MUSSELBURGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
MUSSELBURGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL
THE GRAMMARIAN
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Friday 5th June 2026
Friday 5th June 2026
Welcome back to all our seniors after study leave! It’s lovely to have them back in school and all students are settling into their new timetables.
It’s been a busy and successful week in school with girls’ football, the YPI final and the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expedition- full details further on in The Grammarian.
Thank you to all senior parents who joined us on Wednesday evening for our Welcome to Senior Phase information session. The link to the slides is included and on the parents section of the website for those who could not join us in school:
I held assemblies for all year groups on Monday to welcome them all into their new years. I reminded all of our stricter approach to mobile use to support their wellbeing and focus on learning; encouraged reflection on what they had achieved last year and what they could improve upon; the importance of living our values and being role models for Honesty, Respect and Perseverance everyday; and of how stepping outside our comfort zone can be scary but lead to success and a sense of achievement.
Further details of our mobile phone approach are noted below. We will refine the policy over the next few weeks and share the final version before the end of term.
In terms of stepping out of comfort zones, I encouraged all seniors to consider applying for prefect or Head Team roles- again, further details below.
Have a lovely weekend.
Jodie
STAFFING
I am pleased to let you know that I have successfully recruited for the post of Curriculum Leader of Mathematics. Subject to all recruitment paperwork and checks, Mr Hoyland will be joining us from James GIllespies High School in August.
KEY DATES
Thursday 11 June: Summer Dance, (S2-S6) 6.30 - 8.30pm
Friday 12 Monday: 15 & Tuesday 16 June: P7 Transition days
Friday 12 June: S6 Prom
Wednesday 17 June: Sports Awards Ceremony 7-9pm
Friday 26 June: Term ends
PHONE FREE LEARNING
We want to support the wellbeing of all our young people and ensure that their focus is upon learning. As all our pupils now have their own Chromebooks, mobile phones are no longer needed for learning in school so all our classrooms are now phone free learning environments.
All pupils are expected to keep their phone switched off in their school bag, or to place it into a box/ fabric pouch in the classroom if they don’t have a bag.
READY TO LEAD
The applications for our prefect and Head Team are now live!
Ms Uttley, DHT, posted the application forms on the year group classrooms this week and the closing date for both is Wednesday 10 June.
Prefect positions are open to all S4-S6 students, and S6 for Head Team applications. These are excellent opportunities to develop leaderships skills, confidence and team work.
YOUTH PHILANTHROPY INITIATIVE
A huge well done to everyone who participated in this year's Youth Philanthropy Initiative final.
6 finalist teams presented in front of their peers and a panel of judges for the chance to win £3000 for a local charity of their choosing. The presentations were all wonderful and so much work had been done to raise awareness of these charities. After a difficult deliberation, the £3000 went to Women's Aid.
Thank you to our judges, Mrs Scott, Mr Mells and Jasmine.
Well done Tegan and Chloe!!
400th ANNIVERSARY
Just before they left on study leave S4 students Lois Cunningham, Thea Cooke, Julia Scott and Aneu Maguire-Moralle wrote a letter to the King. As you do!
Lois is pictured posting the letter.
The girls wanted to let him know about our milestone 400th anniversary, our proud history, and how much they enjoy studying at the Grammar.
They received a letter from Buckingham Palace last week and it is included below.
It will be framed and hung in reception, and a copy will also be put in our Time Capsule.
We continue to plan events for August onwards when our new S1 pupils join us, such as filling a Time Capsule and completing our Mural- watch this space!
PUPIL VOICE
On Thursday morning this week our Pupil Voice group gathered for their final meeting of the session to celebrate another successful year of learner leadership at MGS.
Pupils reflected on the impact of their work over the year, including the MGS Learns campaign, community consultation linked to our 400 year celebrations, the development of our new school values and a range of activities designed to strengthen our school community.
The session was led by;
Hollie and Euan(New S3) What do we need to improve
Zoa and Rhea (New S4) Looking back and celebrating
Lily and Evie (New S2) What we want to keep/change
Pupils worked collaboratively to establish their priorities for next year. While many important themes emerged, one message came through clearly which was a desire to reintroduce ‘organised fun’ back into the Pupil Voice programme. In true MGS style, we ended the session with a lively game of Stop the Bus, much to everyone’s delight.
A special highlight was Ms Hannan’s homemade brownies, baked as a thank you to the group for all their hard work. They did not last long and appeared to receive a unanimous 10/10 rating.
We look forward to all the exciting things to come for pupil voice in 26/27!
S2/3/4 GIRLS FOOTBALL - SPAR CUP NATIONAL FINALS
On Wednesday 3rd June 10 of our S2/3/4 Girls Footballers took part in the national finals of the SPAR Cup 7aside football competition.
The girls placed 4th across the whole of Scotland conceding only 4 goals across 10 games and got the added bonus of getting to play on the pitch at Hampden!
PE DEPT
We would like to remind all pupils that they should bring a full change of kit for PE to allow them to take part to the best of their abilities and to maintain high standards of personal hygiene.
Crocs(even in sport mode) and Uggs are not suitable and are dangerous when taking part in PE. The most appropriate and suitable footwear are trainers.
Another reminder that phones are not to be used in changing rooms for taking pictures/selfies/tik toks etc.
BRONZE DUKE OF EDINBURGH EXPEDITION
Congratulations to our Bronze participants who completed their Assessed expedition in very warm, sunny conditions last week. Participants navigated their way to camp at North Berwick, watched the sunset on the beach whilst making smores and worked as a team to cook on the camping stoves and set up tents. The high temperatures did not slow their pace as they all showed super determination and kept each other motivated all the way to the finish at Gullane. Teamwork was the overall aim of each group and they have created a photo collage to display this. As always, thank you to ELC Outdoor Learning for providing some kit and Mr Davie for driving the minibus. ⛺
In order to complete their Bronze Award, participants are aiming to complete their sections in Volunteering, Physical Activity and Skill in the coming weeks. We are very proud of all their efforts! 👏
A special mention and well done to Mr Natta who fully qualified as a Lowland Walking Group Leader last week too! 🌟
Mrs Dias, Mrs Ferguson, Mr Natta and Mrs Orsi
YEAR GROUP ATTENDANCE
As a reminder, school absenteeism remains a significant challenge across Scotland. In 2023/24, 31.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing 10% or more of the school year. While this has since improved, with a 2.9 percentage point decrease to 28.5%, absenteeism continues to impact learning, wellbeing, and attainment.
MGS SUMMER DANCE
MUSSELBURGH CHILDREN'S GALA
AND YOUTH GAMES
MUSSELBURGH YOUNGSTARS
OPEN TRIAL DAYS
NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
Reminder that all absences should be reported before 8am by texting 07860 049075. We have noticed that there are a few parents leaving pupil absence messages on out staff absence line. This line is not always manned after 8am therefore pupil absences will not be pick up in time. Please help us cut down on staff time and costs by notifying us before we have to contact you.
Please also remember to let us know in advance of any healthcare appointments for your young person, to save time at the point they need to leave school. If we haven’t been notified in advance, we will need to call you to verify, which may delay their departure from school.
We would like your help to ensure that all young people arriving in school after 08:30am sign in with the QR Code or office staff to avoid any unnecessary messages home.
THE HONEST THREAD
Our Honest Thread, “free to a good home” initiative is a new way to share gently used school uniforms within our school community. Anyone who is in need of these items are welcome to request them free of charge.
If you would like to receive any uniform items, please complete the short Google Form below. This allows us to organise requests and prepare your order for collection from the School Office.
https://forms.gle/8NGk3eGnr5M9bMd56
The form will be added to on a regular basis and we hope that we will be able to include items other than schoolwear; this scheme is entirely donation based, so families are always invited to donate clean, good-quality items they no longer need. All donations are much appreciated and can be dropped off at the School Office.
SCHOOL TOILETS
Our pupil toilets are checked on a regular basis to ensure everyone’s comfort and safety. These checks may be done by male or female staff members, and signage is in toilets to make pupils aware of this.
UNIFORM REMINDER
I appreciate that parents may not want to buy all new items school uniform at this point in the school year, but do ask for your support in ensuring that our dress code is followed, even in warm weather:
Black shorts or skirts of an appropriate length for school, or trousers;
White shirt- long or short sleeved with a tie;
Black shoes or trainers
Please note that items such as coloured t-shirts, band t shirts, crop/ bra tops, tracksuits etc are not part of the dress code, and pupils may be asked to return home to change or wear clothing items from our store.
And please do let us know if we can help with uniform from our store.
Thank you as always for your support with our uniform.
MEDICAL
MEDICAL
HPV will take place on Thursday 11th June 2026. Please return all forms to school asap. All S1 Boys and Girls and some catch ups.
Asthma - All pupils who have Asthma please make sure you have an inhaler with you at all times.
LOST PROPERTY
LOST PROPERTY
There are a few new items in lost property (including 2 black jackets) if you have lost anything, please go and see Ms Harvey in the Medical room.
There are a few new items in lost property (including 2 black jackets) if you have lost anything, please go and see Ms Harvey in the Medical room.
Our Healthy Respect drop in service runs in school every Wednesday lunchtime. This NHS run wellbeing service is in a discreet area of school, is free and confidential, and offers support and advice to young people on a range of matters including sexual health information for pupils over the age of 13.
MGS WEBSITE AND SCHOOL HANDBOOK FOR PARENTS
Our website has lots of useful information for parents, and includes our School Handbook and School Policies. Have a look! We welcome your feedback.
CAR PARK SAFETY
A reminder that for everyone’s safety, the car park is only to be used for staff and visitor parking, not dropping pupils off, waiting for them to leave school at the end of the day, nor for driving lessons.
We have had a few incidents recently, largely due to the volume of cars in the carpark at busy points in the school day. We are fortunate to have a large turning circle right at our school gates, so there is no real need for parents to enter the car park to drop pupils off. Please drop pupils off at the turning circle instead of driving to the front door. If your pupil has a physical requirement that means they cannot walk from the front gates, please just get in touch with us to let us know in advance. Thank you for your support with this.
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