HEAD TEACHER'S UPDATE 18 SEPTEMBER 2026

Staffing

Meadowpark

Elijah Morris has been appointed to the temporary teaching post

Katherine Kerr has been appointed to the permanent post

Congratulations to them both on their appointments and we will look forward to you starting with us soon.

Assemblies

These have been led by our new House Captains letting pupils know how they can contribute to House events and creating a House ethos. Chris Trotter, our school Careers Advise, also spoke about how he can support all of our young people from S1-S6 and in particular with subject choices in S2/3 and with college, employment and apprenticeships applications in Senior school.

Anti-bullying guidance launch

A huge thank you to the parents/carers who attended the launch of our revised guidance. The school working groups of Mrs Falconer, staff and pupil ambassadors gave an informative session on how our guidance evolved through consultation and the steps we have taken to support our young people. It was great to hear so many parents/carers asking questions about the guidance and also saying how they thought the very clear steps taken would support pupils to seek help/report instances of bullying. Our focus also remains on focusing on our school vision or kindness and value of respect so instances of bullying are minimal.

The Anti-Bullying working group also has put a very useful video together for parents/carers and young people to watch in case you were unable to attend our launch evening. We hope you find this useful.

School Uniform

Following our extensive consultation with parents, carers, staff and young people earlier this year, we agreed a refreshed approach to school uniform. This was designed to reflect the views of our school community while ensuring that our young people continue to look smart and wear clothing that is appropriate for a learning environment.

We would be grateful for the support of parents and carers in encouraging young people to follow the agreed dress code. While the updated uniform guidance offers greater flexibility and a wider range of clothing options, we are still seeing some pupils arrive in attire that does not meet the agreed expectations.

We have worked hard to create a dress code that balances personal choice with maintaining high standards, and we now ask that all young people adhere to it. Developing an understanding of appropriate dress for different environments is also an important life skill that will benefit them in future employment and other settings where dress codes are expected.

As a reminder:

  • Hooded tops must not be worn in school.
  • Shorts should be tailored or dress shorts rather than sports shorts or cycle shorts.
  • Chains and dangling jewellery should not be worn as they present a health and safety risk.

We appreciate your continued support in helping us maintain a positive, safe and respectful school environment where high standards are encouraged for all.

Appointments

Please can parents/carers make an appointment if they wish to speak to a member of Pupil Support or the Senior Leadership Team as we are generally unable to see parents/carers who just turn up as we may be teaching or in other meetings. By making an appointment with us via the office, or email, we can ensure a time and date where we can meet to support you and your young person. When arriving at the school please sign in with our office team and wait in the foyer until the member of staff collects you. This is an important aspect of our safety procedures at the school – which also applies before/after school and break and lunchtimes. Thank you.

Please also do not hesitate to contact our Pupil Support Team by emailing your young person’s House Team if you would like to discuss any support for your young person or to arrange an appointment to come in to speak to someone. The House team should be the first port of call for anything you wish to discuss.

Essentials Hub

At Knox Academy we are passionate about equity, ensuring all young people have everything they need to thrive at school and achieve their best. To support an equitable environment in school we have an essential's hub in the social area of the school which grants all pupils access to daily essentials such as uniform, snacks and hygiene products to remove barriers to learning. We also have a diligent group of staff who run our breakfast club every morning before registration to ensure all pupils can fuel their bodies before the school day begins. 

Thanks to the generous community here in Haddington, we have a surplus of uniform and clothing items in the hub at the moment which are not being utilised. As such I would like to encourage any families to reach out via email to lbates@knox.elcschool.or.uk if you would like any items to support your young person to have items which match our new uniform policy. 

If you would like to make a donation to the essential's hub, please send an email to the above address and I will get back to you about items we are in need of or could provide information on other organisations who would be able to make use of items that we have in surplus. Thank you. (By Miss Bates, PT Equity). 

Rights Respecting Schools (RRSA)

Article 39 

Recovery and reintegration

Children have the right to get help if they have been hurt, neglected, treated badly or affected by war so they can get back to health and dignity.  

Parental Engagement Session – Tuesday 29 September (6.30-8.30pm – Assembly Hall)

A reminder that all parents/carers of S4, S5 and S6 pupils are invited to our annual Parental Engagement Meeting. This is a valuable opportunity to hear from staff in key subject areas, including English, Maths and Science, and gain an insight into assessment components such as portfolios and assignments, many of which are completed at home and contribute directly to a young person’s final qualification grade.

Our Support for Learning team will share practical and effective revision strategies that can be easily implemented at home, helping parents and carers feel confident in supporting young people through both the prelim and exam periods. We will also provide information about our Alternative Assessment Arrangements process, ensuring that young people receive the appropriate support to enable them to perform at their best during assessments and examinations. (By Laura Bates, PT Equity) 

Events/Trips

From Friday 18th September Knox Academy will be hosting our annual book fair. The book fair is a great opportunity for pupils to get excited about reading and to be able to purchase their own books. We are thrilled to be able to host.  Please click here for details on the books available at the fair. 

Some of our S4-S6 Musicians attended a performance by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra yesterday at the Wallyford Learning Campus.

European Week of Languages

Our Languages Team have organised a week of various activities/events and tasks to celebrate this week, which starts on Monday 21 September.

Pupils’ Successes

Charity Fundraiser

We are incredibly proud of Flora Jones (S3) and her younger sister (P6 – Haddington PS) who both grew their hair for months and months, to get it as long as possible, and last Friday had it cut really short and donated their locks to The Little Princess Trust for children who lose their hair to cancer, and other illnesses, to receive wigs for free. What a wonderful thing to do – thinking of others.

Not only are they donating their hair but knowing it costs £700 to make one wig they started fundraising and they have now raised over £1000 for The Little Princess Trust. If you would like to donate to their fundraiser and support them, please click on this link. It would be wonderful for our Knox Academy community to support them too.

If you have any success stories to share about your young person please send these to admin@knox.elcschool.org.uk so we can share these with our wide community. Thank you.

National youth choir of Scotland

Poppy Davidson-Kelly (S4) sung with NYCOS in the Usher Hall on Sunday for a performance to celebrate 30 years of NYCOs - they sung accompanied by the BBC Scottish symphony orchestra and can be heard on radio 3 on 14th Oct 7.30pm. What a fantastic experience for Poppy and great if we can all tune in on 14/10 to listen to it.

General Information for parents/carers 

PTA

The PTA will meet this coming Wednesday, 23rd September, at 6.30pm in the Library. They are looking for lots of new members to support events at the school and fundraise too. Lots of members would mean that most parents/carers would only support one event per year and yet help ensure events such as Christmas dances are staffed in partnership with the school. 

Sextortion Awareness.
Please follow the link below for more information on the campaign to reassure young people and parents/carers on how to protect themselves against emerging threat of online sextortion. New campaign launched to combat online sextortion | Crimestoppers

Dates for your diary:     

29 September    S4-S6 Parental Engagement Session (English, Maths, Science and Support for Learning) (6.30-8.30pm)

6 October           P7 Information Evening (5-7pm)

12-19 October   School holidays for Pupils

12-16 October   School holidays for staff – 19 October – staff in-service

5 November       S4-S6 Parents’ Evening

10 November     S4-S6 Parents’ Evening

 

Our school calendar is updated regularly and should be used to access all information throughout the year. This will also allow you to plan ahead too for Parent/Carer consultations and other events too.

Sue Cook