze, Silver and Gold Reading Certificates. The purpose of the system is to provide a

structure to each child’s reading habits and to encourage our younger pupils to read a

variety of quality fiction and non-fiction texts.

Embedding the capacities and outcomes - Developing and implementing the English and

Literacy Outcomes in practise has been developed over this session. As a department, we

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have done a considerable amount of practical work using the ACE outcomes for English and

Literacy.

This involves taking the outcomes and working with pupils to make the outcomes an integral

part of their learning experience in the classroom.

The language from the outcomes is used daily in sharing learning intentions with pupils, and

used as the basis for formative assessment in the classroom. This embedding of the

outcomes has been done in all levels of the school and has been adopted by the entire

English Department.

Additionally, a member of the department shared this good practise at in service with all

staff and was invited to be a representative at the LTS English Teachers conference, one of

only two representatives from Argyll and Bute, to discuss the progress Oban High English

Department has made with the outcomes in practise.

National Poetry Day -

The English department had lots of fun on National Poetry Day. In cooperation with the

library we wrote and studied poems for a day on the theme of 'Home'. From S1 to S6 we

enjoyed writing, studying and listening to poetry for the day.

All the entries went into a competition and the winner for the junior prize was Mia

Colquhoun 2.7 and the winner for the senior prize was Zoe Thomson S4. They won

'Waterstones' vouchers donated by the librarian.

Miss Black, along with some other student librarians, put up a wall display of poetry and the

winning entries will be going onto this display. All of the poems created on the day are to be

put into a folder which any one can read and enjoy whilst they're in the library.

Prize –Winning Poems:

Home

The sea is always choppy,

The wind always pierces my face

The rain is mostly torrential

It makes me look a disgrace.

It’s never warm, but freezing

And the sun is not heat but light

In winter everyone’s hiding,

It’s minus 15C at night

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We may have some heart warming cafes

And landmarks all the same

But to be honest I’ll say entertainment

To everyone here is lame

But I can’t even think about leaving

I’ll miss all this when I’m gone

I suppose it’s not that awful

Having Oban as my home.

By Mia Colquhoun 2.7

River

Always moving

Never stopping

No sooner I arrive I must leave.

It is good to return

To where I have been:

I missed the sight of the familiar trees and scenes

That used to guide my day and night:

The riverbed beneath my feet feels foreign,

But somehow, known to me

Somewhere in the depths of my waters,

The flowers for the vines

Of my mind now litter

My existence with regrets.

I wish I could rewind my

Path, that I could have

Taken a different journey.

Why am I what I am?

But I can’t stop to think of that now:

I must once again move on,

Away from what I once

Called home, to find a new one.

Not by choice, never by choice,

But I am ushered along just the same

Always moving

Never stopping

Zoe Thomson S4

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Sam Wilding Visit -

Local children’s author, Sam Wilding visited Oban High School on Monday 15 November. He

spoke to all S1 and S2 pupils about his new novel, ‘Windscape’, which is set on the west

coast of Scotland. He also spoke about how he became an author, his creative inspirations

and how to write a story. Thanks to Sam for a very entertaining and enjoyable morning!

Carnegie Shadowing -

Fifteen S2 pupils embarked on an exciting project shadowing the Carnegie Book Awards.

Pupils had a chance to read and comment on the novels selected for the shortlist in the run

up to the Awards which took place in June 2010.

Information Evening for English and Maths -

On Tuesday 21st September 2010, there was an information evening for parents of pupils

who are studying for exams in Higher English and Maths. Both departments talked about

how to help your child to prepare for the exams, and passed on some useful advice and tips

for studying and revision.

Advanced Higher English

The English department would like to recognize the achievements of our Advanced Higher

students this year. The pupils who complete this challenging course never fail to impress

though their development as writers and as insightful students of literature. However, this

year’s class have been truly exceptional in their diligence and commitment to their English

studies. We wish them much deserved success in the future. Well done!

Visit by J.A Henderson Tuesday 8 March 2011.

Popular children’s author J.A Henderson visited Oban High School recently and gave a very

interesting account of his life to S3 pupils. His highly entertaining tales of his exploits abroad

and the events that inspired him to become a writer was hugely enjoyed by the pupils.

Following his visit many have gone on to read his novels such as Bunker 10, Crash and

Colony.

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Visit to European Youth Parliament

On Friday 11th March, 10 S5 pupils from Oban High travelled to Douglas Academy in

Milngavie to take part in the 2011 European Youth Parliament, West of Scotland forum.

Made up of participating countries across all of Europe, the EYP gives pupils the opportunity

to take part in a day of exchanging ideas and opinions about aspects of European politics.

There were 10 participating schools, each representing a different aspect of the European

Parliament and Oban High School took on the mantle of the committee for foreign affairs,

presenting speeches and arguments in opposition to the creation of a European army. In

addition, the team worked together to take part in debates on climate change, investment in

culture, the relation between church and state and the funding of scientific research. It was

an entertaining and challenging day and the quality of Oban’s participation was very high,

with confidence and debating skills developing rapidly through the day. The pupils are to be

congratulated on their hard work and preparation for the event and their participation on

the day.

H20 Visit

In March, 3.8 and 3.9 visited the Well, H20’s base in Lochavullin, to perform their newly-

prepared solo talks to an audience of Oban’s senior citizens. Each pupil had prepared their

talk under the heading ‘A Hero of Mine’, and subjects varied from celebrities of the sporting

and music worlds to inspiring family members closer to home.

Tea and cakes, generously laid on by our hosts, put paid to any awkwardness or nerves

among the eight speakers on the day. Their talks were well-prepared, well-delivered and

well-received by an appreciative audience. The pupils’ dedication to the task reflects great

credit on both themselves and the High School, so a big ‘well done’ to all those who

attended on the day. As was the case last year when S2 visited, we are very grateful to the

ladies and gents at H20 for the opportunity, and to Jayne Powers in particular for her time

and enthusiasm.

Carnegie Shadowing

11 S2 pupils have volunteered to shadow the prestigious Carnegie Book Award this year

which will involve reading the 6 short listed books over a 2 month period and meeting up

regularly to have discussion on them. The group, self-named the Oban Book Worms, will

have the opportunity to join online debates on the books as well as produce book reviews

and illustrations to go along with them. Once registered they have their own online page

they can post reviews, photos or videos relating to the books and the award. Pupils

shadowing the award are able to take part in a creative writing competition supported by

the Copyright Licensing Agency where they have to adapt a well known fairy tale. To inspire

them they are going to visit the National Library of Scotland who currently have an Alice in

Wonderland exhibition. As well as visiting the display they will be able to watch a

video about the Scottish Ballet's production of 'Alice' and get to see some of the costumed

25

used in it. They will also have the special privilege of a private tour of the National Library of

Scotland. The pupils will also have the opportunity to meet up with pupils from Tobermory

High who are also shadowing the book awards and take part in a vote to decide who they

think should win the award.

Enterprise & Careers

Skills for Work Courses

85 pupils in total currently undertake Skills for Work courses, 51 in S4 and 34 in S5. The

courses are run in partnership with Argyll College and offer the pupils an invaluable insight

into the world of work as well as a qualification from the Scottish Qualifications Authority

SQA at intermediate 1 and 2 levels. We have enjoyed a very high level of success with these

courses in the past with almost all pupils achieving a nationally recognised award. The

current group of pupils are on track this session to achieve similar results. Courses currently

offered are :

Hairdressing Early Education and Child Care Hospitality Rural Skills Uniformed and Emergency Services

Two of our Hairdressing students achieved success recently winning 1st and 2nd place in an Argyll and Bute Hairstyling competition for Argyll College students. Robyn McMahon (1st) and Jodie Goldie (2nd) were presented with their awards at a ceremony in Argyll College in December.

Skills Development Scotland

Skills Development Scotland in partnership with the High School have developed a Career Planning course for S5 Skills for Work pupils. This will be delivered over 8 weeks in Feb/ March 2011. Units of work from the National Progression Award in Employability Skills are also being reviewed and piloted with this group with a view to future implementation.

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Enterprise in Education

1. Enterprising Learning & Teaching 2. Entrepreneurial Activities 3. Vocational Education 4. Careers Education 5. Recognising Achievement

1. Enterprising Learning & Teaching

Learning and teaching across the school seeks to foster and develop a ‘can do’

attitude. Almost all staff have been trained in ‘Co-operative Learning’ approaches

and prior to this a significant number of staff completed training on the ‘Critical

Skills Programme.’ Central to these approaches, used in various contexts across

the school, is the development of soft enterprise skills:-

Team work

Good communication and presentation skills

Taking responsibility

Decision making

Delegating

Negotiating

Meeting deadlines and specifications

Leadership

Subjects offered which have Enterprise as a core element include:-

Business Studies and Business Management

Princes Trust XL

Enterprise and Craft

Skills for Work

Young Sports Leader Awards

S5/6 Pathways Programme

Making education ‘real and relevant’ is also an important feature of many courses in Oban

High School. for example by using school visits, visiting speakers and business links.

Theatre visits (Drama)

Visiting authors (English)

BBC Alba film crew (Gaelic)

Field Trips (Geography & Biology)

Battlefields Trip (History)

Fair Trade Week (Geography)

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Girls in Physics Trip (Physics)

ROV Engineering Competition (Physics)

The development of inter disciplinary projects in S1/S2 as a feature of A Curriculum For

Excellence also involves input from outside agencies and business.

The Smokehouse Challenge

(Food Technology, Music, Drama, Art Departments in partnership with

Inverawe Fisheries)

Wind Farms

(the Physics and Geography departments in partnership with Ali

Energy and Skills Development Scotland).

The sharing of good practice where teachers learn from one another and develop skills

together is a core feature of professional life in Oban High School, through peer observation

visits, in house CPD session the establishment of a TLC Group (Teacher Learning

Community).

2. Entrepreneurial Activities include the following:-

Young Enterprise Scotland (run a company in S6).

XL Enterprise Projects (make & sell).

Enterprise and Craft (make & sell).

Smokehouse Challenge (make, market and promote a product).

Wind Turbines (meet a specification and budget).

‘Tha mi seo’ project ( 250 primary and secondary pupils record a Gaelic song and video)

Primary transition enterprise projects.

School Music Show.

School Dance Show.

Pipe Band CD.

Drama Productions.

Christmas Jingles (dance) – organised by S6.

Children in Need Events – organised by S6.

Gaelic Film Competition (BBC Alba).

Pensioner Treat - (pupils entertain pensioners at Christmas).

School Burns Supper – open to public £10.00 per person.

School Fun Run.

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St Andrews Day Ceilidh for S1 and S2 (senior pupils, ceilidh band and Pipe Band perform)

Sci-Fun Day ( lectures and hands on experience for S1 – Edinburgh University Team ).

Lab in a Lorry (fun science applications for S1)

Other initiatives currently under discussion for implementation this session are:-

An S1 Enterprise Day in May. This project will amalgamate aspects of good practice here and elsewhere, eg

‘Dragons Den’ approach. The project is being developed by the Business

Studies Department and Principal Teacher of Enterprise.

OHS TV This project will set up a whole school TV studio similar to Dunoon Grammar.

The project is being developed by the Computer Studies Department and PT

Enterprise.

3. Vocational Education

Skills for Work courses are a core feature of the curriculum at Oban High School.

Currently 51 pupils in S4 and 34 pupils in S5 follow courses at Argyll College, 85 in

total. Courses on offer are :

Early Education and Childcare

Hairdressing

Hospitality

Rural Skills

Uniformed and Emergency Services

Sport and Recreation ran last session but was replaced this session with the Uniformed and

Emergency Services course. All courses are taught by professionals in their field employed as

tutors by Argyll College. The courses lead to an Intermediate 1 Qualifications accredited by

the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). Early Education and Childcare is also offered at

Intermediate 2, allowing progression from Intermediate 1 level. Pupils with learning

difficulties from the ‘Learning Centre’ have also undertaken these courses.

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Last session all pupils undertaking Hairdressing and Early Education and Childcare were

successful in achieving Intermediate 1 qualifications. Two pupils in Hospitality, two pupils

in Sport & Recreation and six pupils in Rural Skills were unsuccessful in gaining their full

Intermediate 1 qualification but received some accreditation for NC unit passes. 34 out of

42 pupils passed all NC units to gain an Intermediate 1 qualification, a success rate of 76%.

Almost all pupils this session are making satisfactory progress with their courses and are on

track with qualification requirements, as outlined in their recent S4 Reports.

Pupils recently gave these courses a positive rate of approval in a pupil feedback survey.

Some of their comments are listed below.

What pupils like about Skills for Work…

‘I like that I learn new skills for the future’ (Kayleigh C, S4)

‘I like the different learning environment’ (Kayleigh M, S4)

‘The help and support available at the college is really good. I think this is because

all the staff and tutors are nice and approachable so if you need help it is always

available to us’ (Elizabeth W, S4)

‘We get budget money’ (Luke Y, S4)

Some things to improve…

‘Have more time up at the college and more practical work’ (Kayleigh M, S4)

‘We need to cook more’ (Luke Y, S4)

‘More visiting the nursery, meeting midwives and nursery staff’ (Fabiya M, S4)

‘More time with children’ (Jodie C, S4)

Work Experience placements are offered to S4 pupils following their SQA exams in

May/June. The school has over 100 local business offering places. Approximately 80% of S4

pupils took up this opportunity last session. S5/6 pupils can also arrange work experience

placements as part of their curriculum or to enhance job prospects/career plans.

The Pathways Programme in S5/6 offers post 16 educational opportunities by providing

timetabled courses run by local employers and organisations:- i.e.

Northern Lighthouse Board - Engineering Course

Pass It On - Driving Lessons

Hope to Oban - Youth Work

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Club H2O - Working with Elderly

Stramash - Outward Bound

4. Careers Education

Colin MacLeod (Skills Development Scotland) is based in Oban High School 3 days per week.

He provides a careers interview for all pupils in senior school.

Careers Education is a core feature of the Personal & Social Education (PSE) program at

transition times in S2 and S4/5. Information Evenings are also run for parents and pupils at

these times. All pupils are familiar with and use the Gateway Planitplus website as part of

their individual career planning process.

Senior pupils attended University Open Days at Glasgow, Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian,

Stirling and Edinburgh Universities this session. They received support in the UCAS

university application process from Guidance Teachers, Year Heads and Mr MacLeod (SDS).

Skills Development Scotland, Argyll Training, Royal Bank of Scotland and some local

employers have worked in partnership with the School to develop a Career Planning and

Employability Skills Course for S5 Skills for Work students. The course will comprise of a

series of workshops run by SDS and other professionals. A visiting motivational speaker the

‘Building Site Bard’ has been employed by SDS to start the series of workshops.

The ‘Theatre and Learning’ Drama Production Company are touring Argyll and Bute Schools

in January 2011. They will visit Oban High School on Wednesday 26th January to perform an

interactive drama followed by career planning and employability skills workshops led by the

actors.

5. Some Notable Achievements

Last session our Young Enterprise Scotland Company won the Argyll and Bute section of this

enterprise competition. They progressed to the Scottish Final where they won the ‘Best

Company Report’ section.

In December 2010 two of our S4 Skills for Work students Robin McMahon-Harris and Jodie

Goldie won 1st and 2nd places respectively in a Hairstyling Competition for Argyll College

Students. Entries from across Argyll and Bute schools were of a high standard, and the girls

were highly commended by judges.

Partnership Working between Skills Development Scotland and Oban High School

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Oban High School recognise the need for strong

partnership working not only in the delivery of high quality impartial Information, Advice and

Guidance but in the development of career management skills for senior pupils through

Curriculum for Excellence activities, where possible involving other partners from the wider

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community. The intention of SDS is that all pupils wherever possible are given support in

making well informed, realistic decisions about their transition from school into work,

training or continued education.

This report will outline work undertaken between SDS and Oban High School both in terms

of Information, Advice and Guidance and projects specific to the High School.

S6

During the Autumn term all S6 pupils were invited to attend small group interviews with the

Careers Adviser and Head of S6 to look at their post school plans and where necessary to

identify a further individual guidance interview. SDS also continues to support the

development and implementation of the Pathways programme.

S4 and S5

Pupils identified as potential leavers at the end of S4 or S5 are offered 1:1 guidance

interviews , help in applying to college and appropriate referral to external programmes such

as Get Ready for Work.

Interviews are usually self referral or school referral and interview scheduling and Careers

Adviser accommodation are provided by the school.

S5 Intermediate Two Modern Studies had a session from the Careers Adviser on the role of

SDS locally and nationally.

Learning Support

SDS Careers Adviser and Key worker work closely with pupils in the Learning Support Unit

and attend future needs assessment reviews and well as offering support to pupils and

parents in the transition from school.

Shellach View

The Careers Adviser and Key worker visit pupils in Shellach View residential home to offer

intensive support to pupils who are preparing for the transition from school.

Winter Leavers

Each year in December SDS runs group sessions in the Careers Office for those pupils

identified by the school as potential winter leavers. These sessions were aimed at

encouraging pupils to make decisions about their post school options and how to access

them and included input from the Youth Community Development worker, Get Ready for

Work (by Argyll Training) and the Jobcentre plus manager.

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Excite Group

The Ecxite group of pupils are identified by the school as being at risk of not accessing a

positive destination (MCMC/16+ Learning Choices) when they leave school and SDS runs

group sessions in the Careers Office to help these pupils identify their own personal skills,

identify opportunities and discover job search and interview skills.

Skills for Work

SDS has a programme of sessions with the S5 Skills for Work pupils who this year will include

seven weekly sessions on transition from school, what skills and qualities employers look for,

how to identify personal skills, selection process for jobs, college and university and

managing money. Input will also be from external organisations and this year the

programme will be launched by Mark Thomson a motivational poet from Dundee.

The Excite group and Skills for Work programme has input and support from Career Advisers

from other offices in Argyll.

Curriculum for Excellence.

Oban High School and SDS were identified as one of only four schools in Scotland asked to

pilot a Curriculum for Excellence project of their own devising.

Oban High School put together a wind farm project using the geography and physics

departments and piloted an interactive project with a group of twenty first year pupils with

subsequent roll out to the rest of the year group. The pilot had input over the length of its

six session life from SDS colleagues from Argyll who interspersed the wind farm project with

sessions on the BUZZ personality quiz, the STAR quiz on realising your potential and a session

on identifying the difference between a skill and a quality.

Other sessions from SDS included decision making, team working, researching and risk

taking. All of these are in line with the Tartan Blueprint competences for Curriculum for

Excellence in Scotland.

As part of the project SDS invited guest speakers including Heather Reid (ex BBC weather

presenter), MSP Jim Mather and representatives from

Ali-energy, Argyll and Bute planning department and Prince’s Youth Business Trust.

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Food Technology Department

Dinner Drink & Drama –

Joint Extra Curricular

Project (confident individuals,

effective contributors)

As part of their Higher course work and assessment Higher Drama students are required to

perform their work to a live audience. Seeing this as an opportunity to make the evening a

special one for the pupils and audience the Food Technology department joined forces with

drama to create an evening package. The audience was invited to come for a pre theatre

dinner, prepared by Intermediate 2 Hospitality pupils and served in the dining room (created

in the Drama room adjacent to Food Technology). The dinner was a great success and was

attended by some 70 guests; the pupils were complimented for the professional and

courteous service they provided. The diners also commented on the high quality of the food

and the ambiance the pupils had managed to create with subdued lighting and displays of

art work provided by pupils from the S4 standard Grade Art classes. Guests went on to the

assembly hall where they were treated to an evening of inspiring drama from the Higher

students. This was the first venture of this kind for the Food Technology and Drama

departments and, following its success, will hopefully become an annual event.

Menu

Shepherd’s Pie

Vegetable Bake

both served with

Braised Cabbage

Carrots

**********

Raspberry Cream Roulade

Raspberry Filled Meringue Baskets

both served with

Raspberry Coulis

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Pensioners Treat – (Responsible Citizens, Effective Contributors)

This was our 6th annual Christmas party for the senior citizens of Oban and Lorne. Pupils

from S3,4 and 5 Hospitality classes prepared hundreds of mince pies and shortbread to serve

to around 70 guests when they attended the “Pensioners’ Treat Concert”. Pupils from S3

Hospitality Intermediate 1 greeted their guests with a small glass of Mulled Wine followed

by teas, coffees, shortbread and mince pies. While there the guests were entertained by the

pupils of the Oban High School Music Department’s various orchestras, choirs, pipe band,

instrumentalists and vocalists. The 2010 Pensioners Treat was a success to match those of

the previous years. This annual event goes from strength to strength.

Rotary Young Chef Competition 2011 –

(Confident Individuals /Successful Learners)

The Rotary Club of Oban and the OHS Food Technology Department are once again

sponsoring a Young Chef. This year, three young hopefuls entered the school heat in

December. Maria Storr was successful in securing her place in the regional heats; to be held

in Lanarkshire in January. Maria prepared a two course menu for £8.00 which she prepared

under the watchful eye of Ronnie Neil (Rotary Oban) and Robert MacPherson (head chef Isle

of Eriska Hotel).

Her menu, consisting of:

MENU

Chicken & White Wine Filo Parcels

served with

Seasonal Vegetables

and

Oven Roasted Potatoes

***

Individual Lemon Cheese Cake

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Maria will develop a more elaborate three course menu to cost a maximum of £12.00 which

she will prepare in the Regional heat in January when she represents Oban Rotary Club and

Oban High School.

Drama Summer Sensation Buffet

Successful Learners Confident Individuals

S3 drama students invited their family and friends to the end of year performance of their

course pieces over two nights.

As part of the evenings entertainment pupils from S3 Hospitality Int1 and Home Economics

Standard Grade provided and served a delicious summer buffet for 100 guests.

The buffet consisted of smoked salmon oatcake and mini pizza canapés, mini cream

meringues, fruit tartlets and cup cakes served with sparkling fruit juices.

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Guests were able to mingle and socialise before the performances and enjoy a highly

professional standard of food and service.

This type of joint venture is an opportunity for pupils to use their skills in a real context and

to see the appreciation their guests have for the quality of the food and the effort made to

bring off such an event.

The pupils all received a certificate of merit at their achievement assembly and

congratulated on a successful fund raiser for both departments.

Intermediate 2 Practical Cookery Hospitality Exam

Successful Learners Confident Individuals

The pupils from S5 & 6 completed their Practical Cookery exam before breaking for the April

holiday.

The menu this year was Chakalaka Relish

Served with Sweetcorn Pancakes/ Fish Pie/

Chocolate Pavlovas with Red Berries.

Pupils are requires to plan their menu to

be completed within a 2 hour time frame

and to develop the presentation of their

dishes showing flair and individuality.

This years exam was an exacting one

which the pupils found challenging, many

pupils have not taken Hospitality before

so it is a steep learning curve which

develops skills of organization and

confidence.

The dishes shown were prepared by the

top candidate and subject prize winner –

Maria Storr.

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P7 Transition Project Bi Lingual Recipe Book

Business Studies/Gaelic/ Food Technology Departments

Primary seven pupils from Luing, Easdale and Kilninver primary schools took part in a joint

venture involving Gaelic, Business Management, and Food Technology. Pupils attended the

High school on two separate days to complete their project – a bilingual cookery book.

Day 1

The pupils used the computers in Business Management to take part in an awareness raising

quiz followed by a chance to search the internet for recipe ideas.

Gaelic is the second language in their books and the pupils were very enthusiastic in trying it

out – learning the words for the main ingredients in their recipes.

Following a chance to experience the school cashless catering and enjoy the variety of

healthy lunch options pupils went to Food Technology where they watched as some

traditional soup and soda scones were made – and happy to taste the finished results.

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To end their first day the pupils made their own healthy Scottish Berry Smoothies before

going home on the school buses.

Day 2

On arrival pupils went straight to the Business Management department where they

designed the covers for their recipe books using desk top publishing skills. A chance was

given to practice their Gaelic words again, before going to Food Technology where they

worked in teams to make 6 recipes. The recipes were modern takes on traditional recipes

and all used traditional Scottish ingredients. Following lunch the pupils were given the

chance to set up their dishes for photographing. Discussion of how to make it all look

professional paid off and they were delighted with the resulting pictures which they used to

illustrate their recipes.

The recipe books were finished in Business Management where the pupils keyed in the

ingredients and inserted their photos. All left well fed, and happy with the results of their

hard work.

This type of venture allows pupils to experience some of the skills used across a variety of

subject department and gain confidence in coming to the high school. They have

experienced a new learning environment and worked with new friends in new situations.

The P7 pupils have gained so much from this experience and are now eager to get started on

the next phase of their education.

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Second Year Product Design and Marketing Challenge

Third annual Smokehouse Challenge Trade Fair.

Second year pupils at Oban High school took part in the annual enterprise challenge

arranged in conjunction with local Inverawe Smokehouse.

This year the department of Business & Computing joined the existing subjects - Food

Technology, Music, Technical and Drama – and local businesses, to continue the success of

this now established project and introduce pupils to the real life demands of the food

industry.

In September two hundred pupils, working in teams of four, were set the challenge of

designing and manufacturing a food product suitable to be served as an accompaniment for

a smoked food item, design packaging, web sites and adverts with music for their product.

From each class of twenty pupils, one team of four was selected by the participating subjects

to represent their class in a Trade Fair.

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Each of the ten selected teams had to produce and serve and present their products,

together with a display of their work to date from the various subject areas, and promote

their product through their Trade Stand to a panel of 4 judges: Peter Bain (Head Teacher

OHS); Emma Harrington (Manageress Kitchen Garden) Robert Campbell- Preston (Inverawe

Smokehouse); Lucy Thornhill (Inverawe Smokehouse Technical Manager).

The standard of work was considered even higher than before and pupils impressed the

judges with their team work and enthusiasm. The final decision was extremely difficult but

the winners representing 2.2-: Antony Capper, Allyson Boyd, Lauren Angus, Lewis MacPhee

with their Cheesy Choux Buns - were a deserving team. The second and third placed teams

will join the winners to experience the Trade Fair environment for real when they visit

Ingleston for the Royal Highland show in June.

Visiting exchange students from Laurinburg, Scotland Street School and their Oban High

student hosts spent a busy morning in the Food Technology Department.

Following a cookery demonstration the 24 students spent the morning preparing and

cooking a Scottish themed lunch. They then set up the classroom area as a dining room

before serving the food and sitting down to enjoy the fruits of their labours.

Cooking food always makes people more open to tasting new foods and the students were

surprised to discover the delights of:

Haggis Stuffed Chicken & Whisky Cream sauce

Creamed potatoes and Spring Greens

Honey Cranachan

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Laurinburg pupils do not receive home Economics training as part of their curriculum so

were quite daunted at the prospect of preparing a lunch of this type.

This team building activity gave students the chance to work together on a task with a very

satisfying end result. When they all sat down together and enjoy the very lovely meal they

had prepared together it was clear that they were all impressed by the end result and happy

to be together to share the food.

The activity was greatly enjoyed by all concerned and the Laurinburg students intend to take

the recipes home and once there reproduce the dishes for their parents.

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Geography

S2 completed an interdisciplinary project on wind farms with the science department.

We had outside speakers in from Ali-energy to enhance learning and teaching.

Higher classes were spoken to by an SNH employee about the geography of Argyll and careers within SNH.

Interdisciplinary project being planned with PE/Active Sports working on map work and orienteering for S1

Transition project being expanded to include CFE outcomes and interdisciplinary working.

A band A was achieved which is a phenomenal achievement for the pupil and department.

S3 completed a co-operative learning project, culminating in a presentation which was made to all geography staff and pupils were give formative feedback.

The department has created an achievement notice board which gives a dedicated space to celebrate individual pupil achievement within the department.

More active learning has been added into the S1 course, with pupils using compasses and clinometers in the playground to measure direction and slope gradient.

S4 were given a detailed analysis of their prelim results question by question which allowed them to set precise and appropriate targets for the final exam.

Fieldwork

Advanced Higher Geography were taken out my Mrs Wilson and Mr Craik, to study advanced geographical gathering techniques in the local area.

Higher class taken to Glasgow on an Urban field trip, where they had a speed boat ride along the Clyde to study regeneration projects along the Clyde.

S3 taken out to complete field work with a field work expert. Pupils studied River systems, slopes

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and land use. S3/S4 pupils have been involved in collecting local fieldwork in and around Oban. Travel and Tourism have been out investigating tourist attractions in local area. Have

visited the distillery and there are plans to visit chocolate factory. S4, 40 pupils and 4 teachers completed a foreign fieldtrip to the Netherlands.

Fieldwork, increase in self esteem/confidence - gain the ability to talk to/interview/question people in relation to the field work they carry out. (Advanced Higher consult many local people).

Confident individuals - able to plan, carry out and process the information, which they have collected, and come to a reasoned conclusion.

Responsible citizens - Fieldwork requires self discipline - out on their own carrying out fieldwork

Successful Learners - Tools to allow them to become lifelong learners. Variety of teaching and revision techniques used which gives them the confidence to learn new skills throughout their lives.

Devised new achievement certificates to award at year group achievement assemblies, this replaces merit postcards.

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History/Modern Studies

23 S1 History pupils participated in a trip to Kilmartin Museum. They watched an audio

visual presentation on the early settlers of Kilmartin glen and completed an activity based

visit to the museum. The pupils also had the opportunity to make their own clay pottery.

Finally the pupils visited some of the remarkable stone circles, standing stones and burial

cists which are prevalent in this area. In class history pupils have been able to see and

handle replica artefacts from the Mesolithic Stone Age provided by the museum.

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S1 History class invited staff along for refreshments in the Caveman Café. Caveman café

menus were handed out and orders for tea, coffee, “Adam’s brew” (water) and cakes were

taken as the class took the opportunity to present information about our Cavemen

ancestors, their lifestyles and eating habits. Several artefacts were handed round and their

use explained to the café’s customers. Cavemen Café badges were also distributed.

The History department’s very

popular battlefields trip is

underway once more. Pupils will

be travelling to Belgium and France

in June 2011. This is always a very

worthwhile, interesting and

moving study visit to the

battlefields and cemeteries of the

First World War.

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S5/6 Higher history pupils have been studying a new topic in the higher course this year: The

Impact of the Great War on Scotland. In the course of their studies pupils have had an

opportunity to research and teach a “mini lesson” on an aspect of the campaign for the vote

using role play, power point presentations and quizzes. In addition Leigh Eisler and Angus

Sinclair ( pictured above ) produced a power point lesson on the Battle of Arras, checking

learning and understanding by producing a multiple choice test.

Last session the S grade Modern studies class visited the Scottish Parliament and met local MPs. Last

May hustings for the general election were held in the school With the forthcoming election for the

Scottish Parliament in 2011 the intention is to arrange another hustings with prospective candidates

for the Scottish Parliament.

Students of history in S2 have been taking part in a union debate. Not the question of Scottish

independence in 2011 but the issue of forming a union with England in 1707. Students prepared

speeches, leaflets, letters, posters and flags appropriate to their position on the debate using

contemporary sources and arguments offered at the time.

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Scottish Parliament Trip.

A trip to the Scottish Parliament is being planned for Standard grade Modern Studies Pupils in the

forthcoming session. Modern Studies pupils study the working of the parliament in class and will

have the opportunity to meet their newly elected MSPs to question them about local and national

issues.

The H2O Youth Work Team.

Way back in June, H2O wished Denise well as she looked forward to her new role as Catholic

Youth Worker for Argyll and the Isles.

We were joined by Jayne Powers in December. Jayne, former Librarian at OHS, has recently

returned from her work in Malawi, and will work part-time with H2O as Intergenerational/

Youth Worker. Rachel will soon be on maternity leave, and we wish her well with the

forthcoming event.

Chaplaincy Assemblies—Alongside other members of the OHS Chaplaincy team, H2O

presented two assembly themes over the past season, ‘God our Guide’, based on the Gaelic

wording of the OHS logo, and ‘Remember’, considering the importance of remembering

others and learning from the past as we look to the future. Both themes were brought

together in a Christmas message shared by James Beaton, S4 Chaplain, at the Christmas

services held in Glencruitten Church in December.

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On November 11th, a time of remembrance was led by Ewen, supported by the school

captains and vice captains, buglers and piper. Families of OHS former pupils lost in conflicts

in the Falklands and Afghanistan also joined in this significant time of memorial.

Rock Solid, the weekly lunchtime club run by H2O has now been on the go for over six years.

Between 15 and 25 young folk regularly join us for a time of games and banter, including the

ever-popular bottle game, tray wars, chariot races and 101 games to play with a very large

blue bouncy ball!

The ‘Faith Matters’ conferences began with S3 in November as pupils considered ‘Conflict

Resolution’, through workshops and times of reflection. As previously, pupils who had taken

part in the Battlefields trip were invited to host a workshop based on their experiences,

which they did very successfully.

Unfortunately, December’s S6 conference at SAMS,

’Faith Perspectives’ had to be postponed due to the extreme weather and will now take

place at the end of February 2011.

H2O workers spend time every week in Glencruitten Hostel, weekday home for young folk

from the Islands and outlying areas. The Hostel term culminated in two very special events.

A group of young folk from the hostel made their way to the sheltered housing complex for

the elderly, Torosay Court, just before Christmas. The residents there were treated to

Christmas carols and songs alongside musical performances from some extremely talented

young folk.

That same week, pupils from the Hostel hosted a Christmas Ceilidh and Craft Fair, inviting

their neighbours from Glencruitten to an evening of dancing, musical performances, games,

good food, Christmas Bingo and the opportunity to support Hostel fund-raising through sales

at the Craft Fair.

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Languages

SQA performance

We are very pleased to report our continued success in our SQA performance.

Of particular note are:

Standard Grade French, where there has been a consistently strong performance at

Standard Grade for the past 5 years, and indeed for some years prior to this.

Standard Grade Gaelic results were very strong again for the second year in a row.

Advanced Higher French results were outstanding. 3 out of the 4 pupils gained full marks for

their speaking assessments with the external examiner, which is a great achievement.

Curriculum

We have been implementing our first year of our CfE course, and have several

interdisciplinary projects as part of our course. A particular highlight is pupils writing poems

based on artwork by Matisse, and then illustrating their work in Art.

Gàidhlig Pupils rehearsing for filming for the Film G Competition

Our pupils and staff ready to go to France

November 2010

Extra-curricular

We try to provide a variety of experiences for

our pupils which take place in real life

contexts and therefore enable them to see

the language come to life:

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Here are some of the things we offer:

Gaelic Society of London Competition (2 awards were gained from this last summer)

Film G Gaelic Filming. Our fluent speakers worked hard to produce 2 films in Gaelic for this competition and were fully immersed in Gaelic for 3 days of preparation, filming and editing.

S1/2 Paris trip Another 40 pupils will be taking part in this ever popular visit in June this year.

Senior French Exchange with Lycée Jean-Michel, Lons-le-Saunier. This exchange is now going from strength to strength. Our pupils visited the school last November, and we have 20 French pupils in Première coming to be hosted by our families on 24th March.

S1/2 Penfriend exchange. 24 of our pupils meet regularly to write letters to penfriends.

S3/5 Drama. A group of 10 pupils are entering the competition organised by the Institut Français d’Ecosse entitled ‘Rencontres Théatrales’. This will take place on June 6th in Edinburgh and is being organised by our French Assistante, Cécile Piveteau. The drama piece is based on a work called ‘Exercices de Style’ by Raymond Queneau.

French and Scottish pupils in Lyon, November 2010

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Mathematics

1. Scottish Mathematical Challenge – The University of Strathclyde organises a National Mathematical Challenge which attracts entries from schools across Scotland. Two students were awarded prizes in the Junior Division and one student in the Middle Division. The Junior Prize winners were: Robert Strange (Bronze) and Gordon Thomson (Bronze). The middle Prize winner was Andrew Strange (Silver).

2. Helping Your Child Pass Higher Maths Evening – The Maths Department, in conjunction with the English Department, held an information evening for parents of students studying ‘Higher Maths’ this session on Tuesday 21st September in the School Assembly Hall. This was the fourth such evening to be held in the High School and provided an excellent opportunity for parents to learn more about how they can help their son/daughter progress in this subject at ‘Higher’ level. The meeting lasted for approximately 1 hour and students were encouraged to accompany their parents. Approximately 70 attended. The varied programme for the evening included presentations on the format of the Higher exam and course, National and OHS statistics and strategies for learning. It was emphasised that mathematical ability is not an essential requirement in order to assist your child – simply an interest in their progress. Three S6 students talked about strategies which

helped them when they were studying Higher

Maths. In addition, useful websites were

demonstrated and all parents were presented with a “Parental Booklet” which

summarized the key facts and methods that students need to be familiar with if they

have to have a chance of passing Higher Mathematics. Ways of using this booklet

were also demonstrated. Once again, the feedback from the parents who attended

was very positive and encouraging.

3. Mathsfest – February sees Oban High school host its 12th annual Mathsfest, involving 48 S1 and 48 P7 pupils from its feeder primaries. Each team consists of two pupils from P7 and two from S1. The teams spend one hour on practical problems and a further hour on written problems. Once again the Assembly

Hall will be a hive of activity.

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4. Mathematical Challenge: United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) – Each year Oban High School pupils are encouraged to participate in the UKMT challenges organised by the School of Mathematics at Leeds University. The results for session 2009/2010 are listed below.

(a) Junior Mathematical Challenge, May 2010 (Open to S1/S2) Certificates awarded:

Gold – 3

Silver – 12

Bronze – 26

(b) Intermediate Mathematical challenge (Open to S3/S4) Certificates awarded for February 2010:

Gold – 2

Silver – 6

Bronze – 16

(c) Senior Mathematical Challenge (S6) Gold – 0

Silver – 1

Bronze – 3

Particular mention must be made of Debbie McCreath who was invited to

participate in the European Kangaroo 2010.

5. Maths Study Experience: January 2011 – On Sunday 16th January, 21 pupils and 3 members of staff set off for a 4 day Maths Study Experience to Disneyland Resort Paris. The group took part in 3 Maths sessions covering such topics as Maths in Roller Coaster Design, Maths in relation to the work of the landscaping, parades and costume departments, finance, Architecture and the importance of Maths in relation to the hotel booking system, hotel occupancy rates and maintenance analysis. While visiting the theme parks, the group also completed assignments. A great time was had by all and we made a few new friends along the way.

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6. Challenge of the Month – Each month a puzzle/problem is presented to pupils and pupils in all years and of all abilities are encouraged to enter. Correct entries are placed in a bag and the winner drawn out at random.

7. Enterprising Mathematics Competition – Each year, Oban High School Mathematics Department enters a team of 2 x S3 and 2 x S4 pupils in the annual Argyll & Bute enterprising Mathematics competition. This session the event was hosted by Hermitage Academy. The school was represented by Nicole Lopez and Jenny Tamplin S3 and Harry Stage and Martin MacPherson S4. The event in September involved a day of fun but very challenging mathematical games, puzzles and activities. As a result of excellent teamwork Oban High were placed first and went on to represent Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Finals where the team were placed 19th out of 58. A fantastic result.

8. Fantasy Football – Yet again the school are taking part in the Schools Fantasy

Football Tournament. This season around 40 Managers, made up of staff and pupils watch the Premier League each week with keen interest. Managers of the Month are announced each month and overall winners are presented with a Cup and Certificate at the end of the season. The winners for the 2009/2010 Season were: S1 – Finlay Sinclair (The Gunners)

S2 – Craig Livingstone (Craig’s Champions)

S4 – Angus Sinclair (Tangusdale Utd)

S6 – Jamie Lodge (The Red Fruitbats)

Teacher – Mr D Sinclair (Real Salamanca)

FA Cup:

Pupil – Douglas MacLeod (Liverpool Legends)

Teacher – Mrs R Livingstone (Nissan Breakdown)

9. Chess Club - As the knights started drawing in, moves were made last session to develop an opening for a chess club in Oban High School. Mr. Sinclair of the Maths department mentioned it en passant to Mr. Bain, who saw it as a black and white issue, and offered funding. Since that first opening move, the club captured a mixture of both experienced and rookie players. From S1 to S6, 15 players regularly retreated to Mr. Sinclair’s room for a piece of the action on Tuesdays after school. With tournaments, chess puzzles and challenges going on every week, no-one had a chance to get board. Chess Supremos Duncan Campbell and Peter Strange were on hand to give every member the chance to develop their game and learn more about tactics and strategy.

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The club was entered into the British Land Chess Challenge. Murray Peden (S3), Chantelle

Lopez (S1) and Finlay Sinclair (S1) competed in the Megafinal in Glasgow. From that

competition, both Murray Peden and Finlay Sinclair qualified for the Gigafinal.

Results from UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2011 have just been received. Robert

Strange was awarded a Gold certificate and also received the certificate for ’Best in School’.

Three pupils were awarded Silver certificates and they were Finlay Sinclair, Edward Childs

and Cameron Bennett. Claire MacPherson, Zac Thomson, Holly Strachan, Kirsty

Hetherington, Abby McTaggart, Laura Broadfoot, Anthony Yau, Douglas MacLeod, Lewis

Evans, Stuart MacLeod and Kate Werran were all awarded Bronze certificates.

Congratulations to all.

Plans are now underway for our third visit to France in January. This opportunity is offered

to S2/S3 pupils and is a four day excursion to Disneyland Paris where pupils study

mathematics in the context of a theme park. The group will also take part in 3 Maths

sessions covering such topics as Maths in Roller Coaster Design, Maths in relation to the

work of the landscaping, parades and costume departments, finance, Architecture and the

importance of Maths in relation to the hotel booking system, hotel occupancy rates and

maintenance analysis.

Performing Arts

The Performing Arts Department have 3 new additions to their team. At the end of last term we said

goodbye to Mr Ben Redfearn (drama teacher) and in August we welcomed Mr Sam Martin and Miss

Suzanne Gilvray to the team. Mr McLeish joined us in the music department as the new woodwind

tutor and in his short time in the school he has revived the Wind Band and introduced flute and

clarinet choirs to Oban High School.

Oban High School Pipe Band

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Oban High School Pipe Band have had a spectacular season this year after being crowned

World Champions 2010, Champion of Champions 2010 and they also received the

prestigious award of Best Pipe Band at the MG Alba Traditional Music Awards. Next season

the band will move up to the Juvenile Section and preparations are already underway with a

second band that will compete in the Novice Juvenile Section.

Congratulations must go to their tutors Angus MacColl, Bobbie Davie and Stevie Kilbride who

work so hard in ensuring the members are competition ready. A big thank you to the Oban

and Lorn Youth Pipe Band Association who work tirelessly in the background to enable the

children to attend competitions and events and for all the various fund raising activities that

they organise. Congratulations to all and we wish the bands all the very best for the 2011

season. Listed below are the results for both the Oban High School Pipe Band and the

Inverary and District Pipe Band which also has members from OHS.

Banner at the top of the town The Silverware

Victory Parade Guests at West Highland Yachting Week

A Celebration of Achievement was held by the authority in September 2010 in recognition of

the bands outstanding successes. Each band member was presented with a commemorative

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plaque. The Pipe Band was also invited to perform at Skerryvore’s concert in Oban as

special guests.

2010 Competing Season Results – Oban High School Pipe Band

Oban High School

Date Competition Grade Position

9 May 2010 Gourock Novice 1st

9 May 2010 Gourock Juvenile 2nd

22 May 2010 Scottish Championships Novice 2nd

5 June 2010 Shotts Novice 2nd

5 June 2010 Shotts Juvenile 3rd

26 June 2010 British Championships Novice 2nd

31 July 2010 European Championships Novice 4th

6 August 2010 Bridge of Allan Grade 4 2nd

14 August 2010 World Championships Novice 1st

28 August 2010 Cowal Championships Novice 1st

Entire Season Champion of Champions Novice 1st

8 May 2011 Gourock Novice 4th

8 May 2011 Gourock Juvenile 2nd

21 May 2011 Scottish Championships Juvenile 5th

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2010 Competing Season Results – Inverary and District Pipe Band

Inveraray & District

Date Competition Grade Position

9 May 2010 Gourock Novice 2nd

9 May 2010 Gourock Grade 1 2nd

22 May 2010 Scottish Championships Novice 3rd

22 May 2010 Scottish Championships Grade 1 8th

29 May 2010 Bathgate Grade 1 2nd

29 May 2010 Bathgate Grade 1 2nd

5 June 2010 Shotts Novice 4th

5 June 2010 Shotts Juvenile 4th

5 June 2010 Shotts Grade 1 1st

12 June 2010 Bearsden Novice 1st

12 June 2010 Bearsden Juvenile 3rd

19 June 2010 Ayr Grade 1 3rd

20 June 2010 Helensburgh Novice 2nd

20 June 2010 Helensburgh Juvenile 1st

26 June 2010 British Championships Novice 3rd

26 June 2010 British Championships Grade 1 7th

31 July 2010 European Championships Novice 2nd

31 July 2010 European Championships Grade 1 8th

6 August 2010 Bridge of Allan Grade 4 1st

6 August 2010 Bridge of Allan Grade 1 3rd

14 August 2010 World Championships Novice 2nd

14 August 2010 World Championships Grade 1 9th

28 August 2010 Cowal Championships Novice 5th

28 August 2010 Cowal Championships Grade 1 5th

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Other Piping News

In addition to our pipe band we have a number of pupils who compete in solo piping and

drumming competitions. Seen below is Angus MacColl Jnr who has had a particularly

successful season. The photo shows him at the Kintyre Piping Competition with an

abundance of his trophies.

Photograph courtesy of Oban TImes

Entire Season Champion of Champions Novice 4th

Entire Season Champion of Champions Grade 1 8th

8 May 2011 Gourock Juvenile 6th

21 May 2011 Scottish Championships Juvenile 7th

21 May 2011 Scottish Championships Grade 1 5th

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Argyll Ceilidh Trail

The summer of 2010 saw the first ever Argyll Ceilidh Trail where a group of youngsters were

hand picked to be part of this exciting experience. Oban High School’s talented youngsters

formed the majority of the group and they played at locations throughout Argyll for a

number of weeks during the summer holidays. The youngsters chosen from Oban High

School were Ewan MacDonald, Kim MacDonald, Murray Willis, Scott Sinclair and Malcolm

Clark. As part of their experience they attended a week of intensive tuition at Plockton’s

Traditional Music School of Excellence. This certainly prepared them as they embarked on

their tour of Argyll. The group still play together and we look forward to seeing and hearing

more of these extremely talented musicians in the future.

Associated Board Music Exams

Congratulations to the many pupils who sat their Associated Board Music Exams during the

first term. In addition to playing their pieces the pupils also have to complete various other

tests as part of the exam. Well done and thank you to their tutors who work very hard with

the pupils throughout the year.

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Christmas Events

Christmas Cracker Concert

Oban High School held its annual Christmas Cracker Concert on Monday 13th December 2010

to a packed games hall. The evening was a fabulous mix of different styles and groups of

musicians and even saw a performance from the staff choir! It was very encouraging to see

the wind band reformed under the leadership of Mr. Derek McLeish, our new woodwind

tutor. We hope to continue with the wind band in the New Year and look forward to hearing

their music.

7th Annual Pensioners Treat

On Tuesday 14th December we held our annual Pensioners Treat in the Assembly Hall where

we invite local pensioners into the school for a morning of music and festive treats. This

year’s event was superb and we are grateful to Jenny Livingstone and Gayle Munro of S6

who organised this year’s treat. A huge thank you must also go to MacQueen Bros Removals

and Storage who sponsored the whole event. Many other local business provided raffle

prizes and donations. Well done and thank you to the Food Technology Department and

their pupils who provided a wonderful spread of homemade mince pies, shortbread and teas

and coffees. They also decorate the tables beautifully which adds to the party atmosphere

for our local pensioners.

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Please see below a lovely letter of appreciation from one of our local pensioners who wrote

to the Oban Times Letters Page:

Thank you Oban High School

I am sure I speak for everyone present on December 14th at the pensioners’ treat put on, at

no charge to guests by students and staff of Oban High School. We were pleasantly seated in

school hall at attractive tables and treated to seasonal hospitality by the home economics

department.

The concert opened with a selection by Oban High School Pipe Band which has so

distinguished itself during this past year. Later on, its very competent reserve band also

played for us which bodes well for the future of piping in this area. There was also a large

strings band, as well as a wind band, a large choir and various small groups of

instrumentalists. Not only was the music enjoyable, but the atmosphere, helped by the very

professional compere - also a member of staff, I understand - matched the quality of the

performance.

When one appreciates that most of these young artistes maybe 150 in total, were present in

the hall throughout, the disciplined quiet was more than impressive. The work that the music

department as well as the students put in to provide this quality of entertainment is surely far

beyond their professional remit.

One can only say thank you and trust that this level of education can continue to be provided

in our state schools. Thank you everyone.

Annie Graham, Oban

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Oban High School Gaelic Choir – Royal National Mod – October 2010

Oban High School Gaelic Choir competed for the 2nd time at the Royal National Mod in

Thurso. The choir were successful and gained a 1st and 2nd place in their two competitions.

There were also soloists, conversationalists, poets and instrumentalists who competed

representing their school well.

Photograph courtesy of Oban Times

Highlands and Islands Music and Dance Festival

Photograph courtesy of Oban TImes

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A large number of pupils from Oban High School competed in this year’s Highlands and

Islands Music and Dance Festival. Groups from Oban High School included Oban High School

Choir, Oban High School Flute Choir and Oban High School Clarinet Choir. Mr McLeish has

revived ensemble playing in his short time at Oban High School and he was highly

commended for this. The choir gained 3rd place and both the flute and clarinet choirs gained

1st and 2nd place. Pupils competed in chanter, piping, pipe band drumming, clarsach,

accordion, voice, folk group, choral, woodwind, brass, piano and fiddle competitions and it

was very encouraging to see so many competitors from the school. Results for Oban High

School pupils are shown below.

Junior Solo Piping and Chanter

Piobaireachd - Under 15

2nd James MacPherson

4th Cameron Scott

Lodge Earraghaidheal 1822 Trophy awarded to Argyll resident player with best aggregate

points in classes 24 and 24A: Aaron Hossain

Piobaireachd – 15 and Under 18 Years

2nd Angus MacColl

3rd Kyle Orr

March – 15 and Under 18 Years

1st Angus MacColl

Strathspey & Reel – 15 and Under 18 Years

2nd Angus MacColl

The Shaw Family trophy awarded to the Argyll resident player with most aggregate points in

Classes 26 and 26A: Angus MacColl

Hornpipe and Jig – 15 and Under 18 Years

1st Angus MacColl

The Allan Macinnes Memorial Trophy awarded to the player with the most aggregate points

in Classes 25, 26, 26A and 26B: Angus MacColl

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SINGING

Choirs Open (Accompanied)

3. Oban High School Choir

Scots Song - S3+

1st Malcolm Clark

2nd Aimie MacDonald

3rd Amy Hoey

Classical Song S1 and S2

3rd Lora MacLeod

Classical Song - S3+

1st Rebecca Hill

2nd Malcolm Clark

Songs from the Shows - Secondary 1 and 2

2nd Equal James Kane & Caitlin Taylor

Songs from the Shows - S3+

1st Malcolm Clark

Vocal Duets - Secondary

1. James Kane & Caitlin Taylor

2. Jonathan Sayer & Amy Hoey

JUNIOR ACCORDION

March Strathspey and Reel Traditional Scottish - 12 and under 16 years

3rd Ruaridh Morrison

Gaelic Waltzes Traditional Scottish - 12 and under 16 years

3rd Ruaridh Morrison, Kilmore

Most Promising Shield in March, Strathspey and Reel:

Cameron Bennett

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PIANO

Grade 2

1st Lynne MacLean

Grade 4

2nd Amy Boyce

Romantic Period

2nd Finlay Sinclair

WOODWIND AND BRASS

Junior Woodwind Secondary Year 1

2nd Ruairidh Litster-Campbell

3rd Chelsea McNab

Woodwind – Intermediate Secondary years 2 & 3

1st Emily Scott

2nd Caitlin Taylor

3rd Kirsty Campbell

Woodwind Senior Secondary years 4, 5 & 6

2nd Kirsty Thompson

Secondary Woodwind Duet

1st Chelsea McNab & Caitlin Taylor

2nd Emily Scott & Kirsty Campbell

Junior Brass – Secondary 1

1st Alasdair Murphy

Brass – Intermediate Secondary years 2 & 3

2nd Laura Erin Broadfoot

Secondary Woodwind Ensemble

1st Oban High School Flute Choir

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2nd Oban High School Clarinet Choir

DRUMMING

Hornpipe & Jig (15 and under 18 years)

1st Amy Underwood

March, Strathspey & Reel (15 & under 18 years)

3rd Amy Underwood

Tenor – March, Strathspey & Reel (15 & under 18 years)

3rd Catherine MacFarlane

Tenor – March

2nd Helen Stage

Pupils who also competed:

Alasdair MacLean, Lewis Thomas, Alastair Cameron, Andrew Scott, Cameron Bennett, Rachel

Campbell, Kimberley Campbell, Jade Brown, Lisa Marie Parkinson, Rebekah MacPherson,

Fergus McGowan, Jamie MacGregor, Jamie Killorn, Sandy Keys, Merle Harbron, Anna Garvin,

Charlotte Collins, Sarah-Jane Ferguson, Lynne MacLean, Millie Beushchier, Elizabeth Watson,

Maeve Hannigan

Music in the Community

The department have played at various events in the school calendar and also for

community events. These have included the Parent Forum AGM, An Comunn Gaidhleach

Ceilidh, The Rotary Carol Concert and H2O (Hope to Oban). We are extremely lucky to have

such a variety of talented musicians who represent the school very well within the local

community. Below are photos from our most recent performance at Club H2O in May 2011.

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Drama News

This is the first year that the Higher Drama course has been offered at Oban High School. We

have 20 pupils in the class, who have worked tirelessly throughout the year to lead the way

with the new course. In October last year, they performed their first showcase to the public

in the Assembly Hall. The pupils performed original pieces of theatre, which they devised

themselves. The performances were very well received and the pupils announced the Higher

course’s arrival in style. Their higher acting exam in May went very well and we eagerly

await our first set of results in August.

Congratulations go to Jessica Bichard in 6th year, who has gained an unconditional offer to

study Acting & Performance at Dundee College next year. This is one of the most prestigious

training colleges in Scotland, and she has done very well to gain a place so young.

The Standard Grade pupils have also been working extremely hard this year. We currently

have two 3rd year classes and one 4th year class. Miss. Gilvray’s 4th year classes have been

performing their stimulus response dramas to the public throughout the year, entertaining

their audiences thoroughly. Special credit also goes to Kyle McKechnie and Kyle Ormiston in

3rd year who performed a 9 minute long devised mime in front of their whole year group at

an assembly!

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The department have organised and attended various theatre trips throughout the year,

seeing a wide range of shows with pupils including: Black Watch, Gagarin Way, Beauty & The

Beast and Evita.

Preparation is also well under way for this year’s school musical, “Little Shop of Horrors.”

The pupils involved have been fantastic, and are looking forward to rocking Oban with their

outstanding performances. This is a show not to be missed. It takes place in September 2011

in the Assembly Hall.

We are delighted that the department has had so many successes this year, and are very

excited to be moving into our brand new purpose-built studio soon.

Physical Education

S1/ S2 Core Programme

Class Numbers: We have endeavoured to keep class sizes at a practical size and continue to offer separate boys and girls sections in S1 and S2.

Block lengths These are 4 weeks in length which permits a full range of activities to be introduced to students ensuring a breadth in their curriculum.

Assessment: Standard Assessment Sheets have been devised. Every pupil’s grade for each activity now get logged on an easy to read Log Sheet. This has made monitoring of pupil progress and progression from S1 into S2 simpler.

Curriculum for Excellence: We are making good progress with the development of ACE courses. We have moved from discrete activities to more generic categories of activities such as outdoor games, racquet sports, etc. In line with whole school developments, we are ensuring that teaching approaches are more varied and involve students much more in their own learning through Assessment for learning techniques. Courses have been aligned with Experiences and Outcomes and inserts have been made to ensure literacy, numeracy and Health and Well being elements are covered. Each unit now has a theme Challenge which ensures that all students are stretched with allowances for individual abilities.

Health and Well-Being: We have introduced unit themes which will develop aspects of Health and Well-Being. These are introduced in class as part of our practical delivery and then developed through homework booklets and tasks.

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Major Sporting Events Themes: We are preparing unit themes aligned with the values of the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. Each Unit will address one of the values, e.g. Respect. Ideas will be developed in the unit and then extension work through homework booklets.

Target Setting: Each term, students are asked to choose a target from 2 areas – Health and Well Being and Behaviour. They are asked to discuss this with their parents and return their targets to class. The class teacher will then choose a 3rd target related to Curriculum for Excellence elements for each student. Students progress towards targets is then monitored.

Year Group Webpages: Each year group now has its own web page on the internet. This contains details of lessons, homework, handouts, course information etc. Students also are encouraged to send homework by email.

Dance: This year we have introduced a Dance unit which is undertaken by both boys and girls. This has been a successful initiative and has addressed issues of creativity in which our department was previously lacking.

S3/ S4 Core Programme

We are in the process of re-organising the structure of our S3/4 core programmes to take account of developments with Curriculum for Excellence. We have piloted three courses in particular which give greater responsibility to our students for their own learning;

o Sport Education. We are piloting programmes in sport education in basketball, netball, football and rugby. We have organized sections in a variety of ways to look at the ffect of this course in a number of different structures.

o Personal Exercise Plans – Students will learn about how to devise their own exercise plans based on their own needs. Principles of training will be covered and students then will have the opportunity to carry out their exercise plan in a 6 week unit.

o Young Leaders Award – Students will undertake this award over a 6 week period learning the basic of leadership. They will then apply their skills by working with a primary class for a 6 week period.

S5/ S6 Core Programme

This is now part of the school rotation involving PSD, RE and Home Economics. Because of the limited time an increased choice has been provided using PSD tutors to supervise areas of recreational activity.

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Intermediate 2

This course has replaced the Standard Grade Course. It was our feeling that the Intermediate course offered a better preparation for those students moving on to Higher. We also feel that the new National Qualifications are more likely to be based on Intermediate than Standard Grade.

We have increased the numbers taking the elective course to our highest point in 5 years. We have moved from 16 students to a high this year of 96

Courses are being revised and new materials introduced. The sharing of materials across the department increases.

All lesson plans, homework, handouts etc. are being uploaded to the internet and students encouraged to use this as a learning resource.

The choice for students in Practical Activities has been increased by more effective timetabling of staff. This represents a considerable advantage particularly to girls.

A new profiling process is being introduced which will provide more information for parents and more effective retrieval of student information. There is also an opportunity for students and parents to comment on progress.

Higher

We are continuing to develop our course for Higher and are endeavouring to have the whole

course online so that students can access materials easier.

The introduction of a fourth area of study (Performance Appreciation) has increased choice

for students in both practical and theory. Again this has been of particular advantage to

girls.

Sports Coaching:

o This course remains very popular and provides excellent leadership opportunities for our young people. The course has been revised this session to permit more practical experience for our students. They have been allocated first and second year classes where they work with our PE staff in a mentoring role.

o We continue to provide opportunities to work with primary classes and sports groups within the school.

o We have continued to liaise with sports development officers and active school coordinators to provide coaching courses so that our young people can gain further qualifications.

Leadership Academy

We have introduced the concept of a leadership academy which extends leadership opportunities throughout all year groups in the school in an age appropriate way.

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A structure has been put into place which illustrates specific duties for specific roles, e.g. sports leader, clan captain, etc.

Recognition has been provided for our young leaders through badges and t-shirts to identify them.

We have introduced a monthly sports assembly at which key information and themes will be developed and our young leaders will have the opportunity to present at this.

We have introduced log books for our after school sports leaders and prepared guidance notes for them which offer more support for their progress. Each sports leader is being allocated a staff mentor who will check on their progress and observe their delivery.

Religious & Moral Education

Citizenship & PSE

SHARE (Sexual Health and Relationships Education)

On 18, 24 & 25 May 2010, 8 teachers from Oban High took part in SHARE training to allow

them to deliver sexual health and relationship lessons. The training was delivered by Laura

Stephenson, Senior Health Promotion Specialist (Sexual Health), NHS Highland and Katrina

Mitchell, Health Promotion: Argyll and Bute, Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland.

All pupils from S2 to S4 receive lessons on sexual health and relationships delivered by

volunteer tutors from across the school and part of the PSEd programme.

A RIGHT Blether

On 3 November 2010, representatives of Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young

People (SCCYP) visited the school. They delivered workshops for S1-S4 and enabled them to

take part in ‘a RIGHT blether’ http://www.sccyp.org.uk.

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SCIAF

Tutor groups across the school showed their generosity just before Christmas 2010 by raising

over £300 towards SCIAF’s Real Gifts campaign www.sciaf.org.uk. Here is a list of the items

that were bought: A goat by Mr Heaney’s and Mrs Bryden’s group; Beekeeping, chickens and

a school starter pack by Miss Brady’s group; A goat from Mr Hamilton’s and Mr Hale’s group.

Mrs Wilson’s group and Mrs MacFarlane’s group bought a Fish Farm; Miss Rae’s group

bought safe water for five families. Mrs Stewart’s group bought a sheep and Miss McGuire’s

group bought pigs and shelter for a family.

Three Higher Philosophy classes and two S4 RMPS classes means that Mr Cassie, Miss Brady

and Mr Fyfe are being kept very busy. Higher

Philosophy pupils will not sit their prelim until

17 March, but will complete their Epistemology

NAB by the end of January. S4 Philosophy &

Belief pupils are in the final stages of their

course, ready to begin their revision and

practising exam technique.

All the resources being used in class for certificated courses have been

uploaded to https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ab/RME and are now

readily available online.

Rachael Smith from H2O visited S3 pupils to discuss Religious Authority,

one of the ethical theories in Core RME.

The department has successfully made

contact with two schools in India, Apeejay

School and Maharaja Aggarsain Public School. Many of our

courses involve the study of Hinduism and it is hoped that our

students will make direct contact with those in India and

begin to learn much more about Hinduism and life in India.

Our progress in the development of these links can be

followed at https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ab/India

Pupils from Maharaja Aggarsain sent some beautiful Christmas gifts as seen below;

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Science

Last year pupils studying Physics and Technological Studies took part in a competition to

design and build an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Although the team were

unsuccessful the experiences gained by participating

have allowed a new and improved ROV to be built for

the competition next year. In the hope of

encouraging more of our students to consider a

future in engineering the Physics department is once

again working with the Design and Technology

department to develop our entry in the International

MATE ROV competition.

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Costa Rica Expedition

This year five of our pupils in S5 will be travelling to some of the most remote regions of

Costa Rica as part of a month long expedition to take part in a number of projects. One area

in which the group will work in is the conservation of endangered species of turtles; this will

take place on both the Caribbean and Pacific coastlines of the country where the pupils will

assist in the day to day conservation work but also build a number of cabins close to the

beach. These cabins will be used to house tourists which will in turn pay to ensure the

continued conservation and protection of turtles in these areas.

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Following this, pupils will trek through primary rainforest where they will enter the tribal

lands of the Bri-Bri Indians. This is a special honour as most people are not granted access

into this area by the tribal elders, however as our pupils will be travelling with pupils from

Dunoon Grammar School who have built up links with this tribe over many years they will be

privileged enough to witness areas of the country usually reserved for local people. As such

we hope that our pupils will experience a truly unique trip which no travel agency could ever

provide. Whilst in this area the group will continue work started in previous years which has

provided running water and sanitation to the tribal community and also built a school.

This is the first year in which pupils from Oban High School have travelled into this area but

will become a regular feature in the School calendar over the coming years.

Heriott Watt

University’s

“Sci-Fun

Roadshow”

visited the

school at the start of the academic year to deliver a

wide range of hands on activities and science

experiments to the new S1 pupils.

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Over two days pupils were able to take part in a number of activities followed by a talk on

how our senses work and finishing up with a look at the future of energy production with a

working model of a carbon capture power station. This is the fourth successive year of the

roadshow visiting the school and once again proved to be a truly inspirational experience.

Girls in Physics

The uptake of Physics by girls across the country is substantially lower than the uptake by

boys. To counter this, the Institute of Physics held a number of workshops and seminars and

George Watson’s College in Edinburgh in October. Girls studying Intermediate One and

Standard Grade Physics attended the event and learned about the wide variety of college,

university and career opportunities for women in Physics and Engineering.

This year we have been working closely with the Scottish Association for

Marine Sciences based at Dunstaffnage on a number of projects. One of

these was a conservation project where pupils worked in groups to discuss

and debate a number of Environmental Biology issues. This session was

delivered in conjunction with degree students from SAMS as part of their

Science communication course. The session was based around a fictional

tropical island and pupils had to listen to the views of fishermen, conservation groups and

hotels before making a decision on the location of a nature reserve.

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SAMS have also been able to provide us with touch tanks and live organisms to assist in the

delivery of Biology courses in the department. The facilities at SAMS have also been made

available to our Advanced Higher pupils to carry out their investigations and over the next

year we will be building further links to allow pupils to see Science out with School and

understand the importance and relevance of it in our everyday lives.

This year we have been working with our partner Primary Schools to deliver two different

transition projects. One of the projects was carried out with Ardchattan and Barcaldine

Primary Schools in conjunction with the Design and Technology Deaprtment. In this project

pupils learned about buoyancy and worked to design their own floating structures and then

actually build and test them.

The second project took place with Rockfield and St Columba’s Primary Schools in

conjunction with the Physical Education Department. This project looked at fitness and

culminated in a dissection of a heart and lungs which all of the pupils from the Primary

Schools thoroughly enjoyed!

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Both of these projects will continue over the next year and will be delivered to more of our

partner Primary Schools.

This year a number of staff within the Science

Faculty have been trained as Heartstart

instructors. We now have eighteen

mannequins in the school which will be used

to teach senior pupils and staff basic life support techniques. It is our aim to ensure that

every pupil who leaves Oban High School will do so trained in Heartstart techniques.

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Support Department

XL – Working closely with the Prince’s Trust we now have 4 XL Clubs running in Oban High

School. Over the last year our pupils have achieved a great many things including our first

ever Gold ASDAN Awards. The overall attainment reads as 3 gold, 6 silver, 29 bronze as well

as 4 x 100 hour and 5 x 200 hour Millennium Volunteer Awards.

One S4 group also designed and painted a themed mural of cartoon figures for Little

Learners nursery in Dunbeg. This group also organised a camping expedition to Coll and both

groups are currently enjoying their Enterprise projects. One involves the design and

marketing of an Oban High School calendar and the other has been running a refreshments

bar at events like the junior school dance.

The two S3 groups have been getting to know more about our community and themselves.

This has involved visits to lots of local agencies to gather information about services and

guided tours of the Police and Fire Stations. Team building events which are an important

part of the course have included a sponsored walk and a great barbeque.

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Youth Achievement Awards

Some of our S4 pupils are participating in a multi agency programme aimed at increasing

their chances of continuing in Education or finding Employment post school. As well as Youth

Work input from the High School our partners in this project include The Youth Café, H2O,

Community Learning and Development, Skills and Development Scotland, the Volunteer

Centre, Atlantis Leisure and Strathclyde Police.

The course is based on the young people choosing 4 challenges with a minimum of 15 hours

per challenge. They are involved in the planning as well as the taking part in each activity.

There is plenty of opportunity for progression with this course as pupils can participate at

different levels from basic participation and planning to taking charge of a peer led project

(equivalent to a Standard Grade and up to Advanced Higher on the Scottish qualifications

framework). This helps them to obtain ownership of the award and builds up the essential

skills in confidence and self esteem for when they leave school. This year, one of the

activities has been a team building weekend to Edinburgh which the young people planned

and booked by themselves. On the weekend they took part in paintballing and climbing as

well as a number of initiative exercises. They have decided that the second challenge will be

fundraising so are planning an expedition on bikes. This will require a lot of planning as well

as several weeks of training.

Learning in the Outdoors

Pupils in the support department have been using the outdoor learning environment this

session in line with the 4 areas of the Curriculum for Excellence. This has been led by support

department staff who hold a range of coaching awards in outdoor activities. The activities

help pupils to develop their self confidence, self esteem and working with others as well as

leading to the Youth Achievement Award. The first challenge was sea kayaking and all pupils

were successful in achieving their British Canoe Union Paddle Power level 1 award. We hope

to do more kayaking in the summer and further develop the pupils’ kayaking skills.

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From October the pupils joined by the ASD unit began a project to develop a Forest School in

an area of woodland in Glencruitten Forest, with the kind permission of the landowner. They

enjoyed making shelters, seating areas, problem solving activities and mapwork. A big part

of learning in the outdoors is helping the pupils to organise and look after themselves by

bringing the necessary equipment and wearing the right protective clothing. The Health and

Well Being of the pupils is also a priority and they are encouraged to develop their health

and fitness through taking part.

Supported by the RDA many of our pupils have continued to

benefit from horse riding lessons.

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Swimming for our pupils has also continued this year with all those participating gaining

their level 4 award.

We are also delighted to be launching a new opportunity for our pupils this term. Oban High

School has now obtained five new bicycles to add to the learning in the outdoors experience

our pupils receive as part of a Curriculum for Excellence.

In addition to this, staff received bicycle maintenance training towards the end of last term

from Ken Lacey one of the Council’s technical advisors. Supported by ‘Bikefix’, the objective

is to allow some pupils in Intensive Support to learn how to maintain and repair bicycles

while they experience the challenges of running a small enterprise. This additional

opportunity will also allow pupils to gain credits towards SQA qualifications.

Literacy Focus

We have re-arranged the way in which we provide ‘Toe by Toe’ in order to optimise

attendance and the benefits of the programme. We are now having more pupils than ever

completing the course. Pupils achieving this now go on to be supported by paired reading

sessions.

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Further Course Developments:

Scots Culture:

As part of learning about our society and culture and as part of a Curriculum for Excellence

pupils will also improve their Health and Wellbeing alongside their literacy and numeracy

skills. This will include the opportunity to:

1. Achieve a basic understanding of Scots/Gaelic languages.

2. Organise and plan an event. This will include pupils undergoing a coaching

programme in Shinty in order to prepare for participation in the 2011 Camanachd

Association Shinty festival in Aviemore.

3. Explore various aspects of Scots Culture.

The key literacy skills of understanding, analysis and evaluation will be enhanced through

participation while pupils will also learn to improve their fitness and skills through reflection

on their own and other’s performance.

European Culture:

As part of learning about Scotland’s place in Europe and the life and culture of different

European countries and as part of a Curriculum for Excellence pupils will also improve their

Health and Wellbeing alongside their literacy and numeracy skills. This will include the

opportunity to:

1. Recognise and name the different counties of Europe.

2. Gain understanding of the European Union and how it affects everyday life in

Scotland.

3. Explore various aspects of the language, culture and lifestyle of different European

countries.

The key literacy skills of understanding, analysis and evaluation will be enhanced through

participation while pupils will also learn to work with and appreciate the contribution of

others.

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We at Oban High School believe that the school has a responsibility to ensure that all our

youngsters achieve the best possible qualifications.

We also believe that we need to nurture and develop their social, emotional and vocational

knowledge and skills to enable them to achieve their full potential throughout their lives.

Attainment & Achievements

2009 - 2010

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SQA Results 2010

Initial Analysis based on Fyfe Data (August Reports)

The following comments relate only to the raw data provided by Alastair Fyfe for Argyll and Bute.

These are only my initial thoughts. A more detailed report will follow when the full Fyfe Analysis is

published. There are no comments relating to NCDs, Relative or Progressive Values, or comparator

schools etc. at this time. Although the Fyfe data has information going back more than the usual 5

years my comments generally look at a five year trend. The subject list may also look out of order as

it does not follow an alphabetical or NQ hierarchical pattern. However, the order in these notes

follows the order of the Fyfe data to make referencing the original figures easier.

Green text shows data that is to be commended (within that level); red text shows results and trends

that need investigation.

School Roll

The school roll rose to 1147, this is the highest figure over the 5 year trend.

The number of boys staying on into S5 (77) is slightly lower than last year but consistent

across the trend.

The number of girls staying on into S5 (100) is at its highest point over the trend.

The number of boys staying into S6 (63) is at its highest point over the trend.

The number of girls staying on into S6 dropped to 59 which is below average over the trend.

Cumulative Whole School Attainment

By the end of S4

The percentage of pupils attaining combined English and Maths at Level 3 or above has

remained average at 96%.

The percentage of pupils attaining 5 or more Level 3s, 4s and 5s by the end of S4 have all

remained average (91% - level 3; 80% - level 4 and 36% level 5).

The girls again out-performed the boys at all levels. Significantly at level 4 and 5.

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By the end of S5

The number of pupils attaining at 5+ at levels 3 to 6 all rose from last year.

The rises at all these levels remain average across the 5 year trend with the exception of

attainment at 1+ level 6 which reached a high of 46% over the trend.

By end of S6

The percentage of pupils attaining 5+ at levels 3 to 6 fell this year. This is due to the ‘carry

forward’ from last year’s S4 cohorts, who were the poorest attaining cohort since 1999.

It should be noted that many pupils have opted to sit a 2 year Higher or Int 2 this year, which

obviously affects percentages reporting in S5.

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Hostel

S4 – 17 pupils LEVEL HOSTEL % WHOLE SCHOOL%

5+ LEVEL 3 88% 91%

5+ LEVEL 4 82% 80%

5+ LEVEL 5 29% 36%

S5 – 15 pupils LEVEL

1+ LEVEL 6 66% 46%

3+ LEVEL 6 20% 24%

5+ LEVEL 6 0% 8%

S5/6 – 5 pupils LEVEL

1+ LEVEL 6 20% 45%

3+ LEVEL 6 20% 26%

5+ LEVEL 6 0% 15%

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In January 2010 Oban High School attained the Silver

Award for Investors In People

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S1 Achievers

Attendance & Timekeeping

Stewart Mobey Carla Maciver Laura MacCallum

Lauren Lawson Zoe King Stuart Jordan

Mia Colquhoun Charlotte Collins Kirsty Bryce

Ciaran Black Finlay Sinclair Chloe Macleod

Ellie MacNiven Edward Childs Chris Burton

Lewis MacFarlane Robert Colthart Lewis MacPhee

Lauren Cameron

Effort in 14+ Subjects

David Lamont Taylor MacInnes

Homework in 11+ Subjects

Linda Blair Rowan Cameron Edward Childs

Cameron Galbraith Danielle Jeffery David Lamont

Rachel MacKenzie Rhona McGlone Kirsty Rutherford

Daisy Williams

Behaviour in 14+ Subjects

Lauren Cameron Hazel Cruickshanks Naomi Fox

David Lamont Tyrone MacDougall

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Progress in 11+ Subjects

Roanna Cameron Rowan Cameron Chloe Currie

Scott MacRae

Achievement in all four categories in 9+ Subjects

Rowan Cameron Anthony Capper Chloe Currie

Zoe King Eilidh MacLean

Confident Individuals

Cameron Bennett Finlay Sinclair Taylor MacInnes

Niamh Steel Isla Duncan Chelsea Higgins

Helen Stage Laura Grout Rhoanna Black

Charlotte Boyd Murren Smith Alison Ferguson

Caitlin Taylor Isla Donald Matthew Hall

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S2 Achievers

100% Attendance

Lyndsay Weetman Ben Watkins Gordon Thmson

Jenny Tamplin Matthew Strachan Philippa Robson

Megan McGuigan Kyle McKechnie Morgan MacLennan

Craig Livingstone Luke Gordon Heather Ferguson

Alex Campbell Murn Cameron Ruaridh Cain

Gregor Brydon Stuart Alexander Lorna Thompson

Suzie Smith Mallory Robertson Ewan McGlynn

Shaun Maciver Ruby MacFadyen-Donald Rachel MacDougall

Thomas Cummins Anna McDonald

Effective Contributors

William Brett David beaton Stuart Alexander

Alister McKerracher Cameron Underwood Emma MacLachlan

Ruaridh Cain

Successful Learners

Davie Campbell Kirsty Sinclair Emily Black

Rachel MacDougall Tierney Carter Stephen Skinn

Emily Scott Hayley Scott Clare Davies

Andrew MacDonald

Confident Individuals

Lauren McCulloch Shannon Addison Matthew Anderson

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Jenny Tamplin Matthew Strachan Beth MacLellan

Liam MacEachan Kyle MacKechnie

Responsible Citizens

Abigail Evans Briony Kincaid Calum McBurnie

Gordon Thompson Murn Cameron Gregor Brydon

Jenna MacInnes Alex Galbraith

Excellent Progress

Cameron Allward William Brett Heather Campbell

Kirsty Campbell Hazel Dunn Abigail Evans

Malte Glud Hayley Higgins Sarah Hill

Anna McKinnon-Garvin Ruby MacFadyen-Donald Corey MacDonald

Emma MacLachlan Alison MacVicar Cara Mackinnon

Connie McCreath Erin MacIntyre Philippa Robson

Rebekah Stephenson Emma Storr Ciara Watling

Lorna Young

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S3 Achievers

100% Attendance & Perfect Timekeeping

Ian Abdelli-Deshayes Lucy MacNiven Craig Donald

100% Attendance

Niall Williams Owen Thomas Lauren tennant

Harry Stage Daniel Smith Stacey MacLeod

Ryan MacInnes Catriona MacInnnes Stephen McCracken

Jamie MacRae Fiona MacPherson Kirsten MacMillan

Amanda MacLean Patrick MacKinnon Melaine MacKenzie

Michael MacIsaac Kieran MacInnes Niall MacFarlane

John Kennedy Aaron Johnson Eilidh Hunter

Sarah Jane Ferguson Shona Elliott Colin Davren

Megan Cruickshanks Dylan Cooke Ryan Cook

Jodie Campbell Fiona Cameron David Cameron

Anmol Arshad Murray Peden

Best Effort, Best Progress, Best Homework & Best Behaviour in all subjects

all Subjects

Mairi Beaton Murray Peden

History Achievements – Excellent Classwork & Homework

Erin Kelly Josh Tinline-Bartholomew

S4 Achievers

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Successful Learners - XL Bronze Awards

Sam Birkett Daniel Hall Craig Handley

Louise Kynoch Daniel Lamont Eleanor Lopez

Calum MacGillivray Matthew MacLean Kieran Martin

Hannah Rokitta Jordan Strang Stephanie Waiton

Confident Individuals

Amy King Angus Sinclair Kirsty Thompson

Elizabeth Campbell Malcolm Clark Kenna Barrow

Angus John MacColl Alannah Higgins Amanda MacNeill

Thomas Dalgaty Calum MacGillivray

Geography Certificates

Ewan MacGregor Scott MacAllister Daniel Hall

Leanne Barnes Jamie Chapman Katherine Sutherland

Blair Menzies Ashley Lind Fraser McGlone

Chelsea MacDonald Claire MacCuish Laird Kennedy

History Certificates

Angus Sinclair Richard Thomson Leigh MacKenzie

Elizabeth Campbell Gerry Kilmurray Mairi Cameron

Effective Contributors

Laura Meek Samantha MacIver Caroline Smith

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Linzi MacVicar Malcolm Clark Alex Dunnings

Ashley Lind Amy Hoey Diarmid MacKinnon

Amy Underwood Fraser McGlone

Responsible Citizens

Leigh Eisler Euan Livingstone Debbie McCreath

Daniel Parrot Robin Scott Angus Sinclair

Reannon Sinclair Kirsty Thompson Maggie Yau

Ewan MacGregor

Jonathan Gilchrist David O’Neil

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S5 Achievers

Consistent Academic Effort

Rona Anderson Anna Campbell DJ MacDougall

Andrew MacFarlane Sarah McInnes Kirsty Pallas

Anna Smith Louisa Stage Helen Tinney

Jakki Watt

Highest Total Merits

Iain Livingstone

Anna Smith

Rotary Chef Award

Stef Anderson

100% Attendance/No Lates

Calum Galbraith

James McCullock

Representing the School

Fergus Matheson

National Scottish Rugby

Julie Campbell

Services to School Community

James Bastow

Guy Forteith

X Factor Award

Murray Willis

Raising Money for JIM

Hannah Poulton

Sarah McInnes

Katherine MacCuish

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Radio Play Authors

Jonathan Gilchrist

David O’Neil

Bells Lawrie Scottish Schools Rugby Cup

Michael MacMillan

Fergus Matheson

Sean Cook

Ryan Jackson

Jonathan Sayer

Clan Shinty

David Hill

Craig Wright

Raising Money for Africa Class 5.2

Leaders/Judges at Gymnastics Competition

Katie Sims

Rachel Broadfoot

Completed Swimming Teachers’ Course

Louisa Stage Rona Anderson Cara Thompson

Calum MacFarlane Jonathan Sayer Eilidh Muir

S6 Achievers Successful Learners

Allan Laycock

Jennifer McLuckie

Effective Contributors

Charlie Harris

Niall Redshaw Sinclair

Allan Laycock

Sally Anne Bramley

Ewan MacDonald

Jennifer McLuckie

Lora MacLean

Responsible Citizens

Caitlin Smith

Robert MacKinnon

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The following achievements have been nominated by our departments. These achievements have

taken place since May, when I last presented on this subject to the Area Committee. A full list of all

Achievements is available on request or can be found on the school website.

ART & DESIGN

The Art & Design department is currently a bit like a swan….being a very visual

department, things can look very accomplished and graceful on the surface, as our

current displays of photography, fashion and folios demonstrates. Below the surface,

however, there is a lot of hard work going on both in the art room and elsewhere.

We have also seen a number of staffing changes which brings diversity and new ideas to our

department. We welcome Miss Chiappa, a Fine Art Photography graduate, to our teaching team. She

has already established a weekly Art Club which explores techniques in a relaxed, friendly

atmosphere. Mrs Taylor was last in our department a few years ago on placement and we welcome

her return which was brought about by Mrs Pupillo’s recent promotion to Depute Head Teacher

status.

Perhaps our most evident success was our participation in the Argyll

Rhapsody Homecoming Show.

The Fashion Show element of this Argyll project formed the basis of our new

S3‘s introductory Design folio. A very challenging design brief had been set

and our new specialists grew in confidence and ability as they discussed,

developed and presented their ideas. We were also pleased to welcome back former

pupil, Joan Beaton, recent costume design graduate, who was an inspiration to our

designers.

Photographers had also been selected from our current 4th year students and their

exceptional images formed a fitting backdrop to the whole show. Much of the

photography had been done independently by these students and they should be

complimented on their creativity and commitment.

Our Advanced Higher (A Team) were on hand to act as mentors, models and general assistants and

the whole project culminated in the marvellous performance before appreciative audiences in Oban

and Helensburgh. If you missed this event, you can enjoy it on the website www.rhapsody09.com

The A Team is proving to be a very committed bunch of individuals. Some are supplementing their

class work as they prepare folios for art school applications. All are willing participants in a flood of

opportunities which come our way. One student aims to develop a career in marketing and events

management and has therefore been a key player in requests for artworks for such diverse places as

Glencruitten Hostel, Oban Youth Hostel and Trinity Hair Salon!

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Oban High artworks are also enjoyed by recipients of our VIP gifts which take the form of a framed

selection of work by former pupils who have gone on to develop their creativity at various art

establishments.

The achievements of pupils past & present can

be enjoyed in our new range of Cards for all

Occasions which are currently for sale in school.

Under the auspices of the Curriculum for Excellence initiative, we have joined ranks

with the English department. S1 and S2 pupils are involved in using their English texts as a source of

inspiration for a piece of expressive art. This will culminate in a refreshed display of framed artworks

in the English corridor. It has certainly given us all a fresh perspective on what it means to be

‘creative’ and recognises achievements in many facets of creativity.

Recently we were pleased to add a selection of Homecoming artworks to the St Andrew’s Day

Celebration. Currently we are preparing a virtual display of S1 visual diaries and S3 fashions for the

OHS website. We value such opportunities to recognize the broad spectrum of achievement whether

it is creating a skilful piece of design or just reliably handing in sketchbook homework on time! This

is now recognized at Achievement Assemblies in the presentation of customized Art Department

bookmarks.

BUSINESS STUDIES

PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

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Third year Business Management had the opportunity to put theory into practice by running their

own Christmas business activity.

The pupils were divided into groups and formed their own businesses deciding on their name, the

Christmas novelty products they would make and sell, how they would promote them, where they

would get their capital from and who would take responsibility for the various activities. These

activities culminated in the Christmas Bonanza they ran during the last week of the term.

The businesses were delighted that overall they made a profit and were able to repay their loans in

full.

They all agreed it had been great fun and that they would be able to draw on their experiences

throughout the Business Management course.

MAKE YOUR MARK

Four members of the S3 Business Management class took part in the Make Your Mark Business

Enterprise competition which launched on 16 November as part of the Global Entrepreneurship

Week.

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Their remit was to come up with a new and innovative business idea that took its inspiration from

something local. The aim was to invent a cool business which minimised the impact on their

environment, had a low carbon footprint and would make a profit.

The Group of Erin Kelly, Lauren Buchanan, James MacLeod and Lewis Payne came up with the idea

of a producing an audio tour of Oban which could be downloaded onto MP3 players. Customers

could either hire an MP3 player or use their own. The tours would be sold through the Tourist

Information Centre, Hotels and other commercial premises. Links with bus tour operators was also

considered.

The group thoroughly enjoyed the experience and though they did not manage to reach the final

round all agreed it had been good fun and a worthwhile experience.

S3 Administration

Christmas Jingles Poster Design Competition

The S3 Administration classes were challenged to design a poster to advertise the Junior Jingles to

be held on 17 December. Pupils used all their word processing and display skills to produce a wide

variety of posters advertising the event. Mrs Binnie had a very difficult task selecting the winner -

Kirsten MacMillan 3G1. She liked the clarity and simplicity of the design. There was a notable

mention for Michael McIssac.

The winner received a certificate and a free Jingles ticket.

Higher Administration

TEAMBUILDING EXERCISE

High fashion came to the Business Education Department in the form of a teambuilding challenge for

the Higher Administration Classes.

Each group had to design, make and model an outfit made from

newspaper.

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The groups thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and learned how much could be achieved in a short

time by co-operating with others.

LINKS WITH INDUSTRY

VISIT TO CLUNIE GROUP LTD

The Higher Administration class enjoyed their visit to Clunie Group Ltd. They were divided into small

groups and were taken to visit the Design Studio, Production and Printing and the Finance

Departments.

The visit provided the students with an opportunity to see what it is like to work in a high-tech

environment.

Through the visit they realised how important it was to meet deadlines, work as a team and to

provide first class customer service.

COMPUTING STUDIES

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This session has seen big changes for the computing studies Department. With the arrival of a new

teacher, and much closer co-operation with the Business Studies department we envisaged that in

future we will be engaged in much more work which is more of a whole school nature and not

strictly subject-based.

For example, we have started a computing club to expand the general interest of all things

computing for the school population. When pupils attend this club they are encouraged to pursue

any direction that they feel they are interested in, and are given help and advice by staff. Work

undertaken is often of that nature which will be directly relevant to a curriculum for excellence. In

fact, in general, in non-timetable hours (for example lunchtime and at 4 PM) all pupils are

encouraged to attend the computing suites, and staff will be on hand to help.

Also, a project is underway in the local area about multi cultural aspects in Oban and the

surrounding district, stemming from the relatively recent flow of people from other parts of the EU

and the rest of the world. The end result will be a web site created by pupils of several local primary

schools with the co-operation of the Computing department and Modern Languages departments of

Oban High.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

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Smokehouse challenge (all S2 classes)

The department designed and manufactured packaging for this inter disciplinary task to hold the

product that the pupils made in food technology. They had to learn about orthographic drawing,

surface developments, dimensions, geometric shapes, using instruments, line types.

F24 challenge (mainly S3 boys, Mrs. Durkin)

An extra-curricular club. The group has to

design and build an electric car which they are

to race in the regional finals in June in Alford.

Primary Liaison project (P7 Mrs. Durkin)

Recycling project with P7 pupils from Dalmally,

Kilchrenan & Taynuilt. Pupils learned about the 3

R's. They learned about the design process, and then

manufactured a clock from recycled material

Product Design Industrial Visit (S5/6, Mrs Durkin, Mr

McKenna)

Int 2 and Higher Product Design students went to

the Product Design Faculty at Strathclyde University where they learned about various aspects

of rapid prototyping, 3D animation, 3D printing, 3D scanning, laser cutting and CNC routing and

milling in a real life context. The pupils (and staff) enjoyed the experience and some students have

now been inspired to study design at university.

S3 Enterprise through Craft

The students have been manufacturing garden benches. They have sold quite a number now and

there are many satisfied customers.

DRAMA

‘Blackout’ – Standard Grade Performance Evening

On 10th December 2009 pupils from our S4 Standard Grade class worked incredibly hard to put on a

highly successful evening of performance for their first public audience. The evening consisted of

four short plays that were created entirely by the pupils themselves and played to an audience

containing friends and family. What was particularly impressive was the level of support they

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showed one another, helping reset the stage during scene changes and providing technical help for

each other’s work. A big well done to all involved!

Pensioner’s Treat – December 2009

The drama department were invited by the music department to provide a short theatrical interlude

at their Pensioner’s Treat. Two S3 pupils did very well to overcome their nerves and perform their

short comedy extract as part of the day’s entertainment.

‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell – A Trip to the Theatre

Pupils in the S3 Standard Grade Drama class will be visiting the King’s Theatre, Glasgow to see Willy

Russell’s musical ‘Blood Brothers’ at the start of February. The trip is vital as it provides an

opportunity to evaluate a professional performance but it also promises to be a really fun and

enjoyable day out.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

H20 Solo Talks Visit

On Thursday the 3rd of December 2X6 visited H20’s base in Lochavullin in order to perform solo talks

before an audience of Oban’s senior citizens. The boys’ talks were based on a selection of their

heroes chosen from the worlds of cinema, music, literature and sport.

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Despite having spent almost a week

preparing during class time, with the help of

Mrs Cameron, Denise Clancy and senior

student Vicky Cunliffe, the lads were

somewhat nervous once the big day

arrived. A few bars on the harmonica from

Donnie, however, and a quick dose of hot

chocolate and the boys were raring to go.

For many of the boys this was their first

time speaking in public and they

performed admirably, entertaining their

audience with interesting facts about personalities and characters as diverse as Muhammad Ali and

Yoda from Star Wars. 2x6 were delighted with such an appreciative audience and were excited at

the success of their visit. Our sincere thanks to Denise, Vicky, Mrs Cameron, the S5 Pathways crew

and the ladies and gentlemen at the centre for such a great experience.

Reading Certificates

Pupils in S1 and S2 have been busy working towards completing their Bronze, Silver and Gold

Reading Certificates. The purpose of the system is to provide a structure to each child’s reading

habits and to encourage our younger pupils to read a variety of quality fiction and non-fiction texts.

Each certificate involves reading a specific number of books, drawn from different genres of writing,

and completing a Reading Record of tasks based on various aspects of these texts. The Gold Record

is particularly testing, requiring pupils to read and analyse ten novels drawn from a list that includes

many classics of English literature.

Although everyone begins this process in S1, relatively few go on to complete the Gold Certificate by

the end of S2, making it a very significant landmark in a pupil’s study of English.

The Department is delighted to award Gold Certificates to Tierney Carter, Torquil Fergusson,

Gordon Thomson and Gene Palmer. Congratulations and very well done to you all.

Well done also to Rachel McDougall, Lauren McCulloch, Leanne McMaster, Emily Scott and Jenny

Tamplin who have all been awarded Silver Certificates. The Department wishes you all the very best

in your pursuit of Gold over the comings months.

Finally, congratulations to the many pupils who have achieved Bronze Certificates this session- don’t

rest on your laurels! Keep up the good reading habits and gold and silver are around the corner.

ENTERPRISE

Make your Mark

Two groups of pupils entered the Make your Mark Challenge as part of Enterprise Month in

November. The competition is the largest one day event in Britain for secondary aged pupils. The

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senior group of Ryan Jackson, Rachel MacMillan, Hannah Mather and Fergus Matheson won through

to the National Finals in Glasgow. Unfortunately the group did not make it through to the Grand

Final in London, but the judges were so impressed with the responses to the questions that they

gave them an award for 'Thinking on your feet'.

S3 Skills4Work

As part of their coursework the class have to set up and run an enterprise activity. One class decided

to take advantage of the Christmas Market and sell personalised Santa Hats. The group sourced

materials, advertised the product, collected and delivered orders and were very successful. They

have decided to donate £50 from their profits to Yorkhill Hospital.

GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

S2 completed an interdisciplinary project on wind farms with the science department. This

project is now being expanded into a project with SDS (Careers Scotland).

Higher classes were spoken to by an SNH employee about the geography of Argyll and careers

within SNH.

Interdisciplinary project being planned with PE/Active Sports working on map work and

orienteering.

Transition project being expanded to include CFE outcomes and interdisciplinary working.

After school study has been running for higher all year.

Many stunning AH results this year. A top band A was achieved which is a phenomenal

achievement for the pupil and department.

Fieldwork

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Advanced Higher Geography met with a field work consultant and carried out three days of

fieldwork in Glen Strae near Dalmally. The local land owner asked them to investigate the

best location to plant a new forest; the results were fed back to the owner directly by the

pupils.

Higher class taken to Glasgow on an Urban field trip, where they had a speed boat ride along

the Clyde to study regeneration projects along the Clyde.

Plans to take S3 out to complete fieldwork in Glen Strae this Spring

S3/S4 pupils have been involved in collecting local fieldwork in and around Oban.

Travel and Tourism have been out investigating tourist attractions in local area.

S4, 70 pupils and 5 teachers and 3 assistants completed a foreign fieldtrip to the Netherlands.

Fieldwork, increase in self

esteem/confidence - gain the ability to

talk to/interview/question people in

relation to the field work they carry

out. (Advanced Higher consult many

local people).

Confident individuals - able to plan,

carry out and process the information,

which they have collected, and come

to a reasoned conclusion.

Responsible citizens - Fieldwork

requires self discipline - out on their

own carrying out fieldwork.

Successful Learners - Tools to allow them to become lifelong learners. Variety of teaching and

revision techniques used which gives them the confidence to learn new skills throughout their

lives.

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Devised new achievement certificates to award at year group achievement assemblies, this

replaces merit postcards.

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HISTORY / MODERN STUDIES

Battlefields 2009

In June 2009, 40 History students took part in our seventh Battlefields experience. The pupils visit

the battlefields, graveyards and memorials of the First World War. This year was especially

memorable because, for the first time, we were able to visit the memorial to our local regiment, The

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, on the Somme. It was very emotional to see the battle cry

“Cruachan” carved on the monument.

Another highlight of the trip is always our own memorial service to the

fallen which we hold at the Menin Gate on our last evening. Our pupils

choose their own heartfelt inscription for their wreath, the eulogy is

read and a lament, “the Flowers of the Forest” is played in

remembrance. This service of our own has a huge and long lasting

emotional impact on our pupils.

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As a result of their visit, two of our History students, Amanda Noddings and Katherine Jackson,

participated in the senior RO conference on conflict and resolution. They gave a presentation based

on their experiences during the Battlefield visit the previous summer. Their presentation linked past

conflicts to conflicts in the present day with a particular focus on remembrance. The pupils wanted

to make a special mention of former OHS pupil Robert Mclaren, a soldier in the Black Watch, who

was killed in Afghanistan recently.

Recruiting is currently underway for the eighth Battlefields Visit in June 2010. The value of this

experience for pupils cannot be underestimated. It brings what they’ve learned into the classroom

to life in a way no method of teaching can. Many of the pupils say it is an unforgettable experience

which changes the way they think.

Visit to Auschwitz Extermination camp

September 2009

In September Asif Arshad and Craig

Stoddart, two S6 students, accompanied

by Ms Rae, visited Auschwitz in Poland.

Both students have an undertaking to pass on the lessons they learned to others.

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Craig delivered an impressive presentation to an S2 class on the visit and the lessons to be learned

from it.

Asif is scheduled to make a presentation to senior pupils on Holocaust Memorial Day.

In November Ms Karly Kehoe, a lecturer from the University of the Highlands and Islands, and a

colleague, visited the department to discuss her current research project with pupils.

Senior History pupils participated in a workshop which raised awareness of the courses offered by

UHI. The students were given opportunities to: identify individual preferred learning styles, to

evaluate primary sources and to analyse essay questions into component parts of subject area and

focus.

As part of their S1 course all modern studies pupils will have the opportunity to take part in a mock

election. Pupils may choose a current political party or found an original party of their own. A

suitable candidate for the party is chosen. In groups the pupils organise their own election

campaign; designing election posters, creating party leaflets explaining the party manifesto which

has to be agreed by the party.

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Candidates then have to make an election speech and the class then votes. Pupils make ballot

papers and ballot box; returning officers count the votes and announce the winner.

Andrew MacCallum 1.3 was the

winning candidate in his class’s

election.

HOME ECONOMICS

Oban High School Meets ----

Confident Learners/Responsible Citizens

When two members of staff from Butterworth High School in South Africa came on an exchange visit

to Oban High School the pupils of the Food Technology Department hosted a dinner in their honour.

Members of the local community and the staff from the High School, came together to enjoy an

evening of good food and fellowship.

A traditional Scottish menu was prepared and served by S5 & 6 pupils, all of whom have studied

Home Economics or Hospitality for 4- 5 years.

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Haggis Neeps and Tatties in Whisky Sauce

Cock-a-leekie Soup

Steak Pie

Oban Seafood Pie

Trifle

Crannachan

Coffee and Tablet

Pupils joined their guests for coffee and tablet providing a chance to discuss school life in their

respective countries and food and entertainment traditions. The standard of hospitality was praised

highly by all those present and pupils commended on the quality of the food.

This was a wonderful chance for pupils to meet people from such a different cultural background,

while using skills developed in the Food Technology Department in a meaningful and realistic

situation.

Master Classes – (successful learners/confident individuals)

For almost 10 years the Food Technology Department has enjoyed the support and help of Robert

MacPherson Head Chef at Isle of Eriska Hotel.

Robert has been willing to come into school to work with pupils of many ages and to help develop a

high standard of practical skill in our Hospitality courses.

As part of this support he comes into school twice a year to hold master classes for Intermediate 2

pupils preparing for their prelims and final exams.

The exams which are wholly practical require a very high level of skill and style of presentation.

The master classes focus on the dish requiring

the highest level of presentation – usually a

starter or dessert which must be served in four

identical portions. Pupils are expected to

develop their own style for presentation. By

working for 2 hours with Chef the pupils see a

skilled professional at work. What seems to

them a basic recipe can be transformed by

garnish, decoration and design. Robert

demonstrates various ways he would consider

appropriate for the dish to be presented and

then works with pupils to develop their own ideas.

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Pupils gain knowledge and confidence through this activity

and can achieve higher grades as a result. The pride and sense of

achievement is clear and commented on by many of the pupils

who participate in the classes.

Pupil’s Final Exam Dishes May 2008

Rotary Young Chef Competition 2010

In May of 2009 The Rotary Club of Oban invited the Food

Technology Department to enter pupils in their annual

competition. Interested pupils were invited to attend an

introduction and demonstration by Chef Robert MacPherson of ‘The Isle of Eriska Hotel’. Of the

twelve who attended the demonstration in June Five six pupils decided to compete in the school

heat to be held in September.

Competitors ranged in age from 13 – 16 years and had to devise their own menu of two courses at a

cost of no more than £8. Pupils developed

their ideas independently over the school

holidays and prepared costings for their

dishes in readiness for the competition held

in the Food Technology Department on

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30th September 2009. All ingredient costs were covered on the day by Rotary Oban.

The Judges - Head Teacher, Peter Bain; Rotary Member, Ronnie Neil; and Chef Robert MacPherson –

considered the level of skill shown by the pupils and the calibre of the final dishes to be very high.

The worthy winner on the day was Stef Anderson with her stunning menu of:

Medley of Sea Food in Saffron Sauce

in a puff pastry shell.

Strawberries in Vanilla Sauce in Tuille Baskets

Stef won her own set of personalised Chef’s

Whites provided by Rotary Oban. Her high

standards and obvious skill combined with

delicious dishes impressed all judges.

Stef went on to represent the Oban Rotary Club

and OHS in the Area heat in December held in

East Kilbride. Stef who works in the Willowburn

Hotel in Easdale developed her menu with the

support of owner and Chef Chris Wolfe. Her

new three course menu to cost no more than

£12 consisted of:

Clear Tomato Soup

Fillet of Beef with Goats Cheese & Creamed Potatoes & Honey Glazed Swede and Carrot.

Strawberries in Vanilla Sauce in Tuille Baskets.

Stef had practice sessions with Chef Robert MacPherson to develop and fine tune her new menu.

Stef did well on the day against 12 competitors from all over Scotland. Her experience was a

positive one and she was an excellent representative for Oban. The winner of the competition will

go to London for the final to be held in Jamie Oliver’s “Fifteen” restaurant.

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Autumn/ Winter 2009

It was another busy term for H2O in the High School. In

November we welcomed a team from Scripture Union called

Check-It-Out. They were a band and a drama group and

stayed in the school for a week leading assemblies and

various different classes including RME and Music. It was

great having them around and they finished the week off with

a concert that was really well attended.

The Check-It-Out team were also around for the S3 Faith

Matters conference on ‘Conflict Resolution’. Additionally we

had speakers from Woman’s Aid, the Red Cross, Social Work

as well as several teachers from the High School. This year

we also had a couple of 5th years, Amanda Noddings and

Katherine Jackson running a workshop based on their

reflections of their trip to the Battlefields 2009 and they did a

fantastic job.

The S6 Faith Matters conference happened in December at

SAMS. The theme of this conference was ‘Faith Perspectives’,

and we had 7 different speakers from various faiths including

Judaism, Bahaism and Christianity. Pupils attended all 7

workshops and the feedback for this conference was positive.

Both the S3 and S6 conference were organised and

coordinated by H2O and the RMPE department.

Club H2O, our inter-generational initiative, has been very

much part of the Pathways programme this past term, with a

’Speaking and Listening’ project involving S6 and S2 pupils,

and the end-of-term providing opportunities for Christmas

celebrations, with preparations and party coordination by an

active group of S5 pupils.

The JiM (Jayne in Malawi) group, set up to support the work

in Malawi of former Oban High School librarian Jayne Powers

did some fantastic work last term. They organised a cake

bake and guess the birthday of the teddy, and along with the

retiring offering from the Christmas services, have so far

raised £286 for the school project in Dzure, Malawi. The

group also had a visit from Fletcher Matandike from Malawi.

Fletcher was able to carry some of the toys and pencils that

had been gathered for Jane to give to children so they

reached her before Christmas. The rest will wait and will go

in with another shipment of equipment being sent out later in

the year.

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LANGUAGES

French

5 pupils have taken part in the first Exchange with a French lycée in Lons-le-Saunier, near to Lyon in

France. We look forward to receiving 20 French pupils and their teachers for the return visit when

we will be showing them our school and area.

The S1/2 trip to Paris is now a firm fixture and was extended to include a visit to Bruges. It continues

to be a very successful and popular trip.

The standard of work of one of our Advanced Higher pupils, Mark Welsh, deserves particular

mention, as he is reaching outstanding levels in the language.

Gaelic

Our S2 Gaelic fluent speakers are now linking with Wallace High School in Stirling to exchange

information about themselves in Gaelic.

Our S3 learners wrote and produced a play on the topic of music to perform to our Gaelic fluent

speakers.

Every year - trips to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig for senior pupils to learn about Gaelic learning opportunities at the college.

LEARNING SUPPORT

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A very busy Autumn term has ensured that our pupils’ social, emotional and vocational needs are

being nurtured.

The SD3 Autism specific class, have been going swimming twice

a week. They have all made excellent progress.

Jack can swim full length of the pool using front crawl.

Geoffrey is learning to swim a width of the pool using front

crawl.

Niall is learning to swim a width of the pool using front crawl.

And Jordan is learning to swim across the pool with support.

The class went horse riding last term.

As part of our sea project we visited the

Sealife Centre in December.

In the lower school Stuart can now swim by himself!

Ryan is a strong swimmer. He has been coaching Laura

in the swimming

pool. He is interested in becoming a junior helper at Otters

after school next term.

Shonnie completed the whole fun run in September.

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Ryan now rides a bigger horse and is growing in confidence all

the time.

Laura has also gained more confidence

in the kitchen!

The senior class deserved and received high praise for their radio

broadcast which involved the pupils creating the script and recording their performance.

Report on Radio Play scripted and performed by Senior students in the Support Dept.

During the Summer term of last year, three students in the Support Dept, Gian Bove, Johnathen

Gilchrist and David O’Neill, put their creative powers to full use and produced a script to be used as

the basis of a radio play. As the work progressed to completion, one of the students, David O’Neill,

had a work experience placement at James Gray’s Musicworks recording studio. On hearing about

the radio play, now entitled ‘You’re a Dead Man’, James immediately offered to record the work to a

professional standard, adding necessary sound effects to bring the piece to life.

With a change of, and increase in, class personnel in August, the group steadily worked towards

bringing the play up to a standard whereby it could be recorded. As well as three scriptwriters, the

characters were brought to life by Yasmin Murray, Lorraine Smith, Grant Laird and Nick MacLean.

Finally, in early November, the recording took place – in fact the last to be done within the

Musicworks studio before it closed. James then spent far more time than we could have hoped for

adding sound effects and producing the final copy.

Everyone who heard the play was so impressed that it was suggested that it should be submitted to

Oban FM – which was duly done.

Stricken by the writing bug, the scriptwriters are currently working on a serialisation of their own

soap opera – look out for Episode 1 coming soon.

Many thanks go to James Gray for all his interest

and efforts

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Our Youth Workers have also helped pupils to improve their motivation and performance

By completing challenges like climbing Ben Lora (in high winds!).

MATHEMATICS

1. Advanced Higher Mathematics Weekend – Nine students studying Advanced Higher Maths last session took part in the Annual Residential Weekend at Ardentinny Outdoor Centre, 24th – 26th April, 2009. Oban High School students were joined by students from all over Argyll & Bute and took part in workshops to extend and enhance their mathematical skills. Outdoor experiences, e.g. gorge walking, canoeing and a night-hike were included in the weekend. programme. The weekend was an invaluable revision experience and was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance. It is hoped to repeat this experience in April 2010 for present students studying AH Maths.

2. Scottish Mathematical Challenge – The University of Strathclyde organises a National Mathematical Challenge which attracts entries from schools across Scotland. Last session two students were awarded prizes in the Junior Division and one student in the Middle Division. The Junior Prize Winners were: Andrew Strange (Gold) and Gordon Thomson (Silver). The Middle Prize Winner was Richard Thomson (Bronze).

3. Helping Your Child Pass Higher Maths Evenings – The Maths Department held an information evening for parents of students studying ‘Higher Maths’ this session on Tuesday 29th September at 7pm in the School Assembly Hall. This was the third such evening to be held in the High School and provided an excellent opportunity for parents to learn more about how they can help their son/daughter progress in this subject at ‘Higher’ level.

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The meeting lasted for approximately 1 hour and students were encouraged to accompany

their parents. Approximately 70 attended. The varied programme for the evening included

presentations on the format of the Higher Exam and Course, National and OHS statistics and

strategies for learning. It was emphasised that mathematical ability is not an essential

requirement in order to assist your child – simply an interest in their progress.

Three S6 students talked about strategies which helped them when they were studying

Higher Maths. In addition, useful websites were demonstrated and all parents were

presented with a “Parental Booklet” which summarized the key facts and methods that

students need to be familiar with if they have to have a chance of passing Higher

Mathematics. Ways of using this booklet were also demonstrated.

Once again, the feedback from the parents who attended was very positive and

encouraging.

4. Mathsfest – February 2010 will see Oban High School host its 11th Annual Mathsfest, involving 48 S1 pupils and 48 P7 pupils from its feeder primaries. Each team will consist of two pupils from P7 and two from S1. The teams will spend one hour on practical problems and a further hour on written problems. Once again the Assembly Hall will be a hive of activity and the event will hopefully be

thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and staff.

5. Mathematical Challenge: United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) – Each year Oban High School pupils are encouraged to participate in the UKMT Challenges, organised by

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the School of Mathematics at Leeds University. The results for 2008/2009 are listed below.

(a) Junior Mathematical Challenge, May 2009 (Open to S1/S2). Certificates awarded:

Gold 5

Silver 15

Bronze 34

S1/S2 pupils will have the opportunity to participate in the Junior Mathematical

Challenge, May 2010.

(b) Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (Open to S3/S4) Certificates awarded for February 2009:

Gold 2

Silver 6

Bronze 16

Present S3/S4 will be entered for this competition in February 2010.

(c) Senior Mathematical Challenge (S6) Gold 0

Silver 1

Bronze 3

Certificates awarded for November 2009:

Gold 0

Silver 1

Bronze 1

Particular mention must be made of Andrew Strange who was invited to participate

in the European Kangaroo 2009 and who gained a certificate of merit in this

competition.

6. Maths Study Experience – January 2010 – Ten S1 - S3 pupils accompanied by two members of the Maths Department will visit Disneyland Resort, Paris to discover how Mathematics is put into practice at the Resort. During three Study Experience education sessions the Maths Curriculum will be brought to life and students will be encouraged to view their visit to the resort as a total learning opportunity.

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7. N.S.P.C.C. Number Day, 4 December 2009 – The Mathematics Department celebrated ‘Number Day’ by holding a ‘number’ competition open to all pupils. The event raised approximately £84.22 which was donated to N.S.P.C.C.

8. Challenge of the Month – Each month a puzzle/problem is presented to pupils, and pupils in all years and of all abilities are encouraged to enter. Correct entries are placed in a bag and the winner drawn out at random. All correct entries receive a merit point and the winner a prize.

9. Enterprising Mathematics Competition – Each year, Oban High School Mathematics Department enters a team of 2 x S3 and 2 x S4 pupils in the Annual Argyll & Bute Enterprising Mathematics Competition held at Lochgilphead High School. This year the school was represented by Andreas Day & Ryan Cook S3 and Angus Sinclair & Jack Jamieson S4. The event in September involved a day of fun but very challenging mathematical games, puzzles and activities. Although the team did not win they are to be commended for their enthusiasm and sporting attitude.

10. Fantasy Football – Yet again the school is taking part in the Schools Fantasy Football Tournament. This session around 40 Managers, made up of staff and pupils are watching the Premier League each week with keen interest. Managers of the Month are announced each month and overall winners are presented with a Cup and Certificate at the end of the season.

11. Check out the new Chess Club - As the knights started drawing in, moves were made in September to develop an opening for a chess club in the Oban High School’s Maths department. Mr. Sinclair mentioned it en passant to Mr. Bain, who saw it as a black and white issue, and offered funding. Since that first opening move, the club has captured a mixture of both experienced and rookie players. From S1 to S6 fifteen players have been regularly retreating to Mr. Sinclair’s Maths room for a piece of the action on Tuesdays between 3.40 and 4.40pm. With tournaments, chess puzzles and challenges going on every week, no-one has a chance to get board. Chess Supremos Duncan Campbell and Peter Strange are on hand to give every member the chance to develop their game and learn more about tactics and strategy. The club has been entered into the British Land Chess Challenge, with successful players playing out their endgames in Manchester next summer. So why not come along and check us out? At only 50p per session, you won’t be pawning your watch to pay for it!

Complete beginners very welcome, tutorials on offer.

MUSIC

Oban High School Pipe - Band Ben Lora Challenge – June 2009

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On Sunday 7th June 2009 OHS Pipe Band held a sponsored event playing both pipes and drums

continuously from the car park at the foot of Ben Lora up to the Eagles Eyrie viewpoint. They

managed to raise the magnificent sum of over £5000 which has allowed the pipe band to kit out a

further 10 youngsters with full uniform.

Oban High School Pipe Band - Competing Season 2009

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The pipe band has had a very busy and successful competing season which started in April 2009.

Our drummers took part in the Inveraray Drumming Competition and the Kintyre Solo Drumming

Competition and the results were excellent. In May 2009 a number of our chanter players and

pipers were successful in the Argyll & Islands Music Festival.

The pipe band competed at a number of competitions over the summer months including the

Scottish Championships, Bearsden Games, Balloch Games, the European Championships, Bridge of

Allan Games, the World Pipe Band championships and ending their season with the Cowal Games.

They had some excellent results which can all be found on the pipe band’s dedicated website

www.ohspipeband.org.uk

This Is Your

Life –

September

2009

The Music Department organised a surprise “This is Your Life Dave Mason” for our brass and

woodwind instructor of 35 years, Mr Dave Mason. Dave has worked in the same 6 primary schools

and Oban High School and has been such an inspirational figure in so many children’s lives. Dave

was a very gifted teacher that children will always remember way beyond their school years. He

nurtured, inspired, guided, encouraged and most importantly enjoyed teaching children. The event

was held in the Argyllshire Gathering Halls and was attended by quite a number of his former pupils

and colleagues, pupils coming from as far afield as London. The musical evening consisted of

performances from the school choirs, pipe band, his associated primaries and the wind band which

included Dave’s current and former pupils. A great night was had by all and the mood and

atmosphere very much reflected Dave’s contribution to the authority.

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Rehearsals Primary Pupils

Dave Mason – Instrumental Instructor 1974-2009

Oban High School Gaelic Choir – Royal National Mod – October 2009

The newly formed Oban High School Gaelic Choir gained a 1st and 2nd place at this year’s Royal

National Mod in Oban. They won two trophies, one being for the highest overall marks in the choir

competitions. The choir gained 1st place in the puirt-a-beul competition and 2nd in the unison

competition. There were also various soloists, instrumentalists, poets and conversationalists who

represented Oban High School very well.

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Pensioner’s Treat – December 2009

The music department held their 6th annual Pensioner’s Treat on the 14th December with the Home

Economics department. Our local senior citizens are invited into the school for a morning of carols,

dancing, musical entertainment and lovely treats from the home economics department.

Music in the Community

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The department have played at various events in the school calendar and also for community

events. These have included the Parent Forum AGM, An Comunn Gaidhleach Post Mod Ceilidh, Jim

Mather MSP visit, the annual Pipe Band Ceilidh and the Northern Lighthouse Board Christmas Event.

We are extremely lucky to have such a variety of talented musicians who represent the school very

well within the local community.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

ATHLETICS

At the Oban sports hall athletics heat, some of our pupils put on a good show and won their age

group. In the Under 13 boys Finlay Sinclair was the champion and Kelly Lamont was the girls’ winner

in the same age group.

It was good to see Kirsty Gillies and Kayleigh Tennant competing in the under 15s and under 17s

respectively and winning all of their events. It will be

Kayleigh’s last year in Sports hall and she has been a great

competitor and an excellent role model for our younger girls.

Under 13 Boys Finlay Sinclair Under 13 Girls Kelly Lamont

Under 15 Girls Kirsty Gillies Under 17 Girls Kayleigh Tennant

BADMINTON

Senior Badminton is on every Wednesday after school with a regular number of participants. The

main competition season for Badminton is January – March and we are hoping to enter a number of

regional competitions this year.

The Badminton club has been going well with a

good attendance at the extracurricular clubs.

Some of the talented players competed at the

Scottish schools competitions and enjoyed playing

different pupils from other schools. Gregor Brydon

and Jamie Livingstone competed in the age group

level doubles and fared well against strong

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opposition.

In the under 13s Stuart Mobey competed in the boys’ singles in Wishaw. The competitors were

placed in pools and played a round robin tournament. Stuart played well and came second in his

pool, beating a boy who is highly ranked in Scotland on the way.

Gregor, Jamie and Stuart are improving well and show great aptitude as well as attitude for the

sport.

BASKETBALL

Basketball in OHS is led by some of our senior students who have done an excellent job of keeping a

very enthusiastic group of students involved. This year the regular practices on a Tuesday and

Thursday have now been supplemented by more regular competition.

Teams have been entered into the Scottish Cup and the Highland League and this has resulted in an

increase in the number of games being played with some encouraging results.

Senior Boys 43-44 Dunoon

Senior Boys 28-78 Mearns Castle

Senior Boys 32 – 76 Lochaber

Senior Boys 36 – 35 Glasgow Academy

U 15 Boys 28 - 42 Bearsden Academy

U 14 Boys 33 – 34 St Andrew’s Secondary

Senior Girls 36 – 37 Hermitage Academy

DANCE

Many of our pupils are working very hard in preparation for our annual Dance Show, this year to

held over two nights, on Wednesday 13th Jan and Thursday 14th Jan 2010 in the Corran Halls. Over

150 pupils will be taking part in the event which this year has a story based around it entitled

‘Dance, Despair and All that Jazz’.

A fantastic array of talent will be on display with a wide

range of dance styles and Gymnastics to capture the

audiences’ imagination. Modern dance, Gymnastics to

music, Cheerleading Squads, traditional Highland dancing

and highland dancing to modern music, jazz, ballet and a

piece from our group of 6th year Sports Leaders boys and

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girls will all feature with standards even higher than seen in

previous years.

Tickets last year were sold out on the afternoon of the performance – so buy your ticket early.

Tickets will be available from the PE department and the school office from January 7th 2010.

FOOTBALL

One of the very positive successes of our programme this year is the growth in activity amongst our

seniors. Mr McCue has put together a really enthusiastic group of boys who performed very well in

this year’s Scottish Cup.

This season the senior boys’ football squad (U18) had a very successful start to their Scottish Shield

campaign, winning 8-2 at home against St. Andrews.

The team produced a terrific performance, with Marc Beaton stealing the show by scoring 5 goals.

Aiden Harris, Sean Cooke and Craig

McDougall also got their names on the

score sheet.

Unfortunately, the cup run ended in

the next game, with the boys narrowly

losing out to John Paul’s Academy 2-1.

The boys put on another great display, with Craig McDougall scoring the equaliser in the second half

in a game which could have gone either way.

As we move forward into 2010, we will be looking to organise some more fixtures.

GYMNASTICS

On Monday 14th December, the PE department organised the 3rd Gymnastics Festival inviting feeder

primaries to enter teams to compete in a competition.

There was an excellent response and 20 teams from Rockfield, Park, Dalmally, Lochnell, Dunbeg and

Easdale took part. Each pupil had to perform a mat sequence and a vault and was marked on each

section by a panel of senior pupils led by Sally-Anne Bramley.

The individual scores were added together to achieve a team score.

The judges were impressed with the standard of performance and

general conduct. Mrs Clunie would like to thank the senior pupils

for judging in such a professional manner.

The runners up were a team from Rockfield and the winners were

from Park primary.

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The top scoring gymnast was Katie Trafford from Park and Rona

MacIntyre came a very close second. The team from Easdale primary

were awarded medals for best effort.

The girls from Oban High competed in the afternoon and performed some excellent flowing

sequences. The high standard was remarked upon by the PE teachers and judging was difficult.

The winners of the Level 1 competition were Laura MacCallum, Laura Campbell, Eilidh MacLean and

Lauren Angus who are all in S1. Laura MacCallum won the top scoring gymnast trophy.

In Level 2, the winning team were Isla Donald, Caitlyn Taylor in S1 and Christie MacKechnie in S2.

The highest individual at this level was Caitlin Taylor who performed a flawless floor sequence.

HIGHLAND GAMES

Four of our sports leaders, Alannah Higgins, Jane Carson, Rosie Matheson and Jennifer Killorn made

a trip to Dunbeg primary school highland games this term. During this day they helped the primary

pupils with different events from tossing the caber and weight over the bar to tug of war. The day

was a great success and the girls were thanked greatly by Ms MacVicar. We hope this kind of activity

can be repeated next term.

SHINTY

Shinty has been one of our priority sports this session, particularly with the year of Homecoming.

We have been fortunate that the newly appointed Shinty Development Officer for Argyll, Darren

Reid, is based in Oban and we have linked with him for a number of activities.

Our first tournament of the season was the Under 14 Cup played before the Camanachd Cup Final at

Mossfield where our U14 boys emerged victorious.

This was followed up by the Scottish Schools Homecoming Challenge Shield which we hosted at

Oban High School. This was a new initiative led by our school for senior students and the final was

contested by two sides from Oban High. Our B team won the final on penalties as an exciting climax

to a great day.

A number of our students were then selected for the South of Scotland Schools, with Garry

McKerracher making it through to the Scottish Squad.

RUGBY

S1 and S2 Rugby has been well attended this year. Training is on Tuesdays after school and the team

was narrowly defeated in their first tournament, losing in try difference to Lochaber, after beating

Mid Argyll and Mull.

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The S3 to S6 boys have been training twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Under15 team

have made it through to the ¼ finals of the Scottish Schools bowl competition, after defeating

Jordanhill School away from home last week. They now face Langholm in the ¼ final. Magnus

Bradbury has been put on an Individual Player Development programme by the SRU, This is to help

him progress to national squad and professional standard. Nic Humphries the SRU Performance

Development manager for Glasgow North has asked to coach the Tuesday training sessions on a

fortnightly basis after Christmas, this is a great opportunity for the S3-S6 players to get top

professional coaching regularly. The U18 team were narrowly defeated away to

Craigmount/Forrester and now only have friendly fixtures and SRU pathway to look forward too. The

new players, Michael McMillan and Sean Cook have made a good impression and look hopeful for

the pathway selection in January along with previous selections of Angus McCallum, Calum

MacLachlan, Ryan Baxter, Fergus Matheson and Magnus Bradbury.

The Pathway nominations and training will take place in January, along with the U15 Tobermory side

to play Langholm date TBC.

Girls Rugby has been strong this year with a number of new players turning out. An under18 and

under15 team travelled to Perth to play in a national 10-a-side tournament. The Girls performed well

making up numbers with players from Mull, forming an Argyll select. Their next competition is the

National Cup Qualifying tournament in Glasgow on the 21st of February.

SWIMMING

Whilst we do not do swimming within the school programme we are delighted to acknowledge the

commitment and achievement of our young people who took part in the Argyll Schools

Championships in November. The event was held in Campbeltown and was very well organised with

so many people from Argyll’s clubs involved. Our students were accompanied by Mrs Reynolds and

Mrs Mackinnon who are both parents of young people at our school and members of the Otters

Club. Our students performed very well in winning 27 medals with a number of our students also

qualifying for the Scottish Championships in January.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

In September, Mr McCue working with the Support department started a programme for pupils who

are considered Gifted & Talented in their chosen sport, primarily pupils competing at county level or

above.

Pupils were referred to him by their Guidance teacher or a member of PE staff and were interviewed

before being formally inducted into the programme.

On a general level, the programme offers support to these pupils in terms of various aspects of

sports psychology, training and study schedules and appropriate nutrition and hydration for sport.

In addition to this, the programme offers support to these pupils on an individual basis, depending

on their specific needs.

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So far, the programme has proved to be successful, with many of the pupils involved in the

programme achieving good results in the various competitions they have been involved in since

September. Feedback has shown that some of the ideas/techniques that the pupils have gained

from the programme have had a positive influence on their performance.

The programme will continue to run until the end of the academic year as we are aiming to further

improve the performance of our elite student athletes.

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RELIGIOUS and MORAL EDUCATION

and PHILOSOPHY

Claire Brady joined the department to cover for a long term illness and has been making a

huge impact on the department with her enthusiasm and creative ideas.

The department was delighted to ‘come into the fold’ and leave the old leaking huts at the

rear of the school to join the main building. With a large number of plastic boxes and strong

backs, departmental staff ably assisted by the head janitor, ensured that everything arrived

safely - whilst the rest of the school enjoyed Sports Day!

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Our anti-racism project in S3 Core RME as part of the Racial Discrimination course produced

excellent posters, some of which may be eligible for the annual anti-racism competition run

by ‘Give Racism the Red Card’.

Use of ICT

continues to

increase, use

of Comic Life

to help

consolidate

pupils’

learning…

Our S2

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project, partly funded by the School Challenge Fund, continues to grow and we have been

working with the Modern Studies Department on bringing it into S1 to develop an

interdisciplinary project based upon it.

Use of our website www.teachingconcern.co.uk also continues to grow, as does pupils’ use

of our department blog http://religiousandmoral.edublogs.org/ .

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SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

The Departments have visited and had visits from a variety of scientific organisations:

Shore Thing Beach Survey

All S4 Biology pupils took part in a number of beach surveys to establish the variety and distribution

of marine life on the intertidal shore at Ganavan. The project is coordinated by SAMS with the aim

of discovering the animals and plants which already inhabit the area and to find out if any new

species have recently arrived. The Shore Thing Survey is part of a scheme, where data is collected

nationally, in order to establish whether the seas around Britain are becoming warmer and to study

and monitor the effect of global warming on our marine habitat.

Edinburgh University’s Sci-Fun Travelling Road Show

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Edinburgh University’s Sci-Fun travelling road show visited Oban High School in May. They offered

presentations on The Senses, Global Warming and Careers as well as a set of hands-on exhibits. The

show was well received by S1 pupils and also by a number of non-scientist members of staff.

Student volunteers from S3 and S6 acted as demonstrators for the S1 pupils. The Sci-Fun staff said

they were impressed the by the knowledge and helpfulness shown by the volunteers.

The two day visit was part of the National Science and Engineering Week and funded by a grant from

the Scottish Government and the British Science Association.

Jeans For Genes Day

This fundraising day took place on Friday 2nd October 2009. The aim of the charity is to help children

who have disabilities arising from genetic disorders.

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The event was organised by Mr Lightfoot, but undertaken by Advanced Higher Biology students.

This year (2009) the largest ever total was collected, £887.43. This came from the sale of non-

uniform stickers and other merchandise. There is an obvious link between this charity and the

teaching of biology.

Five students were involved constantly going around classes informing pupils of the charity’s good

work and selling stickers etc, a great effort was put in by the students.

Developing successful links with SAMS

The school is very keen to continue to seek ways to develop closer links between SAMS (Scottish

Association for Marine Science) and the school.

So last June a group of five Advanced Higher Biology students, accompanied by Mr MacPherson,

toured the laboratory facilities of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS).

They were guided round the facility by Dr Anushka Miller who spoke about the important work

carried out there as well as giving our students an overview of scientific investigation and report

writing.

One key aim of the visit was to establish possible future collaborative work on student’s Advanced

Higher practical investigations and plans were put in place to give our students the opportunity to

present their work to students and scientists at SAMS.

Three students will present their investigations later on this term giving them the opportunity to

further develop their presentation skills as well as pick up advice and tips for their future careers.

Following on from this visit the school became an associate member of SAMS and we are now able

to use the excellent conference facilities there. In December SAMS hosted our S6 Faith Matters

conference led by our H2O partners and a Routes For All day conference led by Glasgow Caledonian

University for 58 S6 pupils.

Both events were hugely successful with staff from Dunstaffnage and GCU very impressed with the

behaviour and attitude of our senior students.

We look forward to further collaborative work with SAMS in the future and are now actively

involved in looking at involving senior pupils in the Arctic expeditions during the summer months.

Physics Department Projects

1. ROV Competition - Ten S4

pupils, led by Mr. Morrison, are

designing and building a Remote

Operated Submergible Vehicle.

This national competition is

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being run by Robert Gordon’s University, Aberdeen, in partnership with international oil

companies working in the North Sea. Winners of the Scottish Heat will then compete in the

USA against international opposition - funded by the US government. We at Oban High will

be drawing on some of the local expertise at Dunstaffnage Marine Research Laboratory

SAMS as the team develop the project.

2. Wind Turbine Project - The Physics Department have been working in partnership with the

Geography and Enterprise Departments in Oban High plus Skills Development Scotland and

Ali Energy to develop a set of lessons on alternative energy sources, particularly wind power.

These will be piloted this year with S2.

3. Trans Atlantic Cable - Some S1 pupils have been investigating some local Science History. In

partnership with BT, Fishburn-Hedges (PR company) and the Scottish National Museum in

Edinburgh the Physics Department and pupils in class 1.1 have been commemorating 50

years since the opening of the 1st Trans Atlantic Telephone Communications Cable. The

cable left from Gallanach Bay, Oban, and resurfaced in Newfoundland, Canada. This was the

' hot line' between the USA and Europe during the Cold War years. It is hoped to set up a

web-cam conference between Scottish and Canadian Engineers who worked on the original

project with questions from OHS pupils.

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XL GROUP

S3 XL Group Achievement

Our XL groups have had a busy few months. After spending some time in June team building and

getting to know one another, we felt that we wanted to start off our XL experiences with something

big! The decision was made by the group that we would do a sponsored walk with all proceeds

going towards an end of term outing as a reward. Together, we were sponsored to walk from

Dunbeg to Ganavan. Beautiful sunshine made the day perfect and after our walk we enjoyed a

picnic on the beach followed by a bit of competition – ROUNDERS!

The money raised by the two groups enabled us to enjoy a ferry trip to Mull, some enjoyable time

relaxing on the beach, a ride on the miniature railway and a nice big ice cream to finish the day off.

It was all the more enjoyable knowing that we had all worked hard, together as a team, to earn our

reward.

As part of our Citizenship and Community Awareness project we

organised and carried out a litter collection around the school grounds.

There was torrential rain but we still soldiered on.

As part of the same project we also visited Oban Fire Station on the run up to Bonfire Night. Each

member of our group got to experience how the fire fighters are trained and how they practice – in

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the dark room. We also had a tour around the station and had a look at all the equipment a fire

fighter may require and we had the opportunity to sit inside the fire engine.

This year, due to Homecoming Scotland, Oban High

School’s St Andrew’s Day celebrations were even bigger

than usual. We played a massive part in the Ceilidh

preparations and were entirely in charge of the

decorating of the hall. We also ran a juice bar and a face

painting stall, with all the money that we raised going

towards our next big outdoor activity.

We’ve also had fun in our own classroom. We’ve

played a lot of teambuilding and icebreaking games and we’ve had two very successful end of term

parties, where we’ve danced and eaten lots of delicious food. We’ve also enjoyed some competition

with games of football, rounders, tower building and hat making.

It is now the start of a new year and we’ve got a lot more challenges and fun experiences lined up

for 2010. We’re currently doing a project on ‘Crime in the Community’ and are awaiting a visit to

the police station and the cells, as well as a visit from a local drug awareness charity, and also

exploring the possibility of a skiing trip to Glencoe.

4th Year XL achievement

The S4 XL group have had a busy year organising events and taking part in a variety of activities.

Three pupils arranged a school golf tournament at

Glencruitten Golf Club. 16 pupils took part along with Mr

Irvine, Mr Robertson and Mr Mitchell. It was a resounding

success and it is planned to hold another competition in June

2010.

A School Shinty Tournament was

also organised last term. 6 teams

took part.

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The 4th year group also arranged some fun activities for sports day. These included sponge the

teacher, beat the goalie and face painting.

All the money raised from the activities organised by the

group went to help pay for a residential trip on an Ocean

Youth Trust yacht for a week. This trip was extremely

beneficial to the youngsters and helped them gain in

confidence, improve their team work improve their

communication skills. The group were accompanied by Mr

Waltho and Mrs O’Doherty.

ETHCO Success

After the Skills for Work pupils’ success in the national Ethco song competition the pupils were

invited to attend the official Ethco Launch in Perth. The pupils performed at the start of the event

then participated in a variety of activities including interviewing other guests and planning how the

Ethco project could fit into the

curriculum. The girls then sang again to close

the event. The girls did Oban High

School proud and a number of staff from

other local authorities commented on the

exemplary behaviour of the girls over such

a long day and the excellence of the song

and their singing.

PATHWAYS

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This year saw the introduction of an exciting new

initiative called Pathways. This programme has

given our senior pupils the opportunity to

experience some life skills relating to a selected

career pathway. This year has seen our pupils

involved in many projects such as, primary

teaching, building a buoy for the Northern

Lighthouse Association, gaining a pool lifeguard

qualification, driving lessons, youth work and

many other great opportunities. These courses

have been a resounding success for the pupils.

The feedback we have received from the

Pathway providers has been very positive.

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SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Butterworth High School, South Africa

This year saw the introduction of an exciting partnership between Oban High School and

Butterworth High School in South Africa. Oban High School was one of 6 Scottish

Schools selected to be involved in a sporting and cultural partnership between Scotland and South

Africa.

The first stage of the partnership saw David Mitchell, Depute Head Teacher and Jim Lay, Principal

Teacher of Physical Education visit South Africa for a week in April making initial

contact. The Principal and Sports co-ordinator then visited Oban for a week in September.

The partnership offers a number of opportunities with a trip planned during the

football World Cup.

A welcoming event was held which was attended by local councillors, Dick Walsh and Alan Reid MP.

The picture shows the partnership agreement being signed by Peter Bain and Kris Mdingi the

principal of Butterworth High School.

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Laurinburg Exchange 2009

This year’s visit to Scotland County in North Carolina USA was again a fantastic experience for all the

participants.

An innovative and varied set of selection challenges was introduced that stretched and helped

develop our young hopefuls, for example, they were asked to organise a Valentines dance, a raffle

and write a letter to Barrack Obama

Eleven students – Robert Pawson, Caitlin Smith,

Mark Welsh, Lynsey Burger, Jennifer McPhee,

Fraser Brydon, Laura Underwood, Robert

McKinnon, Rowen Paterson, Catriona Mackie

and Angus Scott accompanied by Murray

Hamilton (PE), Anne Stewart (PT Business

Studies) and John MacPherson (Senior Depute)

had a wonderful time exploring the sights and

tastes of America with their host families.

Their packed programme of activities included

a two day trip to the Appalachian mountains

where the Scots and Americans enjoyed

ziplining, visits to Football Games, a Canoe trip

in on the Lumbee River, a Pow Wow dance

and song evening, a two day trip to Ocean Isle

beach and a day at the North Carolina State

Fair in Raleigh.

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Towards the end of their adventure in America the group attended the Rotary Lunch in Laurinburg

and everyone spoke about the highlights of their trip.

It was evident to all of us that the kindness and

willingness to share of the host families and the

new friendships that are made are truly special

and unique parts of this exchange programme.

Our students were excellent ambassadors and

representatives of our school and community.

They came through tough selection procedures to

be given the opportunity to take part in a brilliant

trip, an experience they will remember always and

one that they would recommend to all. The group

gave interesting and entertaining presentations to

the Rotary Club in Oban and to our new S5 students to encourage them to follow their footsteps.

The selection process for next year’s USA exchange began in mid November when 5 teams of

4 S5 students took part in their first challenge which was to research the American pledge of

allegiance to the Stars and Stripes and to write a Scottish Pledge to the Saltire.

Each team presented their work to a panel of judges and a selection of S1 and S2 pupils in the

assembly hall. The presentations were excellent and included the story of St Andrew - one pledge

was selected to be performed for the first time at the St Andrews Day concert attended by OHS S1

pupils, pupils from Rockfield and Lochnell primary schools, local councillors, parents and Jim Mather

MSP. Students Louisa Stage, Ruaridh Dunlop, Danielle Thomson and Andrew MacFarlane were

joined by the eleven strong S1 pupil Council and two S4 drama students Amy King and Jane Carson

on stage in the games hall.

Linking hands in cross over 'Auld Lang Syne' style they delivered this powerful and moving pledge:

'We the people of Scotland promise to honour those who fought for our freedom and

independance, and to guard the name of St Andrew, our patron and protector. Let our customs

and traditions live forever, let us never forget our motto: in my defens, God me defend.'

The exchange hopefuls then completed a detailed application form ahead of their selection

interviews that were held the week beginning 7th December Following the interviews for the

18th Laurinburg exchange the following students were selected:

The judging panel Anne Stewart, Graham Innes (Rotary), John MacPherson, Caitlin Smith (S6 08/09

exchange) and Robert MacKinnon (S6 08/09 exchange) were very impressed by the high quality of

application forms and interviews of the candidates. . They found it so difficult to pick ten that we

asked the American selection committee if they had another good candidate that they were happy

to exchange and they said yes - eleven students are now involved.

The students all know that they must maintain very good tracking and participate fully in the fund

raising activities if they are to retain their place.

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Activities will include:

January - Burns Supper participation

February - Valentines Dance

March - Spring Auction

April - sponsored Cruachan Climb jointly with Oban Rotary