Celebrating Achievement – Anna L

Congratulations to Anna who competed in the 3rd round of the East District swimming Championships at the weekend, Anna finished 3rd in the 100m breast stroke and achieved 2 personal bests, ending the championship with 1 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Anna is off to Aberdeen in a couple of weeks to compete in the Scottish National Age group Championships, a national competition, over 5 days,  racing some of the top age group swimmers in the country.
Well done Anna!

SQA Update

SQA Update

The main SQA examination diet will run from Monday 24th April to Wednesday 31st May inclusive. Arrangements for Study Leave this session are as follows:

  • S4 Pupils with 3 or more National 5 Examinations and all S5/S6 pupils will have full Study Leave running from Monday 24th April to Wednesday 31st May Inclusive. Young people do need not need to attend school unless they have an examination or wish to attend a study session confirmed by their teacher through Google Classroom. Other times should be spent productively completing home study.
  • S4 Pupils with 1 or 2 examinations will be entitled to the 2 school days prior to each examination as Study Leave. Young people who fall into this category should attend the Employability Programme being offered in the school at all other times. More information regarding this programme will follow in due course.
  • S4 Pupils who do not have any formal exams should follow the Employability Programme. During the examination period these pupils will also be able to complete any remaining coursework/assessments to allow these qualifications to be achieved.

 

 Exceptional Circumstances

 In the event that a young person is unable to attend an exam in exceptional situations, contact should be made to the school on the day of the exam before 8:40am. In some cases the Examination Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service (EECCS) will support young people who are unable to attend an exam. This service will be available for young people in the exceptional situations listed below:

  • A young person has been unable to attend an exam, or prevented from completing the exam, due to a personal circumstance beyond their control (such as a medical issue).
  • A young person has been impacted during an exam by a disruption or another exam circumstance reported by the chief invigilator.
  • A young person’s performance in the exam was impacted by a personal circumstance, or an unplanned incident on the day which was beyond their control.

A request to this service must be submitted within 10 days after the exam therefore absence or other disruption must be reported to the school on the day of the exam. We will then provide alternative assessment evidence to the SQA. SQA examiners will review this along with any exam materials that a young person completed to decide a grade.

 

Appeals

Appeals 2023 is a free service that a young person can use if they have genuine concerns about a grade. This year’s appeal service will have a different process to the one used last year as alternative assessment evidence will not be looked it. This year if a young person appeals against their grade, a senior marker will carry out a marking review of their SQA-marked assessments. Please note, this is not a re-mark.

A marking review checks that:

  • All parts of an assessment have been marked.
  • The marking is in line with national standards.
  • The marks given for each answer have been totalled correctly.
  • The correct result has been entered on SQA systems.

A young person should discuss their decision to appeal as soon as possible after getting their results. Please note that after being reviewed, result could stay the same, go up or go down. More information is available at www.sqa.org.uk/appeals.

Please note that a letter confirming this information along with a copy of your young person’s timetable and other SQA information will be sent to you the week beginning the 3rd April.

 

Craig Knight

Depute Headteacher

 

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery Service

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery service in Midlothian are now holding drop in ‘information sessions’ across Midlothian on a monthly basis. The next session at Dalkeith Library is 11th April 10:00 – 13:00 and subsequently the second Tuesday of every month going forward. These sessions aim to raise awareness of the benefits Social Security Scotland deliver and also offer advice on how to apply.

https://socialsecurity.gov.scot/

Celebrating Achievement – Ritchie S, 1B2

Congratulations to Ritchie S, 1B2, who recently qualified for the East District Swimming Championships, which hosts the top swimmers from across the district. Ritchie qualified for all 5 events across the weekend and made 3 finals, finishing 4th, 5th and 7th in his age group.

Ritchie will now head to Aberdeen during the Easter Holidays to compete over 5 days at the Scottish National Age Group Championships bringing together the very best swimmers from across the country. A fantastic achievement to even qualify for such an event at 12!
Well done Ritchie and good luck in Aberdeen!

Celebrating Achievement – Ava M

Congratulations to Ava who recently took part in the East District Swimming Competition taking 15 seconds off her 400 free and 24 seconds off her 800 free.
To top it off Ava won the top girl of the weekend at the competition for her 400 free which was a lovely surprise as Ava has a back injury and is trying to push through with swimming and football which make her happy.