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Belmont.mail@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Christmas Newsletter
December 2016
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It does not seem like a year since I wrote last year’s Christmas communication – I think it
must be true what they say about time passing more quickly as you get older!
On the theme of time passing quickly, the last 4 years have literally flown by, and it seems
this has brought me to the decision to retire. When I took up post in January 2013, I fully intended to leave
teaching by retiring from Belmont. However, I had thought maybe six or seven years in post would be a good goal.
Yet, here I am retiring after four years.
The reasons for my earlier than anticipated departure are multi-fold, but I do think it pertinent to highlight those
reasons to you as parents - as I have already done with the whole staff and full pupil body.
I think I can genuinely say that I underestimated the job as a Head Teacher, despite being a Depute Head
Teacher in two schools (both large secondaries of 1800 and 1150 pupils respectively) and thinking that there might
not be that much of a difference. How wrong was I?! To be fair, the job of any Head Teacher is partly subject to
specific and individual context. For the past four years, I have lived and breathed Belmont – and have sincerely
enjoyed every minute. Working 60-70 hours per week on a consistent basis, however, is something I no longer wish
to do. Such was the context of the school I inherited, and such is the context of Scottish education, that it takes
these hours to manage and lead a school of Belmont’s size and profile. So… in short, the main reason for my
departure is to get my life back, and to spend some genuine quality time with my family of four children, 5
grandchildren, a grand dog and of course my husband.
Other reasons or ‘prompts’ include the state of Scottish education at this moment in time. Recent changes are
unprecedented and Scottish education has seen a paradigm shift. Whilst the principles of CfE are sound, the rate
of change, the volume of development work and the increasing bureaucracy make the job almost untenable – or at
least ensures that it cannot be carried out within the contracted 35 hours. This is the case at any level in the
hierarchy. Sadly, I am not convinced that the intended improvements have materialised, as highlighted in the
recent PISA results and OECD Report.
Having outlined my reasons for leaving education (which may seem to have gloomy overtures), I must inform you
that I am forever heartened by the positivity, and motivating factors, that are alive and kicking at Belmont. We
have travelled a huge distance in terms of our improvement journey over the last four years (see SQA Directorate
Visit section) and the school is now in an excellent position with further capacity and improvement to be added. I
have appointed over half of our current staff (around 46 people) so we have witnessed a tremendous shift in terms
of positive ethos and culture. There is immense scope for distributing leadership and building leadership capacity –
the contents of this Newsletter pays testimony to that. All in all, there is fertile ground upon which the new Head
Teacher can build. I wish that person all the very best.
All that remains is for me to say is that it has been an absolute pleasure working with your children and the wider
Belmont community. I will, undoubtedly, miss the buzz of school life and the sheer joy of working with young
people. However, the time is right for me to move onto new pastures and ventures.
I wish you all a (very) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, with additional best wishes for the future of
Belmont’s young people, families, friends and wider community. Sue Beattie
Head Teacher
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On 26th October this year we welcomed our Quality Improvement Team and Douglas Hutchison (Director of
Education) for the annual validated self-evaluation visit. Allan Rattray from Girvan Academy joined the team as the
peer Head Teacher.
This year the visit was known as the School Self Improvement visit and the focus included a scrutiny of our SQA
results for 2015-2016 along with an overview of the progress made with all other improvement priorities. Self-
evaluation processes are critical in recognising our improvement needs. These will continue to be discussed and
debated to ensure that this self-evaluation leads to self-improvement at Belmont Academy.
The visit this year was a tremendous success with presentation inputs from all members of the Senior Leadership
Team, in highlighting our strengths and development needs. Whilst there is always headroom for improvement and
specific targets, it was agreed that Belmont is in a positive position in relation to attainment, curriculum
development, learning and teaching, pupils’ experiences and self-evaluation.
All of the groundwork has now been set for (hopefully) a successful outcome with exam results in August 2017.
Sue Beattie
Head Teacher
SQA Directorate Visit
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A huge thank you to all the businesses that sponsored our Christmas Fair -
your contribution made a massive difference to us, and we are very grateful for your support!
Hugh Strain & Sons
Rozelle Tearoom
Acorn Shutters and Blinds
Martin Aitken & Co
Minuteman Press
Lime Tree Healthcare (Alloway Pharmacy)
Lesley Dobbie Optometrists
Poet’s Corner
Andersson Dental Care
KMS Chartered Accountants
Twenty-Seven Alloway
Aegirfish
Dinos
We had our first meeting at the end of August where we welcomed some new first year parents. The AGM took place on
Wednesday 28th September 2016 and the following office bearers were appointed:
Margo Cathcart Chair cathcm51@gmail.com
Andrea Kirkhope Vice Chair
Janice Lindsay Secretary
Jill Ross Treasurer
Julie McTaggart Catering Convenor
Our fundraising efforts continue and to this end we have
Provided tea and coffee at the three parents’ nights – 1st year, 4th year and 3rd year.
We invited the 6th year pupils to a pre-prom evening where local businesses – hairdressers, make-up salons and dress
shops showed the range of services they can provide. There was a lovely atmosphere with the pupils taking the
opportunity to try out a new look and think about dresses and highland wear for the prom.
We had another successful Christmas Fair. Thank you to all who attended. It was a great night of fun with a number
of fun activities. We were inundated by people wanting to take a stall so we had a great range of tempting Christmas
gifts available as well as the Tombola, Bottle stall and home baking stall with beautiful cakes made by pupils and
parents. As always a great attraction was the raffle. The prizes included an Apple Watch, Beats Headphones,
Abercrombie and Fitch vouchers and Nando vouchers as well as prizes kindly donated by the stall holders. Our final
profit was just under £2000. A big thank you to all the local businesses who supported the event.
We have a bag pack arranged at Iceland on 17th and 18th December
Having now accumulated £5000 we are making a donation to the school to enable them to buy another ‘classroom in a box’. This
resource contains 20 laptops and can be used throughout the school to benefit all the pupils.
Back in October 2 parent council members along with Miss Wilson (Principal Teacher – Learning Support) attended ‘Ayr South
Decides’ to bid for funds for a school gardening project. The bid was successful. So we were able to secure £1000 for the
school to buy gardening equipment, seeds and bulbs. The school catering department and the Home Economics department are
looking forward to using home-grown produce in the very near future.
By now everyone will know the sad news that Mrs Beattie is leaving the school at the end of this session. As a parent council we
have really enjoyed working with Mrs Beattie and we will miss her. We would like to wish her all the best for the future and
thank her for unstinting support of the parent council.
Our role as the parent council includes representing all the parents. We are not allowed to discuss individuals at our meeting
but we can represent the wider concerns. I have deliberately included my address so that if there is anything you wish us to
discuss you can contact me. Please feel free to raise any questions or concerns with us at any time.
Any parent at any time is welcome to attend the parent council meetings. We meet on the last Wednesday of every month at
7pm in the Lifelong Learning room in the Admin corridor.
Margo Cathcart
Chair of the Parent Council
Andrea Kirkhope
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The Learning and Teaching Project Group has met and has identified areas we are going to focus on in our peer
observations this session. The Learning and Teaching Project group will conduct peer observations next session and
will focus on meeting staff professional learning needs in order to learn from and support each to deliver lessons
which are high quality, progressive and suitably challenging for all our pupils. Thanks to the teacher volunteers who
read and share articles from the weekly TES magazine on a rotation to raise awareness of current educational
issues and to Rose Dunlop (Biology Department) for managing the rota.
Belmont Academy staff are participating in an initiative called ‘Making Thinking Visible’ provided by the
Tapestry programme. Making Thinking Visible is a strongly research-based programme (Perkins, 2008,
Ritchhart, Palmer, Church and Tishman, 2006). The long-standing goals of the Making Thinking Visible approach
are to deepen learning in classrooms using ideas and strategies called Thinking Routines. Thinking Routines are
tools and structures which emerge from questioning, extending dialogues, listening and documenting. Thinking
Routines support learners through the processes of introducing and exploring ideas, synthesising and organising
new ideas and digging deeper into those ideas to promote deep learning. Making Thinking Visible promotes
learners’ dispositions towards thinking arguing that effective thinking is not only about thinking skills but also
about thinking dispositions characterised by open mindedness, creativity, curiosity, attention to evidence and so
on. These thinking dispositions are fostered best in thinking cultures in the classroom/department/school
where everyone values and actively promotes thinking. In a culture of thinking, thinking is more than a solo
endeavour. Learners share and build on one another’s knowledge and skills. By making thinking visible, teachers
and learners develop a better understanding of each other’s thinking. This makes deciding on next steps in
learning more apparent and relevant. Teachers and learners become more motivated in the day to day
experiences of teaching and learning because they both feel more deeply engaged in the process.
MTV is led in Belmont Academy by nine voluntary Lead Learners: Brian Sinclair (DHT), Jennifer Chalmers
(Physics), Asif Rafiq (Technical), Jill Flanagan (Acting PT PE), David Moore (Music), Orane Frachisse (Acting PT
Modern Languages), Richard Ledingham (Geography), Pamela Rowan (PT Guidance) and Laura MacMillan (Music).
The Lead Learners attend training sessions with South Ayrshire colleagues and share ideas of how we can
implement the 21 Thinking Routines in our subject areas to enhance the learning experience for all pupils. All
teaching staff have attended two school twilight sessions where the Lead Learners led workshops delivering
working examples of 8 Thinking Routines for staff to trial in their classrooms. The MTV Thinking Routines were
included in the lesson focus for the whole school observations undertaken by the Senior Leadership Team and
some Principal Teachers in December.
Laura MacMillan
Learning and Teaching Project Group Leader and MTV School Lead Learner
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As we approach the festive period Literacy and Numeracy across Learning are still high on the agenda and pupils have taken
part in various activities to improve their skills in these two areas.
The Maths department held some Hallowe’en themed events in October. Pupils in S1-3 took part in spooky relays or solved
murder mysteries, making great use of their mathematical and numeracy skills. Members of the Maths department have been
involved in working with the P7 cluster on reinforcing work on fractions, decimals and percentages. These topics are extremely
important as they are part of essential knowledge and skills for life and work. The P7 pupils who have participated so far have
been very enthusiastic about what they have learned. If you think that your child needs any more consolidation on these topics
then please direct them to the mathsworkout website where they will find plenty of activities to help them progress. All
activities can be marked by using the ‘check’ button. The username for any pupil wishing to use this online facility is ‘Belmont’
and the password in ‘vertex37’. Mathsworkout isn’t just good for fractions, decimals and percentages but can be used for many
different topics up to and including National 5 level.
Supported study has been running for many years in the maths department. Sessions this year have been very well attended
and your children have been a credit to you in displaying their gratitude to staff for the time that they give up to allow this
facility to run. Thank you for your continued support.
www.mathsworkout.co.uk
Next session, pupils from the maths department will be participating in the UKMT Intermediate and Junior challenges. These
challenges are fantastic opportunities for young people to develop their problem solving skills and can lead to being invited to
compete at national level in Kangaroo or Olympiad championships.
The English department welcomed a new Principal teacher this session - Ms C Grant – who joined us from Bearsden Academy
and brings with her enthusiasm, creativity and a passion for learning and literacy.
We are so lucky in the department to have been given a new set of laptops. This has allowed more students to access Literacy
aids such as Read&Write Gold and Clicker 7 which encourages them to be more independent and to access the curriculum.
As a department we strive to encourage leadership skills and so we have started a lunch-club for
junior pupils who benefit from the quiet, nurturing atmosphere where 6th year buddies and teachers
are on hand to help - sometime with their homework, such as extended written tasks, or sometimes
just joining in with a fun game of Cluedo or Monopoly.
Our Creative Writing Club (meets in English 5 on Monday at lunchtime) has gone from strength
to strength and pupils are encouraged to enter a wide range of competitions including the
popular 500 word story competition launched by Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans and the Young Writers
Welcome to Wonderland competition where pupils had to invent their own worlds. Many pupils
in the department entered into this competition and we have our fingers crossed for success!
Supported study sessions for National 5 and Higher pupils have been running since October and
has, you will be pleased to hear, been very well attended. Sessions have focused on introducing pupils to the free resources on
http://scholar.hw.ac.uk and the feedback from our young people thus far has been very positive.
In the New Year we plan to roll out information to all key stake-holders regarding the Scottish Government’s new draft
Literacy Benchmarks. This is an exciting and important publication that will aid us as teacher and you as parents ensure our
young people are supported and challenged appropriately across learning in their BGE. If you are interested in learning more
about the new benchmarks please visit: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/LiteracyEnglishBenchmarks.pdf /
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/NumeracyMathematicsBenchmarks.pdf
We encourage you to check out our great new blog at www.belmontacademyenglishdeparetment.wordpress.com which has lots of
information about the English and Literacy department and many excellent bespoke resources.
Follow us and keep in touch on Twitter @belmont_english for updates! Look out for more information on Numeracy and Literacy
across Learning in next session’s newsletter and we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Rhona McFarlane/Claire Tomelty
Literacy & Numeracy Co-Ordinators
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This year has already seen some positive work being done to build on what was started last year. A small cluster
working group, established in April, has created three different tasks for all our Primary 7 pupils to work on
between now and Easter. Each task encourages them to explore a different part of their health and wellbeing,
specifically – physical activity, food and nutrition and the mental and emotional side. The aim is to promote all the
different parts that make up their health and wellbeing and the different ways in which they can make small,
positive changes. This work will then culminate in two HWB mornings at Belmont in May, where they will not only
use the knowledge they have been developing over the course of the year, but will also have the opportunity to
showcase their work for their peers to see.
Finally, our Sports Leaders have been out to Kincaidston, Tarbolton and Holmston Primary schools, delivering both
curricular and extra-curricular sessions for a variety of primary aged pupils. This has not only given them the
opportunity to use the skills and training they have been given this year, but also provided the primary pupils with a
unique experience and the chance to ask questions about Belmont Academy. In addition to this, the Sports
Leaders also ran a number of transition events over a series of Wednesday afternoons. These sessions allowed
Primary 7 pupils from across the cluster to come together and learn/experience a range of different activities …
and from speaking to some of those involved they were a great success! Our senior sports leaders continue to
positively represent Belmont Academy and impress with their teaching capabilities – keep up the good work!
Jill Flanagan
Acting Principal Teacher of Physical Education
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S2 IDL
S2 are now two thirds of the way through their rotations for S2 STEM IDL. Once the
rotations end, they will be put into teams to work on a ‘top secret’ project, putting to use all
the new skills they will have learned during the rotations.
Belmont Community Project
A group of S4 pupils have been working on a noticeboard to go outside the Butchers shop on
the Mount. This project has been requested by the Belmont Community council. The pupils have completed initial
research, design ideas on mock up models, and are now looking to build a prototype to test on the school grounds to
develop an understanding of materials and weather implications.
1st Lego League
A group of 10 S1 & S2 pupils have been busy designing a robot, programming it to do specific tasks and preparing
their presentations for our 1st Lego League competition on Saturday 17th December. Mr Rafiq and Miss Carballo
have attended the competition with our pupils. On the day the pupils had a fantastic experience and won the Core
Values Trophy this year. Great job!
Go 4 Set
This year our young engineering girls are participating in the Go4Set
challenge. Working with EDF Energy Engineering department they
have designed and are now researching viable options for sustainable
living and learning on an eco-school island. Sound challenging? It
surely is. However the energy and enthusiasm of our young engineers
ensures great progress. Thank you also to our parents who are using
their knowhow to shape the pupils’ ideas into practical solutions. An
exciting project where the pupils develop to the stage of
prototyping their Eco Islands. We hope to showcase at the regional
STEM celebration at Dumfries House in March 2017.
Other News
A representative from EDF, Archie Crowford has supported both the GO 4
Set teams and Talent 2030. Talent 2030 is an initiative which hopes to
achieve gender balance in engineering by 2030. We have 2 teams involved in
the initiative; a group of S4 girls are working on bringing engineering tasks
to the community to raise awareness of wildlife issues, i.e. bird houses. And
an S5/6 group of girls are working on the viability of rainfall as a way of
powering a micro power plant.
Both teams hope to achieve either a silver or gold CREST award
through this project.
A group of S3 young engineers have offered and now constructed a
‘Resonance Board ‘to support the learning of blind and/or deaf
children. The Resonance Board will help these children develop the
child’s brain to interpret motor activity and listening skills.
And finally, a group of S3 boys have been working on construction
skills building charity boxes through Duke of Edinburgh for the
Community Aid Team run by the S5/6 wider achievement group with Miss Dunlop. Kirsty Armstrong
STEM Co-Ordinator
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On 17th November 30 pupils from S3 attended a Skills Development Scotland event at Seamill Hydro. This event
specifically focused on Apprenticeships, both Foundation and Modern, and was delivered via local Apprentices and
employers who were able to give first hand insights as to what the Apprenticeship programme has to offer.
During their time slot, pupils received a presentation and demonstration session directly from employers and
Apprentices on some of the Work Based Learning they do. In addition to this pupils had a chance to discover more
sectors in the exhibition area, where there were tasks relating to different industries.
After the success of the event last year, we are repeating the S2 Careers Day in conjunction with Ayr
College. This will take place on 16th February 2017. All of S2 will be given the opportunity to hear from employers
in many different job sectors. Pupils are currently making their choices regarding which zones they might like to
visit. Jill Hitchman
DSYW Co-ordinator
In addition to their curricular and extra-curricular commitments S6 students have had the opportunity to
participate in Enhanced Curriculum. All S6 students had the opportunity to select one of the following options:
Fencing
Survival Cookery
Heart Start
First Aid
Life Coaching
Self-Defence
Primary Work Placement
Pilates
All students were involved in an additional short programme on Financial Management.
Involvement in Enhanced Curriculum will help to broaden the horizons of our S6 students and in many cases provide
them with the practical help as they prepare for their next stage in life!
At Belmont Academy we are committed to providing our S6 students with an enriching final year experience to
help guide and support them as they make the transition from secondary school into Further or Higher Education
or into the world of work/training.
We recognise that S6 represents a special time in the lives of our senior students and we aim to provide them with
opportunities to participate in a wide range of events throughout the year. So far this year our students have
participated in the following:
S6 Induction
S6 Leadership Days
S6 Kyle/Belmont Halloween Disco
Yearbook
The S6 Pre-Prom Party
The Senior Christmas Dance
Various fundraising and Charity Events
Lynsey Pollock S6 Experience Leader
Next up will be the S6 Burns Supper!
Thursday 26th January 2017!
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Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) work has been in full swing since the summer holidays with many new
activities and initiatives being created and taking shape:
School Charter
All staff and pupils had the opportunity to vote on which articles from the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) they thought are the most important for life at Belmont. The top five were:
1. Article 23 – A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and
independence, and to play an active part in the community.
2. Article 28 – Every child has the right to an education.
3. Article 12 – Every child has the right to say what they think in all matters affecting them, and to have
their views taken seriously.
4. Article 31 – Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic
activities.
5. Article 15 – Every child has the right to meet with other children and to join groups and organisations. As
long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.
The RRS Pupil Councils met to decide how the new School Charter should look and where it should be displayed.
They have asked pupils from across the school to create artwork to represent each Article in order for the
Charter to be more memorable.
RRS Pupil Council
There are two RRS Councils – one for BGE and one for Senior Phase pupils. A full Council meeting took place at the
end of September to discuss issues they felt were important within the school, Ayr, Scotland, and the wider world.
RRS Councils have been focusing on the new School Charter but in the New Year will be revisiting these issues and
will launch a campaign focusing on one or more of these areas.
Cluster Work
At the beginning of 2016, Miss Melville began meeting with RRS representatives from all the associated primary
schools within the Belmont Cluster. Work began on a joint Cluster project which has taken the shape of a charity
calendar. Each primary had two Articles and pupils were asked to create artwork to contribute to the calendar.
The judging process was very difficult but with twelve pictures chosen and a front cover created by Emma Neillie
in S2, a calendar has been created. They have been on sale at all the schools’ respective Christmas Fairs and all
proceeds will be donated to UNICEF.
Nina Melville
RRS Co-Ordinator
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“Seventeen and Starving”. This describes most students when they move away from home and face having to cook
for themselves. Aware that young people are easily tempted into buying fast food, Alfa Enterprises has identified
a gap in the market for a no-nonsense cook book which would be affordable to buy but would also be an ideal gift to
receive.
A Survival Cookery lesson which was held by Mrs Emerson in Home Economics was the ideal place to use as a focus
group. The group learned that young adults would happily pay £5 or £6 for an easy-to-understand set of recipes
which were fun to prepare and within their budget.
At this stage, the Operations Team has given themselves the task of pulling recipes, methods and design together
to create a unique and fun product, and are considering some of the following chapter titles:
Breakfasts – Rushing to Lectures
Lunches – Cheaper than the Café
Dinners – It’s been a long day …
Desserts and Cakes – everyone deserves a treat!
Late night snacks – let’s watch a movie?
The company plan to launch the product in the New Year, and are networking with the local community, colleges and
universities in order to take the product to market. Watch this space!
Thereafter, Alfa members will undertake the University of Strathclyde Young Enterprise Company Examination,
and prepare for the Ayrshire Finals which are held in April 2017.
Background: Alfa is a group of 14 budding business individuals from Belmont Academy’s S5 & S6, who have joined the Young Enterprise Company Programme. Having secured finance by selling Halloween baking and sweets to pupils throughout October, they are now actively developing their product, led by Robin McGregor and Paul McGuiness.
Susan Glass
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The Belmont Chemistry team was Charlotte MacDowall 3 CumB, Rose Saville 2 KinB, Rachel Hart 4 ArA and Abbie
Middleton 3 LomB. The ‘Top of the Bench’ competition is organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and
Strathclyde University. We were third out of 21 teams and this was our first entry to the annual competition.
Teams were entered from all over Glasgow and the West of Scotland. George Hardie and Amy Andrews
accompanied the team to Strathclyde on the night of Thursday 24th November. Well done girls!
Jeanette Brennan
Principal Teacher of Chemistry
English Blog and Twitter
The English Department is now online. Please follow us on Twitter (@belmont_english) to find out what’s going on in
the department as well as interesting articles, revision advice, and reading recommendations for our discerning
pupils. You can also visit our Blog (https://belmontacademyenglishdepartment.wordpress.com) for additional
resources and information.
Public Speaking Competitions
Michael Lafferty and Gemma Munro took part in this year’s Victim Support South Ayrshire Public Speaking
Competition. Both Michael and Gemma spoke about Hate Crime and were excellent in their content and delivery as
well as raising awareness of how Victim Support Scotland plays such an important role in tackling this issue. They
were complimented by the judges on their maturity and level of detail but were sadly pipped to the post.
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Youth Speaks Competition
Massive congratulations to this year’s Rotary Youth Speaks team. Senior pupils, Beth Murdoch, Sophie Lafferty
and Monica McCrorie, presented an engaging and polished speech, entitled “I’m So Bored: The 21st Century
Affliction”, to a packed room of rotarians and other guests on Tuesday 29th November. Although they were
narrowly beaten to the top spot by Wellington School, the Belmont team claimed second place and therefore go
through to the district round in Glasgow as representatives of the Rotary Club of Alloway.
Drama Workshop
The Department was very lucky to welcome Wendy Faraone to work with S2/3 pupils in a drama workshop with a
Q&A on working in the industry. Wendy has been an on-set acting coach for Disney for 13 years starting in Hannah
Montana and going on to work in Ant Farm, I’m with the Band, Crash and Bernstein, I Didn’t Do It, Wizards of
Waverly Place, Sonny With A Chance and Liv And Maddie which she also directed. In addition to this she travels
around the world teaching in acting workshops.
Wendy explained the schedule for acting on sit-coms and how much writing, rehearsing and re-writing goes into
each episode. Using two students, Rachel Gilchrist (whom Wendy privately coaches and mentors) and Emma
Hawken, Wendy demonstrated how she coaches an actor through a script and the girls gave a performance for the
group.
Wendy went on to do a question and answer session and gave advice on acting, writing and directing with the key
message being to train as much as possible wherever possible.
Normally Wendy only teaches in specific workshops. However she was delighted to come to Belmont Academy given
the support it gives students who wish to pursue Performing Arts as a career which she has seen though working
with Rachel. She said ‘growing up I lived and breathed drama, choir and dance and I want to promote support for
performing arts all over the country. I loved visiting Rachel’s school, Belmont Academy, and would love to do a
workshop with the students the next time I’m in Scotland.’ Claire Grant
Principal Teacher of English
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Making Thinking Visible routines are now part of everyday teaching. They have been highly
successful in all classes from S1 to S6 in Modern Languages. Here are some examples of
pupils’ answers.
Think – Puzzle – Explore
We have been blessed again this year with amazing Spanish Projects! From La Tomatina to la Salamandra de Barcelona, from La Ligua to Bull fighting, topics
chosen by our S3 pupils were varied and interesting. The project started from the
Think – Puzzle – Explore routine when pupils were asked what they thought or knew
about Spain. Then, in groups, they were able to make connections between the
various things mentioned. Finally, individually or in groups, they chose to research and
explore a topic of interest. Here are some of the fabulous results!
@MFLBelmont
We are on Twitter! Our brand new Twitter account was inaugurated last month with some of our
best S3 Spanish projects followed by our Day of the Dead Special display. 120 tweets and over 50
followers later, we are taking the opportunity to use this valuable tool to share revision tips, pupils’ work and
relevant articles to our pupils, but also fun pictures and our love of languages! Follow us @MFLBelmont!
El Día de los Muertos
Our Day of the Dead event this year took our second years to a whole new
level. Our S2 pupils got the chance to learn about the event as part of
their Spanish taster unit. S4 Spanish students started making sugar skull
masks, soon followed by the S3 Language and Culture class. Altogether, 4
year groups teamed up to put together this amazing display!
Tapas The senior Spanish classes made traditional Spanish Tapas thanks to
the HE department and enjoyed them in the library with the S3 Language and
Culture pupils.
Caroline Kennedy
Principal Teacher of Modern Languages
15
London Trip – June 2017
Next June 40 pupils will be travelling to London with the Music Deaprtment for two nights. We will be going to see
two West End Musicals and going on a Backstage Tour. We will also be doing some sightseeing around the capital
for appropriate photo opportunities. Everyone from S1 – S6 was invited to apply for a place and we have a mixed
age group with all year groups represented. We don’t know what shows we will be going to see but we will keep
everyone posted!
David Moore
Teacher of Music/Trip Leader
Pupil Success
Saraswati Neyar has gained a place in the West of Scotland String Orchestra
Lucy Pye will play with the West of Scotland Symphony Orchestra next session and has also secured a place as
deputy leader of cello section in the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
Rebecca O’ Mahoney achieved Distinction in her Grade 7 Flute
Scott McClure has been offered an unconditional/reserve place at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow
Sophia Constantinou was chosen to participate in an exchange visit with students from Peabody Institute,
Baltimore .
Sophia Constantinou and Sarah Smith performed with the West of Scotland Orchestra in Italy during the summer
holiday.
Performing in the Community and Representing Belmont Academy
Vocal Ensemble sang at the Masonhill Crematorium Candlelight Service on 11th December and gave very sensitive
performances at this service of Reflection.
Following a residential weekend at Dumfries House, 16 pupils represented Belmont Academy as they performed
with the South Ayrshire Chamber Choir and Orchestra on 27th November in Ayr Baptist Church and 9th December
in St Nicholas Church.
Amy Paterson
Lara Frew
Rachel Moore
Jennifer Faulds
Elizabeth Robinson
Jenni Irvine
Sophie Lafferty
Mirren Muir
Ruth Stevenson
Rory Russell
Scott McClure
Sarah Smith
Robin McGregor
Deborah Nicol
Lucy Pye
Rosie Middleton
Rory O’Hara represented Belmont in a performance with South Ayrshire Brass Band in St Columba Church Ayr on
9th December.
Students from University of West Of Scotland are working each week along with Belmont Academy Music Staff to
set up a Music Tech Club to allow pupils to develop skills in the use of music technology and to use music technology
creatively in sound production. Jennie McCutcheon
Principal Teacher of Music
16
Children in Need
Well done to all S1 and 2 Home Economics pupils, who helped raise
£139 for Children in Need by donating money to make Pudsey Bear
cakes during their Home Economics lessons.
Christmas Fair Baking
Thanks to our Senior Practical Cake Craft classes and our S3
Hospitality classes for helping to bake items for the school’s
Christmas fair. This was a great success and helped to raise money
for the school fund.
Languages and Culture Tapas event
Senior Spanish pupils helped to produce tapas for the S3
Languages and Culture class, who were treated to a tapas event.
Mrs Gillespie led the senior pupils, who worked extremely hard to
produce a range of dishes including, Paella, Patatas Bravas and
Tortilla. Thanks to Mrs Cooper for her Churros and Chocolate
sauce, which were as popular as ever!
Survival Cookery
Mrs Emerson and Mrs Leslie have completed a session of survival
cookery for S6 wider achievement pupils. Pupils were involved in
choosing the dishes that were cooked and produced both a main
course and a pudding.
Duke of Edinburgh lunch time Cookery Club
Twenty pupils have taken part in the Duke of Edinburgh cookery
club every Monday lunch time. Pupils have prepared a range of
savoury and baked goods during this time. Most pupils are working
towards their Bronze Award, however, some pupils will continue to
produce a range of more challenging dishes after Christmas to
achieve a Silver or Gold Award. Aileen Emerson
Principal Teacher of Home Economics
17
For Hallowe’en the Maths Department had an activities day for all pupils
from S1 to S3. Pupils were put into groups where they had to work
together to compete with other groups.
S1 had to use their maths skills to solve a ‘BIDMAS’ Murder Mystery (a
topic they have recently learned about) They discovered that Mr Hodge
had poisoned Mrs McCaughey and Mrs McFarlane because they had used
up all the jotters!
S2 and S3 pupils were also involved in a maths based relay race.
All events were designed to be fun but enable pupils to apply maths skills
in a different context.
Huge thanks goes to Mrs McCaughey’s S4 class who volunteered as
markers and helpers for all classes.
Rhona McFarlane
Principal Teacher of Mathematics
18
As the first part of the year comes to an end the PE department has had some real success from their extra-
curricular clubs. As the netball, football and volleyball teams continue to thrive in both league and Scottish cup
competitions – it has been the boys’ rugby and girls’ gymnastics teams who have particularly shone.
Three teams took part in the first ever South Ayrshire Schools’ gymnastics competition. We had two teams
representing at Level 1 and one at Level 2. After weeks of practise all three teams performed exceptionally well
on both the vault and floor. Our level 2 teams placed 1st and 6th and our level 3 team was also 1st – this means we
have two teams representing Belmont and South Ayrshire at the Scottish School Gymnastics Championship in the
New Year. Well done girls and Miss Neil!
In rugby, the boys qualified for the Ayrshire Cup at S1, S2 and Under 16 age groups by coming top of the South
Ayrshire Conference leagues. The boys competed in several matches against schools across South Ayrshire to
earn their place at the finals at Rugby Park on Friday 9th December. After an exciting and competitive night of
rugby the S1 team lost out to Loudoun 31-22, the S2 team snatched a victory of 35-28 against Auchinleck and in
another close match Belmont Under 16s just missed out 17-14 to Auchinleck. It is a fantastic effort by Mr Murrie
and the boys to get three teams in to the final and a great achievement to bring home a trophy. Well done!
Finally, the PE staff continue to go to all our cluster Primary schools and deliver PE to a variety of age groups. As
well as providing a positive learning experience for the pupils, it also provides the chance for teachers to upskill in
this aspect of the curriculum. The initiative continues to positively impact PE in primaries, as well as furthering
strengthening the transition process for the older pupils.
Golfing Success
S1 Belmont pupil Max Barclay has enjoyed recent success in golf. He represented Turnberry in the Ayrshire U18
League. The team was delighted to win the league.
Max Barclay with the
Ayrshire Under 18’s League Trophy
19
Skiing Success
Belmont Academy Team A has reached the final of the Scottish Schools Ski Association dual slalom competition
which is to be held at Snowfactor, Braehead. Last year they were placed 4th overall and were very disappointed not
to receive a medal. Hopefully, that may be improved on this year.
The boys involved in Belmont Academy A team are:
Callum Gray- 3rd year
Joe Zonfrillo- 3rd year
Finlay Cowan-3rd year
Harry Dawson-5th year
Football News Third year pupil, Harry Evans, has enjoyed a great deal of success recently. He plays football with Ayr Valspar U15
but has been selected as part of the regional squad for his age group. In addition to this Harry was recently
selected for the SYFA under 15 Scotland Development football
team. He is one of only 22 boys in the National squad chosen from
football clubs across the whole of Scotland so this is an amazing
achievement. Harry will have the opportunity to play teams from
other countries as part of the squad and was part of the team who
recently enjoyed a 3-1 victory over South Queensland State from
Australia. Well Done Harry!
20
Karting Success
Oliver Hunter finished 3rd in the Scottish WSKC Karting Championship for 2016. Having changed class at
beginning of season, he missed the first two rounds and had to play catch up all season.
Oliver competed in the British NKF championship, and travelled throughout Britain. He won the Rookie trophy at
the world’s premier kart track, where Lewis Hamilton raced.
Testing has begun for next season, but Oliver is looking to race in the Junior Touring Car series, which will be
around racetracks, such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park.
Caroline Peacock/Senior Communication Team
21
Home Economics
Belmont Academy S3 Home Economics pupils recently took
part in the Café Ginger Challenge. For this challenge pupils
were asked to develop a soup and a sandwich product to go on
the Café Ginger menu. 80 pupils developed their ideas and 4
finalists were chosen to prepare their dishes for Café Ginger
owner Eddy Ecrepont. Mr Ecrepont came to the school on 7th
September to sample the finalists’ dishes. After much
deliberation he chose Marion Murdoch’s Carrot and Courgette
soup and Shannon Doolan’s Supper Salmon Bagel as the
winners. Both pupils received a Café Ginger voucher and will
have their dish placed on the Café Ginger menu for a week in
October. Jarred Swan and Kayleigh Reid were the runners up
and each received a £5 voucher. Mr Ecrepont was so
impressed by their dishes that he decided to put them on the
menu for a week as well.
News from Campus Police Officer
Pupils who are part of PC Gilmour’s Duke of Edinburgh Bronze
award group recently worked together to build a wooden picnic
bench. On completion the bench was donated to Braehead
Primary School and has been placed within their school garden.
Braehead primary pupils enjoy their new picnic bench. Looking on are Belmont pupils Shaun Pender, Christopher Neil, Jack Pitt and campus Police Officer Steven Gilmour.
Pupil Achievements
Belmont Academy pupils Sarah and Rachel Smith continue to enjoy huge success playing Chess. Sarah toured this
year with the WSSSO in Tuscancy and both girls represented Scotland in the Euroyouth Chess Championships in
Prague. This was in addition to the Glorney, where both received awards as the highest scoring members of their
team. Rachel was the highest scoring member of the entire Scottish squad this year. Well done to both girls.
In addition to this both girls continue to excel in Music. Sarah recently passed her Grade 8 piano and is now
working on her performance diploma. Rachel is also working towards this and both girls are expected to complete
this prior to leaving school.
22
Fundraising Achievement Fifth year Belmont Academy pupil Mitchell Lamont recently participated in the Action Challenge 2016 China Trek.
Many participants in the event were raising money for the Ayrshire Hospice and Mitchell wanted to complete the
challenge in memory of his Mum who sadly died from cancer. The event took place from 21st until 29th October and
covered a distance of 50km. Mitchell was part of a team of 30 people. They were led by a team of 3 guides, Yaxin,
Jack and Joe. Mitchell has raised the amazing amount of £6000 on his own. When this is added to the amount
raised by the other participants a total of £40,000 has been donated to the Ayrshire Hospice. Here is Mitchell’s
personal record of the experience.
Science News Pupils at Belmont Academy have been interacting with scientists from across the UK in an event aimed at getting
students excited about science.
“I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here” is an online public engagement event where school students from across the
UK meet and interact with scientists. It’s an X Factor-style competition between scientists, where the students
are the judges.
Students challenge the scientists over fast-paced online text-based live chats. They ask the scientists anything
they want, and vote for their favourite scientist who will win money to fund their projects.
The aim of the event is to get students excited about science. Students see that scientists are normal people,
learn that science lessons relate to real life, and become more enthused about science.
The event ran from 7th-18th November 2016 across the UK.
The event is funded principally by the Wellcome Trust, an independent global charitable foundation dedicated to
improving health. Additional funders in November 2016 include the Royal Society of Chemistry and the
Physiological Society.
Students at nearly 150 schools from across the UK interacted with 45 scientists across 9 different themed
“zones” this November.
23
Remembrance Day Recently S1 pupil Josh Piper brought in a medal which he had achieved for his
commitment to selling poppies for Remembrance Day. Josh sold so many
poppies last year in Prestwick that he was awarded a medal for his efforts.
He did this along with other members of his family. While Josh was in P7 at
Kincaidston Primary he was also given the opportunity to go and visit the
factory in Edinburgh where the poppies are produced. He was even allowed to
make some poppies himself. Josh was very proud to tell others about his
achievement.
In addition to this, the school held very successful Remembrance Day
Assemblies which all year groups were able to attend. The Assemblies
featured inputs from the school’s chaplains and also the Rights Respecting
Group. Everyone agreed that the Assemblies were a very successful way to
mark Remembrance Day.
Caroline Peacock/Senior Communication Team
24
The charities committee has been working hard this term and as a school we have shown tremendous generosity
raising money for worthwhile causes. On 15th September we held a bake sale which raised £232.55. The money
raised from this event helped 2 senior pupils fund their trip to Africa to help build a school, to give less fortunate
children an opportunity to gain an education. Following this we held a ‘Go Purple Day’ for Ayrshire Hospice. We had
a wear something purple event, purple nail bar, cake sale and face painting to name a few. This raised £530.77. We
had representatives from Ayrshire Hospice and the Ayrshire Post in school to witness all of our fundraising
events. Since the beginning of December a focus has been placed on raising money for Social Bite – a chain of
charitable cafés which employ homeless people and donate all of their profit to solving social challenges both here
and abroad. 25% of their employees were previously homeless and they work with homeless people to give them
employability skills and shelter until they get on their feet. Before the end of term we will be holding a tuckshop
to help raise money for this charity. Other areas within school such as the Community Aid group and Senior
Student Council have also been running events in which the profits will go to the same charity. To date, we have
raised around £2000.00 for Social Bite. We aim to have a ‘handover’ event where we will present the cheque to
Josh Littlejohn (from Social Bite) and take some photographs. Keep up the good work Belmont!!
Linzi Dunsmuir
This year the Belmont Community Aid Team has been continuing to work hard on strengthening the bond between
our school and its local community. The small group of senior students have coordinated a range of projects this
term based on values of care, compassion and social justice.
3 Tin Challenge
Belmont pupils were challenged to bring 3 tins of food to school to help the work of the Salvation Army in
November. A fantastic 1000 tins of food were donated at our Harvest Thanksgiving Assemblies and were collected
by the Community Aid Team. The food will help the Salvation Army provide emergency food parcels for those in
need this winter.
Cycle for Social Bite
Over 250 pupils cycled 1300 miles, the distance from John
O’Groats to Lands’ End and back to Ayr, on exercise bikes in the
Atrium of the school over 5 days. All pupils involved raised a
total of £661.11 which will be donated to Social Bite – a social
business aimed at supporting the homeless, lonely and isolated.
25
Food Collecting Units
The group is in the process of building food collecting units that
will be used to collect and provide emergency food parcels from
and to residents in the Belmont catchment area.
Community Christmas Cards
The team has hand-made over 200 Christmas Cards that will be delivered to our neighbours in the local community
over the festive period. The cards have been cleverly created using a range of craft materials.
Plans for 2017
The Community Aid Team plan on further developing their work within the local community next year. Watch this
space!
Rose Dunlop
& Belmont Community Aid Team
26
Once again this year’s dances were a great success! Monday, Tuesday and Thursday saw all year groups having the
opportunity to put their glad rags on and party away to some live ceilidh music, more up-to-date tunes and of
course some old classics … the seniors even learned the Slosh! I cannot thank the staff enough, specifically those
in PE, for their hard work in teaching the dances and making each night such an enjoyable experience for all pupils
involved. The support given by the senior pupils, at the tuck shop and encouraging the younger pupils to join in, was
also much appreciated and a special mention needs to go to Mr Murrie, who compered all three nights with a smile
and some witty banter! Band already booked for 2017!!
The HWB group also organised the first Primary 7 Christmas Dance. This took place at Belmont Academy on 14th
December and was a huge success. Our aim was to provide all the cluster pupils with a transition event earlier in
the year to give them a chance to meet those who will be their fellow S1 classmates next session. One hundred and
thirty P7 pupils attended and danced the night away! Jill Flanagan
Acting Principal Teacher of Physical Education
27
28
The Praise and Reward system continues to go from strength to strength at Belmont Academy. Firmly embedded
as a Belmont tradition, pupils are receiving points for departmental competitions, charity fund raising, attendance,
punctuality, participation in school events/sports and wider achievement activities away from the classroom and
much, much more! One of our new initiatives this year has been the introduction of “Token Tuesdays” – taking place
on the last Tuesday of each month, one teacher token is given out during every single period that day – creating a
surge in points and a buzz around the school amongst the staff and the pupils.
Congratulations must go to Kintyre who had the most pupils in school uniform during a recent survey this term – 2nd
Bute, 3rd Cumbrae, 4th Arran and 5th Lomond.
In addition to a movie afternoon at the end of this term for the interim leading House, we also have a mystery
Christmas present prize-draw - open to all pupils with 100% attendance in each House.
At present Cumbrae is leading the totals (2387 points), thanks partly to a concerted effort with regards to wider
achievement. Second place Kintyre (2041 points) is just keeping Lomond (2037 points) at bay, whilst Arran (2007
points) and defending champions Bute (1845 points) are clearly hoping for a strong finish to the year in the Spring
and Summer terms.
Richard Ledingham
2016 has been another very successful year for Duke of Edinburgh Award at Belmont
Academy with 108 completed awards across all three sections, Bronze, Silver and
Gold. Everyone who has completed their Award will receive an invitation to the South
Ayrshire Council DofE presentation ceremony in February and we hope everyone will be
able to come and receive their Award Certificates in person. As an extra-curricular
activity, DofE relies heavily on the excellent support of volunteer leaders and helpers,
both teaching staff and parents. To everyone who has helped or continues to help a
very big "thank you". We simply couldn't do it without you. For next year we have 100
Bronze enrolments which is a record for our school. At Silver we have 38 and 32 at
Gold and we look forward to working with you all over the coming months.
Marilyn Pope
Duke of Edinburgh Co-Ordinator
29
We continue with our Assemblies Programme organised and led by the Senior Student Council and House Teams in
collaboration with the Chaplains and other agencies.
Please see programme below:
Thursday 22nd December 2016 Christmas Service
Monday 9th January 2017 New Beginnings
Friday 27th January 2017 Holocaust Memorial Day
Tuesday 21st February 2017 Global Perspective
Ian Watson
30
At Belmont Academy, we pride ourselves on our high standards of school uniform. We believe that school uniform
promotes a positive school ethos, a smart attitude for work and represents a commitment to the values of our
school.
We recognise that the majority of pupils at Belmont Academy, with support from their parents, are conscientious
and take pride in their appearance and we thank you for your continued support in this important matter.
This session, we have continued carrying out ‘spot checks’ and awarding House points to all pupils who are wearing
the expected core school uniform as part of our Praise and Reward scheme.
Pupils are asked to borrow a school tie for the day if they appear at school in the morning without one. This is
monitored by SLT and Guidance staff on a daily basis.
Uniform Expectations
The following items should be worn by all pupils as it represents our core uniform;
A school shirt (black or white)
Black trousers or skirt (not denim jeans)
A school tie
Black or dark school shoes (not trainers)
Appropriate school bag
The following may also be worn
Black/grey jumper or cardigan (tie should be visible)
School blazer
Kirsty Maxwell
Principal Teacher of Arran House
31
This term has seen the appointment of a new team of staff for the Belmont Academy Stationery Shop. The
successful candidates at interview were S2 pupils; Dominic Henson, Stephanie Hay, Emilia Summers and Aidan
Moore as pictured below.
Pupils can purchase the Belmont Academy branded stationery ranging from pencils to USB drives in a variety of
colours for a very affordable price every Wednesday lunchtime in the school atrium.
New items on order are drawstring bags (ideal for PE kit/trainers) and purple rulers priced at £3 and £1
respectively. On sale soon!
Please contact Kirsty Maxwell (PT Guidance, Arran House) for any purchases.
Kirsty Maxwell
Principal Teacher of Arran House
32
An important role for our S6 Leadership Team is to serve on the Senior Student Council. So far, this has been
another busy start to the year! Our S6 Leaders have taken on this important role with passion and enthusiasm.
They have worked tirelessly on a number of events including the successful and well-attended Hallowe’en Dance
with their Kyle counterparts. They also supported Belmont Academy’s first Pre-Prom Event where senior pupils
had a chance to go and try dresses, kilts or suits from some of Ayrshire’s top stores.
Our School Captains have participated in recent Assemblies, helping to deliver important messages to their fellow
students. These have included the Remembrance Day Assembly which was very well received by their fellow
students and staff. The SSC are currently assisting with the organisation of events on the busy Christmas
calendar, including several fund-raising events for the charity Social Bite. In addition to this, the SSC has been
involved in the running of the school Christmas Dances which are always one of the most popular events in the
school calendar. Lynsey Pollock/Iain Phillips
Study Leave will no longer be an option for S4, S5 and S6 pupils during the
Prelim exams. This means our expectation is that all S4-6 pupils will be in
school, attending all classes during the Prelim exams. Obviously pupils will
be released from classes to attend pertinent exams but they should
thereafter return to class.
We will ensure that Study facilities are available in school, and that staff
are on hand to support our pupils to maximise their attainment.
Prelims will run from: Monday 16th January 2017 – Friday 27th January 2017. (Both dates inclusive)
Brian Sinclair
Depute Head Teacher/SQA Co-Ordinator
33
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Monday 16th January Monday 16th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
English Higher 1 - RUAE 1 hour 30 minutes 9.00-10.30 - Hall & Gym
English Higher 2 - Critical Reading 1 hour 30 minutes 11.15 -12.45 - Hall & Gym
English Adv Higher 1 - Literary Study 1 hour 30 minutes 9.00-10.30 - Stage
English Adv Higher 2 - Textual Analysis 1 hour 30 minutes 11.15 -12.45 - Stage
French Adv Higher 1- Reading/Translation 1 hour 30 minutes 9.00-10.30 - Hall
Art and Design National 5 Art and Design Studies 1 hour 10 minutes 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall
Physics National 5 Exam Paper 2 hours 1.35 - 3.35 - Hall early lunch @ 12.45
French Adv Higher 2 - Listening/Writing 1 hour 20 minutes 2.05 - 3.25 Modern languages 3
Tuesday 17th January Tuesday 17th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
English National 5 1- RUAE 1 hour 9.00-10.00 - Hall & Gym
English National 5 2 - Critical Reading 1 hour 30 minutes 11.00-12.30 - Hall & Gym
French Higher 1- Listening/Writing 60 minutes 9.00 - 10.00 Modern Languages 3
French Higher 2 - Reading/Directed Writing 1hour 40 mins 1.35 - 3.15 - Hall - early lunch @ 12.45
Computing Science Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 1.35 -3.35 - Hall - early lunch @ 12.45
Computing Science Adv Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 1.35 -3.35 - Hall - early lunch @ 12.45
Computing Science National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Wednesday 18th January Wednesday 18th January
coincident exams coincident exams
Mathematics Higher Paper 1 - Non-Calculator 1hour 10 minutes 9.00 - 10.10 - Hall
34
Mathematics Higher Paper 2 - Calculator 1hour 30 minutes 11.15 - 12.45 - Hall
Mathematics Adv Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Gym
Graphic Communication National 5 Exam Paper 1hr 30 Min 9.00 - 10.30 - Hall
Politics Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 15 minutes 9.00 - 11.15 - Gym - Caitlin McGhee: H Maths/Politics
Psychology National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 2.05 - 3.35 - Gym
Physical Education Higher Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall - Tiegan Philbin: H PE/Psych
Music Higher Listening(Understanding Music) 1 hour 2.05-3.05 - Music Dept
Thursday 19th January Thursday 19th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
Biology National 5 1 and 2 Units 1 & 3 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Hall
Biology Higher 1 and 2 Units 1 & 2 2 hours 30 minutes 9.00-11.30 - Gym
Human Biology Higher 1 and 2 Units 1 & 2 2 hours 30 minutes 9.00-11.30 - Gym
Biology Adv Higher Sections A&B Units 1 and 2 2 hours 30 minutes 9.00-11.30 - Gym
Design and Manufacture Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Stage
RMPS Higher Exam Paper 2 Hours 15 Minutes 9.00 - 11.15 - Hall
RMPS National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 1.15 - 2.45 - Hall
Design and Manufacture National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 1.15 - 2.45 - Hall - Euan Malcolm: N5 Music/DM
Music Nat 5 Music Listening(Understanding Music) 45mins 1.15 - 2.00 - Music Dept - 2 rooms
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Friday 20th January Friday 20th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
Modern Studies National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 10 minutes 9.00 - 10.10 - Hall
35
Modern Studies Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 15 minutes 9.00 - 11.15 - Hall
Physics Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 30 Minutes 9.00 - 11.30 - Gym
Physics Adv Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 30 Minutes 9.00 - 11.30 - Gym
Music Adv Higher Listening(Understanding Music) 1 hour 15 1.15 - 2.30 - Music Dept
Monday 23rd January Monday 23rd January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
History National 5 1 - Writing 1 hour 10 minutes 9.00 - 10.10 - Hall
History Higher 1 - writing 1 hour 40 minutes 9.00 - 10.40 - Hall
History Adv Higher 1 - writing 3 hours 9.00 - 12.00 - Hall
German Higher 2 - Reading/Directed Writing 1 hour 40 minutes 9.00 - 10.40 - Modern Languages 3
German Adv Higher 1- Reading/Translation 1hour 30 minutes 9.00 - 10.30 - Gym
Environmental Science Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 30 mins 9.00 - 11.30 - Gym
Environmental Science National 5 Exam Paper 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Gym
German Higher 1- Listening/Writing 1hour 12.00 - 1.00 - Modern Languages 3
German Adv Higher 2 - Listening/Discursive Writing 1 hour 20 minutes 2.05 - 3.25 - Modern Languages 3
Accounting National 5 Exam Paper 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall
Accounting Higher Exam Paper 1.35 - 3.35 - Hall early lunch @ 12.45
Health & Food Tech National 5 Exam Paper 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Tuesday 24th January Tuesday 24th January
coincident exams coincident exams
Chemistry National 5 1 paper sections 1&2 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Hall
36
Chemistry Higher 1 paper sections 1 & 2 2 hours 30 minutes 9.00-11.30 - Gym
Chemistry Adv Higher 1 paper sections 1 & 2 2 hours 30 minutes 9.00-11.30 - Gym
Spanish Adv Higher 1- Reading/Translation 1 hour 30 minutes 9.00-10.30 - Stage
Psychology Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Hall Ellie Watson: H Psych/Chem
Heather Vietch: H Psych/AdvH Ch
Spanish Adv Higher 2 - Listening/Writing 1 hour 20 minutes 2.05-3.25 - Modern Languages 3
Wednesday 25th January Wednesday 25th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
Geography National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 45 minutes 9.00 - 10.45 - Hall (Double desks)
Geography Higher Exam Paper 2 hours 15 minutes 9.00 - 11.15 - Gym (Double desks)
Geography Adv Higher Exam Paper 2 hrs 30 mins 9.00 - 11.30 - Stage (Double desks)
French National 5 1 - Listening 30mins 12.30 - 1.00 - Modern Languages 3
French National 5 2 - Reading/Writing 1hour 30 minutes 2.05 - 3.35 - Hall
Sociology Higher Exam Paper 1 hours 20 minutes 2.05 3.35 - Hall
Thursday 26th January Thursday 26th January
no coincident exams no coincident exams
Mathematics National 5 Paper 1 - Non-Calculator 1hour 9.00 - 10.00 - Hall +Gym
Mathematics National 5 Paper 2 - Calculator 1hour 30 minutes 10.45 - 12.15 - Hall + Gym
Art and Design Higher Art and Design Studies 2 Hours 12.45 - 2.45 - early lunch at 12 noon - Hall
Business Management National 5 Exam Paper 1 hour 30 minutes 1.15 - 2.45 - Hall
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Friday 27th January Friday 27th January
coincident exams coincident exams
Graphic Communication Higher Written paper 2 Hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Hall
37
Graphic Communication Adv Higher Written paper 2 Hours 9.00 - 11.00 - Hall
Business Management HIgher Exam Paper 2 hours 15 minutes 9.00 - 11.15 - Hall Robin McGregor: H BM/H Spanish
Spanish National 5 2 - Reading/Writing 1hour 30 minutes 9.00 - 10.30 Gym
Spanish Higher 2 - Reading/Directed Writing 1 hour 40 minutes 9.00 - 10.40 Gym
Spanish National 5 1 - Listening 30 minutes 11.30 - 12.00 Modern Languages 3
Spanish Higher 1- Listening/Writing 1 Hour 1.15 - 2.15 Modern Languages 3
Subject Level Paper Timing Time & Venue
Friday 2nd December 2016
Hospitality Practical Cookery National 5 Practical 3 -4 hours 9.00 - 12.30 - Home Economics Dept
Wednesday 7th Dec 2016
Hospitality Practical Cookery National 5 Practical 3 - 4 hours 9.00 - 1.00 - Home Economics Dept
Friday 9th December 2016
Hospitality Practical Cookery National 5 Practical 3 - 4 hours 9.00 - 12.30 - Home Economics Dept
Wednesday 14th Dec 2016
Hospitality Practical Cookery National 5 Practical 3 - 4 hours 9.00 - 1.00 - Home Economics Dept
38
PRELIM EXAMS – EXPECTATIONS AND GUIDELINES
UNIFORM
Pupils should attend all exams
wearing their usual school
uniform
BEHAVIOUR
Prelim Exams mark a crucial time in school. Please treat with due importance. Show this by behaving positively and
appropriately when coming into school for exams. Corridor wandering is not permitted. The Dining Hall and Atrium
are available as a waiting area between exams where required. All pupils should be in normal timetabled classes
unless sitting an exam.
The Invigilators are in charge of the management and organisation of the exams. They will issue instructions which
must be followed. REMEMBER to be polite and courteous and to bring all necessary equipment for your exams.
REVISION TIPS
Plan your time to take account of when your exams are.
Review all your notes but concentrate on the parts you find
difficult rather than things you can do well.
Your teachers will have given you revision materials.
You can also use online resources – see below for details
PHONES, IPODS
Please be aware that you are not allowed to
have mobile phones, IPods and MP3 players
with you in the exam hall. If you are seen
with them they will be confiscated and you
may lose the award for your exam.
STUDY LEAVE
Study Leave is not granted for Prelim Exams. This is an
Authority directive and applies to all of our secondary schools.
The expectation is that all seniors will attend normal
timetabled classes unless they have an exam.
There may be study facilities offered to individuals by
teachers/departments.
Prelim Exams will take place from Wednesday 13th January
2016 to Friday 22nd January 2016 inclusive.
PROCEDURES
Rooms and seat numbers are on your
individual timetable and are posted
in the Dining Hall before each exam.
Remember to report for any exam 15
minutes before the exam start time.
Alternative Assessment
arrangements will be relayed to
individual pupils.
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.sqa.org.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize
www.leckiemindmaps.com
www.studygs.net/
www.howtostudy.com/
www.testtakingtips.com/
www.buzzin.net/revision_tips/skills/sk-00.htm
THOUGHTS FOR STUDY TIME
“Learning without thought is labour lost;
thought without learning is perilous”
“Some people drink at the fountain of
knowledge; others just gargle”
Do your best!
Good Luck!
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Subject Description and Day Art and Design Ms Maestranzi
Lunchtime on Tuesday and Friday Mrs Murray After school on Monday and Lunchtime on Thursday Miss Wills Afterschool on Tuesday and Wednesday Miss Fuller Afterschool on Thursday All senior students welcome to attend anytime/day listed above
Biology
National 5 Higher Thursday at Lunchtime Advanced Higher
Business Education Accounting – Lunchtimes/after school any day except Wednesday, by arrangement with Mrs Brodie Admin & IT – Lunchtimes any day, by arrangement with Mrs Cunningham Business Management N5 – Lunchtime Wednesday and after school Monday with Mrs Cunningham Business Management H – Lunchtime Tuesday and afterschool Wednesday by arrangement with Mrs Glass
Chemistry All levels welcome! Tuesday after school (3.45pm – 4.45pm) in Chemistry Lab 1. Wednesday Lunchtime in Chemistry Lab 4
Computing
All levels welcome! Tuesday Lunchtime with Mrs Kay Tuesday after school with Miss Carmichael
Design & Technology All levels welcome! Every Lunchtime expect THURSDAY LUNCHTIME. Additionally, Thursday after school (2.55pm – 3.55pm)
English
National 5 – Thursday Lunchtime (12.20pm – 1pm). Also, every second Wednesday after school with Mr Pringle. Higher – Thursday after school (3.00pm – 3.50pm). Also, every Friday lunchtime and every other Wednesday after school with Mr Pringle.
Maths All levels welcome! Wednesday Lunchtime and Thursday after school (3.50pm – 4.50pm). Timetable is up in the Maths corridor on the staff base door.
Modern Languages Supported Study will be offered between Prelims and final Exams, this will be National 5 & Higher French and Spanish. Currently the department are offering Duke of Edinburgh skills in Spanish and Italian on a Thursday lunchtime. They also have homework drop in for the Junior pupils on a Tuesday.
Music National 5 – Thursday Lunchtime with Mr Moore Higher and Advanced Higher – Friday Lunchtime with Miss MacMillan/Mrs McCutcheon
Physical Education
Drop-in supported study is available every morning, lunchtime and after school. Speak to Mrs Flanagan for more information
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After a meticulous revamp, we are delighted with the new Belmont Academy website. The new design was the work
of former computer teacher Suzanne Kerr, but the whole school has been involved in populating the pages with up
to date information, study links, policy documents, pictures and good news stories. The aim was to create a “one
stop shop” for parents, staff, pupils and other stakeholders where current information is readily available. You can
find our new website at: http://www.belmont.sayr.sch.uk/
We hope you like the new-look website – and more importantly, can navigate to find what you need. Robin Pringle
The new Head Teacher of Belmont Academy has been appointed. Tracy Stewart from Irvine Royal Academy will
join Belmont on 14th February 2017. We wish Tracey great success.
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Date Event
Friday 23rd December 2016 School Closes at 2.30pm
Monday 9th January 2017 Pupils Return
Monday 9th January 2017 New Year Assemblies
Monday 16th January 2017 S4/5/6 Prelims Begin
Wednesday 25th January 2017 Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio and Meningitis C
Immunisations
Wednesday 25th January 2017 Parent Council Meeting at 7pm
Thursday 26th January 2017 Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio and Meningitis C
Immunisations
Thursday 26th January 2017 S6 Burns Supper
Friday 27th January 2017 Holocaust Memorial Day
Friday 27th January 2017 S4/5/6 Prelims End
Tuesday 7th February 2017 S2 Parents’ Evening – 5pm – 7pm
Wednesday 8th February 2017 S2 Options Begin
Thursday 9th February 2017 School Closes at 2.50pm
Friday 10th February 2017 Public Holiday
Monday 13th February 2017 Public Holiday
Tuesday 14th February 2017 In-Service Day
Friday 17th February 2017 S2 Options End
Wednesday 22nd February 2017 Parent Council Meeting at 7pm
Thursday 23rd February 2017 S3 Parents’ Evening
Friday 24th February 2017 S3 Options Start
Friday 3rd March 2017 S3 Options End
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