Dear parents/carers,
We all eagerly await news regarding the school building and look forward to having some certainty over the issues we currently face later this week.
We have continued to focus on supporting senior students at Liberton who are all nearing the end of their courses. Arrangements for exams are now confirmed and Mr Mackenzie (Business Manager and SQA coordinator) and Mr Hutchison (Senior Phase Depute Head Teacher) will lead an exam briefing on Wednesday afternoon with all seniors.
From Tuesday 3rd May all senior pupils will be on exam leave. However, as previously indicated we will ensure pupils have access to teacher support at Liberton throughout the examination period. Pupils can access the school for revision purposes as well as to complete any outstanding unit assessments.
From Monday 16th May a programme of activities will be on offer for pupils who have no external examinations. Pupils who do have exams will also be offered the opportunity to sign up for activities they are interested in. More information will follow from the staff co-ordinating this.
Friday 29th April is officially the last day for S6 pupils. This is normally an emotional time, even more so as the pupils are not in their own school. We hope to hold an event for the current S6 once we are back in Gracemount so they can officially say goodbye. In the meantime, Liberton S6 pupils have kindly invited our own S6 to join them for a cooked breakfast in the canteen on Friday 29th at 11am. Pupils are aware and have been asked to sign up via the school office.
As you may well be aware the local authority announced today that S1 to S3 students will continue to attend Wester Hailes Education Centre. This is to ensure there is no further disruption to either:
- senior students from Gracemount and Liberton High School during the exam time
- younger pupils settling down at WHEC.
Our S1-3 have generally settled in well. We continue to work on timetable arrangements and as of next week expect to deliver a much more comprehensive timetable for S1-3 pupils. More information on this will follow in due course. Please be assured this is a priority.
Whilst we understand the extenuating circumstances for our young people, I know you will expect that we continue to insist on the highest of standards in order to ensure effective learning and teaching continues to take place.
Assemblies were held this morning to reinforce this and to make clear to all pupils that the normal Gracemount standards apply, even though we may not be in the building. As always your support in this matter is very important and helps to promote a positive ethos in our school community.
Behaviour concerns will continue to be dealt with in the normal way until we return to Gracemount and look towards a full implementation of phase 3 of our behaviour policy.
Bus times have finally been settled on and are as follows:
- 8.45am departure from Gracemount – arrival at WHEC is approximately 9.15am.
- 3.00pm departure from WHEC – arrival at Gracemont is approximately 3.30pm.
- Friday – departure 8.45am from Gracemount, leaving WHEC at 12 noon for a 12.30pm arrival at Gracemount.
As always, should you require further information or support please contact by telephone: 0131 664 7514 (Liberton High School), 0131 442 2201 (Wester Hailes Education Centre) or by email: admin@gracemount.edin.sch.uk.
Kind regards,
Ross Hunter
