EDUCATION

The PA speaks to the head teacher, pupils and parents about Perth’s new school

It is now just over six weeks until Bertha Park High School officially opens its doors for the first time.

The new high school on the edge of Perth is the first new secondary school to be built in Scotland for 20 years.

In August, first and second year pupils will walk through the doors and start their education at Bertha Park - and headteacher Stuart Clyde has promised it to be an education like no other.

The PA sat down with some of those who will be joining the school community – James Duguid and April Campbell, who have both just left Ruthvenfield Primary School, Jane Ferguson, whose son has just left Pitcairn Primary School, Victoria Sullivan, who moved to Bertha Park to make sure her son could join the new school, and the school’s headteacher Stuart Clyde.

As well as embracing digital technology, the pupils will also have longer class periods than normal, and teachers will be taking a flexible approach to learning.

Parents are also going to be heavily involved in their children’s schooling, with teachers keen to make sure they are an equal partner in their children’s learning.

James and April have recently been to transition days to meet their new teachers and their soon-tobe classmates – and they are relishing the big day when they move up to high school.

James said: “People from our class have been going up to the school and reporting back to us with what they’ve seen and what is new.

“This is the first time I have seen the school and it is huge.

“At first I was nervous, because it is a brand new school and I kept thinking I would get lost.

“But after the transition days, I met a lot of new people and that has taken away my nerves, so I am quite excited about it all.”

His classmate April said: “I met lots of new friends on the transition days, and we have had lots of people coming to speak to us about the new school – the deputy headteacher came to speak with us last week.” The pair say they are particularly looking forward

to getting involved in the school’s clubs. April said: “I want to try out some clubs, like after-school clubs. I want to try almost a bit of everything.”

The group were all excited about having a peek inside the new school building to find out what is in store for them in August.

Head teacher Stuart Clyde said the school will be looking to the future with its learning and will be taking on some new approaches, as well as having a heavy emphasis on digital technology.

One of the ways he will be doing this is by offering pupils only four subjects a day, allowing pupils to get more in-depth with their subjects, and their learning will not always take place in a classroom.

He said: “There has been research done all over the world and we have taken advice on what is the right environment for teaching and learning.

“While there are still classrooms, the idea is that one whole period will not be taken up in one area.

“We will have flexible learning so they can start off in their classroom and then break out into different spaces – we also want to encourage outdoor learning.

“The idea is also depth of learning – there will only be four subjects a day so teachers can go really into depth and do practical work.

“With the kids not juggling seven subjects a day, it is better for their mental health and wellbeing.”

Mum Jane said: “They have done research into everything, but this way has been proven to work, which is really exciting as a parent.

“It feels like there are new opportunities here to do things a little bit different because there is no set routine and no expectations for things to be done a certain way, it is a completely fresh start.”

And mum Victoria said she even moved to the new housing development at Bertha Park just to make sure her son went to the brand new school.

Previously the family lived in Broughty Ferry, but after Victoria’s husband landed a job in Perth, they made the move to Bertha Park. Victoria said: “We moved to Bertha Park from Dundee because of the school.

“My husband could have commuted to his job in Perth but we knew the school was being built, so we moved here about a month ago.

“It has been a little bit complicated because my son is going into second year, so he has spent the past month at Perth Grammar School with the rest of the class which is starting at Bertha Park in August.

“But that means he has been able to meet his new classmates and knows what is going on with everything.

“My son is really looking forward to going up to the school.”

The teachers are also going to be embracing digital technology at the school.

Bertha Park High School has been named as a Microsoft flagship school – one of only 17 across the entire world.

Pupils will also all be given their own iPad for the duration of their schooling and will be able to complete their work on their device.

Mum Victoria said: “Bertha Park is going to be a Microsoft flagship school.

“Microsoft was looking to work with schools all over the world, and Bertha Park is the only one in the UK, and they will be trialling new equipment in the school itself.”

Stuart Clyde explained: “We have lots of opportunities because the school is embracing digital technology and learning.

“Microsoft has done an enormous amount of learning about what does work and what doesn’t work, and they were looking for schools to embrace their ideas.

“It is not a sponsorship – in fact there will be a mix of Windows and Apple products in the school.

“All young people will get an iPad which they can access at school and at home, and teachers will make their class resources available on our cloud.

“We are not going to go paper-free completely. However – there was no appetite for that from the staff or the parents, because kids still need to be able to physically handwrite.”

The two pupils the PA spoke to are also very excited about the digital learning they will be benefitting from.

James said: “It will be a fun way of teaching, so it will be great to get all this digital learning, especially to get an iPad.

“I know that costs a lot of money, so I am surprised and amazed.”

April added: “I am really looking forward to it as well.”

As Bertha Park High School is a brand new school, everything has had to be created from scratch, including the uniform, the school logo, the school ethos and the teaching staff.

Students at Perth College UHI were tasked with creating the design of the school uniform, then the final design was picked by the parents and pupils.

And a team of brand new teachers have been hired for when the school starts in August.

Mr Clyde said: “The teachers are all excited because it is a brand new school, not just a new building.

“I had to recruit all of them because none of them were in post already,