ABERTAY UNIVERSITY VISIT | Our Year 12 BTEC students spent the day at Abertay University in Dundee, where they gained an insight into careers in game design thanks to Dr Andrew Reid, who is a lecturer in Games and Arts.

Abertay is world leading in the field of computer games and was the first university to offer degree courses in games, introducing the subject 21 years ago. Its School of Design and Informatics gives university students access to global companies including Sony and Disney, as well as excellent academic staff.

Year 12’s morning at Abertay was packed with activities, starting with a session with Dr Reid, during which they learned about studying Games at degree level, and followed by a tour of the facilities.

One of the highlights was the showcase of student games and an ‘Ask me Anything’ session, before the design challenge commenced in the afternoon.

Our Sixth Formers thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which ended with each of them presenting their own game design in a very impressive way!

Thank you to Dr Reid and the team at Abertay for hosting us, and to Miss Prudencio-Aponte for organising such a fascinating visit.

Jamnesty Concert

JAMNESTY CONCERT | Our Year 12 students organised a brilliant Jamnesty concert in the Music School Auditorium on Friday, 1 March. The charity event tied in perfectly with the CAS element of the IB Diploma. Thank you to Kit for writing the following report of the evening:

‘Jamnesty was a concert in support of Amnesty International, a charity that campaigns for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. The evening featured music by songwriters including George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tim Minchin, Pasek and Paul and Miley Cyrus. There was also dance, Frankie Livesey-Stephens and I read poems, and there was a short presentation from Georgie and James Robertson about Amnesty’s work.

‘The concert ended with a brilliant performance by The Four, led by Beth Purvis (Year 9), who recently won the Inter-house BandSlam competition. Finally, the audience all joined in to sing John Lennon’s Imagine.

‘The evening was a project organised by Year 12 students as part of their IB Diploma programme. Jamnesty was much enjoyed by all and raised £80.00 for Amnesty.’

Kit McCarthy, Year 12

National Shooting Success

NATIONAL SHOOTING SUCCESS | Having shot competitively for two years, the averages of Francesca Calder (Year 10) and Lauren Hastie (Year 11) were submitted to the Scottish National Selector for the British Schools National Match, which resulted in both pupils being selected to shoot for the Scotland team.

Entrants from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands compete in the national match.

After shooting their cards at the start of the month, Frankie’s results were 98, 97 = 195 ex 200, whilst Lauren shot 95, 98 = 193 ex 200.

In the Scotland team last year, 195 was the highest score in the A team, and in the whole match, which comprised ten teams of 12 shooters each, only five scores were higher than 195. We are incredibly proud of the scores achieved by both Lauren and Frankie in their first Home Nations match.

The results are expected during the upcoming Spring Term holidays, and we look forward to sharing news of how the girls got on!

Dundee High Hockey Win

DUNDEE HIGH HOCKEY WIN | The Senior Boys’ hockey team secured an outstanding win against High School of Dundee. An exciting away game resulted in a victory for St Leonards, adding to an already strong sporting season.

Great team work and skill were on show during the match, with the boys’ combined efforts paying off at the final whistle.

Goals were scored by Aman Choudhury (Year 12) (x 3) and Tom McBarron (Year 13). Well played!

The following week it was the turn of the U14 boys who lost out to their Dundee opposition in a challenging home game.

Mixed results across the two teams, but great work from the boys, and particular congratulations to the Senior squad on their convincing win!

International Day Celebrations

INTERNATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS | A big thank you to Miss Prudencio-Aponte’s Year 12 tutor group for organising our fantastic International Day celebrations! The Sixth Formers took on the project for the CAS element of their IB Diploma, organising the day to raise funds for Plan International, a development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

Pupils across the Senior School and Sixth Form dressed up in outfits inspired by flags from around the world, with many choosing to represent their home country. With 32 different nationalities at St Leonards this year, there were plenty of colourful costumes around the grounds!

The highlight was the bustling International Fair, held in the afternoon in the School Hall. Pupils set up stalls to showcase food, drink and traditions from different cultures, from Spain to Germany, Slovakia, India, Poland, the USA and Burkina Faso.

The Year 6 & 7 pupils from the upper end of the Junior School were invited to join in the celebrations and had an opportunity to browse the stands alongside Senior School students.

Thank you to everyone who participated in International Day and helped to make it such a successful event. We are thrilled to announce that an impressive £702.92 was raised for Plan International!

Year 12 students Nicholas and Adam, and Deputy Head Boy Alex, share their CAS reflections on the event below:

'We asked people from different countries if they wanted to run a stand about their country and sell typical food. Our group had to work collaboratively, so I recognised the benefits of working together. Evert single decision is important and because of that, we considered the pros and cons of every possible outcome. The whole planning process helped me to identify my own strengths and weaknesses. International Day connects different countries with different cultures.'

- Nicholas Posten (Year 12)

'I did the Chinese table with my friends to show some of the food from China to everyone, and although we couldn't cook the traditional food, we did our best to show everyone some desert and beverages.

'I tried some of the food from other countries, which was really amazing, and I loved it as well.

'It was a very successful project from our tutor group, and everyone had fun.'

- Adam Li (Year 12)

'Being at a school which is as international as St Leonards is an incredible privilege. Interacting with such a wide range of cultures is an opportunity that many people may never have, and as such, is one that should be celebrated.

'When our tutor group decided to organise this event, we knew that it would be a demanding project. It required commitment, perseverance and hard work from all of us. As part of 'International Day', we set up both a non-uniform day, for traditional and national clothing, and a fair, at which students presented their own cultures to the rest of the school, whilst being able to experience other people's nationalities as well.

'We feel that the event was an incredible success, and a valuable learning experience for all of us.'

- Alex Call (Year 12)

Lacrosse Championship Win

LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP WIN | Congratulations to the Year 10 girls who won the U15 ‘B’ Junior Scottish Lacrosse Championship at Fettes! The St Leonards side beat Glenalmond 1-0, Loretto 3-0 and Fettes 3-0 in a great day of games. Well done also to the Year 9 girls, who finished second in the U14 ‘B’ tournament by just one goal. A brilliant result!

SLM Blues vs Edinburgh Academy

SLM BLUES VS EDINBURGH ACADEMY | St Leonards-Madras (SLM) Blues U18s welcomed The Edinburgh Academy to Station Park on a glorious spring morning – blue skies, sun shining, pitch perfect.

This was a season home finale for the boys and they produced their best rugby yet. The visiting Accies struggled when faced with the superb running lines and support play of SLM.

The home team’s scrum was dominant and laid the perfect platform for the fast, hard running back line. This was youth rugby at its finest, with SLM emerging as the eventual winners with a score of 59-24.

Meanwhile, it was also a great end to the season for the U13 and U14 boys, who played away at Edinburgh Academy. Two close matches, with the U13s losing narrowly and the U14s winning their game!

Young Enterprise Regional Finals

YOUNG ENTERPRISE AWARDS | Two of our Year 12 Young Enterprise companies, ‘Splash’ and ‘Vestimento’, travelled to Fife College in Kirkcaldy for the Young Enterprise Fife Regional Finals. Both groups performed incredibly well, presenting their products, marketing plans and ideas.

Congratulations to ‘Splash’, which was awarded ‘Best Presentation’ on the night. The trophy was presented to members during school assembly, which enabled everyone to celebrate their success!

Geography Outside the Classroom

GEOGRAPHY OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM | The Year 8 geographers took their lesson down to the beach, where they collected some primary data to tie in with their classroom learning. They have been looking at temperature and wind speed as part of their MYP Unit of Inquiry, ‘It’s Raining Cats and Dogs’.

Lacrosse vs Fettes

LACROSSE VS FETTES | Our two Senior girls’ lacrosse teams played at home against Fettes, with the 1sts drawing 8-8. Goals were scored by Ellen Caton, Captain Kathryn Wright, Ruth Wedderburn (x 2), Millie Costa-Sa, Georgie Robertson and Rachel Gibbins. Special mentions go to Molly Kavanagh and Yasmine Millar, who both made some amazing saves.

Next up were the Year 10 girls, who played Fettes on Tuesday, 19 March, losing out in their match but demonstrating great resilience and team spirit.

Fantastic team performances, resulting in a couple of great afternoons of lacrosse!

IB History Paella-Off

IB HISTORY PAELLA-OFF | This year, the IB History dinner took and interesting turn, when Ms Fulton and Miguel Obrador (Year 13) took up the challenge of a paella cook-off in Bishopshall kitchen. The Spanish classic is Ms Fulton's 'signature dish', and Miguel has been cooking it for years, having learned a special recipe from his grandmother.

The evening was lots of fun, with a healthy sense of competition. The Year 13 class helped with chopping and other prep for the two paellas, before the chefs put their pans on the hobs and started cooking.

It was a tough call, but we understand Ms Fulton's paella just pipped Miguel's to the post! Thank you to Eleanor Greenwood for providing a delicious carrot cake for dessert! The perfect way to end Spring Term and celebrate before the IBDP exams.

German Exchange

GERMAN EXCHANGE | This month we welcome students and staff from our exchange partner school, St. Benno-Gymnasium in Dresden. The visiting pupils enjoyed a packed programme, including joint Science projects in the classroom, a day out in Edinburgh and a trip across the Tay to V&A Dundee. They also had the chance to explore beautiful St Andrews, pick up an ice cream from Jannetta’s and see the historic landmarks and beaches around the town!

A brilliant opportunity for language acquisition on both sides! Our pupils are looking forward to their return visit to Germany in June!

Radio 4's 'Any Questions'

RADIO 4'S 'ANY QUESTIONS' | A select group of St Leonards students attended the live broadcast of Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions’ on Friday, 8 March at Madras College in St Andrews. Accompanied by Mrs Samuel and Mrs Radons-Harris, the pupils enjoyed an evening of political debate, with questions posed by the audience to the panel, which featured Hilary Benn MP, Kirsty Blackman MP, Lord Forsyth and Merryn Somerset Webb.

The show was presented by current affairs broadcaster, author and historian Jonathan Dimbleby, and can be listened to online here: Any Questions

A brilliant opportunity for pupils to engage with politics and issues relating to current affairs!

St Leonards Monthly Medal

ST LEONARDS MONTHLY MEDALS | The St Leonards March Monthly Medal was played on the Castle Course overlooking St Andrews Bay on Sunday, 10 March, and was won by Eric Berge (Year 9).

This was the second medal success for Eric this year, having already won the January medal!

Psychology Job Shadow

PSYCHOLOGY JOB SHADOW | We were delighted to welcome Markus Lajunen for a three-day job shadow and opportunity to learn all about life at St Leonards. Markus teaches Psychology and TOK at IB Diploma level in a school in Finland and is the TOK Co-ordinator there.

During his stay in St Andrews, Markus sat in on and assisted with our Sixth Form Psychology classes and Theory of Knowledge lessons.

He joined us at Leavers’ Assembly, during which he gave a very interesting presentation about his own school in the Finnish town of Jyväskylä. He explained that Jyväskylä is situated in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland and has a long-standing reputation as a centre of education. Jyväskylä Lyceum, where Markus teaches, is the world’s first junior secondary school with Finnish as the language of instruction. The city is also well known for featuring the architecture of Alvar Aalto, whose work can be spotted across the municipality.

Thank you to Markus for visiting St Leonards. It is exciting to be able to share teaching and learning ideas and expertise with another leading IB World School.

Thursday Evening Concerts

THURSDAY EVENING CONCERTS | Our Thursday evening concert programme continued this month with a superb GCSE Concert, followed by the Spring Concert, which is always a musical highlight of the term.

The Spring Concert started on a movie theme, with ‘Mission Impossible’ played by the St Leonards Orchestra, and the James Bond soundtrack ‘Skyfall’, performed by the Concert Band. The String Ensemble followed with Mozart’s ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’.

Frankie Calder, Isla Thomson and Faith MacKenzie Page performed ‘Caledonia’ as a clarsach trio, and the St Leonards Ukulele Group took to the stage with ‘Ho Hey’ by Schultz & Fraites.

The audience heard ‘Unsinkable’ by The Castaways, Debussy’s ‘En Bateau’, played by Ms Stewart and Mr Bell on the piano.

Johanna Woitke, Charlotte MacFadyen, David de Wolff and Ben Clark joined forces for Mozart’s ‘String Quartet No.18, 1st Mov’, before the Show Choir assembled to sing ‘You’ll be Back’, directed by Mr Shiells.

Love’s Angels performed ‘Dancing Song’ by Kodaly, then it was time for some soloists before the interval.

‘Drum Fanfare’ followed after the break, led by Drum Major Mr Foggo, the St Leonards School Pipe Band played ‘Devil’s Staircase’ and ‘High Drive’, the Daemon Barbers sung ‘My Girl, before Evie Hayward-Daventry started off our second set of soloists with Handel’s ‘Sonata in F’ on flute.

The Spring Concert was an opportunity for the newly-formed ‘St Leonards Ukulele Teachers’ group to give their second concert performance, having played for the first time at the Year 4-7 Informal Concert earlier in the day. They had everyone moving along to their catchy Abba medley!

The St Leonards Choir, directed by Ms Love, performed ‘Ave Verum’ by Mozart, then took a more modern turn with Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’

The Jazz Band typically rounds off our Senior School concerts, and this occasion was no different. Mr Irons led the group for ‘My Little Suede Shoes’ and ‘Black Orpheus’.

A huge well done to all the GCSE and Spring Concert performers, and to the Music Department staff for their hard work in arranging two spectacular musical treats!

Scottish Schools Cross Country

SCOTTISH SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY | Congratulations to all the runners who represented St Leonards at the Scottish Schools Cross Country Championships at the start of the month. The grounds of Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, made for a stunning backdrop for the race. Great performances from Year 8 pupils Adam Duncan, Katie Duncan, Angus Graham, Eilidh Jarrett, Isobel Skinner and Maddie Wallard! There were some pretty challenging hills to handle on the course!

Scotland Dressage

SCOTLAND DRESSAGE | Based on her score at the 2018 Pony Club Dressage Championships, Libby Clark (Year 10) and her pony Hunter have been selected for the Scotland Team at the New Pony Club Home International Dressage Competition. Libby will compete at the national event on Friday, 10 May at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

A great achievement – well done Libby!

Boarding House Meals

BOARDING HOUSE MEALS | The St Rule and Ollerenshaw boarders enjoyed house dinners at the nearby Balgove Steak Barn. Pupils tucked into local burgers, steaks and chips they cosy barn, which was the venue of choice for both meals. Good food and good company – the perfect evening out!

Leavers' Assembly

LEAVERS' ASSEMBLY | As our Year 13 students prepare for their IB Diploma exams in May, our Leavers’ Assembly provided an opportunity to learn all about ‘life after St Leonards’. They heard from Jane Claydon, former Deputy Head of St Leonards, APN Housemistress and Head of Games, and from our Development & Alumni Relations team, Mrs Alison Galloway and Miss Rachel Foster, who spoke about the opportunities to stay in touch with the school.

All St Leonards Seniors benefit from a unique global network, offering opportunities for work experience and mentoring through our online platform, St Leonards Global Connect.

Alumni events are held annually in London and Edinburgh, we recently held a Drinks Reception with former pupils in Hong Kong, and our St Leonards Reunion Day in June is always a wonderful occasion, and a brilliant opportunity to catch up with old friends.

For updates from the St Leonards Seniors, follow their dedicated Facebook page , or keep in touch via LinkedIn.

Culinary Creations

CULINARY CREATIONS | The Spring Term has seen the introduction of an after-school cooking activity, run by Ms Johnson in Ollerenshaw kitchen. This has proved to be very popular, with a waiting list already forming for next term!

The activity starts afresh each term with new participants and covers not only how to cook but also nutritional content of food, food history, international cuisine and food handling and hygiene.

Already, members have dished up some delicious chicken fajitas!

BTEC Visit to Napier University

BTEC VISIT TO NAPIER UNIVERSITY | The Year 12 BTEC class visited Napier University in Edinburgh, where they enjoyed a full day of activities relating to their course, including a lecture on Marketing and a tutorial about Business Management challenges.

It was also an opportunity for the Sixth Formers to meet up with some of our recent St Leonards leavers, who are now studying for degrees at Napier. The Seniors accompanied the BTEC group on a very informative tour of the university’s business campus.

Another great day out for the Year 12s, and a chance to look at more options for further study when they compete their combination of BTEC and IB courses at St Leonards.

Leveson Assembly

LEVESON ASSEMBLY | The Leveson Assembly was a chance to celebrate our creative writing talent in the Senior School and Sixth Form, with prizes awarded for both poetry and prose. Entries were judged by Dr Lorn MacIntyre, who joined us to present the awards.

This year's overall winners were Kit McCarthy and Lauren Denton (Year 12), who were placed first in prose and poetry respectively for their age category.

Antonia Eckhardt (Year 10) was first in the Year 10 & 11 Prose category, Faith Mackenzie Page (Year 9) won the Year 8 & 9 Poetry class, and Pablo Gomez-Martin's entry was chosen as the winner in Year 8 & 9 Prose.

The annual Leveson Creative writing competition was founded in 1913, when Miss Leveson gifted the Leveson Bowl to the school during Spring Term. Originally awarded to day girls, the silver Burmese challenge cup was intended to recognise excellence in work, and was historically awarded to the house which had collected the highest exam marks over the course of the term.

Over time, the Leveson Bowl has evolved to become a coveted prize for creative writing, celebrating student talent across poetry and prose.

Below is Lauren's winning poem, which we hope you will enjoy reading:

Lauren says: 'To correspond with the theme of memory, Alzheimer's is the central idea of my poem. Alzheimer's is a disease which causes slow depletion of the memory. I wrote in the perspective of a grandchild watching her grandmother becoming increasingly ill with the disease.'

Easter Lacrosse Festival

EASTER LACROSSE FESTIVAL | We had a great turnout for our Easter Lacrosse Festival on Saturday, 23 March. Training started off with an egg hunt around the grounds, followed by lots of small-sided friendly games on Birdcage and Big Field. A lovely way to round off the Spring Term lacrosse season!

Plate to Plate

PLATE TO PLATE | The Year 9 Geography classes visited the Junior School children to share the books they have written about tectonic plates. As part of their MYP unit ‘Plate to Plate’, the pupils created informative books, which they read aloud to the Year 3 and Year 4 boys and girls. The younger pupils thoroughly enjoyed their sessions with the older students!

Musical Moment

MUSICAL MOMENT | Lauren Hastie in Year 11 recently performed at her aunt’s wedding in Crail Parish Church, playing her down the aisle with ‘Amazed’ by Lonestar. Lauren then performed ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ by Chris Stapleton for the signing of the register, and the bride and groom walked back down the aisle to ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran.

Well done to Lauren for playing such an integral role in her aunt’s big day – we hear it was a wonderful occasion.

If her playing for St Leonards pupils and parents at the Back to School BBQ in Autumn Term is anything to go by, we’re sure Lauren will soon have bookings flooding in!

Canadian Rugby Tour

CANADIAN RUGBY TOUR | We were thrilled to welcome visiting players and their coaches from Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Ontario, Canada. The group stopped off in St Andrews as part of their European rugby tour, with the boys staying with St Leonards and Madras host families during their stay.

Their visit to Scotland coincided with the Six Nations game at Murrayfield, so the boys were able to watch it live, travelling to Edinburgh for a day of sport and sightseeing. On the Sunday, they played the SLM Blues teams at Station Park.

Thomas A. Stewart High won 25-32 against the U18s in a challenging game - a great example of youth rugby, with both teams doing their respective countries proud.

A super opportunity to share skills, and we hope to make a return trip to Ontario one day!

ABBA Tribute Night

ABBA TRIBUTE NIGHT | Our programme of boarder trips and activities has continued to expand this term, with an evening out at the neighbouring Byre Theatre for an extremely popular ABBA tribute night!

A group of 24 boarders took up the offer of tickets for the show, and by the end , all the Year 13s were up in the stairway of the theatre with the rest of the audience, dancing along to ABBA classics! A really fun, different Saturday evening outing!

MYP Pupil-led Conferences

MYP PUPIL-LED CONFERENCES | The Year 7, 8 and 9 Pupil-led Conferences were a perfect opportunity for parents, guardians and boarding house staff to come into school and learn about the different subjects the boys and girls have been studying this year. Pupils presented their work and shared highlights from their MYP studies. Super to have a chance to reflect on the course so far and give families an insight into the Year 7-9 classes!

Belhaven Cross Country Championships

BELHAVEN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS | Pupils from both the Junior and Senior School represented St Leonards at the Belhaven Cross Country Championship, with the U13 boys’ team finishing fifth out of 12 schools. Well done to Adam Duncan, Reiss Marshall, Pablo Gomez-Martin, Jackson Fraser, Angus Graham and Ashton Hillman, who made up the U13 team.

Racing in the U13 girls’ category, Katie Duncan represented St Leonards, finishing in eighth place out of a field of 55 runners, whilst Eilidh Jarrett came 19th.

A strong set of results from the Junior School runners too!

Ollerenshaw Creative Writing Weekend

OLLERENSHAW CREATIVE WRITING WEEKEND | Our first St Leonards Creative Writing Weekend was a huge success, with day pupils and boarders spending two days in Ollerenshaw, focusing on words, poetry, workshops and more! Thank you to Mr Crisswell for organising the weekend.

'Modelled on the successful week-long residential creative writing courses at Moniack Mhor that I used to organise for the English Department, we were keen to trial a weekend residential creative writing course in Ollerenshaw. Niall Griffiths, published novelist, journalist and professor of Creative Writing at Coventry University, was one of our tutors for the weekend, and Simon Lamb, one of our Junior School teachers, stepped in for English teacher and resident author Mick Kitson who was unable to make it following his recent operation.

'With a blend of students, boys and girls, day and boarding from Year 10 up to Year 12, a fabulous weekend ensued. Overcoming any initial shyness, the group quickly gelled and Niall and Simon worked together brilliantly to lead a number of workshops looking at ways to begin writing. On Friday and Saturday evening, Niall read from his own work, and Simon treated us to dramatic renditions of his performance poetry, with students reading their final pieces on Sunday morning.

'Ms Johnson and I cooked breakfast, lunch and supper for everyone, including cooking homemade pizzas in our new wood-burning pizza oven. The feedback from students and tutors was really positive and we look forward to another weekend next year.'

- Mr Crisswell, Housemaster of Ollerenshaw

Rotary Schools Forum

ROTARY SCHOOLS FORUM | Pupils from St Leonards joined students from Madras College for the annual Rotary Schools Forum, organised by the Rotary Club of St Andrews. American Rotary-sponsored postgraduate peace and conflict resolution student, William Hunter, addressed the group and posed questions for discussion.

Pupils then debated the subjects, encouraged by a moderator. Thank you to the Rotary Club of St Andrews for hosting this informative and educational event!

Egg Hunt Activities

EGG HUNT ACTIVITIES | This year’s Great St Leonards Egg Hunt, which took place on Sunday, 24 March, saw the addition of delicious homemade wood-fired pizzas, served from the Retreat Café. These were prepared from scratch (including homemade dough!) by Ms Johnson and Mr Crisswell in Ollerenshaw, using the boarding house’s new outdoor oven, which was very generously funded by the St Leonards Parents Association.

Needless to say, the pizzas went down a storm. Look out for these being served at Sports Day!

Girls vs Boys Hockey & Lacrosse

BOYS VS GIRLS HOCKEY MATCH | It was with great excitement and a strong sense of competition that the two teams assembled for the annual boys vs girls hockey match on the Astroturf. This is always a hotly-contested game for our Sixth Formers, and makes for an enjoyable afternoon ahead of their IB Diploma exams.

Congratulations to the boys, who won the match this time with a 4-0 victory.

The girls had a chance to claim back the top spot in the lacrosse match that followed, securing a 5-0 win over the boys, and resulting in a 5-4 girls' victory overall. We are sure the boys will be keen to overturn that next year!

Tall Ship Training

TALL SHIP TRAINING | Year 13 student Alex Campbell, who spent the Christmas holidays on an expedition in Antarctica, has been accepted on a RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Tall Ship Traineeship this summer.

Alex will join the SS Blue Clipper in Liverpool after finishing his IB Diploma exams in May. He will spend ten days aboard learning about ship maintenance, before setting sail for two months. First, the ship will sail up above the Arctic Circle, then around Scotland, across the North Sea and into the 2019 Tall Ship Regatta in Norway.

Sixth Former Alex hopes to be able to leave the ship in Iceland in order to fly back to Scotland for 24 hours to attend one of the highlights of the school year – the St Leonards Prizegiving Ceremony in the Younger Hall and Leavers’ Ball at the five-star Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews.

Upon passing his RYA certification tests during this traineeship, Alex will become RYA crew competent for tall ships.

We wish Alex all the best with his next adventure!

University Physics Demonstration

UNIVERSITY PHYSICS DEMONSTRATION | Pupils in Years 8, 11 and 12 were treated to a special lesson and hands-on demonstration from James Pye, a Physics student at the University of St Andrews. James, who is part of the university's Optical Manipulation Group, visited St Leonards with two colleagues from the university to teach the classes about optical tweezers and acoustic levitation. Various experiments and examples were set up around the lab so that students could have a go.

Many thanks to James and his colleagues for coming in!

German Banquet

GERMAN BANQUET | Ollerenshaw has continued to celebrate the different nationalities within the boarding house by preparing themed foodie evenings. The latest was a German banquet, for which Ms Johnson spent two days preparing sauerkraut from scratch (following a recipe supplied, very kindly, by one of our boarder parents) and Mr Crisswell made authentic veal schnitzel for 30 people!

Last term was the very popular Chinese Banquet in the boarding house. We look forward to hearing what’s next!

Climate Change March