Bekka is Graeme High School’s top pupil for 2019
In her speech to teachers, parents and pupils during last week’s awards ceremony, head teacher Lesley Carroll said the school has always been proud of its achievements and the success of its youngsters.
She added: “Our school is a place where we don’t feel shy or embarrassed about our achievements – we tell everyone who will listen. We’re not boastful or conceited, but confident and proud.
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Hide Ad“Success in school should be a vehicle for future success in adult life. You wish your child to have as many opportunities as possible in terms of further studies or career choices and you would wish these successes to be recognised and celebrated.
“In August, our S4 pupils gave us the best National 4 results in Falkirk Council, our National 5 pupils performed extremely well and in S5 all published measures were up. All of this makes me very confident and ambitious for this year’s results. To each and every one of you, well done and congratulations.”
Bekka Cairns (16) was named the school’s top pupil, while fellow student Ian Crorie was awarded the proxime accessit title.
Former St Margaret’s Primary School pupil Bekka, from Polmont, is just entering her sixth year and admitted she was surprised to be named school dux.
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Hide Ad“My favourite subjects are physics and English,” said Bekka. “I know I want to go to university to study physics or astrophysics, but I’m not sure what I want to do after that.
“I wanted to be an author when I was younger.”
She has certainly been the author of her own success, but, as her head teacher was quick to point out at last Wednesday’s ceremony, she could not have done it without a little help.
“Bekka and Ian, you are an absolute credit to your families and to your school. But, of course, you must not forget that you didn’t get here on your own. Parents and staff have provided you with support, encouragement, love, expert skills and knowledge and opportunities every day of every week.”
The head teacher added Graeme High pupils not only enjoyed academic, artistic and sporting success – they also proved to be good citizens and valued members of society by helping to make their local community a better place.
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Hide AdShe said: “At the heart of our school community is our ability to respond to the needs of others in our locality and beyond. In the last ten years, we have raised tens of thousands of pounds for local and national charities.
“This Christmas we again delivered almost 100 hampers to pensioners in our local area — a very tangible expression of our commitment to giving back to our local community. Each of our Houses, led by our House Charity Leaders, have worked hard to support, raise awareness and fund raise for their chosen House Charity of Strathcarron Hospice, Teenage Cancer Trust, FADHM and Falkirk Foodbank.”
Social Subjects and RMPS
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
Geography – Isla Ramsay; History – Skye Stewart; RMPS – Emma Reynolds
National 5 Awards
Geography – Abbie Cockburn; History – Aiden Lyons; Modern Studies – Louis Ainsley; RMPS – Eva Serafini
HIGHER AWARDS
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Hide AdGeography – Ian Crorie; History – Lauren Isles; Modern Studies – Amie Shirra; RMPS – Saskia Liddell
Physical Education and Hospitality
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
Physical Education – Molly Sharp; Sports Leader – Sarahjane Polson
National 5 Awards
Hospitality – Abbie Cockburn and Lauren Morelli; Physical Education – Ciaran McGuckin
HIGHER AWARD
Physical Education – Daniel Agnew
Enhanced Curriculum
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
Care – Kyle Spink; Early Learning and Childcare – Caitlin Lang; Hair Academy – Lauren Sneddon; Police Studies – Calum McLay and David Petrea
MERIT AWARDS
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Hide AdCare – Caitlin Lang; Early Learning and Childcare – Elle Black; Hair Academy – Megan Macaulay; Police Studies – Charlotte Deanie and Jessica Thomson
Business Education and Design and Technology
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
Administration and IT – Catherine Dalglies and Ellie Moore; Business Management – Jessica Kyle and Danielle Malone; Design and Manufacture – Sean Hill, Alan Macaloney and Ruairidh Whiteside; Graphic Communication – Ben Edwards, Mark Johnston and Kyle Robertson; Practical Woodwork – Lewis Pilley and Jake Thompson
National 5 Awards
Administration and IT – Abbi Cummings; Business Management – Alistair Fraser; Design and Manufacture – Jamie McCallum and Rory Sneddon; Engineering Skills – Saskia Liddell;
Graphic Communication – Louis Ainsley and Abby McNab; Practical Metalwork – Arron Carruthers; Practical Woodwork – Mason Martin, Scott McGregor and Jawad Zada
HIGHER AWARDS
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Hide AdAdministration and IT – Harry Strachan; Business Management – Bronwen McGuire; Design and Manufacture – Tegan Clark; Graphic Communication – Callum Callahan
English and French
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
English – Sophie Fulke and Lewis Witherspoon; French – Rachel Forbes
MERIT AWARDS
English – Bekka Cairns, Aiden Lyons and Alicia MacDonald
National 5 Awards
English – Emma Minski and Jack Rodger; French – Abbie Cockburn
HIGHER AWARDS
English – Elisha Shaw; French – Simi Singh
Advanced Higher Awards
English – Ewan McCormick and Charlotte Soper; French – Boglarka Balla
Biology, Chemistry and Physics
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
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Hide AdBiology – Sam Forsyth and Harry Strachan; Chemistry Mark Johnston and Elise Oliphant; Physics – Murray Brown and Callum Callahan
National 5 Awards
Biology – Louis Ainsley; Chemistry – Abbie Cockburn; Physics – Louis Ainsley
HIGHER AWARDS
Biology – Bekka Cairns; Chemistry – Boglarka Balla; Physics – Bekka Cairns and Ian Crorie
Advanced Higher Award
Biology – Heather Richards; Chemistry – Ross Livingston and Heather Richards; Physics – Ryan Maxwell
Mathematics and Computing
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
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Hide AdComputing Science – Murray Brown; Mathematics – Kourosh Barclay and Mason Martin
Merit Awards
Mathematics – Bekka Cairns, Abbie Cockburn and Mark Johnston
National 5 Awards
Computing Science – Louis Ainsley; Mathematics – Louis Ainsley
HIGHER AWARD
Mathematics – Ian Crorie
Advanced Higher Award
Mathematics – Ryan Maxwell
Art, Drama and Music
ENDEAVOUR AWARDS
Art – Halle Smith; Drama – Liam Burt; Music – Aiden Lyons
National 5 Awards
Art – Blair MacLeod; Drama – Aiden Lyons; Music – Jack Brown
HIGHER AWARDS
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Hide AdArt – Molly Sharp; Drama – Laura Brown; Music – Michael Miller
Advanced Higher Awards
Art – Poppy Hepburn; Music – Sarahjane Polson
Service to the School and Community
The Andrew Steele Prize – School Captains; The PTA Shield for Outstanding Achievement – Hana Mackay and Jake Newton; The Bob Nimmo Prize – Sarahjane Polson; The Class ’98 Prize for Outstanding Achievement – Darcy Cassells; The Jessie Kettrick Trophy for Service to the School – Zayn Ali; The School Board Shield for Outstanding Achievement – Heather Richards; The Mhairi McDonald Award for Outstanding in Science – Harry Strachan; The Viv Scott Award for Sporting Excellence – Jack Hodge