45 Edinburgh school students are celebrating the news that they have passed the two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma.
The attendees at Fettes College received their results on Thursday 6 July and are now heading to destinations across the world at various institutions such as Columbia, Yale and Holy Cross universities in the US. Some of the diploma graduates are staying closer to home at St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow, or at Oxford, Cambridge and other top English universities.
The diploma is only taught in four schools in Scotland and is open to students aged 16-19. Fettes is the only school in Scotland offering the dual pathway of IB and A Levels.
Jonathan Marchant, Deputy Head (Academic) of Fettes College said: “I could not be prouder of the class of 2023 who sat these exams having not experienced the GCSEs of previous year groups to prepare them, yet their persistence and perseverance has been incredibly impressive to witness.”
He added: “A quarter of all candidates gained 40 points or more, with 50% gaining or exceeding a score of 38 points. Four of our students deserve a special mention – two achieving 42 points, one achieving an outstanding 43 points and one scoring an exceptional 44 points with 777 at Higher Level. One student also achieved a bilingual diploma.”
Helen Harrison, Head of Fettes College said: “Our IB results are testament to a great deal of hard work from our students and superb support from our dedicated staff. Our IB students are ready for the next exciting stage in their lives and they leave Fettes ready to make a very positive mark on their world.”
An innovative educational programme funded by the Sean Connery Foundation designed to help dyslexic children and young people in Edinburgh is showing positive signs of making a difference.
Interim results from the three year project, targeted at those experiencing literacy difficulties, has demonstrated that individual children are making significant progress in their reading.
While Sir Sean, who was born in Edinburgh, was not himself dyslexic, learning to read was life-changing for him, and he was passionate about sharing his enthusiasm for reading with others.
The partnership between Dyslexia Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Literacy and Dyslexia Support Team and the Foundation started last August. The work being carried out builds on the Council’s already established support to deliver intensive programmes to more pupils than were previously provided.
In the first year 15 primary and two secondary schools have been provided with specialist teachers and pupil support assistants trained to develop the capacity of school staff supporting children/young people with dyslexia or literacy difficulties. This has resulted in 215 pupils benefitting from the extra support and the wider training programme reaching 175 teaching staff.
An analysis of the work found all teachers and pupils involved were positive about its impact, with data suggesting “individual children are flourishing as a result of the initiative”. Even in just nine weeks of intervention, it was found that individual children were making “significant progress in their reading” and the report said: “If such improvements are sustained longer term it is highly likely that the impact of the project will demonstrate statistical significance.”
Another positive development from the project has been the setting up of parent/carer groups which helps parents with strategies to support literacy at home and practise these with their children.
Cllr Joan Griffiths, Education, Children and Families Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Thanks to this funding from the Sean Connery Foundation and our longstanding partnership with Dyslexia Scotland we have been able to significantly increase support for learners who benefit most from this targeted work.
“Although we’re still in the early stages of this ground-breaking project the early results are really encouraging and building on the excellent work already taking place around literacy and dyslexia in our schools.
“In the first year we carefully selected 16 schools, offering group or one to one input to learners. We delivered intensive staff training and support for parents and carers, so that they felt more confident and informed about how to help at home.
“Children who had difficulties with reading are now showing significant progress. The work also helps build their self-confidence making them feel more motivated and engaged in learning.
“This is a wonderful partnership which shows real promise for learners with literacy difficulties. I can’t wait to see how the programme develops over the next two years and the positive impact it will have.”
Cathy Magee, Chief Executive of Dyslexia Scotland, said: “We are delighted that this initiative has started so well and that the hard work of everyone involved in the first year is having such a significant impact on the learners’ literacy skills as well as on their confidence and wellbeing.
“Early reports show that the generous investment by the Foundation, combined with the excellent partnership between Dyslexia Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council are delivering encouraging results. This is evident in the positive feedback from learners, parents, teachers and pupil support assistants.”
Stephane Connery, Chair of The Sean Connery Foundation, said: “The single most important event in Sean’s life was learning to read. It opened up his world. Sean was very conscious of the stigma that people with dyslexia endure.
“It does a terrible number on their confidence despite the fact that many dyslexic people are truly gifted with fresh, original perspectives. Our hope is that the Sean Connery Dyslexia Initiative helps to unlock this genius, helping students to grow in confidence and thrive in school.
The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) has secured £200k of funding from the Scottish Government to provide a farming and rural learning experience for a minimum of 80,000 pupils across Scotland.
The funding secures the future of rural education events for children and young people, covering core costs such as infrastructure, bus transport, coordination and safety requirements.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, went to see for herself how funds awarded to the Scottish rural education charity The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) spend award funding to education Scotland’s young people.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon joined over 100 P5 and P6 pupils from the Brechin schools cluster, who were meeting local farmers, growers and rural businesses running a variety of sessions to learn about how Scottish food is produced.
At today’s event pupils were learning about dairy and making butter, see seeds, sheaves and growing crops, grinding wheat seed into flour, pressing oil seed rape into oil, beekeepers demonstrating how they look after their bees as well as hedge demonstrations, getting up close to John Deere machinery – all linking to the learning outcomes of the curriculum.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, said: “I am delighted to be here to see first-hand the benefits of the Royal Highland Education Trust’s Food and Farming education programme.
“Since 2017 the Scottish Government has given over £700k to the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) in order to support their programme of school farm visits and associated educational resources for schools. This has allowed them to educate and inspire thousands of children and young people on how Scottish food is produced.
“This fresh support will allow RHET to reach even more children, many of whom are from deprived areas. The programme provides an opportunity for young people to visit a farm and offers a hands-on educational experience which highlights the importance of farming and food production to our society.
“One of the aims of our Good Food Nation Act is to improve access to, and understanding of, the benefits of healthy local foods for everyone in Scotland. It is clear that this ambitious project is contributing massively to this wider vision.”
RHET Chairman Alistair Marshall said: “We are very grateful to the Scottish Government for this award which helps support our aim of getting pupils and their teachers out into the working countryside, to get wellies on the ground and ignite their curiosity.
“We offer all our visits, talks and events for free and this is important to us all in the RHET national network, to make food and farming fun and accessible for all.
“Through using event spaces creatively, and working in collaboration with Angus Show, as we have today, we can offer more schools the chance to get hands. Brechin show is open tomorrow for the public so today we are using the big marquee for workshops, keeping us out the rain or sun!”
RHET Angus chairman Bruce Christie said: “Every one of Ms Gougeon’s constituents need a farmer three times a day. The support from the award from Scottish Government means we can keep events like this in the school calendar, helping Scotland’s young people get better connections with their local food and farming industries.
“Listening to their questions and seeing the penny drop as they see seeds ground into flour is part of the reason I love volunteering with RHET.
“I’m an arable farmer and visit many schools during the year, explaining how we grow crops, how we care from them, the machinery and science we use and link it straight back to the food they eat on their plate.
“Helping them to see Scottish agriculture, like the event here today, gives them a chance to ask questions and provides unbiased information so they can make their own food choices as they grow up.”
We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to this year’s Baillie Gifford Schools Programme: our packed programme of FREE book events for schools.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for in-person tickets so far, we can’t wait to welcome you and your pupils to the Edinburgh College of Art for some inspiring author events this August.
We have limitied availability remaining but if you would still like to attend in-person please get in touch with our Schools Booking Coordinator directly asap to check availability by emailing schools@edbookfest.co.uk.
And don’t forget, if your class is unable to make it along in-person, selected events will also be livestreamed for schools to watch in the classroom live, or on-demand. Events will be visable on edbookfest.co.ukfrom Wednesday 14 June and you can book your place any time from then until just before the event starts.
67% of Scotland’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) owners and managers have reported that skills shortages are impacting their business growth and profitability, according to new research by Censuswide, on behalf of The Open University (OU) in Scotland.
For businesses with 10-49 employees, this rocketed to 83%.
The survey, completed by 200 owners and senior managers of Scottish SMEs, identified people management (25%), finance (24%), digital technologies (22%) and project management (20%) as the top areas in which respondents were experiencing skills shortages.
Environmental concerns and their impact on business growth are also front and centre for Scottish SMEs, with 85% of organisations planning to invest in ‘green’ staff training. Priority training areas included developing innovative and sustainable ways of doing things (37%), making their business more sustainable (36%) and renewable energy (32%).
The survey also highlighted a lack of awareness among SMEs of the access they have to Scottish Government-funded employee training support. Less than a third of businesses had heard of the Scottish Funding Council Upskilling Fund (31%) and the Part-Time Fee Grant (29%).
32% of businesses surveyed also knew about the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF), which offers SMEs access to £5,000 of free and flexible online training with the OU in Scotland, supported by the Scottish Funding Council. However, more positively, 75% of respondents would be likely to consider accessing funds in the next 12 months.
David Allen – Partnerships Manager for Open University.
David Allen, Senior Partnerships Manager, The Open University in Scotland, said: “Despite two-thirds of businesses overwhelmingly reporting skill shortages, current financial and economic pressures mean training budgets are often squeezed at the expense of skills development.
“This does not need to be the case. Through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, SMEs can access fully funded high quality, flexible online training that addresses many of the core skills shortages facing them.
“Two-thirds of SMEs surveyed were unfamiliar with the available Scottish Government funded support. This is a core reason why the Open University in Scotland is determined to raise awareness of initiatives such as FWDF.
“A positive outcome of our research is 75% of business owners surveyed are now likely to consider accessing Scottish Government-funded training in the next 12 months. It’s an opportunity for the taking.”
The survey findings also align with the experience of the Scottish charity Health in Mind, which recently undertook a training programme in partnership with the OU, utilising FWDF support.
Flora Henderson, Alliance Manager, Health in Mind commented: “The cost-of-living crisis, as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in a tremendous increase in demand for our services. At the same time, staff are affected by workload and a continued impact on staff absence levels.
“It was a priority to continue to offer genuinely valuable development opportunities, intended to help staff feel supported to grow and develop in their role. The FWDF has allowed scarce resources to have more impact and encouraged wider participation than would otherwise be possible.”
For more information on the OU’s flexible online training and the Flexible Workforce Development Fund visit: https://www.open.ac.uk/business/fwdf
Cut of £1,870 per pupil since 2012/13 on spending for those identified with ASN
Postcode lottery of spending between local authorities on ASN
Near doubling in the number of pupils with ASN from 2012
Cut in the number of ASN teachers by more than 500
An alliance of leading providers of specialist children’s services, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems.
The call comes as new figures contained in a parliamentary answer to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth MSP. This reveals that spending supporting those pupils with ASN has slumped by over a third.It comes against a backdrop of the number of pupils with ASN increasing dramatically and the number of specialist teachers supporting them dropping to a new low.
While the SCSC supports a presumption of mainstreamingfor pupils with ASN, meaning that they are educated in a mainstream school unless exceptional circumstances, without adequate resourcing there is an obvious impact on those with ASN, fellow pupils and teachers.
The SCSC is calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding to support the needs of vulnerable children and young people, including greater provision of specialist ASN teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
The figures highlight that average spending per pupil on additional support for learning by councils in Scotland (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £5,381 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,511 in 2021/22 (in real terms). This amounts to an overall cut in spending of £1,870 per pupil, representing a 34.8 per cent drop.
This fall is against the backdrop of a 97.2 per cent increase between 2012 and 2021 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,011 to 232,753, amounting to 114,742 individuals. Those with ASNcurrently represent around a third of all pupils (33.0 per cent).
Between 2012 and 2021 the number of full-time equivalent ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,389 to an all-time low of 2,886, a decrease of 503 teachers, representing a cut in numbers of 14.8 per cent.
Against the background of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, with its disproportionate impact on those with ASN, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and councils to ensure that those with ASN receive the care and support they need, provided in an equitable manner across Scotland.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, when they need it, especially given the impacts of the Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis.
“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are in a mental health emergency and have also witnessed dramatic increases in classroom disruption, impacting on pupils and teachers alike. This is in part due to increased levels of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties post-lockdown.
“Given this, it is disappointing to note cuts in spending supporting those with ASN and we would urge the Scottish Government to adequately resource the provision of the likes of specialist teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
“Councils and the Scottish Government must work together to provide an adequately resourced and equitable system of support across Scotland for those children and young people with ASN, representing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
Several one day courses are still available to book on, such as the very special experience on Sketching Animals in the Zoo – close up sketching animals at rest and play in real life.
The professional artist tutor will support individuals with tips and techniques on how to improve skills, whilst having a great day out. There is plenty of shelter if the weather is not so good and entry to the zoo is included in the fee course.
Sign up right away for the course on Friday 19th May. Might be the last chance to see the pandas before they return to China!
To enrol, students must ring 0131 556 7978 weekdays between 10am-4pm (3pm on Friday) and they can book on and give a link for payments.
More information at City of Edinburgh Council website www.joininedinburgh.org (fees are aound £20 per person)
Outdoor courses
Walks: History – Old Town – All – (27th May) – OUT59686E
LAUNCH PROMISES MORE STALLS, MORE MUSIC, MORE FOOD and.. SUNSHINE!
Next month’s North Edinburgh’s Community Festival will be even bigger than last years event, organisers announced at Tuesdays launch at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre.
Around 6000 people attended last year’s gala event, and with at least SEVENTY marquees (up from 50 last year) and and not one but TWO music stages there promises to be even more for the local community to do, see and enjoy on 13 May.
Highlights include:
Disney-themed LIFT Parade from Muirhouse Millennium Centre to West Pilton Park to launch the Festival.
More than 70 local organisations and charities with Community Stalls
Two music stages: the open air Park Stage and the Green Room stage in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
The music line-up features a wealth of local talent. Performers include local youth orchestra Tinderbox, Granton Youth’s Mixtape Music Club and a session from ever-popular Fischy Music.
There’s a musical medley from the Edinburgh College Musical Theatre Group, performances from local choirs including Ama-zing Harmonies, AUGB Ukranian choir, Craigroyston High School Choir and a high-energy performance is guaranteed from local punk rockers Yer Local Bams. Low Tide, Rai Williams, Laurent and Abigail Kerner will also be performing live on the day in a musical feast.
Family events and activities will include Bookbug with Muirhouse Library and a Storytelling session with Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Citizen writers.
Fancy some sport? You’ll be spoilt for choice as Access Parkour, Spartans Community Football Academy and Inverleith Rugby Club will all be there. And there will be children’s Zumba classes.
North Edinburgh Arts will be organising arts and craft activities and Screen Education Edinburgh will offer film workshops. There’s an Army obstacle course, too.
There will also be learning and upskilling opportunities provided by local organisations including Edinburgh College will be offering course taster sessions.
All in all, there really should be something for everyone. And with sunshine (almost) guaranteed, it promises to be a great day.
Local activist Willie Black, a member of the Festival planning committee, introduced Tuesday’s launch. “We are very excited about this year’s Festival and it promises to be a really great event, a community celebration for everyone to enjoy.
“We have a wealth of diverse talent in this community and we want to share that talent far and wide. We’re looking forward to offering a warm North Edinburgh welcome to thousands of visitors next month, and the hope is that the Festival will be a great success and that it can become an annual event.”
North Edinburgh Community Festival is on Saturday 13 May from 12 – 5.30pm. Free event. All welcome.
● A design expert has revealed a simple way that you can improve your memory as exam season nears closer, and all you need are coloured pens
● Writing revision notes in colour has been proven to help retain up to 80% more information, with the most impactful colours being red and orange
● Expert Mads Soegaard also highlights further tricks to boost retention, including using graphs and not revising for over 30 minutes at a time
● As well as improving revision tactics for exams, the tips can also help adults to remember login details, shopping lists and important dates
Mads Soegaard, Founder at Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) has revealed a hack that will help boost memory just in time for exam season – and almost anyone can do it.
Instead of typing up reams of revision notes and hoping that you’ll take in the vital information, it’s much more effective to write notes by hand using different coloured pens to increase your chances of remembering them when you head into your exam.
Mads Soegaard explains: “There’s a common misconception that taking down as much information as you can when revising is the best way to learn, and so many students opt for typing up their notes to write more with less effort and save some time.
“However, it’s much more effective to write down key points by hand using coloured pens, highlighters and sticky notes, as colour works to boost our memory.
“Writing notes by hand stimulates retention as you’re forcing your brain to process the information in a more detailed way than typing. It also forces you to be more selective about what you’re writing down – it’s about choosing quality over quantity.”
According to a psychological study, writing in colour can help us improve memory performance by up to 80%, because 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.
In fact, the brain processes images a whopping 60,000 times faster than text, as the brain sees words as individual images that we must first recognize before understanding. Luckily, there’s an easy way you can make written words easier to process quickly.
Mads continues: “Using coloured pens when writing keynotes allows us to see words as visual information rather than a block of text, which means we’re more likely to understand what we’re reading and can take in the information much faster than we could otherwise.
“As well as boosting our memory, colour also helps to form associations between notes, as when you recall a fact linked to one shade, your brain will naturally start thinking of the other facts that share the same shade.
“You can also use this association to your advantage when it comes to actually sitting your exam. By bringing something that’s the same colour as your notes into the exam with you – such as a bracelet or pen – you’ll trigger your brain to remember facts in the same shade.”
This is due to context-dependent memory, where recall improves because you have similar context cues around you as when you first took in the information.
Mads Soegaard explains that some colours are more effective than others: “Colours invoke different reactions, and so it’s vital to choose attention-grabbing shades associated with importance – particularly warm shades like red, orange and yellow.
“Picking contrasting colours can also help make information stand out more, so you may want to incorporate different sticky notes or highlighters for important points. However, make sure not to overload your notes, as making facts more distinctive is key. ”
And incorporating colour isn’t the only way to use visual learning to your advantage, the experts at Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) reveal, as you can also boost memory by:
Using diagrams to link information. If you find yourself zoning out when faced with a wall of text, you may want to write notes as a diagram like a spidergram, flowchart or table. This helps separate the information into a more digestible format andmakes it easier to colour-coordinate critical points without colour overload.
Making sure your room is well-lit. As revising in the evening after school or work is typical,you’re likely writing notes without proper daylight. Just as colour can be a strong context cue, so can light, so make sure you’re revising in as close to test conditions as you can – meaning in a well-lit room without any other visual distractions (like TV or your phone) that will pull your attention.
Taking a break every half hour. It’s easy to fall into the trap of spending hours on end sitting and writing notes, but doing so actually reduces the odds of you retaining information. You lose 85% of your input after reading for 25 minutes as it’s visually repetitive, so it’s essential to take frequent breaks to recharge and reset.
According to Mads Soegaard, some will benefit more from these tips than others, as he says: “If you’re someone with a preference for seeing and observing things in your day-to-day life – including pictures and written directions – you’re a visual learner, and you’ll struggle to retain information that’s just written down with no visual elements to trigger the memory.
“Incorporating visual elements like colours, diagrams and images into your day-to-day note-taking can help in a range of situations, not just revision – so try it out if you’re somebody who often struggles to remember important dates or personal details.
“Of course, some people do better with visual memory prompts than others, as not everybody is a visual learner. It’s important to leave yourself plenty of time to revise before an exam so that you can figure out a strategy that works for you.”
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has met with staff and learners ahead of this year’s exams.
Returning to the Royal High School in Barnton where she previously taught, Ms Gilruth heard about the preparations underway for this year’s exams, which start on Monday and run for five weeks.
Earlier this week the Education Secretary set out plans to rebuild and reshape how education is delivered as part of the Scottish Government’s policy prospectus Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership – A fresh start.
Ms Gilruth said: “”I want to thank the pupils and my friends in the teaching staff for welcoming me back to the Royal High School to hear about their preparations for this year’s exams, which start next week.
“During this time we will see around 130,000 learners sitting National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams in a variety of subjects across the whole of Scotland. I would like to thank all learners for their dedication and resilience during what has been another challenging year and importantly I would like to wish them every success and good luck in their exams this year.
“As set out in our policy prospectus this week, I am focused on ensuring that Scotland’s education system strives for excellence and equity for all, with a continued focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”
