Embedded Files
HT Update 09/10/26
It was great to see so many of our S1 parents and carers in the building on Wednesday for our first Parent Consultation evening of the year. We know that the chance to engage with teachers face to face is always valued. Thank you to everyone who took time during the evening to complete our survey on learners’ experiences. As you will be aware from our Improvement Plan, we have invested some of our Pupil Equity Fund in creating two additional Principal Teacher roles this year, with a clear focus on what young people are learning and how they are learning it. In particular, we want our curriculum and our classrooms to be inclusive by design, ensuring that as many young people as possible are able to access learning at the right level of challenge and support.
If you haven’t done so already, we would also appreciate you taking a couple of minutes (less than that!) to fill in the very brief evaluation form that has been sent to all attendees.
A final reminder goes to S3-S6 parents to sign up for the Senior Phase Success Family Learning Event on the 27th October. The guest list currently sits at around 160 but we are happy to squeeze in a few more if we can! This is a great opportunity to speak with school staff and partners about how you can best support your young person to achieve and attain as highly as they can in school, as well as thinking about next steps.
The East Lothian Council Mobile Phone Guidance formally comes into force after the October break. As you will be aware, we have got ahead of this so there are limited changes for our young people to manage. In line with the parent communication earlier this week, please be aware that the expectation is that phones continue to be out of sight in corridors. This would apply to:
Young people accessing the toilets (class teachers will often ‘swap’ a phone for a toilet pass to ensure passes come back)
Young people working in breakout spaces (class teachers will remind them of this)
S6 working in agreed study areas
Transition times
You can support us by not expecting your young person to answer calls/ messages during learning time. This is causing embarrassment for some of our young people as they are trying to stick to the rules but worry that they will then get into conflict at home if they don’t respond.
We had some very good news this week in terms of our LGBT Scotland Charter status. Just a couple of months into our Improvement Plan, we are already at Bronze level and in a good position to achieve Silver in the coming months. This status was based on engagement from staff in professional learning around support for young people with LGBT identities, as well as key questions for our school around our current practices. This work also aligns with our ongoing commitment to being a Rights Respecting School, with our Silver status for this accredited in 2025.
We continue with some exciting beyond the classroom activities both on and off campus. On the 21st of October, a group of S1 and S2 Girls will be taking part in ‘Beyond the Tryline’ events at Meadowmills, aimed at increasing female participation in sports. The next day, our senior Travel and Tourism class is heading to Stirling Castle to support their learning around tourist businesses. Further to this, the whole school is able to get involved in our Charities Week (week beginning 26th October), organised by our S3 and supported by our PLT. Please see Ms Wynne’s rundown below:
We are excited to share a reminder about our upcoming Rosehill Charity Week, taking place from Monday 26th October to Friday 30th October.
This week has been organised by our S3 Employability pupils, who have been working hard to plan and run a range of fundraising events for the whole school community. The events are open to pupils across the school, and we would love to see as many pupils as possible getting involved.
We are running Charity Week in conjunction with the YPI (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative). As part of YPI, our S3 pupils have been researching local charities and advocating for a charity that they believe makes a real difference in our community. Pupils will take part in a school competition where they present their chosen charity, with the winning charity receiving £3,000. As part of this initiative, our school is responsible for raising £500 towards the overall prize, which is why the money raised through Charity Week is so important. It gives our pupils the opportunity to make a genuine contribution to a local cause while developing skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, creativity and responsibility.
Our S3 pupils have shown a huge amount of responsibility, enthusiasm and excitement while organising the events. They have been highly engaged throughout the planning process and have really embraced the opportunity to take ownership of something that will have a positive impact on others.
We are looking forward to seeing their hard work come together and making Charity Week a real success.
The events are all upcoming, and there are still tickets available for the after-school events. Lunchtime events can be paid for by donation at the door, while tickets for the after-school events can be purchased through ParentPay.
HT Update 02/10/26
We’re looking forward to seeing S1 families for our first Parent Consultation Evening of the year on Wednesday 7th October. Please be aware that entry will be by the main doors at the front of the school for registration, with most teachers in the assembly hall, and some faculties in the Music/Drama spaces next to it.
Parents of pupils in S3-S6 will by now have received their booking form for our Senior Phase Success Family Learning event on the 27th October. We would strongly encourage as many of you to come along as possible. In particular, we have lower than anticipated uptake from S3 at present. This is an ideal opportunity to plan ahead, as S3 coursing will be taking place before Christmas and it’s important that young people have the chance to learn about what they are signing up for! A full timetable with all options will be issued ahead of time, to help you plan your evening.
As part of their Youth Philanthropy Initiative work, S3 pupils are leading a Charities week, with the following activities planned over upcoming lunchtimes:
Monday 26th October: Just Dance
Tuesday 27th October: Karaoke
Wednesday 28th October and Thursday 29th October: Movie showing
They are also planning a Charity Disco on the evening of 29th October and a Food Drive on the 30th October. The team, led by Ms Wynne, will be in touch with more.
Please can we also remind you about our Achievement email: achievement@rosehill.elcschool.org.uk It’s great when parents let us know informally that their child is involved in something outside of school, so please do take a moment if you can to ensure that this is recorded and recognised. Our first Achievement assemblies, led by our House Heads, will take place after the October break, and will capture the nominations so far.
I also wanted to take a moment to recognise how well almost all young people have adapted to our revised mobile phone procedures. Since the September weekend, we have focused on the approach below:
Young people can keep their mobile phones in silent and in their bag, or store them in the box supplied by the class teacher at the door
However, should they then have their mobile phone out in class, this must then go into storage until the end of the lesson
If they refuse to do this, as support call is made and a disciplinary incident is begun
Contact home will be made where a young person continued to refuse to follow the ELC guidelines
If the issue cannot be resolved, this leads to withdrawal from class which may then lead to a parent meeting/ formal disciplinary warning
Unfortunately, a minority of parents continue to contact their child/ expect their child to contact them during class time. This then results in the child being the person who is challenged and disciplined. Please continue to support us by ensuring that communication happens, if needed, during rest breaks (11.10-11.25 and 13.05-13.45)
The East Lothian guidelines (due to formally come into play from 20th October) state that all schools should also support phone free corridors. We will be looking at this with the young people in our upcoming assemblies, encouraging them to enjoy switching off for blocks of time. In line with the local authority guidelines, pupils remain free to use their mobile phones during rest breaks.
Finally, we are welcoming three new members of staff next week:
Mazhar Yusaf - Maths (replacing Stefano Pecerrilo)
Christaine Coquerelle - Modern Languages (replacing Shona Robertson)
Kim Blair - Office
HT Update 25/09/26
Firstly, thank you to all who attended the first Parent Council meeting of the session this week. As always, this was a really useful discussion, particularly the exploration of how we can make our Pupil Leadership Team more involved in this work. The slides from the HT Report that begins each meeting are here. Please note that these can only be accessed through edubuzz: HT Report for Parent Council: Tuesday 22nd September 2026
Nationally, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle continues to develop. The most recent update from the Scottish Government is here: https://www.gov.scot/news/next-steps-in-curriculum-improvement/ Our work around this is being led by Richard Watson, who is undertaking our PT Pathways role. Richard has been working with staff and pupils to look at our readiness for implementation of the new curriculum, including a focus on how we can continue to ensure that it is relevant, enjoyable, and leads to the best attainment outcomes. Richard will be looking to engage with parents in the next stage, so please look out for further information.
As noted previously, our next Family Learning Event is Senior Phase Success, which will take place from 5.30pm to 7.15pm on the 27th October. This is a bookable event, and invitations will be out before the October break. This event will be based on a workshop format, with multiple (repeated) short sessions that you can opt in to throughout the evening. These will include information and advice around:
Coursing processes
Managing exam season
Post-school destinations
Study skills
‘How to succeed in [each subject]’
This event will be open to all young people in S3 as well as those in S4-S6 already, to help to support their transition into the senior phase. We would love to see as many of you as possible taking advantage of the expertise of our subject specialists and our partners.
In staffing, Natacha Guillamin has joined us as a permanent Teacher of English (replacing Ross MacLeod) and has been enjoying meeting her classes this week. Our (final!) new teachers for Modern Languages and Maths will join us in the next couple of weeks.
HT Update 18/09/26
Thank you to all who attended yesterday’s Family Learning Event. This has proved to be a popular event year on year, and is a very positive part of the transition process. Attendees will receive a (very short) evaluation form about their experience. We really appreciate you completing this as it provides clear data for us to evaluate our practice. I am sure you would agree that this was a very positive and enjoyable way to experience learning and teaching at Rosehill.
We have a number of upcoming events that you may want to get in the diary (these are all in the key dates document on the website):
Our first Parent Council Meeting of the year will be on Tuesday 22nd September, 6.30pm for a 6.45pm start, with an 8pm finish. We will send a ‘listen in’ Google link as an option for those who can’t attend, and this is just for listening in! If you want to join in the discussions, this is an in-person event. All are welcome. If you would like to be involved in the Parent Council on a regular basis, please contact our Chair, Charlie Wood, on rosehillhighpc@gmail.com
Our S1 Parent Consultation evening will be on Wednesday 7th October. This is a bookable event and details have been sent to all main contacts.
Our next Family Learning Event is ‘Senior Phase Success’, on the evening of the 27th October. This is for S3-S6 pupils and will cover a range of topics including subject specific tricks and tips, mental health and wellbeing, study skills and next steps. Booking forms and more detailed information to follow.
Our Pupil Leadership Team is fully up and running and our Coordinators completed their first duties attending the Battle of Pinkie Clough Memorial last week, where Caleb laid the wreath on behalf of our community. The full PLT has now met to establish roles and responsibilities and undertaken some initial work on a Pupil Voice website, to better capture the experiences of learners. They have also been working towards their first whole school event, coming up at the end of October- more to follow.
A reminder that our Achievement Mailbox is up and running, on achievement@rosehill.elcschool.org.uk Our aim is to collect 100 Rosehill out of school achievements this session, so please share all the exciting things your young people have been up to.
Our 5 a Day focus has been on young people transitioning from P7 into S1, and has clearly reflected the positive experiences that young people have had. This is very encouraging given the significant amount of work that goes into supporting this transition.
In staffing, we have welcomed two new members of the team to support administration. Gemma English is our PEF funded Pupil Welfare Officer, and will have a particular focus on attendance. Although we have seen a steady progression with attendance since our opening, we remain below the national average and are keen to continue to improve this. Carlan Davie, after a period with us on supply, has joined us as a permanent member of the office team. We continue to have two remaining gaps in administration, but both should be closed by October.
One of our learning assistants, Ross Foley, will be leaving us next Friday as he is re-locating (to the big city lights of London) for personal reasons. Ross also worked at Wallyford Primary before he joined us, so has known a lot of our young people for several years, and will certainly be missed. David Greg and Bryan Burnside, who joined the learning assistant team earlier in the term, have settled in well. Arrangements are also in place for our new teachers in Modern Languages and Maths, and we look forward to welcoming them ahead of the October break.
HT Update 04/09/26
As I write, our S6 pupils are currently at Forde Castle in Northumberland for their residential experience. Huge thanks go to Zack Williams, Ashley Davanna and Orla Burrows for accompanying them over the last couple of days, we can’t wait to get all the stories when they return. We’ve had some very positive updates and are particularly proud that the S6 has embraced this as a phone free experience.
On this note, we sent an update on our in-school phone procedures, as we move towards full implementation of the East Lothian Council guidelines by October. This involves extending our current pilot scheme to all faculties from Tuesday 15th September. Please ensure that you are familiar with our school level procedures as, in the rare cases of persistent misuse that we have, we involve families immediately. This is because our research shows that almost all mobile phones in school are the property of adults, who have supplied the phone and pay the contract/ bills. Overall, we have been very pleased with the way in which pupils have adapted to the storage procedures in the pilot, and are confident this will continue.
Earlier this week, we also sent a whole school communication about our aim to collect at least 100 out-of-school achievements from our young people. To support this, we have set up the email address achievement@rosehill.elcschool.org.uk where you can share what they have been up to. Recognition of achievement beyond school is part of our School Improvement Plan this year, and works alongside existing skills profiling in our classrooms. Thank you in advance for your participation.
Booking is currently open for our Family Learning Event: Welcome to Rosehill! This is for all S1 families and P7s from our associated primary schools, Pinkie and Wallyford. This is a popular event with a maximum capacity, so early booking is advised. As always, if you make a booking but your circumstances change, do let us know so that we can offer the slots to other families.
Please be reminded that we have the long weekend coming up, with school closed on Friday 11th and Monday 14th September. Therefore, there will be no HT Update next Friday.
HT Update 28/08/2026
Thank you to all parents who attended the Family Learning session on the BGE Curriculum. The slides are here: BGE Curriculum Information Evening 26th Aug 2026 Please note that, for security, you need to be signed into your child’s edubuzz account to access these.
LEAPs interviews for eligible young people. You can find out more about the LEAPs programme here: https://www.leapsonline.org/
Queen Margaret University workshops on thinking ahead, and on writing a university application
Talks from the Royal Conservatoire Scotland and the University of the Highlands and Islands on opportunities in the arts and beyond
Ongoing work with Skills Development Scotland on training, apprenticeships and further education
In staffing, next week will be Mr Pecerrilo’s last with us, as he moves into a new post in the city centre. An advert for Teacher of Maths is currently open, and the team is currently being supported by Keith Ritchie to ensure as much consistency as possible. Making use of our Pupil Equity Fund, we are also pleased to be moving forward with specific posts supporting Literacy and Numeracy interventions in the BGE.
HT Update 21/08/2026
It’s been a very positive first full week, with lots of focus on our Rosehill Ready routines and expectations.
You may have picked up some media reports around papers on mobile phone use in school that have been considered by elected members. For clarity, please be aware that the guidelines in the paper are not for immediate implementation, as schools need to e.g. sort out storage solutions, agree local level procedures, and ensure that communications are clear with pupils and staff. We continue our pilot in Languages & Literacy, and Maths & Computing, and will be expanding this over the course of the month. A reminder that:
Young people can keep their mobile phones in silent and in their bag, or store them in the box/ pouch supplied by the class teacher
However, should they then have their mobile phone out, this must then go to the classroom teacher until the end of the lesson
If they refuse to do this, as support call is made and a disciplinary incident is begun, which may lead to contact home/ withdrawal from class/ parental meeting/ formal disciplinary warning (our message is- it’s just not worth it)
Almost all young people have managed this very well. However, we have had a small number of issues where young people have been using their phones during learning time to respond to texts or calls from parents. You can support us by keeping any communications before/ after school and during break or lunch.
We are looking forward to seeing BGE parents for our online BGE Curriculum Evening on Wednesday 26th August. As this is online, there is no need to pre-book. A mailing with joining details for the meeting was sent earlier this week, but please let the admin team know if you can’t locate this.
Our S6 residential takes place at the start of September and parents of those S6 who are signed up to attend should look out for an invitation to a brief information session coming up. Zack Williams will be able to outline the itinerary and answer any questions about arrangements.
In staffing, Kieran Ferns is currently on paternity leave, but will be back in early September. We are delighted to share that baby Phoebe has arrived safely and everyone is well. Next week, we’ll be saying goodbye to Ross MacLeod and Shona Robertson. Both have made significant contributions to our Languages and Literacy faculty in the last few years, and both are moving to posts closer to home. We wish them all the best in their new schools. We have preferred candidates for both posts, so new teachers for Modern Languages and English will join us very soon. We are also looking forward to Harry Gaughan joining us as our new Teacher of Physics on the 2nd September. We have recruitment ongoing in support roles, with interviews for ASN auxiliaries and admin coming up. We have also appointed a preferred candidate to our new (PEF funded) Pupil Welfare Officer role. This role has a specific focus on tracking and monitoring attendance, as this is an area we want to improve further.
And finally, we’ve been asked to share the following information about the upcoming SYP elections. Our link for this in school is Laura Anderson, so any young people with an interest should feel free to speak with her. All the info needed is on the link at the end:
Nominations now open for Scottish Youth Parliament election
The Scottish Youth Parliament is the democratically elected voice of Scotland’s young people. It raises young people’s voices and campaign to make Scotland the best place to grow up.
Registrations now open for young people interested in becoming a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament. Nominations must be made before 20 September and elections will be held 2 to 15 November. Support will be offered to all candidates.
Scottish Youth Parliament constituencies are the same as the Scottish Parliament’s. Candidates will stand, and pupils will vote, for the constituency based on the schools they attend as follows:
Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent: Ross High School, Musselburgh Grammar School, Rosehill High School
East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs: Preston Lodge High School, Knox Academy, North Berwick, Dunbar Grammar
Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament are 14-25-year-olds who are elected to represent young people in every part of Scotland. They:
take part in youth voice and participation activities in their local area or organisation
consult young people to find out about the issues they care about
meet with local decision-makers, like Councillors and MSPs, to share young people’s views
campaign for change and hold decision-makers to account.
Young people interested in standing for election to SYP can find out more and register online at elections.syp.org.uk/elections/75
HT Update 14/08/2026
It feels like we picked entirely the wrong week to come back to school, with lots of glorious August sunshine meaning a slightly sticky start to the school year!
Despite this, it’s been an absolute joy to see the young people return and re-engage. In particular, we have the excitement of our first ever S6, and around 145 new S1s starting their Rosehill journey. As noted at the end of last term, we have welcomed several new staff across our faculties; an updated staff list is available on the website.
Our two Professional Learning Days covered a variety of staff development topics, including:
Engagement with our 26-27 Improvement Plan
Beginning work to become an LGBT Charter School
A support staff conference
Rosehill Ready routines
Initial review of senior phase attainment
We are very proud of the young people’s work on the Qualifications Scotland results, with early indications of improvements in A-C passes at National 5, as well as a promising start from this year’s small Higher cohort. However, please be aware that the breadth of the curriculum means that not all attainment is ‘in’ as yet, and we need to wait for the updates to Insight (the national data hub) in September to get a full picture and accurate data. Ahead of this, faculties are looking carefully at existing subject level data to identify current strengths and any points of development for the next session.
We held an extended Welcome Back assembly for all young people on Wednesday morning, with key reminders of routines and expectations, including more support for phone free learning. A separate mailing on this was sent earlier this week, and we’ll feedback on the programme and any changes/ expansion as the term progresses.
Our first opportunity to connect with parents through our Family Learning programme will be the BGE Curriculum Evening at 6.30pm on the 26th August, online. Any of our S1-S3 families are welcome and will find relevant points for them in terms of the national and local picture, but we particularly recommend this session for parents of our new S1. We’ll look at our curriculum rationale, how we timetable (including personalisation and choice), and how you can support learning at home. Google Meet details will be sent a couple of days ahead.
Whilst our first Parent Council Meeting isn’t until September, anyone who would like to get involved can contact rosehillhighpc@gmail.com to note their interest. I promise that they are very friendly and very welcoming!
Today we say goodbye to Carys Mitchell who is moving to a post in Edinburgh. Her replacement, Carina Campbell-Welsh, will be with us from Monday. We are also delighted to have appointed Richard Watson to the temporary Principal Teacher: Pathways post. This is part of our Pupil Equity Fund planning and will focus on curriculum development to meet learners’ needs. Richard will remain in the classroom first and foremost, so this will not affect current coursing arrangements.
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