Emily Gibson 6R
Emily has spent the last two years undertaking a personal development qualification in the Science Faculty at Carrick Academy. She has been learning a number of skills which will help her as she goes off to study Biology at university in the autumn. One of her particularly proud achievements was tackling the building of a DNA double helix model of the enzyme Lysozyme. This 1 metre tall model arrived in hundreds of small pieces but perseverance and a sound knowledge of biology at N5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels helped Emily achieve her goal! Well Done Emily!!
Carrick Students Qualify for National Maths Final
Congratulations go to Poppy Kruse, Ellie McGill, Charli Purdie and Leo Stack, who represented Carrick at this morning’s Enterprising Maths Qualifier at Prestwick Academy. The team performed brilliantly, and were head and shoulders above the rest of the competitors from the other South Ayrshire secondary’s. They will compete against other local authorities at the final in Glasgow in November. This is our second year in a row we have made it to the final.
S6 Induction Day
Our new S6s had their iduction day on Friday. The students took part in team building exercises before practising their presentation skills. Finally we had a group of former pupils return to give their experiences of university, college, apprenticeships and employment.
Maybole Regeneration Project
Last week a group of our S3s were out at Maybole Castle learning about traditional construction techniques. These techniques will be used throughout the £6m regeneration of Maybole and there will be apprenticeships available for the young people in the area. The skills included bricklaying, stone masonry, sign making, slate roofing and plaster casting.
China Class Visit to Edinburgh Zoo
The S1 China class enjoyed a day out at Edinburgh Zoo on Tuesday 22nd May. We paid a visit to Sandie in the education centre and enjoyed walking around the zoo seeing the different animals especially the pandas and the Penguin Parade. We got an amazing view of the pandas close up eating bamboo!
Bike In A Box
Recently a group of S3/4 students completed the Bike In A Box course. Under supervision the students got to build an offroad dirt bike before then testing out their creation. The instructors couldn't praise our students highly enough. Well done to everyone who took part.
S6 Graduation
It was an emotional farewell to our S6 students who attended a graduation ceremony at The Carrick Centre on Friday. A massive thank you to everyone who helped make the event the success it was and we wish all our leavers a successful and happy future.
School and House Captains Group Task
The group task for the selection of the new school captains took place on Friday. The pupils were asked to comment on the new school – the things that they would like to take with them from Carrick and the ones that they would like to leave behind. The pupils gave really positive responses about the school and again highlight the positive relationships they have with staff, the access to support they get from their class teachers to support them in their learning and the wide range of activities that are on offer for them in the school.
Work Out! Graduation
Our Work Out! students graduated this week (18/4/18) in a ceremeony at Ayr Town Hall. The youngsters were a credit to themselves and the school.
S1 China Day
On Friday 23rd March all S1 pupils took part in a fun filled China Day. During the day pupils attended four workshops and through these learned about the Chinese Culture. These active workshops included a Traditional Tea Ceremony, Chinese Knotting, Plum Blossom Painting and Beyond the Panda.
Pupils had a really enjoyable day and learned many new things about China; ‘red pandas and giant panda are not related’, ‘tea is handpicked’, ‘bamboo is a type of grass that has formed in time and it is the fastest growing plant in the world’ and ‘Chinese knotting can take up to five hours’.
Thank you very much to Lily, Judy, Sisi and Sandie for coming down and sharing your expertise with us. We really appreciate you giving up your time to work with us.
Pupils had a really enjoyable day and learned many new things about China; ‘red pandas and giant panda are not related’, ‘tea is handpicked’, ‘bamboo is a type of grass that has formed in time and it is the fastest growing plant in the world’ and ‘Chinese knotting can take up to five hours’.
Thank you very much to Lily, Judy, Sisi and Sandie for coming down and sharing your expertise with us. We really appreciate you giving up your time to work with us.
Holocaust Memorial Day 2018
At Carrick all S2 pupils were involved in an interdisciplinary project, involving history, modern studies, RME and art, in recognition of Holcaust Memorial Day.
In RME pupils learned about Judaism, in history they learned about the Holocaust, in modern studies they learned about modern day genocides/ethnic cleansing, and in art pupils created a visual representation which showcased their learning across all of these subjects.
This project culminated on Friday the 26th of January when all S2 pupils attended a presentation run by two senior pupils, Anna Howie and Lee Kirkwood, who had recently arranged to visit Auschwitz concentration camp. At this presentation the pupil-created artwork was displayed and pupils listened to a live webcast from Holocaust survivor Janine Webber.
In RME pupils learned about Judaism, in history they learned about the Holocaust, in modern studies they learned about modern day genocides/ethnic cleansing, and in art pupils created a visual representation which showcased their learning across all of these subjects.
This project culminated on Friday the 26th of January when all S2 pupils attended a presentation run by two senior pupils, Anna Howie and Lee Kirkwood, who had recently arranged to visit Auschwitz concentration camp. At this presentation the pupil-created artwork was displayed and pupils listened to a live webcast from Holocaust survivor Janine Webber.
S1 Health & Wellbeing Day
S1 pupils enjoyed a Health and Wellbeing day on Monday lead by our S6 leadership Team. The day consisted of a Team Building Obstacle Course, Fitness Challenges and a health presentation which featured making your own fruit salad with Greek Yoghurt. A great day was had by all the feedback from S1 pupil is very positive. NHS Ayrshire and Arran came along at lunchtime to help support the work carried out by the boys by providing a stall on healthy eating and the dangers of smoking. Special thanks go to Ayrshire college marketing team for the advice they gave the boys in organising and managing an event, Tesco Ayr for providing the fruit and yoghurt and the school dinner ladies for helping prepare the fruits.
Enterprising Maths FInal
Carrick Academy took part in the Enterprising Maths FInal this week. Everyone had a great day, the girls performed very well and were commended by another teacher for their performance in the relay round. There were 70 teams in total with us finishing in overall 40th place. The school received a trophy and the girls all got goodie bags. A great experience for the girls which I’m sure will stay with them. Hopefully next year’s team will also make the final!
Well done to Poppy Kruse and Ellie McGill of S3 and S4 students Holly MacDonald and Lana Rodger.
Well done to Poppy Kruse and Ellie McGill of S3 and S4 students Holly MacDonald and Lana Rodger.
Scottish Book WEek
Carrick Academy is celebrating Scottish Book Week this week. As the theme of Book Week this year is NOURISH, we ran a photo competition where pupils had to send in a picture of them being caught reading.. and eating. There were some very imaginative entries and the winners received book tokens to spend at our Book Fair. Carrick Academy staff also took part in this competition with Mr. Minto’s photo being judged the best.
We are also taking part in ‘Drop Everything and Read’, which will take place on Thursday 30th and there is a poetry competition for all S1 and S2 pupils. The prize, a hamper full of Scottish goodies, will be awarded next week!
Congratulations to our prize winners:
Lyall McGawn: S1
Cullen Carter: S1
Finlay Izzat: S1
Luke Gibson: S2
DJ Alexander: S2
We are also taking part in ‘Drop Everything and Read’, which will take place on Thursday 30th and there is a poetry competition for all S1 and S2 pupils. The prize, a hamper full of Scottish goodies, will be awarded next week!
Congratulations to our prize winners:
Lyall McGawn: S1
Cullen Carter: S1
Finlay Izzat: S1
Luke Gibson: S2
DJ Alexander: S2
S3 Trip to see Dunkirk
Our S3 English pupils, who have recently completed a unit on war, were given the opportunity - as part of the Ayrshire Into Film Festival - to watch what critics have now labelled as one of the greatest war films ever made – ‘Dunkirk’. The film directed by Christopher Nolan (who also directed films such as: ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception’) invites the audience to experience the harrowing and monumental evacuation of 330, 000 soldiers from the beaches of the French port, Dunkirk, during WW2. The film was unusual in that there was minimal dialogue and the story told, through the eyes of a soldier, from three different perspectives - air, land and sea.
The Into Film Festival is the world’s largest film and education event which is aimed at inspiring young people to watch and understand film in new and creative ways. The experienced helped pupils to put into context the magnitude of the losses encountered during WW2.
The Into Film Festival is the world’s largest film and education event which is aimed at inspiring young people to watch and understand film in new and creative ways. The experienced helped pupils to put into context the magnitude of the losses encountered during WW2.
Armistice Day
Our School Captains were involved in a number of events this weekend to commemorate Armistice Day. Saturday morning was the 11th day of the 11 month, Ruth Porteous and Emily Purdie joined Mrs Collins at the Greenside to mark the 11th hour.
On Sunday 12 November, our School Captains joined the Maybole congregation to celebrate their Sunday Service. Lee Kirkwood and Eilidh Andrew led the readings during the service. Lee, Eilidh, Jack Yuille and Emily Purdie walked with Johnny Rusk (DHT) and Shona Stevens (HT) to the War Memorial where a two minute silence to remember the people who had given their lives for our freedom was respected. Lee then placed a wreath in their memory.
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning; we will remember them.”
On Sunday 12 November, our School Captains joined the Maybole congregation to celebrate their Sunday Service. Lee Kirkwood and Eilidh Andrew led the readings during the service. Lee, Eilidh, Jack Yuille and Emily Purdie walked with Johnny Rusk (DHT) and Shona Stevens (HT) to the War Memorial where a two minute silence to remember the people who had given their lives for our freedom was respected. Lee then placed a wreath in their memory.
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning; we will remember them.”
Music Pupils Perform for Crosshill Guild
Music students from Carrick Academy entertained Crosshill Guild on Monday 9th October. This was a first public performance for a number of pupils and the musical programme was well received by the ladies from the Guild. "A very talented music department" rounded off the vote of thanks from the Guild.
Well done and thank you to all pupils who took part and to parents and family members for their support.
Well done and thank you to all pupils who took part and to parents and family members for their support.
The Pupil Council enjoyed a team building day at Dunfries House yesterday. Blue House remain undefeated after winning the house competition for the second year in a row. Well done Blue House. Red came second and Yellow House third. A great day was had by everyone and it was a great chance for all the pupils to get to know each other.
Carrick Student Attends Space School
Sandy Fisher (S6) had a tremendous week at Space School. As well as making numerous new friends it gave him an insight into university life plus career and course options. The highlight of the week was meeting NASA astronauts but they were also kept busy constructing and launching rockets, participating in team building tasks, attending space related lectures, a ceilidh and an open mic night.
History Challenge
Pupils from Carrick Academy recently represented the school at the first ever South Ayrshire History Competition. Zahra Atay, Connor Gibson, Emily Gibson, Danielle Hutchison, Sophie MacDonald and Charli Purdie created a beautiful display with the school badge and the three house badges on it. In addition to this, the pupils spoke in depth about the history behind the house badges in front of a room full of their peers from across South Ayrshire. Our pupils where a credit to the school and should be very proud of themselves.
Congratulations to the LifeSavers
S3 students Zoe Inglis, Lauryn Hunter and Tia McLanaghan made an excellent presentation last night to a panel of 4 judges in the semi-final held at E-Spark, Dundonald. Their product was a special events emergency kit – all those little things you forget on those great days out.
Although the girls did not win through to the final, the school is £500 better off. They received wonderful feedback from the judges.
Tia was a brilliant Managing Director, spending a lot of her own lunchtimes and at home preparing a website for their company. She was delighted to be told she would receive the Prestwick Circuits Enterprise Trophy at the school awards ceremony.
Although the girls did not win through to the final, the school is £500 better off. They received wonderful feedback from the judges.
Tia was a brilliant Managing Director, spending a lot of her own lunchtimes and at home preparing a website for their company. She was delighted to be told she would receive the Prestwick Circuits Enterprise Trophy at the school awards ceremony.
S1 IDL Project
S1 have been working through an IDL project called Design for an Energy Efficient World. Pupils worked through a variety of workshops in Art, Design and Technology and Geography where they completed team challenges throughout the day. Pupils designed their energy efficient island in Art, completed a Junk modelling task to build a person-sized wind turbine in Design and Technology and competed in The Apprentice when in Geography. Throughout the day, pupils also completed team challenges and earned tokens that generated house points. These were then counted at the end of the day. The results were as follows:
1st - Blue House
2nd - Yellow House
3rd - Red House
All pupils had a fantastic time working through the workshops. Well done to all involved.
1st - Blue House
2nd - Yellow House
3rd - Red House
All pupils had a fantastic time working through the workshops. Well done to all involved.
Edinburgh Zoo Trip
Pupils from the S1 China Choice class visited Edinburgh Zoo on the 9th May. They attended the ‘Beyond the Panda’ workshop with Sandie Robb where they learned about conservation, threats, Chinese language and animal facts! The pupils were lucky enough to watch Tian Tian and Yang Guang enjoying the sunshine and eating their carrots!
As it was Penguin breeding season staff and pupils were able to observe the penguins nesting as they would do in the wild and managed to spot three baby penguins.
An excellent day was had by everyone!
As it was Penguin breeding season staff and pupils were able to observe the penguins nesting as they would do in the wild and managed to spot three baby penguins.
An excellent day was had by everyone!
S1 China Day
Yesterday’s S1 China day was very successful and from the what the pupils have told us, they had great fun learning about traditional Chinese Culture. The pupils learned about Chinese knotting, how to write in Mandarin before taking part in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony.
Carrick Students Perform at Ayrshire Music Festival
5 of our senior pupils competed last night in the Ayrshire Music Festival, Songs from the Shows competition. All of the pupils performed to an outstanding level, and represented themselves and the school very well. Competitors included Rebecca Cameron, Vicki Green, Olivia Purdie, Macy Racle and Kieran Robb. We were awarded two placings in the final adjudication as follows: 2nd place - Vicki Green, 3rd place - Macy Racle. Well done to all pupils who took part.
Go4Set Success- AGAIN!
Congratulations to the S2 Go4Set Team who won Best Overall Project at the West of Scotland Go4Set Competition on Wednesday 22nd Feb.
The team were set a challenge to redesign part of their school building to make it storm resistant. Through thorough research, the team decided the SureStart Building was going to be their focal point of their project due to the damage it has sustained within recent years.
The group worked exceptionally hard on their project during lunchtimes and after school sessions with Miss Lawrence to ensure their project was the best they could make it. The judges were very impressed with their new design as well as the determination, teamwork and communication skills the group displayed throughout their entire project and presentation.
The pupils involved were Angus Glasgow, Katie Glasgow, Chloe Millar, Caitlyn Millar, James McGradey and Garrin Ashman.
This is the 2nd time in 3 years we have won the West of Scotland final. Well done to all involved and good luck for the finals in Edinburgh.
The team were set a challenge to redesign part of their school building to make it storm resistant. Through thorough research, the team decided the SureStart Building was going to be their focal point of their project due to the damage it has sustained within recent years.
The group worked exceptionally hard on their project during lunchtimes and after school sessions with Miss Lawrence to ensure their project was the best they could make it. The judges were very impressed with their new design as well as the determination, teamwork and communication skills the group displayed throughout their entire project and presentation.
The pupils involved were Angus Glasgow, Katie Glasgow, Chloe Millar, Caitlyn Millar, James McGradey and Garrin Ashman.
This is the 2nd time in 3 years we have won the West of Scotland final. Well done to all involved and good luck for the finals in Edinburgh.
Futsal Success
Congratulations to our S1 Futsal team (Liam Gray, Finlay Paton, Shane Craig and Dylan Conkie) who won the first ever South Ayrshire Futsal Tournament today at Girvan Academy. The boys beat Belmont Academy 1-0 in a thrilling final after winning all their group games. Well done boys.
S1 Gurdwara Trip
Our S1 pupils visited the Gurdwara in Glasgow as part of their RME unit on Sikhism. We went on a tour of the Sikh place of worship, were able to try on turbans, play musical instruments, hear about the meaning behind each part of the building and the items in it, and then shared food together in the Langar Hall.
2016 Christmas Fayre
A total of £151.89 was raised from Friday lunchtimes Christmas Fayre – well done and thank you to everyone who came and supported this or helped out in any way. This money will go towards the South Ayrshire Homeless Charity.
Mr Wright is now the proud owner of Santa, he guessed Santa’s birthday – 25th December!!
As this was a House Challenge, here’s the result……
1st – yellow £55.18 (100 points)
2nd – blue £52.54 (75 points)
3rd - red £44.17 (50 points)
Mr Wright is now the proud owner of Santa, he guessed Santa’s birthday – 25th December!!
As this was a House Challenge, here’s the result……
1st – yellow £55.18 (100 points)
2nd – blue £52.54 (75 points)
3rd - red £44.17 (50 points)
Pupils from Carrick Academy asked to provide music to help celebrate the twinning of Easingwold Co-op in Yorkshire and the Maybole Co-op.
Carrick Academy Wins Black Conference
Carrick Academy were announced as Black Conference winners for this season at the weekend. The league is made up of the elite schools in the West of Scotland who can field sides at every age level on a Saturday morning with points being awarded for each side, 3 for a win, 2 for a draw and 1 for a loss. The conference is made up of 9 schools who finished as follows:
Carrick Academy – 86 points
St Columba’s School – 85 points
Queen Victoria School, Dunblane – 84 points
Marr College – 74 points
Lomond School – 72 points
Wellington School – 71 points
Jordanhill School - 68 points
Lenzie Academy – 65 points
Morrison’s Academy, Crieff – 64 points
Last season we finished 8 out of 9 in the conference which was the first year of the new structure. For us to win this is a huge achievement and means we are the best state school in the West and also one of the top 20 overall schools in the country. Given that most of the schools we play against are private schools then the sense of achievement is even greater. With the U15 girls also reaching the Scottish Cup Final next Friday then the achievements then Carrick is once again punching well above its weight at National level.
A huge thank you to all the staff who have supported the work of the rugby sides and to our pupils who turn out every Saturday morning often at 7.00am demonstrating a huge amount of skill, hard work and commitment to Carrick Academy.
There will be a formal presentation from Scottish Rugby over the coming weeks, details to follow.
Carrick Academy – 86 points
St Columba’s School – 85 points
Queen Victoria School, Dunblane – 84 points
Marr College – 74 points
Lomond School – 72 points
Wellington School – 71 points
Jordanhill School - 68 points
Lenzie Academy – 65 points
Morrison’s Academy, Crieff – 64 points
Last season we finished 8 out of 9 in the conference which was the first year of the new structure. For us to win this is a huge achievement and means we are the best state school in the West and also one of the top 20 overall schools in the country. Given that most of the schools we play against are private schools then the sense of achievement is even greater. With the U15 girls also reaching the Scottish Cup Final next Friday then the achievements then Carrick is once again punching well above its weight at National level.
A huge thank you to all the staff who have supported the work of the rugby sides and to our pupils who turn out every Saturday morning often at 7.00am demonstrating a huge amount of skill, hard work and commitment to Carrick Academy.
There will be a formal presentation from Scottish Rugby over the coming weeks, details to follow.
Rugby Success for Carrick
The past 5 days have seen 3 remarkable achievements with regards the school rugby:
The U15 boys defeated Wellington 64-12 on Saturday morning to win the U15 Black Conference Title. They are un-defeated this season.
Carrick sit top of the Black Conference with regards the whole school performance table. Last season we finished 8 out of 9 in this elite division of schools rugby. To finish top this season against schools such as Morrision’s Academy, Queen Victoria School, Wellington, Marr, St Columba’s, Lomond, Jordanhill just shows we are now one of the best schools in Scotland not just state schools.
Yesterday the U15 girls travelled to Balfron and produced quite simply an outstanding performance to win their Scottish Cup Semi Final by 63-12. The girls now go forward to play Shawlands in the main Scottish Cup Final on Friday 9th December at Scotstoun Stadium. More details to follow.
I would also like to thank all staff for being so supportive in letting pupils out of class this term as we have had so many successes with regards the Scottish Competitions that it has had an impact on us having to play games mid-week and not just a Saturday morning as normal.
Gordon Brown
Head of Rugby
The U15 boys defeated Wellington 64-12 on Saturday morning to win the U15 Black Conference Title. They are un-defeated this season.
Carrick sit top of the Black Conference with regards the whole school performance table. Last season we finished 8 out of 9 in this elite division of schools rugby. To finish top this season against schools such as Morrision’s Academy, Queen Victoria School, Wellington, Marr, St Columba’s, Lomond, Jordanhill just shows we are now one of the best schools in Scotland not just state schools.
Yesterday the U15 girls travelled to Balfron and produced quite simply an outstanding performance to win their Scottish Cup Semi Final by 63-12. The girls now go forward to play Shawlands in the main Scottish Cup Final on Friday 9th December at Scotstoun Stadium. More details to follow.
I would also like to thank all staff for being so supportive in letting pupils out of class this term as we have had so many successes with regards the Scottish Competitions that it has had an impact on us having to play games mid-week and not just a Saturday morning as normal.
Gordon Brown
Head of Rugby
Art Club
Students of all ages have been expressing their creative flair for Art and Design though a variety of exciting projects happening at Carrick Academy’s Art Club. From making your own sketchbook journal to Mrs Shearer’s fabric and sewing group there is plenty of ways to get inspired and enhance your artistic skills! The art club is facilitated by Miss Boyd every Friday lunch time and all students are welcome to come along and try new art materials such as paints and pastels or to simply top up their own class work.
Primary Hockey Festival
Well done to all P5-P7 pupils in the Carrick Cluster who took part in the Hockey festival at Carrick Academy on Thursday 29th September. A fantastic turnout from many different schools in our cluster. A special thanks to senior pupils Jordan Bell, Roisin Davidson, Alayna Dalgleish (Young Ambassadors) and Heather Thom (Coaching Academy) for their help at the event.
School Captains Residential Visit
Our school captain's recently undertook a leadership course at Barcaple near Kirkcudbright. Everyone had a great time as you can see from the pictures below.
Carrick Students Recognised at Art Competition
Recently 45 of our S1-3 cohort visited Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow. They were tasked with drawing one of the items in the galleries with their finished result being entered into a competition which normally has thousands of entrants, from across Scotland. This week we were delighted to hear that 4 of our students work had been recognised for it's excellence. Lauren Limond was commended for her work, Holly MacDonald was highly commended, Kirstin Bone won a Silver Medal and Drew Maxwell was awarded a Gold Medal, the highest available honour. As you can see from the pictures below Drew's work was exceptional. Well done to all who took part.
S3 German Students Gain International Qualification
A prize-giving ceremony took place on the 7th June at Carrick Academy to award 31 S3 German pupils an international qualification. Local councillors and parents attended the event. Franziska Ott and Katrim Frahm from the Goethe Institute presented the pupils with a certificate for successfully passing the Fit in Deutsch exam. This year Carrick Academy was one of only two schools in Scotland to sit the award. The exam was in four parts and tested reading, listening, talking and writing and was conducted entirely in German. Abbie Valdrighi and Sarah McElroy spoke about how they found the exam and why they had opted for German in S3.
S1 Art Project
S1 pupils finished their first year at Carrick on a high by designing shoes fit for the catwalk. They have worked extremely hard in Art over the last few weeks to design and sculpt a professional prototype of their shoe using only recyclable materials. These are some of the wonderful results. Can you guess what some of the themes were?
Glasgow Slave Trade Trip
A group of 23 S2 pupils recently visited Glasgow to find out about the cities historical links with the slave trade. During the full day trip pupils took in sights such as Glasgow Cathedral, The Gallery of Modern Art and The People`s Palace. Due to the lovely weather (and Mr Riley`s excellent story telling skills) all the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day and left more knowledgeable on this dark period of Scottish history than they were when they arrived.
New Planter for the Nature Club
3rd year boys Lennon McIntyre and Michael Hoggitt have worked tirelessly keeping the Carrick garden weed free and building us a new planter. The boys have also planted this years crop of potatoes and much of this work was carried out by the boys in their own time.
Show Racism THe Red Card
Carrick Academy pupils lead the way in anti-racism campaigning. Local pupils Nakita Buckley, Chloe Blackwood and Danielle Lee entered Show Racism the Red Cards National Anti-racism competition. Their entry was a brilliant t shirt design which all 3 girls wore on the day. They were winners in the secondary 1-3 category.
The youngsters attended the awards ceremony which was held at Hampden Park, the home of Scottish Football with their teacher Mr Riley.
The group was presented with a match tickets for a Celtic game and a tour of Ibrox stadium by David Tanner from Sky Sports, Peter Martin from Plz Soccer and Steve Conner from Topps trading cards.
Almost 1000 young people across Scotland took part in this year’s competition with entrants coming from as far as the Isle of Skye and Aberdeen to schools in the central belt. The competition sends a clear message that young people want Scotland to be a welcoming and multi-cultural society. The prize giving is the highlight of the Scottish calendar in challenging racism and sectarianism.
Alyshia Walker from Glasgow City FC, Scotland Womens National team coach Anna Signeul, Mark Hateley Rangers FC ambassador and Craig Gordon from Celtic FC were on hand on the day to present the young people with their prizes.
The youngsters attended the awards ceremony which was held at Hampden Park, the home of Scottish Football with their teacher Mr Riley.
The group was presented with a match tickets for a Celtic game and a tour of Ibrox stadium by David Tanner from Sky Sports, Peter Martin from Plz Soccer and Steve Conner from Topps trading cards.
Almost 1000 young people across Scotland took part in this year’s competition with entrants coming from as far as the Isle of Skye and Aberdeen to schools in the central belt. The competition sends a clear message that young people want Scotland to be a welcoming and multi-cultural society. The prize giving is the highlight of the Scottish calendar in challenging racism and sectarianism.
Alyshia Walker from Glasgow City FC, Scotland Womens National team coach Anna Signeul, Mark Hateley Rangers FC ambassador and Craig Gordon from Celtic FC were on hand on the day to present the young people with their prizes.
Rugby Success - Press Release
Carrick Academy crowned ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Champions at Scotstoun
Carrick Academy from South Ayrshire celebrated getting their hands on the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship as they defeated Shawlands Academy to be crowned the first ever winners of the tournament at Scotstoun Stadium, home of the Glasgow Warriors, on Friday 6 May.
The S1 and S2 boys and under-15 girl’s teams completed their impressive tournament playing in front of fellow pupils, parents and Glasgow Warriors players Rory Hughes, Mike Blair, Richie Vernon, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Jamies Eddie, Rory Clegg and Alex Allan in what was another excellent afternoon of competitive rugby. The school have shown skill, dedication and charisma in abundance throughout their matches, seeing off Cumnock Academy, Ardrossan Academy and Maxwelltown High School in the quarter finals before cementing their place in the final with a semi-final win against St Thomas Aquinas.
Michael Kirk, Carrick Academy rugby coach, said: “I’m so proud of the players and the effort they put in over the past few months. It’s always great to win a rugby tournament, but the most important thing was they had fun, learned loads and enjoyed the experience of playing at the Glasgow Warriors stadium.
“The tournament has given them the chance to play additional rugby games and they have grabbed the opportunity with both hands, so credit to ScottishPower and Glasgow Warriors for making this happen. What a great day and they can enjoy showing the trophy and their medals to their classmates and the rest of the school.”
Mike Blair, Glasgow Warriors player, said: “Congratulations to both schools for their fantastic performances throughout the tournament, they both deserved their place in the final today and either team could have come away with the trophy today. We’ve enjoyed being part of their matches and helping to cheer them on, and we hope that they’ve enjoyed the experience as much as we have.”
Keith Anderson, Chief Corporate Officer at ScottishPower, said: “The ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship has been a great opportunity for schools to play more minutes of rugby and immerse themselves in a sport that is continuing to grow in popularity in communities across the West of Scotland. The schools involved have really thrown everything into this and their effort has been fantastic to see.
“We’re committed to working with Glasgow Warriors to help promote rugby in local school communities and give our next generation of rugby stars the chance to shine at the grounds of one of Europe’s best professional clubs. Congratulations firstly to Carrick Academy for winning the tournament, but also to each school that was involved.”
The ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship is part of ScottishPowers’ sponsorship of Glasgow Warriors and its commitment to supporting grassroots rugby in Scotland. The tournament has seen 16 schools take part in qualifying rounds throughout March and April. The entry criteria required each school to have boys teams at S1 and S2, as well as a girls’ team at under-15s.
Carrick Academy from South Ayrshire celebrated getting their hands on the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship as they defeated Shawlands Academy to be crowned the first ever winners of the tournament at Scotstoun Stadium, home of the Glasgow Warriors, on Friday 6 May.
The S1 and S2 boys and under-15 girl’s teams completed their impressive tournament playing in front of fellow pupils, parents and Glasgow Warriors players Rory Hughes, Mike Blair, Richie Vernon, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Jamies Eddie, Rory Clegg and Alex Allan in what was another excellent afternoon of competitive rugby. The school have shown skill, dedication and charisma in abundance throughout their matches, seeing off Cumnock Academy, Ardrossan Academy and Maxwelltown High School in the quarter finals before cementing their place in the final with a semi-final win against St Thomas Aquinas.
Michael Kirk, Carrick Academy rugby coach, said: “I’m so proud of the players and the effort they put in over the past few months. It’s always great to win a rugby tournament, but the most important thing was they had fun, learned loads and enjoyed the experience of playing at the Glasgow Warriors stadium.
“The tournament has given them the chance to play additional rugby games and they have grabbed the opportunity with both hands, so credit to ScottishPower and Glasgow Warriors for making this happen. What a great day and they can enjoy showing the trophy and their medals to their classmates and the rest of the school.”
Mike Blair, Glasgow Warriors player, said: “Congratulations to both schools for their fantastic performances throughout the tournament, they both deserved their place in the final today and either team could have come away with the trophy today. We’ve enjoyed being part of their matches and helping to cheer them on, and we hope that they’ve enjoyed the experience as much as we have.”
Keith Anderson, Chief Corporate Officer at ScottishPower, said: “The ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship has been a great opportunity for schools to play more minutes of rugby and immerse themselves in a sport that is continuing to grow in popularity in communities across the West of Scotland. The schools involved have really thrown everything into this and their effort has been fantastic to see.
“We’re committed to working with Glasgow Warriors to help promote rugby in local school communities and give our next generation of rugby stars the chance to shine at the grounds of one of Europe’s best professional clubs. Congratulations firstly to Carrick Academy for winning the tournament, but also to each school that was involved.”
The ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship is part of ScottishPowers’ sponsorship of Glasgow Warriors and its commitment to supporting grassroots rugby in Scotland. The tournament has seen 16 schools take part in qualifying rounds throughout March and April. The entry criteria required each school to have boys teams at S1 and S2, as well as a girls’ team at under-15s.
S3 Art Project
S3 pupils have been working extremely hard over the past few months on a sequence of work which has pushed the boundaries and got them working out of their comfort zones. The first activity involved combining the two styles of portraiture and still life together to create a painting in the style of the artist Michael Craig Martin. The pupils began by drawing their self-portrait in line before adding objects taken from a still life and drawing them over the top. As you can see the paintings have been very successful. They are bright, bold and colourful and they have the beautiful effect of a stained glass window.
Their next task has pushed them even further. They were given a large piece of plywood and were required to create a textured surface using pieces of rubbish such as tin can lids, cardboard and bubble wrap. Using an old overhead projector the pupils are currently in the process of projecting a line drawing of their self-portrait on top of the wooden canvas which they are then painting over. This is giving the pupils an opportunity to paint like a real artist would, mixing their colours on the canvas and having the confidence to work big and bold.
Once the work is finished it is going to be displayed for all to see in the Clydesdale Bank in Ayr town centre. We have managed to get the bank to supply us with frames and easels with which to display the work alongside the pupils’ names and photographs. This is a brilliant opportunity to promote and showcase the great work that is going on within the art department at Carrick Academy and it will be a proud achievement for all the pupils and the teacher involved, not to mention, the families of those pupils.
Their next task has pushed them even further. They were given a large piece of plywood and were required to create a textured surface using pieces of rubbish such as tin can lids, cardboard and bubble wrap. Using an old overhead projector the pupils are currently in the process of projecting a line drawing of their self-portrait on top of the wooden canvas which they are then painting over. This is giving the pupils an opportunity to paint like a real artist would, mixing their colours on the canvas and having the confidence to work big and bold.
Once the work is finished it is going to be displayed for all to see in the Clydesdale Bank in Ayr town centre. We have managed to get the bank to supply us with frames and easels with which to display the work alongside the pupils’ names and photographs. This is a brilliant opportunity to promote and showcase the great work that is going on within the art department at Carrick Academy and it will be a proud achievement for all the pupils and the teacher involved, not to mention, the families of those pupils.
Crosshill Primary Visit
Pupils at Crosshill Primary School had an exciting day recently learning all about owls. After meeting the real thing in the morning staff from Carrick Academy – Mr Murray, Mrs Connor and Kerr Maxwell (5Y) visited in the afternoon. They brought with them a collection of owl pellets which the pupils were able to dissect and then match against a key. This showed what the owls had been eating in the hours before the pellet was collected.
A great day was had by all, in fact everyone said it was a hoot!
A great day was had by all, in fact everyone said it was a hoot!
Morrison Construction Workshop
Representatives from Morrison Construction visited the school on Thursday 3rd March and carried out activities with a selection of S3 pupils studying Science and Design & Technology subjects.
Morrison Construction is one of the nation’s leading construction and housebuilding businesses, delivering more than £1 billion of public and private sector projects throughout Scotland in the last five years. They undertake a range of multi-million pound building and civil engineering projects, including most recently the new Queensferry Crossing of the River Forth.
They gave a presentation showing the different employment routes that Morrison typically use and gave an insight into what it is like to work as a civil engineer. This was followed by the main activity ‘Morrison City’ where students worked in groups to choose where to situate some houses and a shopping centre on a map; linking them with roads/services and paying to have land surveyed as there are certain ‘hot spots’ which involved heavy fines if they chose to build on them. They then built their layout on a larger floor map. The winning team of Olivia Marshall, Alexander Thomson, Matthew Jamieson, Jaimie Summers, Finlay Brown and Kayleigh Edwards completed the exercise with the lowest cost at £1.3 million. All pupils engaged fully with the activity and the visiting speakers were very impressed with the pupils’ performance.
It is hoped that participation in these activities will promote awareness of career opportunities and enhance the skills required for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Morrison Construction is one of the nation’s leading construction and housebuilding businesses, delivering more than £1 billion of public and private sector projects throughout Scotland in the last five years. They undertake a range of multi-million pound building and civil engineering projects, including most recently the new Queensferry Crossing of the River Forth.
They gave a presentation showing the different employment routes that Morrison typically use and gave an insight into what it is like to work as a civil engineer. This was followed by the main activity ‘Morrison City’ where students worked in groups to choose where to situate some houses and a shopping centre on a map; linking them with roads/services and paying to have land surveyed as there are certain ‘hot spots’ which involved heavy fines if they chose to build on them. They then built their layout on a larger floor map. The winning team of Olivia Marshall, Alexander Thomson, Matthew Jamieson, Jaimie Summers, Finlay Brown and Kayleigh Edwards completed the exercise with the lowest cost at £1.3 million. All pupils engaged fully with the activity and the visiting speakers were very impressed with the pupils’ performance.
It is hoped that participation in these activities will promote awareness of career opportunities and enhance the skills required for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Lockerbie Manor Adventure Trip
During the February weekend a group of S3 and S2 students – including myself - embarked on an adventure residential stay at Lockerbie Manor. The weekend was full of adventures and laughs, during which all the pupils gained many skills and pushed themselves to the limit.
Some activities that were enjoyed highly by the pupils were the obstacle course, rifle shooting and the low ropes. Everyone got exceptionally muddy - especially on the obstacle course – where we had to army crawl through muddy puddles. However, getting muddy was one of the best things about the whole weekend. Also, the food was amazing, which was awesome; especially after a day of hard-core activities.
Comfort zones were pushed and friendships were tested over the weekend, but in the end, everyone realised how important friends and teamwork are when you are faced with a tough challenge.
Written by Sarah McElroy, S3.
Some activities that were enjoyed highly by the pupils were the obstacle course, rifle shooting and the low ropes. Everyone got exceptionally muddy - especially on the obstacle course – where we had to army crawl through muddy puddles. However, getting muddy was one of the best things about the whole weekend. Also, the food was amazing, which was awesome; especially after a day of hard-core activities.
Comfort zones were pushed and friendships were tested over the weekend, but in the end, everyone realised how important friends and teamwork are when you are faced with a tough challenge.
Written by Sarah McElroy, S3.
Junk Kouture Fashion Show Success
Carrick Academy celebrated great success last Friday (5 Feb 16) at the Junk Kouture fashion show Scottish final in Glasgow. The two talented S1 sisters, Caitlyn and Chloe Millar, both aged 12, with help from their art teacher Miss Love, have been working hard over the last few months to create an outfit made entirely from junk. The competition Junk Kouture is a recycled fashion competition which is open to all secondary schools across the UK and Ireland. The competition encourages young designers to use any junk materials they can find to create striking couture designs and impressive works of wearable art.
The girls’ design was chosen from over 150 entries to make it to the grand final at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. They then had the chance to wow the judges on the catwalk by modelling their outfit along with all the other 80 entries. Caitlyn put on a fantastic performance entertaining the audience and judges alike and brought them to their feet with her impressive dance moves. This earned the team the prize for Best Performance! This was a wonderful achievement especially considering that the girls were the youngest contestants in the competition, competing against fifth and sixth year pupils. They won a Junk Kouture trophy which was presented by none other than Louis Walsh who was also one of the judges. An experience never to be forgotten and a thoroughly well-deserved win! Congratulations to all involved.
The girls’ design was chosen from over 150 entries to make it to the grand final at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. They then had the chance to wow the judges on the catwalk by modelling their outfit along with all the other 80 entries. Caitlyn put on a fantastic performance entertaining the audience and judges alike and brought them to their feet with her impressive dance moves. This earned the team the prize for Best Performance! This was a wonderful achievement especially considering that the girls were the youngest contestants in the competition, competing against fifth and sixth year pupils. They won a Junk Kouture trophy which was presented by none other than Louis Walsh who was also one of the judges. An experience never to be forgotten and a thoroughly well-deserved win! Congratulations to all involved.
Geography Field Trip
On a wonderful sunny day on 9th June the new
Higher Geography class from Carrick travelled to the Dolphin House to carry out
some data collection for their SQA Assignment. The weather was very kind to us
and Neil and Kenny took the class to the beach and explained about the effects
of some of the wilder weather we get. Culzean has some excellent examples of
coastal erosion features and we carried out many techniques which will be used
to write up our assignment. We had fun using the metal detector to find the
“smart pebbles” that Neil had dropped on the beach the night before and the
incentive of a free chocolate bar ensured many more were found by the end of
the session! After a short lunch we travelled to Maidens beach and carried out
many of the same tasks to give a superb comparison. Hopefully this will impress
the SQA when we write it up. A rare issue was trying to keep out of the sun but
we were too busy all day to complain too much.
Thanks to the school for supporting this venture and the expertise of the guys at the Dolphin House. Neil even made rocks interesting!
Thanks to the school for supporting this venture and the expertise of the guys at the Dolphin House. Neil even made rocks interesting!
Carrick Academy S1 & S2 7s Tournament sponsored by Asda
On Thursday 14th May Carrick Academy hosted their annual rugby 7s tournament. Our guests this year were Lenzie Academy, Duncanrig School, Grange Academy and Belmont House School. The tournament featured two separate age groups, S1 and S2 boys. There was some great rugby played throughout on a sunny afternoon at the Glebe playing fields in Maybole. In the S1 tournament it was the hosts, Carrick who prevailed as winners after seeing off Lenzie Academy in the final. In the S2 tournament, it was Duncanrig School who were the winners after beating Grange Academy in the final. Carrick Academy Rugby would like to thank Asda Ayr who were the main sponsor for this tournament.
Click to enlarge
Belgium & France 2015
In February a group of S2 and S3 students embarked on a World War I trip to Belgium and Northern France. They visited cemetries, battlefields, monuments, trenches and in general had a brilliant time.
Carrick Academy CAN Help
We renamed National Christmas Jumper Day as Carrick Academy CAN Help Day. The premise being that any pupil who wished to wear a Christmas jumper had to donate a can of food which the school then passed on to the local food bank. Organised by the pupil council you can see that we had a tremendous response.
Children In Need 2014
For Children in Need the pupil council organised a series of events including leg waxing, soak the teacher, teachers v pupils football and slave for a day. Here a few highlights.