May 2025

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 30 MAY 2025
Published: 30 May 2025

Staffing

Our adverts are live for full-time, one year temporary, positions in Maths and Physics. These close a week on Sunday.

New Timetable

This starts on Monday. Pupils should bring relevant kit for all subjects on this day and be in full school uniform (this ensures we know at a glance that they belong to Knox Academy).

S6 Prom

It was wonderful for staff to catch up with our S6 Leavers at the Prom, last night, at Whitekirk Hill. They all looked stunning in their vast array of outfits. Following a  delicious meal, everyone had fun mixing in and dancing the night away. It was so lovely to end their S6 celebrating together.

On behalf of all staff at Knox Academy I would like to wish them the very best for the future. We hope that they will keep in touch with us and let us know how they are getting on in life and, as former pupils, come back and inspire others at the school telling us about their successes.

Edinburgh Marathon Festival

Congratulations to all of our amazing runners who took part in the Edinburgh 10K last Saturday and raised over £2500 for the Teenage Cancer Trust (they aimed to rise £1200)! Thanks to all who contributed to this.

Willie Innes Games

Congratulations to the seventy one participants who competed, against the seven high schools of ELC, in a variety of team sports, to come 3rd equal. You were amazing and a credit to the school. Thank you also to the staff with you who coached all the teams to encourage best performance throughout.

Library Book Amnesty 

The library currently has a large number of books overdue. These books have been borrowed by pupils but not yet returned. We are hoping to get as many back as possible and need everyone's help. Please check in classrooms, bags and at home for any library books. They are usually easy to spot as they typically have labels on their spine, are wrapped in a plastic covering and have a barcode and stamp on the inside first pages of the book. 

To make it a bit more fun for everyone we are holding a book amnesty. Every book that gets returned between now and the June 23rd will equal one entry into a prize draw. The draw will take place on June 24th with the winner getting a great goodie bag from the library before the summer holidays. 

Good luck and happy hunting! 

Please speak to the librarian Miss Robertson if you need any more information.

Eco-Committee Litter Pick

On Friday 23 May, members of the Knox Eco-Committee carried out a litter pick in the local community. The group tidied litter from Memorial Park, the Haddington High Street, Neilson Park, the path along the River Tyne, and the front and back areas of the school. It was extremely eye-opening to note the types of litter found in our local community. The Eco-Committee did a fantastic job representing Knox Academy and they will share with the school their findings from the litter pick. Well done to the team!

Plea for pre-loved blazers

Knox Academy Essentials Hub needs school blazers. If you are about to leave school and wish to donate your blazer to the Hub please come see Alison Swallow or you can leave them at the school office. All sizes would be appreciated, but we are particularly in need of smaller sizes (6, 8, 10, and 12)

PTA Meeting - Thursday 12th June @ 7pm in Knox Academy School Library.

It is our final PTA meeting of the school year. We are a very small group of parents who meet once a term to raise much needed funds for the school. As a few of our parents have children in S6, it is now crucial to recruit additional volunteers to sustain the PTA and provide the necessary financial resources for the school. If you are available, we would be delighted to welcome you on Thursday 12th June, in the School Library.  If you can’t make the meeting but would be available to help, please get in touch by email. KASupportgroup@KA-net.org.uk.

Musical Performances

Knox Choir and Knox Jazz Band will be providing musical entertainment at the Letham Mains Primary Summer Fayre!! This takes place on Thursday 5th June 5:30 - 7:30pm. Please come along and support our wider Knox Community and our musicians.

Pupils’ Successes

Haddington Heroes

Congratulations to Lewis Kerr (S6) who was nominated by Our Community Kitchen as a Haddington Hero for his two years of volunteering there. He received his award at the Haddington Festival last Sunday – very well deserved!

Music

Following the ELjam Battle of the Bands event weekend, we are delighted to announce that Rosanna Lyall from Knox Academy will support Rachel Sermanni and Wayward Jane at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 7th June. A huge well done also goes to Off Grid who won a headline performance slot at Dunbar Music Festival. Please go along to support Rosanna and Off Grid if you can.

Congratulations to Gregor Mitchell (S1) who was awarded a Distinction in his recent Grade 6 piano exam.

The Music Department is delighted to encourage such talented young musicians and we are all looking forward to hearing Gregor performing a trumpet piece on the 18 June at our S1/2 Evening of Celebration.

Keep Scotland Beautiful Competition

Congratulations to Ellie McKenzie in S2 who entered the Keep Scotland Beautiful Young Reporters Photography Competition and won second place in the "One Take Photo" category for ages 11-14! The task was to take a candid photograph that captures the reality of a situation, event or issue at a point in time. Ellie won for her photo titled "Sunrise over Loch Ness" which depicts a calm and serene sunset falling beyond Scotland's most famed loch. She has been invited to attend a prize ceremony with other competition winners. Well done, Ellie!

Future Leaders

A huge thank you from our associated primary schools to all the pupils at Knox Academy who helped with their sports days – they said you were amazing!

Dates for your diary:

2 June - New Timetable starts

4 June – S1-S6 sports day

5 June – S3 BGE Graduation Ceremony

12 June – P7 Transition – Parents’ Info Evening

!8 June – Evening of Celebration

26 June – end of term – school finishes at 3.25pm

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

Sue Cook

Quick Links:

Remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers news. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages. E-Sgoil also has some great resources.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 23 MAY 2025
Published: 23 May 2025

Staffing

Welcome back to Steven Illingworth, who joins us this week after nearly a year away as acting Head Teacher at Dalkeith High School.

Following Geography interviews on Wednesday, Sophie Coats has been appointed to our one day a week position (permanent).

SQA Examinations

One week left to go and our attendance rates at these have been amazing! Following the end of these, our new timetable for all pupils starts on Monday 2 June.

S2 Careers Inspiration Day – Friday 30 May

Last year we introduced a new careers event for S2 and it was very successful. As a result we will be repeating it next Friday, 30 May.

We have 9 businesses coming into school that morning and S2 pupils will complete sessions with 4 of them during the morning (one each period). They will be set challenges relating to their area of work and be developing some of the key skills required for those industries/ areas of work.

As well as being enjoyable, we hope it will broaden their horizons in terms of the world of work and enable them to recognise (and further develop) some of the core, transferable, skills that are essential to life beyond school.

We are obviously extremely fortunate that these people are willing to give their time to come in and run these sessions and know our pupils will show our school values of ambition, respect and community throughout the sessions and say a huge thank you to them at the end of each session.

Scottish Geography Quiz Competition

On Tuesday two teams of S1-3 pupils went to the Borders to represent Knox Academy at the Scottish Geography Quiz Competition, where they demonstrated excellent teamwork, enthusiasm and geography knowledge. It was a closely fought contest, with Knox A (Zoe Murdie, Poppy Davidson-Kelly and Rory Dickson) topping the tables in the 'Tropical Countries' round and Knox B (Noah English, Oren McGregor and Yve Murdie) excelling at the 'Urban / Settlement' crossword and 'Geography in the News'. These victories got both teams through to the Regional Final, with Knox B leading the competition.  In the regional final both teams performed well, being joint top scorers of the rapid fire round, but it was Knox B's 14/15 score in 'Stars in their Flags' which put them in joint first place at the end. Just one deciding question stood between them and the Scottish Final, but they were pipped to the post by Earlston High School, who now go to the Scottish final at Dollar Academy. What an exciting finish, well done to both teams! - Ms Milne

Edinburgh Marathon Festival

Good luck to all the staff and pupils who are taking part in this event tomorrow to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.  A last minute plea to support their efforts (possibly in the rain too) – please click on this Link. Your donation—no matter how big or small—will directly support teenagers battling cancer. Thank you.

Battle of the Bands Family Activities

On Sunday 25 May 2025, ELJam’s annual Battle of the Bands contest returns to Haddington Bridge Centre.

Bands from all seven ELC high schools will compete for some fantastic prizes including the chance to perform as support acts for three of The Brunton/Haddstock’s commercial concerts.

The event runs 12-5pm and is free to members of the public to pop by and listen.

It is suitable for all the family, with additional activities going on throughout the day:

  • 12-4pm open mic session – musicians (Under 25s) can put their name down on the day to perform a song or tune.
  • FREE workshops for young people including dance, drama and vocal coaching book here or go to www.thebunton.co.uk/ and search for workshops.
  • Pizza available from Mazzoli
  • Refreshments

For more information about the Battle of the Bands event & activities visit www.eastlothian.gov.uk/eljam

To book FREE workshops click the links below:

Vocal Coaching, S1 - S6: 10:00am to 10:45am

Introduction to drama, ages 5 to 7 years: 12:15pm to 1:00pm

Introduction to drama, ages 8 to 12 years: 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Dance taster, ages 5 to 7 years: 2:15pm to 3:00pm

Dance taster, ages 8 to 13 years: 3:15pm to 4:15pm

Pupils’ Successes

Bagpiping

Congratulations to William Gold (S3) who came first in his age group in the RSPBA solo piping in Dumfries and Galloway and came 3rd in his section at the RSPBA competition in Livingston. Both were very strong fields and we are very proud of his hard work and dedication to get to this point. 

Future Chef

Congratulations to Haiden Black, at Meadowpark, who was a finalist in the Future Chef competition last week. His lemon meringue pie was spot on and very delicious!

Dates for your diary:

25 April – 30 May – exam leave for S4-S6 pupils  

26-30 May – S3 Work Experience

2 June - New Timetable starts

4 June – S1-S6 sports day

5 June – S3 BGE Graduation Ceremony

!8 June – Evening of Celebration

26 June – end of term – school finishes at 3.25pm

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

Sue Cook

Quick Links:

Remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers news. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages. E-Sgoil also has some great resources.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 16 MAY 2025
Published: 16 May 2025

Staffing

Mrs Sinclair leaves us today. On behalf of all at Knox Academy, I would like to say a huge thank you to her for her leadership of the Communications faculty this session. She has inspired us all and led a number of fantastic initiatives at the school and her commitment and passion for her role shone through. We wish her all the very best for her return to Portobello High School, who is lucky to have her.

A massive thank you also goes to Ms Machen, who has been acting DHT during this session. She has led with enthusiasm and commitment to getting the best results for all young people at the school. Although she returns to her role as Curriculum Leader of Comms, we look forward to Ms Machen continuing to work alongside SLT to embed the initiatives she has started on learning and teaching.

Mr Illingworth returns to Knox Academy, on Tuesday 20 May, following his secondment to Dalkeith High School as acting Head Teacher. It will be lovely to welcome him back and we look forward to hearing from him about his experience and what he has learned that we may be able to adopt, or adapt, here to continue our forwards journey.

Temporary teacher of Support for Learning – Katy Coats has been appointed to this post.

Geography – permanent one day –interviews will take place next week.

PT Equity (acting) – Mr Elliot Elder-Smith has been appointed to this post and will take this up on Monday 2 June. Thank you to Mr Welsh for leading on this until the end of May.

SQA Examinations

A reminder that all pupils sitting an exam on Monday must attend for these (even though a holiday for pupils). 

S1 HPV Vaccinations – Wednesday 21 May 2025

All young people in S1 are offered the HPV vaccine which protects them from HPV-related cancers such as head and neck cancers and cervical cancer, as well as genital warts in later life. The HPV vaccine is given as an injection in the upper arm and most young people will only need one dose. These vaccinations will take place at Knox Academy and Meadowpark on Wednesday 21 May. Please note some MMR vaccinations will also take place on the day, for those pupils who received a consent form and returned it to school.

Please click on this link for further information, including videos about why vaccines are offered to young people and what to expect at the vaccination session

Quadrant Design

The quadrant/outdoor classroom is making great progress with numerous planters, seating areas and a pond! Our totem pole will be going up soon – which features the designs of some of our pupils, and tells the history of the school.

Activities Week

We were blessed with the best weather possible for our activities week, with the sun shining every day! All year groups seem to have had a great time, whether they were in school, out and about on trips (S2) or on the S3 PGL residential down in Yorkshire or out and about in Edinburgh too. Thank you to pupils for giving their best and using the opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge – and many made new friends across the year group. A huge thank you to staff for your planning and giving freely of your time to make this the success it was. Thank you to parents/carers who also go in touch re feedback and we will certainly take your views into account when planning future activities and trips.

Edinburgh Marathon Festival

Good luck to all the staff and pupils who are taking part on this event on Saturday 24 May to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Please do support us by clicking on this Link. Your donation—no matter how big or small—will directly support teenagers battling cancer. Thank you.

Mental Health Awareness Week

This is mental health awareness week and this year’s theme is Community. We can all do our bit to be kind and support one another at all times during the year (s). Feeling supported to others can make a huge difference to our health and wellbeing – being included and valued. To find out more about this year’s theme and to access resources, click here.

Pupils’ Successes

Keep Scotland Beautiful

Congratulations to Poppy Davidson-Kelly in S2 who entered the Keep Scotland Beautiful Young Reporters Photography Competition and won first place in the Photo Story category for ages 11-14! The task was to take a photograph that shows beauty and explain why it’s important to keep Scotland beautiful. She has been invited to attend a celebration lunch with other competition winners. Well done, Poppy!

Rugby

Congratulations to our Under 14 ‘s team who won the East Lothian 7s Cup last Saturday. They beat North Berwick in a hard fought final. Great teamwork!

A huge well done to our Knox Academy/Dunbar Grammar girls’ team who won the trophy at the East Emerging Finals day at Pefermill yesterday. They were unbeaten in all 8 games!!

Cyber Security Challenge

Four of our talented pupils have been recognised for their outstanding participation in the Cyber Security Advent Calendar Challenge, organised by tech education charity DressCode. The nationwide challenge attracted over 30,000 pupils, with daily cyber puzzles designed to test problem-solving and promote digital resilience.

Congratulations to Poppy Davidson-Kelly (2L1), Neve Hunter (2L1), Gregor Mitchell (1G2), and Seth Paterson (1G1), who were each awarded a Tobbie Robot as a prize for their efforts.

Duke of Edinburgh

Our S3 pupils were out on their first practice expedition on Tuesday/Wednesday this week. They performed really well in all aspects - the walking, cooking and camping! Thank you to Mr Boyle for his leadership of this group and his commitment to it.

Dates for your diary:

25 April – 30 May – exam leaves for S4-S6 pupils  

19 May – Pupils’ holiday and staff in-service day (note those doing SQA exams this day must attend for these)

20 May – Parent Council, 6.30-8pm, School Library (all welcome)

26-30 May – S3 Work Experience

2 June - New Timetable starts

5 June – S3 BGE Graduation Ceremony

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

Sue Cook

Quick Links:

Remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers news. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages. E-Sgoil also has some great resources.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.

 

HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 2 MAY 2025
Published: 02 May 2025

Staffing

The preferred candidates for the Pupil Support Assistants at Meadowpark, pending pre-employment checks are: Isabella McDermid; Scott Thomson; Hayley Robinson (temporary).

David Hunter – has been employed at Knox Academy (currently at Meadowpark) and will start in a few weeks.

Part-time Senior Business Support Assistant – goes live this morning

Temporary teacher of Support for Learning (to backfill Sophie Shorthouse) – interviews take place today

Geography – permanent one day – closes today and interviews will take place week beginning 19 May.

PT Equity (acting) – we have advertised, internally for a PT Equity as Mr Welsh, who is currently doing this post, is returning full-time to English. We will be interviewing for this post next week.

SQA Examinations

The SQA Exams are well under way at Knox Academy and from speaking to our young people, seem to be going well. Pupils coming into school to attend an exam should be in dress code and a reminder that that the Your Exams guide is now online. Departments have organised revision sessions ahead of exams and pupils are encouraged to attend these where possible.

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Polices are an important part of ensuring that all of our young people are safe and protected. Everyone who is part of our school community should be familiar with both of these policies.  The links below will take you to our school website where you can read the following: ELC Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy; Safeguarding at Knox Academy (Presentation); Our Safeguarding Policy; Our Child Protection Policy

VE Day

I will be attending the VE Day 80th Anniversary, with senior pupils, on Thursday 8 May. Our seniors will be laying crosses and wreaths on the war graves of members of our community. Wreaths and crosses will be laid at St Martin’s, St Mary’s and St Mary’s Collegiate Cemeteries. All in our local community are invited to assemble at the Corn Exchange, at 2.45pm, on the 8th May to commemorate VE Day.

Quadrant Design

Our outdoor classroom is coming along really well over the last week and we have some of our young people helping Treeditions with this – which is great! We are on schedule for it to be finished before the start of the new timetable on June, when it will become a bookable resource for learning and teaching. Very exciting and even more so as our young people/parents/carers came up with the design in terms of what they wanted it to look like.

Activities Week 

This takes place from Tuesday-Friday next week (following our Monday holiday) and a whole host of exciting things are happening at the school for our S1, S2 and S3 pupils. Lots of amazing opportunities to extend skills and knowledge through a variety of activities. Most of S3 are off to a PGL residential in Yorkshire. Thank you to all staff who are running activities and to those giving up their evenings by accompanying the residential.

Pupil Support Base at Knox Academy

We are planning to slightly change the function of the Pupil Support Base rooms next year and are taking the opportunity to change the names of the rooms too.  We are consulting pupils, staff and parents/carers as part of this process. We would be very grateful if you could select your preferred choice of names using the link below (which also contains information on how each room will be used next year). 

Please click this link make your choice.  If you have any other ideas for names, please feel free to add them as requested. Thank you (Susanne Fox, Pupil Support Leader, Inclusion) 

Feedback on Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) career service:   
Parents and carers are key influencers over young people’s career ambitions and choices.  SDS  work  in close partnership  with this school  to support our young people to make informed career choices and  they would value feedback from parents and carers on  their services. You can do this  by taking part in a short survey.    

All responses are confidential and anonymous, and the results will be used to inform SDS services.    

The survey should only take about 10 minutes to complete.   

S3 French Trip

S3 had very enjoyable time, on Wednesday, when they made a trip to the Fraser Centre to watch a screening of Divertimento. Thank you to languages staff for organising this.

Edinburgh Marathon Festival

On Saturday 24th May a group of staff and pupils will be taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, running the 10k in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The Teenage Cancer Trust is dedicated to ensuring no young person faces cancer alone. Every day, seven young people in the UK aged 13-24 receive a life-changing cancer diagnosis. This incredible charity provides specialist nurses, vital emotional support, and tailored care to help them through the toughest times and has offered a huge amount of support to pupils in the past, and at present.

We’re coming together to raise funds for this life-changing cause, and we need your help! Your donation—no matter how big or small—will directly support teenagers battling cancer.

Please do support us by clicking on this Link.

Thank you for your support!

Pupils’ Successes

Congratulations to Aidan Smith, Andrew Millar and Hamish Mainstone who all represented Edinburgh under 17’s last weekend at Oriam against Coventry rugby academy, Newcastle Falcons and Glasgow under 17’s.

S1/S2 Boys’ Rugby Teams

Good luck to our S1/2 team who is off to play at the Darlington Rugby Festival this weekend.

Athletics

On 27 April, Isaac Swan-Ashe represented Haddington Athletic Club in the Under 15 age group at the Forth Valley Athletics League (FVL). Isaac placed 3rd in the 100m; 3rd in the Long Jump and 2nd in the Javelin. Such was his fantastic all round performance he was named "Athlete of the Match.”

It is great to hear positive stories about our young people, so parents/carers, please do get in touch with us about these. Thank you.

Dates for your diary:

25 April – 30 May – exam leaves for S4-S6 pupils  

5 May – May Day holiday (pupils and staff)

6-9 May – S1-S3 activities week (including S3 PGL trip)

19 May – Pupils’ holiday and staff in-service day (note those doing SQA exams this day must attend for these)

20 May – Parent Council, 6.30-8pm, School Library (all welcome)

26-30 May – S3 Work Experience

2 June - New Timetable starts

5 June – S3 BGE Graduation Ceremony

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.

Sue Cook

Quick Links:

Remote learning resources, course choices, supported study and careers news. Clicking on these headings takes you straight to these pages. E-Sgoil also has some great resources.

Please also look at our website for lots of other information. Please also follow us on Twitter for up-to-date news on a day to day basis.

Please also remember to follow us at: www.ka-net.org.uk 84CEAEA2   for the latest information and updates.