Music for a Spring Evening

This evening I had the pleasure of attending an exhibition and musical performance at the Royal Scottish Academy on Princes Street. Along with colleagues, parents and pupils we had been invited by the Friends of the Royal Scottish Academy to join then on this special evening.

I was so proud of young musicians from Liberton High who had been invited along to entertain the guests. They played and sang magnificently!

Performing this evening were:

Ross Hunter (Clarinet)
Kellie Hunter (Saxophone)
Anne Traill (Cello)
Liam Allison (Guitar)
Mike Ainsley (Guitar)
Uni Kim (Flute and Piano)
Ian McBain (Voice)
Kirsty Evans (Voice)
Amy McVicar (voice)
Hannah Cowie (Voice)
Cecily Kingston (Piano)
Laura Klem (Flute)

Led by Scott McCorquodale, Principal Teacher of Music.

What really pleased me tonight was how well our pupils interacted with guests. They really were the most fantastic ambassadors for Liberton High School. Experiences like this will last a lifetime for these very talented youngsters.

Dress Down Day for Charity

Today, we finished off the term with a dress down day for staff and pupils. Well done to everyone who contributed to raising a magnificent £411.24!! The money raised will go to the Children in Need fund.

The term was brought to a close by having teams of pupils competing in an interhouse Quiz. On this occasion Clyde House were victorious.

Well done and thanks to Mr Russell, S6 helpers and staff for organising and staging this event. I thought the atmosphere across the school was great - a perfect way to end the term!

Early start for Liberton High

As many are now aware, following a decision taken by the Scottish Government, an additional in-service day will be arranged for all of Edinburgh's teachers on Wednesday 20 May.

In order to make sure that no teaching hours are lost, I am pleased to announce that, in session 2009/2010, all classes at Liberton High School will begin at 5.30 am.

Visit from Rudi Oppenheimer

As part of our school's continuing 'Stand up to Hatred' education programme, we had the honour this morning of welcoming Rudi Oppenheimer to Liberton High School. Rudi, born in 1931 into a Jewish family, shared with us what life was like for a young boy in those troubled times. He gave a one hour presentation to 150 S2 pupils today followed by a question and answer session about his experiences, growing up as a child in nazi occupied Europe. His presentation was absolutely spellbinding and made a lasting impression on all of us who heard him today. This is all the more incredible when one realises that Rudi is 77 years old. I don't think I have ever come across such a fit and mentally alert person of such senior years!

A highlight of the presentation for me was when he passed around the yellow star that he had to have sewn onto his coat to indicate that he was a Jew.

I extend a warm and special vote of thanks to Sharon Kean, our PT of Social Subjects. Sharon has done a magnificent job in arranging a range of first class experiences for our pupils.

Click here if you would like to read the whole of Rudi's story.

Welcome to High Commissioner to Cameroon

It's not often school pupils get the opportunity to have an audience with a high commissioner, but that's precisely what David Russell (DHT) managed to arrange for S6 pupils and invited senior pupils from other schools at Liberton High School on Friday 27 March. Syd Maddicott, is the British High Commissioner for Cameroon, Chad and Gabon, and has been in post since 2005. I was delighted to welcome him to Liberton High on Friday.

A father of five himself, it was clear that he was very comfortable addressing sixth formers. The presentation he gave, about life in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was very stimulating and, I hope, has raised an awareness of the opportunities that a university degree can present. One of the points made by Syd (this is how he indicated he wished to be addressed) was in relation to what pupils could do in order to increase their employability in the currrent, very difficult, job market. Syd was quite clear that all pupils should go to university to ride out the current economic troubles and be ready for employment, armed with some comparative advantage and a degree, in a few years time. He forecasts that jobs in both the private and public sectors will be difficult to come by in the next few years.

During his talk, Syd suggested to his audience that there are three key decisions that each of them would have to make that would have an enormous bearing on the rest of their lives. They were:
1) Whether to go to university
2) What to study at university and
3) Who to share the rest of their life with.

In regard to the latter, he wished them all the best of luck but suggested it would be wise to avoid a partner that is high maintenance. Now there's a contentious issue raised by a man better known for his ambassadorial skills!

Edinburgh's school band of the year

Warmest congratulations to Liam Allison, Lewis Allan and Callum Munro who
won Edinburgh Schools Battle of the bands Final on 19 March. The boys beat
off several great bands from all over Edinburgh to win the top prize of 2
days recording at a top studio.

Lead Vocals and Guitar: Liam Allison (S4)

Bass Guitar: Callum Munro (S3)

Drums: Lewis Allan (S3)

This really does show again the fantastic talent that we have here at
Liberton!

Singing talents

Liberton High is very proud of the continuing achievements of two very talented young men.

Firstly, warmest congratulations to Anthony Garcia who won the UK Karaoke championships in October 2008. Anthony went on to achieve second place in the World Karaoke championships later in 2008. Here is a clip of Anthony performing Music of the Night in Finland.

Also, congratulations and very well done to Jack Robertson, currently in S3, and is a rising star in the singing world. Jack, at the tender age of 13, has already shared a stage with Lulu, Beyonce and the Bee Gees. Click on this to see a clip of Jack that was recorded last year on his way to winning a national talent competition at the end of 2008. I have every confidence that both of these young men will go on to become very well known!

Is there a case for a transfer window?

Whilst meeting with Karen Traill (Chairperson of our Parent Council) today, Karen suggested consideration ought to be given to teachers not being able to move from one education job to another other than at specified times in the year. This would have the obvious advantage that disruption to pupils' learning would be minimised. This would mirror the arrangement in professional football, where, for example clubs can only transfer players between each other during certain times of the year, referred to as 'transfer windows'. For example, the lead up to the examination period in May would be an obvious time to avoid. I understand that some private schools ensure that contracts always run for a whole session. If this arrangement can work in the world of professional football, could it work in the world of education? Are there examples anywhere in the world, where such a model operates successfully?

Yes we can

‘’And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words: Yes. We. Can. ‘’ (Barack Obama)

After a really relaxing holiday last week with my family in London we resumed on Monday with an in-service training day for all staff. The day focused on Raising Expectations, Developing Whiteboard Skills and an evaluation of our recent work in regard to Holocaust education as part of our developing Curriculum for Excellence. The day began with a session on expectations of pupils. In summary, what I said was that we should all expect more, especially from our pupils entering S5. At Liberton, I feel that too many of our S5 pupils take the safe route in S5 by sitting Intermediate 2 and too few Highers. I am pleased to say that most subsequently do very well in S6. An increase from 8 to 42 applications by S6 pupils for university places in the past 4 years suggests we are moving in the right direction!

Currently, pupils are returning course choice forms for next session . To assist them, teachers provide recommendations on what level of study is most appropriate for them. I suspect some staff have opted to make a recommendation based on the pupil's prelim performance rather than what they are genuinely capable of.

I am a great believer in getting others to aim high, and, when the going gets tough, to work harder. As parents and educators we have a key role in getting pupils to aim high and to support when the going gets tough. As a Headteacher I have added responsibility in getting others to aim high.

I don’t always get it right! I can recall one example from my family life that illustrates this point. Last summer Alice, my wife, asked why we were content with both girls still using stabilisers on their bikes. Jenny was 7 and Lucy 5. I didn't really think that either was ready for life beyond stabilisers, but how wrong I was. That night I got the tools out and removed the stabilisers from both bikes. Within 24 hours Jenny was cycling around the garden, and, on the following day Lucy also managed her maiden cycle. Both girls fought it difficult initially, just as they would have done when they took their first faltering steps. Knowing that we only utilise around 2% of the brain’s capacity and with continuing encouragement and support who knows what they can achieve!

In every walk of life, we sometimes need to remove the stabilisers and get out of our comfort zones if we are to achieve our potential.

‘’A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.’’ (Patricia Neal, Actress)

United we stand

Like many others who heard the news earlier this week, I was very moved by what I saw on TV of the response to young Ivan Cameron's untimely death. The death of a young child is especially moving; I'm sure there is something instinctive in all of us that motivates us to look after and protect our young and vulnerable. In addition to being moved by the death of Ivan, I was also moved by the way in which all the political players united to share their grief and extend condolences to the Cameron family.

Politics often strikes me as an unpleasant, ruthless world where friendship or even cooperation is rarely in evidence across political divides. Why should this be? Does our country run more efficiently when the decision makers attack rivals at every turn? (Should any of our pupils behave at a school assembly or a classroom as we see elected members behaving in the commons, they would have no place in mainstream education!)

Across the Atlantic, Barack Obama has shown us that you don't need to attack your opponents all of the time to win an election. With the exception of some less than flattering words that were aimed in Sarah Palin's direction, I can not recall an unkind word being attributed to President Obama in the long running election campaign. Why cannot our politicians work together for the benefit of the electorate to get us through the current downturn in the economy? Surely, by having all the political parties working together, scores of families and hard working people might be spared the pain and suffering that comes with unemployment and losing homes. In difficult times such as these we need statesmen to emerge, politics is not for now.

''A politician looks forward only to the next election. A statesman looks forward to the next generation.''(Thomas Jefferson)

Gaelic Medium Education - Edinburgh's best kept secret?

Professor Colin Baker from the University of Bangor is an expert in bilingual education, and says bilingual children have an advantage in terms of intelligence. "They actually have a higher IQ," he said. "It seems having two languages in the brain stimulates it, adds extra associations into the brain and deepens thinking."

In 1997 just 112 Scottish pupils learned Gaelic. In 2007, 2,601 students were learning it, either in an exclusively Gaelic school, or in a bi-lingual one. (See BBC webpages for full article)


A friend of mine recently described Tollcross Primary School as Edinburgh's best kept secret. I think what he meant by this is the fact that very few people know about the existence of the Gaelic Unit within Tollcross school and how incredibly well the pupils in the Gaelic school attain academically and achieve so well generally.

Speaking as a parent of two girls who attend the school (one in P1 and another in P4), I am delighted with the education they are receiving. Our older girl is now reading, writing and speaking quite fluently in Gaelic and English, and, pleasingly, is eager to learn other languages. At school she has the opportunity to learn the clarsach (Scottish Harp) and play shinty. Lucy (P1) loves to chat away in Gaelic, especially on the phone!

What though of the future of Gaelic Medium education in Edinburgh? I suspect that as soon as more parents become aware of what is happening at Tollcross Primary school and at other similar bi-lingual schools throughout the world, the growth of Gaelic Medium Education would be incredible. Is this an opportunity to raise attainment for all of our children and to put Edinburgh Council at the forefront of Educational thinking and practice in Scotland's 'Homecoming' year? I am pleased to learn that Edinburgh Council has commissioned a research organisation to evaluate the feasibility of developing Gaelic Medium Education.

In the meantime, sssh. Let's keep it a secret. Bigger numbers being taught in Gaelic at Tollcross would make parking and dropping off the kids even more difficult.

Life beyond the belt

''Smiling approvingly to herself at the effect of only two strokes of the tawse on this persistent late-comer, Mrs Fraser raised the strap again and lashed it down vigorously to smash into the delicate flesh of Fiona's wavering right hand.

The tawse whacked into her stinging hand at full speed. It hurt even more than Fiona had been expecting. Her hand was knocked down by the force of the blow and Fiona almost fell over forward as she doubled over in an automatic reaction. Fiona stayed like that for a few seconds, crying audibly and desperately hoping that that was the end of it and that the headmistress would think that four strokes was sufficient. ''

1982 was the year I started my teaching career. This was the year the belt (known as the 'tawse' in Scotland) stopped being used in Scottish classrooms. At the time, I recall many in the profession expressing fear that this would be the end of schooling as we know it and that our Education system would go into terminal decline. In my view this could not have been further from the truth. The staff entering the profession in the past few years are products of a system that did not rely on belting young people with a piece of leather to maintain control and order. It is my view that these are young professionals who develop higher order skills to create the atmosphere in their classroom that allows learning to flourish.

By way of example,in the past two days, I have had the pleasure of observing two of our excellent younger staff (Ms Thayne in English and Ms Welsh in French)in the classroom. The lessons I saw were first class. A number of things really impressed me. Firstly, both displayed an excellent rapport with the pupils. Both had excellent classroom control; all pupils did as they were supposed to do. Anyone who stepped out of line was gently and skilfully brought back 'on task'. It was clear to me that the pupils in the classes were engaged and active learners, not because they were fearful of the consequences, but because they were sufficiently motivated and stimulated by their teachers to want to do well.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am wholly convinced that the best teachers are the ones who develop excellent relationships with their charges. That is not to say that the best teachers are 'friends' with the pupils. What really matters is developing a professional relationship with pupils where a common set of values are shared, expectations are sky-high and where respect is always two way.

The second thing that really struck me was how comfortable and skillful both teachers were with using IT. Both showed me some great examples of how to use IT to engage and motivate pupils, in a way that simply wasn't available until quite recently.

A highlight of both the observations for me was, immediately after the lessons, when I engaged in dialogue with both staff about their lessons.

Despite the warnings of impending gloom from many in the profession, when the belt was outlawed in the early 80s, I believe that the standard of teaching on offer in classrooms, and the quality of relationships in schools are light years ahead of where we were 30 years ago.

State versus private

''Children from poorer backgrounds should receive up to £10,000 in credit to allow them to go to independent schools, a think tank has suggested.'' This is the headline that greeted me recently as I perused the BBC website. What a load of rubbish!

The article goes on to to say ''that despite a major increase in funding for education over the past decade, many children were failed by their local schools.''. What evidence is there to suggest that children who fail to take advantage of what state education has to offer would have a different experience in private education?

Given that private education education does not, in the main, add more value to a pupil's educational progress than a state school, (refer to research work undertaken by Lindsay Paterson a few years ago) is there not an overwhelming case for parents of private school pupils to be alerted to this? Imagine the savings that those families could make, particulary in such difficult times as these!

Burns Supper

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne (Robert Burns)

On Friday 30 January 150 performers and guests at Liberton high School celebrated the 250 anniversary of the bard's birth. This event was also part of the school's 50 anniversary. The entire event was superbly organised by Mrs Norah Watson, our Principal Teacher of HE.

The evening followed the traditional format of a Burns supper. First we were treated to a lovely supper consisting of Haggis, neeps and tatties. The food was all produced by our HE department and S4 pupils and was served by senior pupils. We are grateful to the Witchery restaurant for taking the time to train senior pupils in waiting. Following the supper, the Immortal Memory was brilliantly delivered by Dick Staite, former headteacher at Beeslack High school. Dick served as an Assistant Head Teacher at Liberton High in the days when Henry Phillip was Headteacher. I worked with Dick at Beeslack in the mid 80s, when I was the APT for Science. Following Dick's presentation, we had contributions from various performers. The order of events was:

• Joanna Greig (Welcome)
• Joyce Lochrie (Grace)
• Chris Saddler (Piper)
• David Russell (Address to the Haggis)
• Julia Lawson and Joanna Greig (Dancing)
• Dick Staite (Immortal memory)
• Eleanor Graham (Singing of ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’)
• Mark O'Neill (Toast to the Lassies)
• Rachel McDade (Reply from the Lassies)
• Ian McBain (Singing of ‘Ae fond kiss’)
• Cathy Ritchie (Tam O'Shanter)
• Sheila Kennedy (Kate O'Shanter)
• Joe Walker (Holy Willie's Prayer)
• Alison Steel and Alison Thayne (Singing of 'Coming through the rye')
• Rosy Fraser (Mouth Organ) accompanied by Donald MacIntosh and
• David Donoghue (Vote of thanks).

The master of ceremonies for the evening was the hugely entertaining and witty Iain Hutchison.

All in all, this was a hugely enjoyable and successful evening. Enormous thanks are due to our HE department and pupils, especially Norah Watson who has been superhuman in her efforts to stage such a stunning evening.

Stand up to hatred

On Tuesday of this week at Liberton High we decided to make our own special contribution to the city's 'Stand up to Hatred' day. As a school we decided to focus on the Holocaust. This follows a visit by two of our senior pupils (Stuart Wilson and Megan Bryant) to Auschwitz last Autumn. The main organiser for the day was Sharon Kean our PT of Social subjects.

The day went superbly well. In addition to lessons delivered by all departments that touched on some aspect of the Holocaust, we held a conference for all S2 pupils throughout the day on the theme of standing up to hatred. To close the conference we were delighted to welcome Rabbi Soetendorp to our school to deliver an address. In all my years as a teacher I have never been as moved as I was by Rabbi Soetendorp's presentation. Rabbi Soetendorp shared with us how, being born in 1943 into a Jewish family in Nazi occupied Arnhem he would not have been expected to have survived beyond a few days. That he did so is because of the humanity of others and a great deal of good fortune. Reading about many of the events of that period in occupied countries, as I have done through the years, is one thing, but actually meeting a man who has survived and subsequently dedicated his life to promoting world peace was truly inspiring. Selecting one pupil at random in the audience Rabbi Soetendorp made the point that everyone in the world is special and unique. He made a point of emphasising that we are all special and unique whether we live in Palestine, Israel, Scotland or Darfur. He told us that that he wished for a world where there was no hatred and, in particular, a world where no children would suffer.

''Mans inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn'' (Robert Burns)

Shared heads - a step too far?

As I was driving home earlier tonight a headline on the news captured my attention. Borders Council has decided that, in order to save money, among other measures, it will reduce the number of Headteacher posts. In future, it is proposed, schools will share heads. I am a keen supporter of sharing leadership but is this approach to leadership based on sound business and educational principles or is it driven by a need to cut costs?

''Our new structures as they evolve and settle down will provide schools with greater development capacity.

"This will help us build on our strengths and enable us to maximise on the benefits from the Curriculum for Excellence."

''... the controversial proposal for shared headships could operate successfully but needed to be "monitored and managed effectively".

How many more people will be employed to monitor and manage headteachers? Where is the evidence that supports the move for sharing headteachers across schools as being an effective one for pupils? Does a model of sharing heads across schools actually deliver the goods?

Leadership

Yesterday afternoon, when I was in the garden with my two daughters, Jenny drew our attention to a sight that has always make me stop what I'm doing and gaze in amazement at the skies above. I am referring to the inspiring sight that is a skein of geese. Seeing the geese in their familiar 'V' formation reminded me of a lecture delivered by Dr Richard Holloway at last Summer's international conference in Edinburgh on School Leadership, in which he suggested that humans had much to learn from nature as far as good examples of leadership is concerned. I hadn't really thought about his analogy, and what as leaders we can learn from geese until yesterday.

The first lesson is: work as a team. Geese migrate long distances flying in V-formation. This formation results in reduced wind resistance, which allows the whole flock to add around 70 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Geese find out quickly that it pays handsomely to be team players. Second, wise leadership: when the leader at the apex of the V gets tired, it is relieved by another goose. Leaders rotate, empower, delegate, and even step down when it's in the best interest of the team. How often do we see this taking place among organisational leaders? Wise leaders ensure that their followers are well trained and developed in order to achieve true empowerment and smooth succession processes. Third, humane behaviour: if a goose drops to the ground when it gets hurt or sick, two of its colleagues go down with it to take care of it until it either gets healthier or dies. In this fast-paced and competitive age, how often do we see managers going out of their way to help colleagues who are in trouble? I am in no doubt that in organisations, morale, productivity, and loyalty increase when employees look after each other and are treated humanely.

School of scottish studies

One of the really exciting developments at the school this year is our work with the School of Scottish Studies, which is part of Edinburgh University. In addition to gaining access to an aladdin's cave of resources for our staff and pupils, we are now working closely with university staff in training our pupils to become field researchers for the university. It is our intention that pupils will research the history of our local area by interviewing friends and relatives who have knowledge of our area spanning the past fifty years. This material will then be passed on to the university to add to the archives in the School of Scottish Studies. In doing this, pupils will develop their own research skills, develop their knowledge and understanding of our local area and contribute a wealth of material to archives that will be available to future generations. Pupils are ideally suited to speak to parents and grandparents to capture their memories of life in Edinburgh in days gone by. In particular, I am looking forward to learning about the history of mining and of some of the characters who contributed to making this part of Edinburgh such an exciting and diverse area to live and work in.

Unity

At morning break today, I thanked staff for their support and loyalty throughout the past term and chose this poem to draw attention to the wonderful work we do and to emphasise the importance of teamwork when working with children.

Unity

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!

By Cleo V. Swarat

Does anyone else have examples of poetry they have used with staff or pupils in this way?

Other learning logs

When the kids are safely (and quietly!) tucked away in bed, and I've done my homework for the following day, I enjoy having a look round some of the other Learning Logs in the education world. Don Ledingham's is a really interesting and thought provoking log. So also is the Learning Log by Mark Walker, a school Principal from Australia. I really liked the material on 'Walkthroughs' - the name speaks for itself. I'm going to take some of his points on board and try them out in my own school in the next few weeks. Here is a sample clip (wait a few moments for loading) about 'Walkthroughs' in secondary schools.

I see no reason why 'walkthroughs' can not become an integral part of our school's self-evaluation process. Why should 'walkthroughs' be restricted to senior staff? Why not encourage all staff to get involved; particularly in the dialogue with colleagues about what we've seen? Watch this space!