Nature cameraman Doug Allan visits Broughton
Maddy Bourne, depute head girl at Broughton High, was able, through a friend of her mother, to bring celebrated cameraman Doug Allan to school last week. Doug is a freelance photographer and cameramen whose work has been shown in a large number of nature documentaries for the past 20 years, including those presented by David Attenborough. It was he who contributed some of the most memorable scenes on Blue Planet, Life, and Frozen Planet.
Doug, who hails from Dunfermline, gave Broughton pupils a fine presentation about working in some of the world’s wildest places.
Said Maddy, about the visit, “It is really great to get Doug, as lots of people at the school are interested in the media. Doug is so big in that scene. The pupils are excited to see him.”
Headteacher John Wilson added, “Doug is so renowned as a documentary photographer and cameraman. I am delighted, as the inspiration for Doug coming here did not come from me or other teachers, but a senior student at the school.”
See STV coverage of this exciting event here.
Wanted: parent and carer ambassadors
S5 Broughton Student on BBC Radio 3
During the Christmas Break S5 Music School student Oscar Gormley was employed to record music for ‘The Physicists,’ a radio drama which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 20 January.
Oscar and his recorder teacher Susan Fuchs laid down tracks for the chamber music score in a single take — and were described as ‘superb’ by the show’s producer.
Very impressive, Oscar and Susan!
Ex-Broughton harpist shortlisted for Radio 2 award
One of the top young clarsach players, Ciorstaidh Beaton from Kilmuir on Skye, and her duet partner, Inverness fiddler, Graham MacKenzie, are among the final four nominees in this year’s BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards. Ciorstaidh joined The City of Edinburgh Music School at Broughton in 2009. She and Graham, who made it through October’s semi-finals, are now students at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
The finals will take place at Celtic Connections on Wednesday 30 January in the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow. Good luck, Ciorstaidh and Graham!
Broughton teachers’ readiness for CfE’s ‘National 4 and 5’ exams — a statement from John Wilson, Headteacher
Recent union polling has alerted parents to possible concern over Scottish teachers’ confidence in preparing students for next year’s ‘National 4’ and ‘National 5’ exams. These are the revamped Intermediate and Higher SQA assessments.
The Parent Council’s Management Support Group at Broughton has queried John Wilson, Headteacher, on his feeling for the state of preparations at our school. The news is good.
He said today, ‘[t]he management of education in Scotland is devolved to local authorities and individual schools very much work within local authority guidelines and support mechanisms. Within these parameters I feel confident that staff at Broughton have taken advantage of all opportunities to develop understanding of the new qualifications. This process has been ongoing for several years, given that the new National qualifications will be based on the Experiences and Outcomes which have guided Scottish education up to and including S3.’
Broughton High School Parent Council 