Staffing
Teacher of Modern Languages (1FTE)
Congratulations to Marie Elder, who was appointed permanently to this post on Monday 25 May.
Teacher of Music (Part-Time)
Interviews will take place for this in the next few weeks.
Teacher of PE (maternity cover)
Paul Gleeson will join us in August to cover Lana Borwick’s maternity leave until she returns in January 2027.
Teacher of Learning Support (1FTE)
This post closes on 14 June and interviews will take place on Monday 22 June..
ASN Auxiliary (27.5 hrs) – Meadowpark – 4 posts – interviews taking place on 22 June 2026.
PT Equity (permanent) – interviews took place on 2 June and Laura Bates was appointed to this positon. She will start in August.
Pre-registered teachers (previously known as NQTs – newly qualified teachers)
Next session – 2026/27 - we will be welcoming 5 PRTs.
Susan Andrews – Chemistry; Jodie Gare – Drama; Hugo Pengelley- History; Yvonne Huddart – Maths; Stephen Hogg – Physics and Science.
Our School Show – final tickets remaining!
The final performance of 'We Will Rock You' takes place tonight. For those of you who have already seen it you will know it was a night to remember with stunning performances from all. A few tickets are still available on the door or via IPay.
School Improvement Plan
Thank you to all parents/carers, pupils and staff for helping us devise our school improvement priorities for next session. We will also be discussing these at assemblies in August and we look forward to working with our school community to achieve these.
School Uniform
All parents/carers (including P7s – sent to primary HTs to send out) should have received a letter from me, on Wednesday, about our new approach to School Uniform as of August. This details what items pupils can wear to school as part of that uniform and also details where badged uniform can be purchased. If anyone in the new S1 wishes to wear a school tie, this can be purchased from our school office.
As part of our Eco-school approaches we look to recycle nearly new or lightly used uniform. We are running particularly short of blazers, so if any S6 who had just left would like to donate theirs we would be very grateful. Please pass it into the office.
School Communication
As a school, we receive a high volume of daily enquiries. Many of these are handled by our office team and Pupil Support Leaders (who are also teaching during the school day) which can sometimes affect response times.
We aim to respond to all emails and phone calls as promptly as possible. However, please be aware that we have up to 48 hours to acknowledge these and up to 5 working days for a full response. If it is an emergency these will be prioritised.
We value your communication with us and greatly appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support. Thank you.
Library Book Amnesty
The library is hosting a book amnesty for the month of June in order to recover as many overdue books as possible. Please can all pupils, parents, and carers check at home for any library books that may be lying around the house. Library books tend to be very easy to spot having a plastic covering on them as well as the Knox Academy stamp and labels inside the first page. If a book is on a pupils account but is believed to be lost, then please speak to Miss Robertson before the end of term to sort this out. Any overdue books left on pupils' accounts at the end of term may restrict future borrowing.
Registration teachers will be receiving a list of overdue books and will pass these to pupils.
There will be a small prize for any registration class that manages to return all of their overdue books by June 24th!
Rights Respecting Schools (RRSA)
Our right of the week is Article 32: Protection from harmful work
Children have the right to be protected from doing work that is dangerous or bad for their education, health or development. If children work they have the right to be safe and paid fairly.
Deaf Awareness
This week's sign is homework - something everyone will be getting familiar with in their new classes. Did you know that lighting is really important? You need to make sure that you’re facing the light source when signing with someone!
Events/Trips
S1 Careers Inspiration Day – Friday 29 May
Through meaningful employer engagement, young people are beginning to understand who they are, what skills they have, and where these skills could take them. This is about early career education. Together with Capital Theatres - Festival Theatre, King's Theatre & Studio Theatre, Tangram Furnishers EDF Leonardo Skills Development Scotland Metlen Energy & Metals Queen Margaret University British Army Aviation Preservation Society, Scotland. We are raising aspirations and awareness, building foundations for informed future subject choice decisions and career pathway choices.
A huge thank you to our employer partners for bringing careers to life and helping our young people make those vital curriculum-to-career connections.
Skills and insights developed by S1, 12-13 year olds pupils included:
Communication & interpersonal skills – engaging with professionals, asking questions, and working collaboratively
Problem solving & critical thinking – exploring real-world scenarios from healthcare, energy, creative industries, and business environments
Teamwork & resilience – participating in interactive activities that required cooperation and adaptability
Career awareness & self-reflection – beginning to recognise personal strengths, interests, and possible pathways
Understanding the world of work – gaining insight into diverse sectors and the skills employers value
Confidence & aspiration building – seeing relatable role models and broadening perceptions of future possibilities
A few words from our pupils, “ I liked the experience and learning new things” I appreciated, “The time that people took to come see/talk to us” (thank you to our DYW Coordinator, Elaine Gorman for writing this). A huge thank you to Elaine Gorman and David Russell for organising this morning for our S1 pupils.
Pupils’ Successes
East Lothian Courier Community Champion Awards
A massive congratulations to Connor Docherty (just left our S6) who won the Heart of Gold Category at Wednesday evening’s awards. A very worthy winner after donating his stem cells for lifesaving treatment. This was as a result of a visit to the school by the Anthony Nolan Trust a year past December.
(Photo credit: Mark Gibson for Newsquest Media/East Lothian Courier).
Duke of Edinburgh
A massive congratulations to Jamie Towler, Murray Calder. Bella Gold and Molly Macfarlane (just left in S6) on completing their Duke of Edinburgh Gold award. They are looking forward to receiving their invitation to the celebration ceremony which will be held in the gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse this summer.
Please do contact admin@knox.elcschool.org.uk to tell us about your young people’s successes so we can share these with our school community.
General Information
Summer opportunities with Haddington Football Club
Haddington Athletic CFC will be running free football sessions on Thursdays through the summer holidays, starting on Thursday 2nd July and finishing on Thursday 6th August (6 sessions).
The first session will be between 10am-12pm for Girls aged between 5-12 years old.
The second session will be between 1-3pm for teenagers, both boys and girls.
This is part of our Summer of Football, to help celebrate Scotland’s World Cup Journey and to ensure that football is fun, inclusive and accessible to all.
The approach will have a ‘come and play’ feel, whilst removing pressure and building enjoyment and confidence.
We are looking to involve young people that aren’t already involved at the football club but it is also open to those currently playing at Haddington Athletic CFC.
The sessions will be led by Andrew Jeffrey from Centred Coaching (also coaches at Haddington Athletic). Andrew will be assisted by Tobie Craig who plays for our U20 team.
Update on Prom
It was a fantastic evening, last Thursday, celebrating with our S6 leavers at their Prom at Coulston House. The sunny and warm evening made for some stunning photos in the grounds to show off their beautiful dresses and suits/kilts. All the young people looked amazing (and so did the staff too). We wish them all the very best for the future and ask them to keep in touch to let us know how they are getting on.
Dates for your diary:
9 June – P7 Information Evening
18 June – Evening of Celebration (Awards Evening)
26 June – End of term – school finishes at 12.15
12 August – Session 2026-27 begins – 8.28 am start
Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year and allows you to plan ahead too.
