Life @ EA

Friday 24 April

Dear Parents / Guardians

Senior School Updates

I am no fan of a closed school. Given the recent weather, it seems particularly cruel that we are not enjoying afternoons of cricket, tennis and athletics, or preparing to send our students away on the Outdoor Pursuits trips that were planned for this term. So much of the world has changed in a short space of time, however, that normal school routines can be a comfort for many, especially as we have no way of knowing how long this period of school closure and social isolation will last for. I very much hope the transition from holiday and back to our Remote Education programme has gone as smoothly as it could. Today would have marked the last day of lessons for our 5ths, 6ths and 7ths before they left on exam leave and began their diets of SQA, GCSE and A Level exams. For many 7ths, this would have been their last day of ‘official’ School other than their actual exams and then the final week of Leavers’ Celebrations, culminating in Exhibition in June. We would always look to honour this occasion by awarding final sets of Colours to those students who have been such devoted servants of our co-curricular programmes. Having ‘awarded’ (virtually) the Sporting Colours at the end of last term, I would like to continue that tradition by today awarding Colours in the Performing Arts. I am delighted therefore to make the following awards to three of our senior Musicians and one senior Dramatist, all of whom have provided superb service to the Music and Drama Departments, their Divisions and the Performing Arts programme at the School in general.

Music Colours are awarded to:
Oscar B.
Manuela D.-V.
Gregor M.

Drama Colours are awarded to:
Anoushka M.

There are always a great deal of nerves and emotion on a day like this, as our senior students step away and go on exam leave. Whilst many students return to check in with their teachers for reassurance and last-minute guidance before an exam, teachers always face exam leave with some form of trepidation. But that has not happened this year. Instead, the timetable has rolled forward, new Higher and Advanced Higher teaching has begun and our 5ths/6ths are already almost a full week into their new Higher or Advanced Higher courses. My sincere thanks to the whole Academic Team who have managed this transition – there are changes still to happen over the weekend and so, should there still be any concerns, please do get in touch with Mr Halsall, who will be able to help. The process has gone remarkably smoothly and the transition, which normally happens over an extended summer break, has been managed over the much shorter Easter holiday, all the more remarkable as this has happened while Departments prepare the paperwork for the new SQA/Ofqual Estimated Grade system.

As far as routines are concerned, from Monday next week we will be starting a new protocol in Registration of our pupils, so that we can track engagement and class involvement. On a daily basis students will be sent a registration form by Firefly to complete (by a simple acknowledgement) – it will help our Academic and Pastoral Teams to track student engagement, something that will be particularly important if this period of school closure is to be extended.

For the same reason, from next Friday, we will also be sending out a weekly Well-Being Survey to our pupils. This is particularly important to us as we want to ensure that we continue to make connections with our student body, give plenty of opportunities for our students to ask for assistance, further help or reassurance and never wait for problems to grow. I really hope that this survey will help our Pastoral Team to keep up the high level of support that they offer when the school is in session. Next week also sees the start of the 6ths Ephor Interviews as well, as we seek to choose our student leaders for the next academic year. Good luck to the 59 candidates who are putting themselves through this challenging process, this time all the stranger by being done remotely.

Over the Easter holiday there has been a number of staffing changes and updates that have occurred and it is worth mentioning these today. We are delighted to welcome Christopher Martin to the role of PE Teacher and Director of Rugby, following Mr Appleson’s promotion to Director of Sport at Fettes College. Mr Martin is currently a PE teacher at Madras College and also the Edinburgh Accies 1st XV Backs coach at Raeburn Place. Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Smith have both decided to retire from teaching at the end of this Academic Session and will be leaving the Physics Department. They will be replaced by Mr. Keith Hardie. Mr. Hardie currently teaches Physics and Maths at Beeslack High School, having previously worked at the European Space Agency. Due to increased demand within the Drama Department also, we are delighted to welcome Mrs. Ana Costas to join the School to work alongside Miss Ingram; Mrs Costas is currently teaching at The Royal High School. I very much hope that we get an appropriate opportunity to recognise and celebrate the significant contribution that our leaving staff have made to the School. All our departing staff have educated and transformed the lives of many of our students and I hope that we get an opportunity to thank them fully for their service to the School.

With best wishes,

Barry Welsh
Rector