JONATHAN ANDERSON GARETH WARREN

HEADMASTER, MERCHISTON CASTLE SCHOOL RECTOR, MORRISON’S ACADEMY

MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two girls, aged six and two MAIN SUBJECT Geography

There has been an incredible ingenuity and lateral thinking during the pandemic, obviously a far from ideal situation but the boys and staff continue to be determined to make the absolute best they can of it.

Ultimately, a school works best when the pupils are in it rather than at home – they are absolutely the lifeblood. But we have maintained our sense of community and we are focused on continuing to deliver excellence in the classroom, albeit virtually.

We have been impressed by the way the boys have risen to the challenges. There has been boundless enthusiasm to keep working, keep ploughing through and to achieve. On their return last September, the boys had a really strong sense of wanting to get it right and made sure all the rules, regulations and guidelines were followed because they desperately wanted to be in Merchiston.

This term our pupils knew what to expect with online and distance learning and they just cracked on with a very busy and productive term. It hasn’t felt normal, but it hasn’t felt that abnormal either in that we kept our timetable going; the routines like morning meetings with housemasters, lessons running to schedule with Zoom interaction in every class, activities and tutorials in the afternoons. We even had socials – a Burns Supper on Zoom and another via a podcast produced by the sixth form.

Putting the individual is at the very centre of everything that we do, being incredibly pupil-focused. We have made sure that we have built in the opportunity for housemasters and tutors to reach out to boys and engage with them to give them the support they need. Any boys who require additional support have been able to access our chaplaincy and our counselling service – it has been crucial to keep that maintained.

Young people have a capacity to learn from mistakes, bounce back and keep going which you see in normal day-today school. But resilience in the sense of a pandemic does take on a different form. Children are incredibly good at adapting, learning and finding a way. That is one of the great joys of education – we have noticed an evolution, which is very uplifting.

WE ARE FOCUSED ON CONTINUING TO DELIVER EXCELLENCE

IN THE CLASSROOM,

ALBEIT VIRTUALLY

WE STILL ENCOURAGE OUR PUPILS TO EXPLORE AREAS THAT INTEREST THEM, AND DISCOVER THINGS FOR THEMSELVES

MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Three children: a daughter in S6, son in S5 and another daughter in P6. MAIN SUBJECT Biology and Chemistry

While the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly proved challenging operationally, and had a negative impact on the lives of many, it has also brought about positive changes. As a school we have been innovative, creative and resilient throughout and have used technology to push forward with a pupildriven programme of learning.

This means that while we have a National Curriculum and a whole set of pandemic restrictions and regulations, we still encourage our pupils to explore areas that interest them, and discover things for themselves.

For example, we have been able to take “virtual field trips”, visiting living museums and exhibitions. Our P5 class met with a Victorian lady who lives in the workhouse. The class was able to ask lots of questions and discover what life was like in the Victorian era.

The school’s priority during Covid-19 has been to balance the continued delivery of outstanding education with the health, wellbeing and safety of all pupils, staff and the wider school community. As a result, the school carried out detailed scenario planning, and are fully conversant with the Scottish Government and NHS guidance. We also conducted detailed risk assessments and have implemented many Covid-19 risk mitigation measures.

Morrison’s Academy utilises a very successful Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which enables pupils to continue to flourish during lockdown. We have used the Google School platform since 2016, so we were well placed to move to remote schooling in both our primary and secondary schools.

Outwith lockdown periods we have also offered hybrid learning to pupils who were shielding loved ones or isolating at home. All pupils follow their timetable virtually, participate in class discussions and submit work using our VLE.

During the pandemic the provision of co-curricular activities has proved challenging for most schools. However, we view this as an integral part of our educational offer and pupils’ school experience, therefore we have continued clubs and societies, music tuition etc online, wherever possible.

Each pupil has also had the weekly opportunity to connect with other year groups online, stay connected with their friends and remain engaged with their school studies.