Amnes-T in the Park!

Broughton High School students stage event to support  World Refugee Day

logo_amnesty_black

On Saturday 20 June (10am– 2pm), Broughton High School’s Amnesty International Youth Group is holding Amnes-T in the Park to raise awareness of World Refugee Day. Get into the summer festival vibe and come along to the school’s rugby pitch for a day of live music, games and food for all the family to enjoy! 

New local talent, including Rastafarian White Boys, will bring the field alive as you dig into a delicious selection of home baking. The event will focus on the current issues surrounding refugees through a series of artwork made by school pupils. These will highlight important facts in a fun and engaging way!

All ages are welcome, although primary school children should be accompanied by an adult – and entry is free!

All the money raised on the day will go towards helping Amnesty International carry out their vitally important work protecting human rights worldwide.

Niamh McNulty

Broughton High School Amnesty International Youth Group

Live Well in Later Life

Drop-in event for older people at Broughton High School next week

live well

Come along to our free drop-in event between

11am -3pm on Thursday 16 April

at Broughton High School, East Fettes Avenue. 

Tea, coffee and cake will be served.

Free transport is available if booked in advance.

Call 0131 529 6552 or email rachel.howe@edinburgh.gov.uk

Live Well Inverleith Flyer

Sounds like charity success at Broughton!

BroughtonHS

Just a note to let you know that the ‘Sounds Like Saturday’ cafe at Broughton High School on a Saturday morning  raised £136 for Red Nose Day.

The cafe is run by volunteer parents, staff and pupils from Broughton High School on a Saturday morning as the school is very busy with lots of sports classes, adult education classes and the Council’s music lessons for P5-7s (Sounds Like Saturday).
Usually the money goes to help the school but this week they decided to donate the money to Red Nose Day.
Naomi Crowley

Power to the Pupils!

Broughton S2 group looks at local democracy

PttP4As S2 pupils at Broughton High School we undertook an inter-disciplinary learning (IDL) course as part of our S2 elective subject choice called ‘Power to the Pupils’ which was run by Callum and Stephan from Community Learning & Development (CLD).

The course – called Power to the Pupils – has been great as it has had a local focus which has allowed us to gather and identify issues that directly affect us as young people growing in the north Edinburgh area. We had great debates and positive discussion and of course great fun as well deciding which were there most important topics that we could address!

Our top issues were:

  1. Negative stereotypes given for young people need to be challenged
  2. Cyber Bullying
  3. Free bus passes for all young people
  4. Reduce the amount of bullying/name calling in Edinburgh
  5. Reduce the cost of bus travel of young people
  6. Young People should have more of a choice in the curriculum
  7. Young People are unable to use some words (e.g. due to PC issues/double standards/they’re inflammatory etc.)
  8. Dog fouling in the streets/parks which young people use
  9. Young people not having a vote
  10. Edinburgh should have a theme park like M&Ds
  11. Cinema prices are too expensive.

PttP3Since coming to ‘power to the pupils’ we have been involved in some trips out to places like the City Chambers (above)and the ‘main cooncil headquarters’ where we learned about democracy, how decisions are made and who makes them on our behalf.

We even got to meet a real councillor – Nigel Bagshaw, who represents the Green Party in this area (Inverleith ward) in Edinburgh. He was really great! He listened to our concerns and he also gave us some fantastic advice on how we could take our issues forward. We also saw lots of famous people in some of the paintings that are hanging on the walls in the council building.

PttP1

After visiting the city chambers we realised we should lobby on a more local level so we had a visit to the local Neighbourhood Partnership office based in North Edinburgh (above).

We raised several concerns that we had identified as being important to us. Negative stereotypes of young people, dog fouling in public spaces were just a couple of subjects we raised. The staff were great they listened all our questions and gave us some really positive feedback. They agreed that they were very important issues that needed tackling and gave us brilliant advice on methods to take our campaigns forward which was good.

We have learned some great new techniques and various methods to make our voices heard. Having the opportunity to access politicians with our issues by lobbying council officials as well as on a more local level with the North Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership has been fantastic and we all hope we have influenced them in a positive way.

The course has allowed us to learn new skills which will help us in the future there has also been lots of great discussion, debates which was interesting and above all it was great fun!

Here are some quotes from members of our group:

“The stuff we have learned will be useful in the future” – Harry Hunter S2

“Visiting the city chambers was really interesting it is a very old building with lots of traditions and history” – Simran Singh(S2)

“We hope we can make a difference and change people’s opinions of young people” – Chloe Carr (S2)

“It has been an amazing course and interesting” – Gabriella Borges (S2)

“I have made new friends as well as learnt some new skills” – Kyle Crooks (S2)

Power to the Pupils!

Soapbox: A partly political broadside!

While the referendum was the big political story in Scotland last year, the rise and rise of UKIP hit the headines south of the border. Now it’s General Election year, and Broughton High School student ROSS COWPER thinks the country may be going backwards …

Ukip-s-Revolution-poster-538909

This is a party political broadcast by the UK independence party …

With the re-election of Mark Reckless to parliament in the Rochester and Strood by-election in November, it is safe to say that UKIP are gaining some ground in the political dog race.

Over the past year the party seemed to attract more and more under 30 year old’s to join them in getting rid of foreigners together, and turning good old Blighty back to the 50’s.

UKIP recently served up a slightly ironic new poster to the public, copying Russell Brand’s Revolution, which has turned the letters ‘evol’ around to spell ‘love’ – not something immediately thought of when thinking of UKIP!

Maybe UKIP are trying to appeal to Russell Brand’s younger audience (not necessarily supporters of Brand), in the hope of making them bigots from an early age. They will hopefully stay with the party to their dying day, where Britain is safe from those damn Europeans!

Perish the thought that if you went back far enough into a person’s history you will find they are actually originally through blood from southern France, for example, and not ‘truly English’ at all. No that would never do, it’s inconceivable!

So what can teens really expect under the ‘purple revolution’? It feels like I am repeating myself here but I guess that’s what UKIP wish. On their site the caption: ‘love Britain again’ and to accompany is the Winston Churchill’s famous ‘V for Victory’ gesture. Tell me again if I am repeating myself. Yes, it is great that Britain was part of the victory through World War Two, and Winston Churchill commanded that era, but you can’t go back and try to live off this forever – and if some people don’t like it, they’re seen as Nazi lovers! Seems like blackmail to me – and who are the real fascists now anyway?

I can’t imagine Russell Brand reacting positvely to this UKiP message; although he doesn’t think people should vote anyway, but instead rise up to challenge the establishment. Ironically this is where UKIP may have the upper hand: they don’t appear to be part of that ‘establishment’.

Farage has manifested himself (and his party) to look like a beer-swilling man of the people; people who know immigrants are to blame for all our troubles. If UKIP were a man, that man would be Farage, I guess.

UKIP supporters feel disenfranchised and believe that the political class ignores ordinary people, so why not change? I am all for change, to redistribute wealth, to help other countries in corrupt situations and for every human to have their rights.

I do want change, just not this change: I call UKIP’s change stepping backwards in time.

Giant Christmas Doodle at Broughton High School

Burgerman loves Broughton artwork 

image 2

In the run up to the holidays Broughton High School pupils have created a giant Jon Burgerman-style feast for the eyes at the main entrance to the school.

A talented group of young artists was formed – S1 pupils Robin McGillivray, Rachel Moir, Aisha Maughan, Dexter Black, Bayley Glasgow and Keeley Muir worked alongside Advanced Higher pupils Harriet Johnston, Owen Morrison, Victoria Sturgeon and Rose Subido – and after being set the challenge, the group set about adorning the windows with a herd of reindeer and festive characters which have come alive in the sky above a rooftop scene.

work 1

They worked away together over a couple of weeks to create an ‘inspired Christmas doodle’ which has raised many a smile on the way into the school!

As well as the enjoyment that being involved in a project like this brings to participants, visitors and other pupils admiring the display, the artists heard that artist Jon Burgerman himself thinks it’s awesome and has actually retweeted some of our amazing artwork!

Oh, the joys that Christmas brings! Ho ho ho!

Natalie Wingate (Broughton High School teacher)
Callum McLeod (CLD Worker Forth & Inverleith)
Photographs by Len Fife

Brighten

crop

IMG_8959

IMG_8966

IMG_8972

IMG_8982

IMG_8986

 

IMG_8985

IMG_8992

window 2

work 1

Broughton students to stage Human Rights Day ceilidh

Amnesty International logo

On Friday 12 December (6 – 9pm), Broughton High School’s Amnesty International Youth Group are holding a ceilidh to raise awareness of Human Rights Day. Put on your dancing shoes and come along to the school’s assembly hall for an evening of ceilidh dancing accompanied by a live ceilidh band and highland dancers!

There will also be the opportunity to buy a selection of delicious home baking and win some great prizes in the raffle. The ceilidh will focus on ‘Write for Rights’, Amnesty’s annual global letter writing marathon. Throughout the night, people will have the opportunity to write letters in order to raise awareness and take action for John Jeanette, a transgender woman denied legal gender recognition in Norway.

All ages are welcome, although primary school children must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets will be available to purchase on the night, but will also be on sale in the school – £3 for a concession and £5 for an adult.

All the money raised will go towards helping Amnesty International carry out their vitally important work protecting human rights worldwide.

Katherine Wright, Broughton High School student

Broughton’s Good Samaritans!

DSCF2187You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald. 

Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.

“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”

Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers  Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.

That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.

Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”

Broughton's Good Samaritans!

DSCF2187You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald. 

Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.

“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”

Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers  Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.

The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.

That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.

Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”