Council responds to Government lock-down

In light of the UK and Scottish Government’s decision tonight to begin a three-week lock-down in order to delay the spread of the Coronavirus, the Highland Council has taken the decision to cancel the provision of school meals tomorrow. The current format of provision would involve staff and children gathering at school premises and this would go against national advice and directives.

The Council’s Strategic Group will consider the announcement first thing tomorrow morning and the implications this will have for the delivery of essential services and the provision of welfare and humanitarian aid in a way that complies with the Government’s directive and protects life and our NHS services.

More information will be issued once this important step has been discussed with our Local and Regional Resilience Partners.

New BBC Learning Resources

The BBC has launched lots of new programming and resources, online and on the TV, to keep us all busy. There is also an app. Daily BBC Bitesize lessons will start being published from April 20th. BBC Scotland will be broadcasting lessons aimed at Higher and Nationals during its daytime schedule. BBC4 will have programs in the evening for GCSE and A Level that will be relevant too. BBC Sounds is launching podcasts for primary and secondary pupils.

BBC offers biggest online education push ‘in its history’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52149409

Free Food Table – Updated Hours 10am – 12pm

There is a free food table at the Grantown YMCA Community Centre which is open Monday to Saturday 10am – 12pm.

If you are in need or know of someone who is, come along and please take what you need.

If you require a delivery, contact the Grantown Helpline on 01479 722 170.

Check the ‘Covid-19 Mutual Aid Grantown on Spey’ Facebook group daily for pics of what is available. Fresh veg, bread and toiletries (inc sanitary products) available today.

Happy Holidays, stay safe and healthy

As we move into the Easter holidays during particularly challenging times, we’d like to wish everyone in our community safe health.

We also want to send out our love and wishes of good health to our partner schools at Kepler Gymnasium in Ulm, Germany; Tabeetha School in Jaffa and Nsobe Community School in Zambia.

Free Video Lectures

Massolit have given the school access to the library of short videos by university lecturers until the end of April. Details have been shared with S3 and up via Google Classroom, but if your S1 or S2 son/daughter is interested they can email Mr McCrow for access codes.

The lectures cover English Literature, History, Politics, Philosophy, Classics and Psychology. They are commissioned to match A/AS Levels, but there is plenty of overlap with Scottish qualification topics.

Even if you’re not studying these subjects, there’s plenty here to interest you.

Live Theatre at Home

As we go into the Easter ‘break’ in these difficult times, here is a little bit of good news: every week we’ll be able to stream National Theatre productions on YouTube.

Even better news. Our pupils are now able to stream a huge range of recent productions from the National Theatre, Globe Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company until at least the end of May.

Productions include Peter Pan, Treasure Island, most of Shakespeare, Greek tragedies and contemporary works.

Normally we can only view this in school, but I’ll be posting access details to Google Classroom today. Anyone interested in drama will find a treasure trove of plays, texts and acting guides to make staying in a bit more rewarding!

UCAS UPDATE

The following is a message received from UCAS which hopes to clarify some issues for those applying to university.

Most undergraduate applicants are already in the UCAS system. There are currently nearly 600,000 undergraduate applicants, and just under half are UK 18 year olds. The majority of these applicants will be holding an offer and have pending qualifications, such as A levels or Highers.

We continue to operate the admissions process as normal – we are continuing to support customers via our Customer Experience Centre and will continue to keep students informed of the latest developments via our established communication channels. For our customers, we are publishing the latest updates online in three main places:

However, with the cancellation of examinations across the UK, we recognise that the way in which students are accepted to higher education this year will be different to previous years. We are working extensively with the relevant government departments, regulators and sector bodies, such as Department for Education, UUK Ofqual, Scottish Government and Office for Students, to ensure that there is shared information and understanding as the situation developments.

I am confident UCAS has the flexibility to accommodate any changes to the examination awarding process. We will be providing further information about this once there is clarity regarding the awarding process and timeline. However, when reviewing how we can flex the cycle to accommodate the cycle, our paramount consideration will be fairness to students.

We’re also currently undertaking modelling exercises to understand how potential changes to the application cycle could alter behaviour in both the 2020 and 2021 admissions cycle. We will be able to share some of this intelligence in due course in order to support their sector with their own planning.

UCAS is ready to play a key role in supporting the sector to reduce the impact of the pandemic on admissions to higher education. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to discuss further, particularly if you feel UCAS can offer you support.

If you require further assistance please contact UCAS directly.