Boroughmuir High School

Welcome to Boroughmuir

Boroughmuir Big Band

Big Band rehearsals start again on Tuesday 7th September in the atrium from 3:30–4:30pm. Looking forward to seeing you all again!

Big Band welcomes new players from all years—we play all types of jazz and swing music. Simply come along on Tuesday after school to the atrium with your instrument. [Trumpet, trombone, saxophone, French horn, clarinet, flute, piano, drumkit, bass guitar, double bass or electric guitar all welcome!]

Book Festival

S2 have been out and about visiting various authors at the International Book festival. We have seen and heard Catherine MacPhail, who is always a good turn, Marcus Sedgwick talking about his new modern Gothic tale, White Crow and discussed the ethical issues surrounding Sharon Dogar’s reinterpretation of The Diary of Anne Frank, Annexed. The long-awaited prequel to David Almond’s highly successful Skellig, My name is Mina has kept us all on the edge of our seats. Other authors include Michael Grant, author of the ‘Gone’ series, discussing his ‘Dystopic Visions’. Come back soon to read some reviews of what our S2s thought of the events!

Boroughmuir Junior Journalist

Boroughmuir Junior Journalist has just started up for S1–3 pupils, meeting in room 205 every Thursday lunchtime. We had 18 keen and intrepid reporters discussing ideas, with more very welcome, so watch out for a new school newspaper run by and for lower-school pupils with a first edition coming out just before the October break. We are keen to include community news so if you live in the Buckstone, South Morningside or Bruntsfield area, you may get a visit from one of our team!

If you would like to suggest ideas or topics or have any questions about the club, please email Ms Stratton

English Department News

The Herald and Edinburgh International Festival Young Critics Award

Nine keen reviewers took their seats in the capital’s Usher Hall last Saturday to experience The Kronos Quartet. Each pupils had to write a 250 word review and email it to The Herald by Sunday lunchtime—no teacher input allowed—with the best review being printed in The herald on Monday. The winning review was by S5 pupil Charlene White and you can read it here. Charlene’s entry will go forward to the ‘Wee Cherub’ stage of the competition in which the best overall Young Critic Review is awarded the diminutive angel at a reception on 4th September. Boroughmuir has won it for the past two years, so fingers crossed for this year’s entry!

Kronos Quartet, Usher Hall

Star rating: ****

Kronos Quartet are far from the traditional. Their ability to weave a story through their instruments kept me captivated. From the anticipation of the very beginning of Hold Me, Neighbor, In This Storm… to the ear-bleeding shrieks of Black Angels, I could only keep my delighted eyes stuck to the stage.

Hold Me, Neighbor… was filled with a refreshingly Eastern sound, kept personal by Aleksandra Vrebalov’s recording of her folksinging grandmother. Different Trains followed a similar, yet chilling, pattern—a haunting combination of Steve Reich’s memory of his train rides, and the thought-provoking samples of Holocaust survivors.

It was as if Kronos were weaving an intricate web.

Black Angels was completely different. I dare say my eardrums are yet to recover from the almost impossibly high pitch of strings played. It was ominous, dark and brooding—reminiscent of music from The Exorcist and Psycho. But was it really worth the wincingly painful earache?

After 37 years of never playing an encore after Black Angels, they played one of the most beautiful pieces of the night—The Fountain, full of pure, lighthearted notes.

Its softness, compared to the hauntingly intimate, made one thing clear: music isn’t just technique, it’s storytelling too.
Charlene White

Former Pupil Graduates

All at Boroughmuir would like to congratulate the following former pupils on their graduations.

University of Bristol

Heriot Watt University

Basketball

Nikki Forde

Photo © FIBA

Nikki Forde in action

Over the summer Boroughmuir pupil Nikki Forde,S4 played for the U16 Scottish Womens’ Basketball team which the won the C-division of the Basketball European Cup.

Well done Nikki!

Coming up