Staffing

Rosie Bigland, one of our Pupil Support Assistant, leaves us today. We wish her all the very best for her future and thank her for all she has done for the young people she has worked with at Knox Academy.

A warm welcome to Amy Groome-Vine, who will start as ASN Auxiliary at Meadowpark after the Easter break.

Assemblies

Rights Respecting School Award

We are delighted to announce, following a visit to our school last week, we have been awarded our Silver RRSA. This has been years in the making and a huge thank you goes to Mrs Montgomery and committed RRSA Team of pupils for leading this across the school. Once we receive our award and banner, post Easter, I will share more information about recognised good practice and also the recommendations for us as we now strive towards the Gold Award.

Achievement Ties – Nominations are now open

Applications are now open. The deadline for nominations will be Friday 9 May 2025. Over the last five years Knox Academy has recognised achievement in school based extra-curricular and non-school based wider achievements through the awarding of Achievement Ties. Nominations can be completed through the google form found here . Nominations are welcome from pupils, parents/carers, staff and coaches/leaders. Further information can be found in this presentation.

S2 Parents’ Evening

Thank you to all parents/carers who came along last night and I know, from speaking to many of you, that you found it a useful experience and said teachers gave you some very specific feedback about your young person’s performance. I know that some of you have raised the timing of it through the recent questionnaire and we will certainly look at this for next session – so thank you for your feedback. If you couldn’t make last night, or the member of staff you wished to see was unavailable, please contact your young person’s Pupil Support Leader so they can arrange some feedback for you.

Primary Library Visit

S4 Pupils studying for a Media qualification planned and delivered a promotional event as part of their coursework. They wrote professional emails, liaised with local primary schools, created eye-catching posters, and reviewed award-winning Carnegie books. Their hard work culminated in the launch of a successful "Reading with the Big Kids" event.

Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI)

Yesterday, our S3 final of YPI took place. The finalists included SAMH; Alzheimer’s Scotland; MyPas; Homestart East Lothian; Tiny Changes; Zero Tolerance; Four Square; Tree Things;  My Name’5 Doddie. After confident and articulate presentations from all our finalists, and much deliberation from our judging panel, the winners of the £3000 for their charity was ‘My Name’5 Doddie’. Congratulations to all of S3 who worked so hard over the last term to research their charities and present passionately about them.

School Improvement Planning for Session 2025-26

We have now started to analyse the high level messages from parent/carers, pupils, staff and our partners, and will share these with you in early May.

Pupils’ Successes

Music

Congratulations to the following young people for their fabulous musical achievements recently:

Anwen McInnes (S3) passed her Grade 5 piano exam with Distinction

Emily Westgarth (S2) passed her Grade 6 piano exam with Distinction

Rosanna Lyall (S3) and Ailsa Ogilvie (S1) performed the lead roles at the Drama Mill production of WE WILL ROCK YOU at Loretto Theatre.

Dominic Forder (S4) and Joshua Cuthbertson (S5) recorded and released original music across online streaming platforms (YouTube & BandCamp) with their band HONEY BOG.

Kayden Handling (S5), Lachlan Kerr (S5), and alumni Jude Dunbar, recorded and released original music across online streaming platforms with their band JAUNDICE.

Easter Break

I hope you all have a relaxing Easter break and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday 22 April.

Dates for your diary:

22 April – School resumes for all at 8.28am.

25 April – exam leaves starts 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   @knoxacademyHT for the latest information and updates.