\McLaren High
Stirling Sevens Girls Rugby Tournament The first ever Stirling 7s Girls rugby tournament took place on Wednesday, March 21 at Stirling County RFC. With girls’ rugby on the rise at McLaren High School there was a big buzz of excitement when this event was announced. Due to a high demand McLaren were able to send two U14 teams alongside one U16 team. This meant that 26 girls between S1 and S4 were representing McLaren Rugby at the tournament. The U14 ‘A’ side were entered into the U14 Cup Competition. They started the competition with a strong performance and a 5-1 victory against Leith Academy. Next up for the girls was a match against Falkirk HS. The girls continued their excellent rugby and ran out comfortable 6-1 winners. The girls finished the pool stage with a 2-5 defeat to Auchterarder. This was a close match and the girls were up against an experienced and well organised side. However, their first two victories ensured that they progressed to the U14 Cup final. The final was against Auchterarder. Despite playing some excellent rugby, they fell just short losing 2-5. Well done on making the final girls! The try scorers across the tournament were Mary Walker x6, Abbie Alcorn x2, Jessica Orr Ewing x2, Iona Little x2, Holly Bowen x2 and Millie Jenkins. The U14 ‘B’ side were made up of S1 pupils who had picked up the sport during our School of Rugby programme. The ‘B’ team entered the Plate Competition. The girls played some excellent rugby throughout their matches and can be really proud of their performances. The girls started with a 6-2 victory against Leith Academy ‘B’. Up next was a tough match against eventual Plate winners Wallace HS. The girls lost this game 3-6. However, they bounced back and drew an exciting game with Balfron HS 7-7. McLaren finished their pool fixtures with an excellent 5-0 victory against Braes HS. This ensured that with only one defeat they progressed into the Plate final. As mentioned they faced a strong Wallace HS in the final and lost 3-6. This was a great effort from the girls, with many of the team making their McLaren rugby debuts. McLaren ‘B’ try scorers were Eilidh Fleming x7, Rachael Dinwoodie x7, Rosalind Turnball x6 and Catriona Anderson x4. The U16 team finished the afternoon on a high after being announced as the U16 Plate winners. McLaren started the day with tough fixtures against Dunblane HS and Wallace HS. The girls lost both of these fixtures, but continued to gives 100% throughout the afternoon. The girls also lost their fixture against Auchterarder. This resulted in them qualifying for the Plate competition. This was between McLaren and Balfron HS. In a close match McLaren ran out 4-3 winners, and consequently finished the tournament as Plate winners. Well done girls! The U16 tries were scored by Eva Fisher x4 and Emily Collie. The girls had a fun, rugby filled afternoon and it was fantastic to see so many girls playing rugby. Zoolab We were delighted to welcome Zoolab back to the school on March 21. S1 pupils had an educational morning hearing about and handling the animals. World Maths Day World Maths Day was on March 7 but unfortunately our Siberian winter blast blew our celebrations to another day. We rescheduled to March 23 and had an energy-filled day of problem solving, tower challenges and competitions that got the heads spinning with all things number. The goal in the tower building contest was to create the tallest tower out of just newspaper and tape. Teams were a maximum of five people and the hall was a buzz of activity as they all tried to get the highest tower possible. Tower building results: 1st- The Imperials (Leny); 2nd place - The Sky Rockets (Bracklinn); 3rd place - The Fruit Corners (Leny). Well done to everyone who took part.