A team of pupils from Primary 7 recently took part in the Rotary Club of Thornhill and District Primary School Quiz. Competition was fierce but after nine rounds on topics such as literacy and language, mathematics & numeracy, expressive arts and Scotland and its people, the Wallace Hall team won by half a point. Wallace Hall pupils will now go on to compete in the Dumfries and Galloway final. Ellie Nelson, Acting DHT said: "Well done to all of the competitors. The hard work, commitment, determination and effort demonstrated by everyone made it an excellent, closely fought competition." Photograph shows Wallace Hall team members Chloe, Mackinnley, Mikayla and Sophia receiving their trophy.

On Friday 22nd February, nine pupils from Wallace Hall set off to Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Open Accordion Championships. For many of the primary pupils it was their first experience of this Irish Competition. It felt like we were much further away from home as we had the long car journey to Cairnryan and then two and a half hours on the ferry. Thankfully it wasn’t far from Belfast to Carrickfergus. Saturday morning meant an early start to get the Loughshore Hotel, Carrickfergus, for the competition. The competition was going to run from 9am until 4.30pm so some of us were in for a very long day. We had done as much practising as we could, but we were all still

Lilly Downey, S2 at Wallace Hall Academy, is a keen member of the Army Cadet Force (ACF) and earlier this month she was presented with a silver medal at the ACF Battalion competition held at Headquarters in Ayrshire. Lilly won this individual award for First Aid where she evaluated and assessed a simulated first aid issue using the knowledge she has learned at her ACF training sessions. This was a timed exercise against approximately sixty other cadets from the Battalion. Four judges, one from each Company in the Battalion, judged Lilly’s response to be such a high standard that she warranted the silver medal. Lilly has been a member of the ACF for almost nine months. She attends Dumfries De

Pupils in French classes last week celebrated Shrove Tuesday by making crêpes. They had great fun heating and tossing the crêpes before sampling their efforts with fillings of either lemon juice and sugar or chocolate spread. Ethan Davies Thorpe said: “We all really enjoyed the lesson and had great fun trying to toss the crêpes without dropping them on the floor! The best bit of all was eating them at the end – they were delicious!”

Our Forestry class enjoyed a visit from Mr David Paton recently where they learned about chainsaw safety. He also demonstrated the daily maintenance required to keep his chainsaws in good condition and took a chainsaw apart to show how a piston works in a two-stroke engine.

Over the course of this year a number of our pupils, from across all year groups, have been taking part in a series of workshops delivered by educational provider Live-N-Learn. These lively and fun workshops aim to help young people take personal responsibility for their learning; overcome the fear of failure; learn about what it means to be really confident; manage their emotions and help young people be more open to getting involved in activities and opportunities. “Inner confidence, peer pressure & attitude all affect young people’s progress. Our sessions raise aspirations, help pupils embrace struggle, cope with setbacks & gives them the impetus to start believing in themselves.”

The Agri Employability group paid a visit to the SRUC Barony Campus recently to look at possible courses and career pathways in agriculture. They learned about all the different opportunities available in agriculture and how to access information and advice about how to get into the industry. The group were shown round the campus by some former Wallace Hall Academy pupils who are currently studying at the Barony and the sessions were led by Adam Wardrop, Programme Team Leader and Barony Lecturer, John Flanagan. Some of the time was spent in the classroom where Adam delivered a presentation on the types of jobs connected with agriculture, highlighting the skills and qualities required for the

P1 pupils are busy with their new topic just now where they are learning all about China. One of their first lessons was to produce pieces of artwork and collages featuring some of the iconic views and tourist attractions that China is famous for. The pupils did their research by looking up maps, artefacts and information on the environment. They also listened to Chinese music as a stimulus for their artistic endeavours. The next stage of the topic was to write imaginary pieces as if they had visited their chosen destination. The pupils worked on their languages skills, learning the British Sign Language signs for the various animals of the Chinese New Year as well as how to say ‘Hello’ and

Congratulations to Miles Pendred, S1 at Wallace Hall Academy, who has just been presented with his Army Cadet Force (ACF) basic badge, his air rifle badge and a certificate in Emergency Life Support. Miles has also been presented with his ACF Hackle which he will wear on his beret and this signifies his rank and shows that he has achieved the basic level of training. Some of the activities Miles has successfully completed include drill marching, map reading, kit maintenance, orienteering and defibrillator training. He has also been on parade and out in the field. Miles said: “I really enjoy being a member of the ACF. I love doing field craft and going out and doing simulation missions. I pla

World Book Day is always an important part of the Wallace Hall school calendar and this year was no exception. The theme this year was ‘We are sharing a story’, and throughout the day pupils enjoyed reading together and sharing lots of well -loved stories. Pupils and staff in the ELC and in the primary dressed up as a character from their favourite story. Primary pupils’ creative skills were tested through competitions to design a book mark and design a book jacket for a favourite classic story. Nursery pupils enjoyed activities such as “Book and a Banana” and “Story and a Satsuma’. The Nursery pupils also paid a visit to the library in the academy to take part in a bunny treasure hunt. Once

Last weekend an ‘all new’ Glic team travelled to Bristol to compete in the Institution of Engineering and Technology First Lego League UK and Ireland final for robotics. Glic embarked on their journey to Bristol with high hopes, but also with a real nervousness about walking in the footsteps of last year’s winning World Championship team from Wallace Hall Academy who had the advantage of being older and more experienced. Although team Glic were pipped for the overall UK First LEGO League Robotics crown this time by a well-established team from near Bath, they were delighted to be announced as Scotland’s top team. This means that our small rural school will be flying the flag for Scotland at

A wealth of talent was on display at the regional Burns competition held on Saturday 16th February in Dumfries Academy. The standard in all four sections (recitation, singing, instrumental and bagpiping) was exceptional and all the young competitors did full justice to the beautiful words and music of Rabbie Burns. Wallace Hall Academy was well represented by Bailie Paterson, Lois Geddes and Emily Kennedy in the recitation section, Priya Rome in the instrumental section and Ailsa Black and Bethany Nicholson in the singing section. First to go before the judges’ scrutiny for Wallace Hall in the S3/S4 recitation section was Bailie Paterson who gave a clear and thoughtful performance of “To a

“A picture paints a thousand words” is a skill that Rotary Clubs around the country wish to encourage. Members of Thornhill Rotary Club have certainly embraced that ideal by organising a regional heat of this competition for budding young photographers from Wallace Hall Academy and Sanquhar Academy. The competition entries were judged last week with Gregor Black (S6, Wallace Hall Academy) taking top spot in the senior section and Iona Menzies (S1, Wallace Hall Academy) winning the intermediate section. The two winners will go on to compete in the next stage of the competition against winners chosen from other regional heats. Jessica Dickson, S1, said: “I really enjoyed taking photographs for

Wallace Hall girls’ rugbyteam took part in a development day of rugby recently. The day was hosted by Maxwelltown High School and the Dumfries Saints Community Coaches. Teams from Wallace Hall, Maxwelltown High School and Dumfries Academy took part and, although the rain was torrential, the girls’ spirits were not dampened in any way. The Wallace Hall team played well, winning both their matches. Fern Bain, team member of Wallace Hall, said: “It was good to see so many girls taking part in rugby. Thanks to everyone who organised the event – it was a great day out.”