The May Review
Physics Olympiad Successes
PHYSICS OLYMPIAD SUCCESSES | Five St Leonards pupils have achieved outstanding results in the GCSE and AS Challenges for the Physics Olympiad.
Congratulations to Year 12 students Peter Matthews, who achieved the Silver award, and Deputy Head Girl Johanna Woitke, who achieved Bronze 1, both at AS level. In the GCSE challenge, Henriette von Dobschuetz, Mara Doberitzsch and Duncan Bouchard (Year 11) achieved Bronze 1, Bronze 1 and Bronze 2 respectively.
Tennis Doubles Tournament
TENNIS DOUBLES TOURNAMENT | On Saturday, 11 May, pupils in Years 8-10 took part in the St Leonards Doubles Tournament down on the AstroTurf. After a series of great games, the following players took the top spots: Mate Cseke and Angus Graham, and Milli Love and Katie MacAulay (Year 8); Cameron Brown and Marcel Badia, and Fiona Branch and Issy Skinner (Year 9); Zac Kunwar and Chris Forrest, and Isla Thomson and Grace Adam (Year 10). Congratulations to the winners and well done to all those who turned out on a beautiful sunny Saturday for the matches!
Midlands Hockey Squad
MIDLANDS HOCKEY SQUAD | Issy and Fiona’s sporting successes continued, as they were also selected for the Midlands U14 Hockey Squad, which played at the Inter-district Tournament at Peffermill on Sunday, 19 May. The Midlands squad finished in fourth place.
Coastal Fieldwork Day
COASTAL FIELDWORK DAY | The IGCSE Geography students have been busy down at the West Sands, saving the sea wall and, in turn, the famous St Andrews Links golf courses. As part of their coastal fieldwork day, the pupils have been restoring the salt marshes to capture wave energy and increase biodiversity.
SLM Blues vs Barnes RFC
SLM BLUES VS BARNES RFC | The U13s hosted Barnes RFC from London on Sunday, 5 May, playing a round robin tournament with the visiting side and Dalziel RFC down at Station Park. Some really close matches and a great morning for the boys!
Crime Club Mock Trial
CRIME CLUB MOCK TRIAL | After two terms of research, discussion and argument, Crime Club were invited to re-run the trial of Colin Norris in front of a judge and jury at the University of Dundee University at the start of Summer Term. In the morning, St Leonards pupils were introduced to lecturers and PHD students who talked to them about criminal psychology and the importance of the law when considering evidence and witness testimony.
The pupils were given a variety of criminal scenarios and asked to apply the relevant law that had been explained to them regarding legal responsibility and negligence. In the afternoon, the pupils were given time to fully prepare to be lawyers, the accused and witnesses in order to provide a jury with the story of the convicted serial killer, Colin Norris.
The judge swore in the witnesses and provided information on the legal procedures and gave instructions to the jury about how they could come to a conclusion of guilty, not guilty or not proven.
The fate of Colin Norris once again rested in the hands of a jury, this time made from students of law at the university. The verdict was ‘not proven’. The pupils had an amazing day and were treated to a day immersed in the law as well as being given goody bags to take away.
Mrs N Greener
St Leonards Concert Programme
ST LEONARDS CONCERT PROGRAMME | The Music Department’s Thursday evening concert programme has continued this month with our first exclusive Jazz Band Concert, featuring tunes from their impressive repertoire. This was followed by a brilliant Guitar Concert in the Music School Auditorium, and the Year 8 & 9 Concert.
This month, we also welcomed some very special visitors, The Yale Alley Cats, for a lunchtime concert and vocal workshop for students and staff. The all-male a capella group was established at Yale University in 1943 and has been touring the world ever since, with new singers each year.
After the ‘pitch perfect’ performance, members of the St Leonards Choir were lucky enough to join them to run through some warm-up exercises, breathing techniques and other vocal tips and tricks, led by their very enthusiastic Tour Manager.
A huge thank you to The Yale Alley Cats for stopping off at St Leonards on their Scotland tour!
British Open Champion Workshop
BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION WORKSHOP | St Leonards Golf Programme students had a unique opportunity to attend a workshop hosted by Women’s British Open Champion, Georgia Hall, on Tuesday, 14 May. Girls from both the Junior and Senior Schools took part in the session, learning valuable skills from Georgia, who plays on the Ladies European Tour, and won her first major championship, the 2018 Women’s British Open, last year.
A brilliant opportunity for our St Leonards golfers to gain insight from one of the greats!
Scottish Mathematics Masterclass
SCOTTISH MATHS MASTERCLASS | Henriette Hoehne (Year 10) was invited to take part in a day of Maths after a series of excellent results in the UK Maths Challenge. She received a Gold Award in the national Intermediate Challenge in February, which allowed her to take part in the follow-on round, the Pink Kangaroo. Her performance was rewarded with the invitation to attend the Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclass Celebration Day in Edinburgh on Saturday, 18 May.
The event was held at the University of Edinburgh's James Clerk Maxwell Building, with workshops exploring exciting areas and applications of mathematics as well as puzzles and a lunchtime competition. Together with her team of four participants, Henriette secured second place at this competition. Thank you to Ms Struck for accompanying Henriette on her trip to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Zoo Day
EDINBURGH ZOO TRIP | The Year 10 Biology class spent a day at Edinburgh Zoo for the Silent Songbird workshop, looking at the Asian songbird crisis. Pupils also had chance to meet some of the zoo's residents, including snakes and a bearded dragon in the Reptile House.
Sixth Form Assemblies
SIXTH FORM ASSEMBLIES | This term, the Year 12 tutor groups have been taking it in turns to plan and lead Sixth Form Assemblies in the Music School Auditorium.
The groups have presented on a range of topics, including a particularly inspiring ‘TED Talk’ inspired assembly from Ms Fulton’s tutees.
Pupils showed a video of a TED Talk by Matt Cutts, who suggests trying something new every day for 30 days, which he says is long enough to break a habit or adopt a new one. It might be quitting caffeine, giving up sugar, or practising mindfulness for 15 minutes each day.
Inspired by this concept, each member of Ms Fulton’s tutor group had come up with their own 30-day challenge, based around the IB Learner Profile.
The students then challenged their peers to take on a 30-day challenge of their own. We look forward to hearing how everyone gets on!
Blairgowrie Golf Outing
BLAIRGOWRIE GOLF OUTING | Earlier this month, our golfers had a brilliant four-way match away at Blairgowrie Golf Club, playing against SALJGA, Blairgowrie and Royal Troon. A brilliant day, and congratulations to our hosts on winning the prestigious cup!
BTEC Marketing Focus
BTEC MARKETING FOCUS | BTEC Sixth Formers invited our very own St Leonards PR & Marketing Manager, Sarah Proudfoot, to talk ‘Marketing Campaigns’ this month. Part of the BTEC in Business syllabus tasks students with creating a marketing campaign promoting a product or a service, this year focusing on the concept of ‘Secret Cinema’. During the talk, students learnt about the different school campaigns that have run, the steps to a successful campaign, and discussed brands they felt were successful.
The class finished with questions about Miss Proudfoot’s marketing experience, applying their findings to help create their own campaigns, as part of their pre-exam coursework. Lots of PESTLEs and SWOTs were discussed!
Year 8 Outdoor Education
YEAR 8 OUTDOOR EDUCATION | Year 8A boarded the bus to Norman’s Law near Cupar for the first in our Summer Term series of outdoor education trips. Pupils camped in the woodland, cooked outdoors and practises camp craft, shelter building and orienteering.
The following weekend it was Year 8B’s turn to head out into the wild and we look forward to hearing more about their adventures!
Junior Maths Challenge
JUNIOR MATHS CHALLENGE | Many congratulations to all who participated in the Junior Maths Challenge this term. Cole Tooman (Year 9) and Quitterie Dectot (Year 8) share the Best in School spot and, logically, were the best in their respective years. Corinne Dumbreck (Year 8) joins Cole and Quitterie in achieving a Gold Award. With the three UKMT Challenges now complete, St Leonards pupils have amassed a total of eight Gold Awards.
Order of Merit
ORDER OF MERIT | The St Leonards Order of Merit Presentation was held in Ollerenshaw garden on Sunday, 19 May, with golfers enjoying homemade pizzas from the wood-fired oven and plenty of prizes. It was the perfect opportunity for day pupils and boarders to relax and socialise with friends over good food and golfing successes. The awards were made by Fintan Bonner, Director of Golf at St Leonards, who was joined by fellow instructors from the St Andrews Links Golf Academy. Congratulations to all our medal winners!
Swimming Gala Stars
SWIMMING GALA STARS | The U11 and U13 girls’ swim teams welcomed Strathallan and Kilgraston to the pool at St Leonards for a gala. Well done to the St Leonards swimmers who won the gala overall, with Kilgraston finishing in second place.
Golfing Golds
GOLFING GOLDS | Congratulations to Ellen Caton (Year 12), who won the women’s Gold Medal on Sunday, 19 May. The Gold Medal is considered the most prestigious stroke play competition in St Andrews. Ellen finished level par, whilst her older brother Ben Caton (St Leonards Senior, 2018), who was our first Tom Morris Scholar, won the men’s Golf Medal, finishing seven under par.
Incredible achievements from Ellen and Ben. The prizes were presented by five-times English Amateur champion Sir Michael and Lady Bonallack, who was the first woman to represent the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in a match.
Monikie 10km Win
MONIKIE 10KM WIN | Congratulations to Eilidh Jarrett (Year 8), who was the first female U18 to cross the finish line at the Monikie 10km race on Sunday, 12 May. A brilliant effort from Eilidh, who ran with local club STAART (St Andrews Adventure Running Team).
Tennis Singles Saturday
TENNIS SINGLES SATURDAY | Saturday tennis singles on the Astro saw a super turnout, with some great games resulting in the following scores:
- Girls’ Cup – Fiona Branch (Year 9) beat Millie Love (Year 8) 4-0
- Girls’ Plate – Niamh Headon (Year 9) beat Maddie Wallard (Year 8) 4-0
- Girls’ Spoon – Katie MacAulay (Year 8) beat Jennifer Cousins (Year 10) 4-0
- Boys’ Cup – Mate Cseke (Year 8) beat Archie Clarke (Year 10) 4-0
- Boys’ Plate – Ashton Hillman (Year 9) beat Jackson Fraser (Year 9) 3-1
Congratulations to those who won their games, and well done to all who took part.
'Sal' Scoops French Book Prize
'SAL' SCOOPS FRENCH BOOK PRIZE | St Leonards English Teacher and award-winning author Mick Kitson has added another string to his bow in the form of the prestigious French literary accolade, the Prix de l’Union Interalliée.
Mr Kitson’s debut novel, ‘Sal’, was published in France in June last year, and since then has sold a huge number of copies. ‘Sal’ initially won the Prix Piaf, which is voted for by readers belonging to bookshop book clubs, before going on to win the Prix de l’Union Interalliée, which is presented by the Club Interalliée in Paris.
Next stop after Paris is Lyon, where Mr Kitson is travelling for the International Forum of the Novel at Villa Gillet, followed by the Geneva International Book Festival later this year.
‘Sal’ has become something of a staple on IB reading lists in French schools, with countless Year 11 pupils contacting Mr Kitson with questions about his book, which has now been translated into 12 languages, including Italian, German, Spanish, French and Catalan. A translation into Chinese is next on the list.
Brilliant news from our very own international multi-award-winning author!