St Aidan's High

On the school campus are two all-weather pitches for football, hockey and athletics. The school also has the use of a council grass pitch across the school driveway. The open land around the school has also proved advantageous for orienteering and cross country running.

In September 1999 the school established a millennium celebrations committee to plan and co-ordinate events to mark and celebrate the new millennium. One of these events was to design and create a new garden in the heart of the school. there was a rather large overgrown area of brush and grass in the centre of the school and it was decided that the creation of a garden here would hugely improve the environment of the school. Quickly a design competition led to the wonderful design of a sixth year pupil being adopted. This design contained a pool, flowerbeds, recreational area and pathways. A pupil gardening team called The green team was established along with a group of willing teachers. In a short space of time The green team transformed an eyesore into a beautiful, peaceful and attractive spot in the school grounds.

There is many extra curricular activities available. These cover a wide range of activities including cross country, athletics, gymnastics, badminton, football, table tennis, swimming and skiing. The PE facilities are available every lunchtime to allow students to develop individual skills in badminton, basketball, table tennis and to enhance personal fitness levels. There is a school debating club which offers students of all ages the opportunity to develop their confidence in speech. The club attracts a range of pupils from all year groups and is well supported by English department staff in a tutorial capacity.

The music department offers a wide range of activities in which pupils can become involved. The senior concert band gave several performances last year. They were invited once again to entertain in the foyer of the royal concert hall prior to the proms concert. They led the music for the Christmas service at Morningside Parish Church in Wishaw and entertained in Braehead shopping centre. The Junior Concert Band continues to go from strength to strength and delighted audiences with their music at the Christmas concert and before the school show in June.

The senior students' annual sponsored cycle round Millport takes place in October. Money raised from this funds the Christmas party for the children of Victoria Park school. There is also three after school clubs run by the design and technology department, young engineers club, design make group and model club.

The school has established strong links with the home over many years because we realise that the interest and support of parents is necessary for a complete and successful education. Information sessions, raising achievement days and parents' meetings during the school day or it the evening are arranged to familiarise parents with the curriculum and the schools methods of delivering it. At least once per term each child is issued a newsletter to take home. This will contain information pertaining to previous whole school progress in many curricular and extra curricular activities and information concerning future events such as parent meetings, staff in-service days etc.

St Aidan's high school has always prided itself on its commitment to strengthening the links with the community in all the geographical areas which it serves. This is seen in the first instance in our strong and continuing involvement with our associated primaries and with the local parishes in all the areas which we serve. This commitment is also reflected in our involvement in a wide range of fund-raising and charitable activities, such as Christmas parcels for the elderly and house-bound. We also have strong, well established links with Victoria Park school in Carluke. These links are reflected in senior students hosting a party for Victoria Park students each Christmas. Many other charitable organisations in the community benefit from fund raising by students e.g. hospitals and homes for the elderly. There are also groups of students who visit these organisations on a voluntary basis.

Further evidence of our commitment to strengthening links with the wider community is seen in our involvement with the St Aidan's skills project and other community training workshops for unemployed people which are offered accommodation within the school campus. In addition, the evening hours and weekends of school term time are occupied by a very wide spectrum of leisure and recreational activities under the umbrella of community education. A very important development in community involvement has been the extension to our education/industry links programme. Besides placing all our S4 students on work experience, we have also forged good links with local industrialists; commercial enterprises; members of rotary clubs who contribute to the curriculum throughout the year.

At St Aidan's we also have strong links with our associated primary schools which are St Ignatius' primary, St Aidan's primary, St Thomas' primary, St Mathew's primary, St Brigid's primary, St Patrick's primary Shotts, St Mary's primary Lanark and St Athanasius' primary. St Mary's and St Athanasius' are both South Lanarkshire schools. A full programme of primary and secondary liaison runs continuously throughout the year. In the first term, the parents of primary seven children from the associated primaries are invited to attend a partnership evening in Saint Aidan's. This event allows parents to take part in workshop activities which reflect the everyday classroom experiences of our First Year students. Regular meetings are held between our own teachers and that of our associated primaries. In addition, staff from various departments in the school are timetabled to teach in primary seven classes. In the summer term, members of the St Aidan's high senior management team and guidance staff visit the primary schools to meet with the incoming first year students and to discuss individual student needs with primary colleagues. Arrangements are also made for all incoming first year students to participate in a two day visit to the school in the month of June. The guidance teacher also meets all primary seven pupils for a one to one interview prior to move to high school. Considerable care is taken in the formation of class groups to ensure an appropriate mix of pupils. Each child has two or three members of their own primary seven class within their S1 class where possible.

School roll for session 2007/2008

S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	Total
220	220	184	250	172	126	1172

Pupil roll statistics from Scottish Government census at September 2007.  Rolls are subject to change throughout the school session

National Test Results 5-14

 Percentage (%) of pupils attaining at least Level E by the end of S2

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Reading	69.7	67.7	64.9	55.4	60.5
Writing	66.5	62.9	59.2	43.8	32.0
Mathematics	64.9	54.4	67.5	69.8	65.4

Percentage (%) Attendance

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Attendance	88.4	88.6	87.9	88.1	88.2

Previous years attendance and absence figures

1998 - 2001
1999 - 2002

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Use the "External Links" box at the right to access the school's HMI report.