St Modan's High School
Parent Newsletter -Week beginning Monday 15th December 2025
Parent Newsletter -Week beginning Monday 15th December 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As this term draws to a close, I would like to wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas. May the festive season bring you peace, love and joy.
Please note that school will finish on Friday, 19th December at 12.15 pm. We will reopen on Monday 5th January at 8.30 am.
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Claire Friel
Some of our S2 and S3 pupils have been visiting Oakeshott House supported living for shared reading sessions. We are very proud of the way our pupils conduct themselves on these visits, they represent the school exceptionally well and bring joy and purpose to some of the residents.
If you think your child would benefit from or enjoy this experience please encourage them to collect a permission form from their English teacher.
Our S1 and S6 combined their collective festive brainpower on Wednesday 10th December as they participated in our first ever Christmas Buddy quiz. Pupils in S1 were given a Santa Hat in return for a £1 donation and the S6 pupils wore some very jazzy Christmas jumpers. Pupils should return completed quiz sheets to their PSD teachers and winners will be announced and prizes issued at the S1 Ceilidh on Thursday 18th December.
As of mid December Mr McGurk has taken over DHT responsibility for S1. He is looking foward to working with Ms Glen, the S1 PSD staff team and the fantastic young people of S1. Mr McGurk will now take this group through to change of timetable in May 2027.
S1 Ceilidh will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 18th December, pupils can bring appropriate party clothes with them to school on Thursday. They will be able to change out of uniform during BGE lunchtime.
The next addition of our Celebrating Success newsletter will be published in December.
If you would like to nominate their child to be in the Celebrating Success Newsletter, please email smhscelebratingsuccess@stirlingschools.net
Many thanks,
The Celebrating Success Committee
Many thanks to all who attended our Christmas Concert this year. It was a wonderful event. Particular thanks to the staff and pupils who put in so much hard work to make this night happen. You are all superstars!
Tenth Teens’ Takeover Day serves up more inspiration to pupils.
High school pupils from St Modan’s in Stirling once again turned the tables on their teachers on Tuesday, 11th November by cooking and serving meals at Forth Valley College’s Gallery Restaurant.
The group of S3 Health and Food Technology pupils – guided by FVC’s Hospitality lecturing staff Carolyn Taylor and Kenneth Bell – hosted a Teens’ Takeover Day at the College’s Stirling Campus training restaurant and served up a delicious meal for paying guests including their family members, friends and teachers on this evening. Pupils from the school had previously taken part in similar events in since October 2018.
Karyn King, FVC’s Operations Manager in Hospitality, said: “We were delighted as always to host the Teens’ Takeover in partnership with St Modan’s High School. The pupils did a wonderful job, and it was great to see so many pupils engaging in hospitality and preparing them for the future. There is another TT evening planned for May 2026.
S5/6 Prelims begin on Wednesday 7th January.
There is no official study leave but if you would prefer your child to study at home during this time, please email the school.
S5/6 Prelim Timetable January 2026
This year, the Computing department have managed to secure funding to expand to 4 robotics teams in the school. We have:
S3 - Kode_Killers
S4 - Byte Bots
S5 - Robotica
S6 - Ctrl Alt Elite
On November 25th, we attended our first competition of the season. This took place at the National Robotarium, based at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Despite it only being their first time competing, our S3 team ranked 2nd overall in qualifying matches. In addition to this, our S5 team placed 3rd in the Skills competition and got to the final match, placing 2nd overall for the day.
We are now in preparation for our next competition in January!
The Scholastic Book Fair made £243.80, almost double last year's total - Many thanks to everyone who browsed and bought!
Young Carers Drop In Sessions - These will start in January with Esther from Stirling Young Carers coming along to support any young carers in the school. The January session will take place on Wednesday 21st.
Pupils can see Ms Fitzsimons for more information.
Here is a link to the Parent Calendar for next year - link to calendar
Skills Development Scotland have developed a webinar for parents on the run up to subject choices. It can be found here.
https://youtu.be/FqTzgEFhdO4?si=9KnL4FhFuCluC7gx
Attendance at the event is dependent on pupils demonstrating positive behaviour, sustained effort in school and good attendance. Pupils must continue to meet our school expectations in order to be eligible to attend.
We hope to see as many of our pupils there as possible for what promises to be a special evening.
Kind regards,
Mrs McGeehan (S5) and Mrs Pert (S6)
Many thanks to our wonderful PTP for all their support this year. They work tirelessly for the good of the school and our pupils. we are lucky to have them.
St Modan’s and the PTP have jointly funded 8 Peak memberships for pupils and staff to use between Monday–Friday, until 31st May 2026. These passes provide access to The Peak’s facilities, including the gym, swimming, fitness classes, games hall and outdoor pods. (Games hall is currently being redeveloped, it will be open again in the new year.)
Please note:
Passes must be booked in advance by completing the form on Grace's desk. (PE base)
Students must be 14 years or older to use the facilities.
Students must complete a gym induction at The Peak or book one with Grace before their first session.
Fobs must be signed out from the PE base (Grace’s desk) and returned the following day.
Lost fobs may incur a replacement charge.
The fob only allows access for one St Modan’s pupil or staff member.
A padlock is required for lockers (can be brought from home or purchased at The Peak).
The gym can be busy after 5pm. Juniors (14 & 15 years) are not permitted on Mondays between 4–8pm (last entry 3.30pm).
Personal information such as emergency contact, address and medical information will be shared with the staff at The Peak reception in case of an emergency.
Important – Supervision and Travel:
Students will be attending The Peak unaccompanied.
Parents/guardians must be satisfied that their child is responsible enough to attend after school without supervision.
Parents will be asked to complete a consent form prior to the students first session at The Peak. Students can collect from Grace when registering for this opportunity.
Students must know how they will travel home , whether walking, taking a bus, or being collected.
The Peak and St Modan’s will not be responsible for students behaviour, supervision, or travel arrangements once pupils leave the school premises.
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please email or speak to Grace Morrison (Active Schools Coordinator).
Morrisong@activestirling.org.uk
Kind regards,
Grace
A reminder of some of the clubs and activities that we are currently running after school and at lunch.
We have a supply of pre-loved uniform; shoes; food parcels and period products available in our school. If there is anything that we can do to support you and your family, please contact the pupil support team on pupilsupportstmodans@stirling.gov.uk or complete this google form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI2tw5JxeAjWYVzHvf61nKOI9QTij0r_7NffBTGMtrNPdUww/viewform?usp=sharing
Please make sure you have completed the free-meal entitlement and uniform support if you think you may be eligible as a family. If you need help completing the form, please contact the school. Also, this is the form regardless of your 'home authority' as we are a Stirling Council school:
As you may be aware travelling by bus is now free for 5-22 year olds around Scotland. So if you haven’t already applied for your child’s card why not do it today in time for the summer holidays and obtain Young Scot discounts & Rewards www.youngscot.org/discounts-and-rewards
You can apply now or check out the below links for more information.
How to apply for Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel on behalf of your child: https://youtu.be/EYiz87G0MSE
How to apply for Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel on behalf of your child under 16 who already has a card: https://youtu.be/A3sKTzZVpiA
How to apply for Young Persons Free Bus Travel if you’re over 16: https://youtu.be/CLWDKSzfCqA
The most effective means of getting in touch with us is email. The email addresses are:
General Enquiries:
Pupil Support, ASN and Inclusion:
pupilsupportstmodans@stirling.gov.uk
Autism Provision: