September 2009 - News Stories

New pupils enjoy ice breaking activities

Picture: icebreakers1

It hasn�t taken long for some new additions at St Leonards to settle in.

The Lower Sixth Form (S5), being the first year of the two year International Baccalaureate Diploma, has often been a popular stage to join the St Andrews school, and with 27 new faces entering the current cohort, this year has proved to be no exception.

To help the new arrivals get to know their classmates a little bit better, the whole year group took part in a series of ice breaking activities including white water rafting, Scottish Country Dancing, team building exercises and a barbeque.

Karen Wowk, IB coordinator at St Leonards, said, �The start of term is always exciting as although most of our students progress right through the School from an early age, there are always so many new faces to welcome.

�We organised some activities to help all of the Lower Sixth Formers to gel, work together and have a bit of fun as well.

�The white water rafting at Aberfeldy was a real thrill and probably the highlight as far as the students were concerned.

�They were a bit nervous and excited at first but all the activities went really well.�

The new Sixth Formers, who have helped to swell pupil numbers across all year groups at St Leonards to almost 500, have come, not just from Scotland, but also from far and wide with countries as diverse as Nigeria, Spain, Italy and Russia amongst the nations now represented on the School roll.

According to Karen, it�s an environment that is of great benefit for the students.

She said, �The majority of our pupils are still local but I don�t think any other school has such an international mix to add to that.

�The Sixth Form really is like a mini university and that provides a tremendously enriching experience for the students.�

Picture: icebreakers2

German visitors are part of Scottish history

Picture: German visitors

A group of German students who are taking part in a week long exchange visit to St Leonards School have secured a place in Scottish history!

During a day trip to Edinburgh, the 14 pupils from the Sankt Benno School in Dresden became the first ever educational group to enjoy a free tour of the Scottish Parliament.

Conny Kladrowa, who is accompanying the continental visitors, said, �It was fantastic to be one of the first groups to be able to see the Parliament for free.

�It really was a great experience for the students.�

The trip to the hub of Scottish politics was just one of a number of activities that the students have been taking part in as they get to know more about Scottish culture and life in the East Neuk.

A packed itinerary has also seen the group tour St Andrews, visit Stirling, attend lessons at St Leonards, visit Glamis Castle and Anstruther and, of course, go putting at the Himalayas and enjoy an ice-cream at Janetta�s!

Elizabeth Semper, Head of German at St Leonards, said, �Both sets of students have really been enjoying it and, as always, they�ve got a lot out of it.

�The German pupils have been learning about the British school system and improving their English and, because they are staying with the families of their St Leonards pen friends, they get to experience life in a Scottish home.

�They have also eaten scones for the first time!�

This is the fifth year of an exchange which, according to Elizabeth, is going from strength to strength.

�This year�s group is the largest we have welcomed to date,� she said.

�One of the girls who is visiting is the third sibling from the same family to have taken part in the exchange so in some cases it is becoming a family tradition!

�The students on both sides stay in touch and sometimes visit each other independently.�

She added, �Sankt Benno School is actually celebrating its 300th anniversary at the moment so it�s nice to be able to welcome the pupils over during such a momentous time for them.

�We look forward to visiting Dresden in the Spring for the return leg.�