Dear Parents / Carers,
I am delighted to introduce our September newsletter highlighting the many and varied successes as well as keeping everyone up to date with key information relating to our school. Our new term has started extremely well and I am delighted to inform you that yet again our exam results are the best on record. We have more young people than ever before gaining five National 5s in S4 (up 9%), more young people gaining at least one Higher in S5 (up 12%), more young people gaining three Highers by the end of S6 (this figure has quadrupled in the last nine years!) and our best ever Advanced Higher results. As well as the whole school performance we have had incredible individual success; Claire Jameson in S4 gaining 6 As at National 5 and an A in Higher Physics, Ross Reilly gaining five As at Higher in S5 and the Anderson Twins in S5, Thomas and Adam both gaining five As at Higher (getting their picture in the paper and a Radio Forth interview as well).
Our young people have worked incredibly hard as have our staff and I would like to thank all of our parents and carers for supporting pupils through what undoubtedly will have been the most stressful time in their young lives.
There has been much debate about the number of subjects we offer in any one year but our system that combines S4, S5 and S6 gives us real flexibility. While most S4 pupils will be sitting six Nationals, some will be doing seven or eight and many will be sitting Highers one year early. At least one of our pupils in S5 will be sitting seven Highers, most of our S5s will be sitting five subjects a mix of Higher and Nationals and some will be sitting four and completing an HNC over the course of their S5 and S6 whilst others will have part of their week occupied by work experience. Our challenge is to provide the most appropriate pathway that meets the needs of every single one of our learners. We have high ambitions for everyone in our school and that will never change. We have set aspirational targets for ourselves this year and expect even better results in the exam diet 2017 and to achieve these we will all need to work extremely hard and stick with it especially when things get tough.
There has been extensive upgrading work completed in the main building and Science block involving heating, windows and electrical work. We are especially excited by the new PE facilities which will finally open on Tuesday 20 September.
There will be an open afternoon for any interested member of the community on Friday 23 September from 1.30pm.
Pupil Leadership
June saw the election process in full throttle at Liberton. Senior pupils wrote a letter indicating their intention to stand for Head Boy and Head Girl. In this letter they outlined their experience supporting students in school and their plans for making change within the school. All candidates were asked to appear at a Senior School Hustings where they outlined their commitment to the school and were open to questions from the floor. They then moved on to a gruelling interview with an interview panel consisting of Jean Hall, a retired lawyer, Henry Philp, former Headteacher at Liberton High School and Ian Perry, Planning Convenor at City of Edinburgh Council. All three interviewers were impressed by the standard of the candidates and mulled over the candidates’ responses for a long time before selecting the Head Boy and Head Girl. The process for selecting a Depute Head Boy took a little longer this year, with a further interview panel being convened in August to select this post. As a result we have, for the first time at Liberton High School, two Depute Head Boys, each with a different remit.
Our-students-leadership-team-2016-2017 (file pdf)
Liberton High School Parent Council
The Parent Council meet in the school staff room six times a year to discuss a wide range of school issues and help to make positive changes in the school. If you are interested in how your child is taught and the improvements being implemented by the school; if you want to be involved in management and staff recruitment; if you fancy helping to push for a new school building or just generally getting involved then please come along to our next meeting. Everyone is welcome, no qualifications required! We are also here to help if you have an issue you would like us to raise on your behalf.
You can either send us a message through the school office or e-mail our address directly and we will get back in touch.
Meeting dates for 2016-17
• Wednesday 12 October 2016
• Monday 14 November 2016
• Wednesday 11 January 2017
• Monday 6 March 2017
• Wednesday 17 May 2017 (Meeting and AGM)
Our e-mail address is LHSparentcouncil@googlemail.com
LIBERTON HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
The LHSA (formerly known as the PTA) is responsible for organising events and raising funds for the school. We achieve this by providing refreshments at parent’s nights, holding special events, bake sales and any other fundraising activity we can think of.
Our next event is a Bake Sale on Friday 7 October at break time outside of the school Library. This is always a very popular event and we tend to sell out fast.
We would be very grateful for any donations of baked goods which can be left at the Janitor’s Office on the morning of the sale.
We are also having another Quiz Night on Friday 28 October at 7pm in the Inch Park Community Sports Centre. Look out for further details and posters advertising the event.
If you are clearing out in the house at any time, please remember that the school has a Rag Bag Recycling Bin situated in the rear school park, where you can donate the following items:- All mens, ladies and childrens clothing, paired shoes (tied together), handbags, bags, ties and belts, household linen and towels.
If you are interested in coming along or helping out at any of these events please contact us at mjthorburn33@gmail.com . We’d love to hear from you.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 21 September 2016 at 7.15pm in the staffroom.
Everyone welcome.
Thank you very much.
MANDY THORBURN
Chairperson
And Finally…
We are committed to continuous improvement, if you have any feedback that would help us in our improvement efforts please do not hesitate to contact us.
This also extends to complaints, we welcome any opportunity to improve our service.
All correspondence should be directed to admin@liberon.edin.sch.uk
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Kelly
Headteacher
Twitter: @LibertonHighHT
