Lathallan School

Scottish independent school

Lathallan School
Brotherton Castle
Address
Map
Brotherton Castle

Johnshaven

Montrose
,
Angus
,
DD10 0HN

United Kingdom
Information
School typePrivate, all-through
day and boarding
MottoVincit qui se vincit
(He conquers who conquers himself.)
Established1930
HeadmasterRichard Toley
GenderCoeducational
Age6 weeks to 18 years
Enrollment240

Lathallan School is a co-educational all-through independent school at Brotherton Castle in Scotland, UK. It also offers outdoor learning programs on its 60-acre campus and an on-site farm.

History

Lathallan School, founded in 1930, was first located adjacent to Lathallan Farm, at Colinsburgh, south of Largoward in Fife, Scotland.[1][2] Following a fire in 1949, a Lathallan student's parent, Charles Alexander, allowed the school to use Brotherton Castle premises at Johnshaven, Montrose, Angus.[2][3][4] Alexander had purchased Brotherton in 1948, and he sold the castle and its grounds to the school in 1950.[2]

Lathallan was originally a school for boys. It became co-educational in 1970,[5] and in 2004 it began to offer nursery care and education.[2]

In 2005, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent visited and unveiled a plaque to celebrate the school's 75th anniversary.[6]

The first senior students started in September 2006, with the senior school housed in the main castle building.[2]

In 2022 Lathallan had approximately 240 pupils, including 21 boarders.[7]

Curriculum

Prior to 2011, the traditional prep school curriculum at Lathallan School included "Latin, classical studies and French in addition to national curriculum subjects", with elective instruction in music, art, and drama.[8]

After Lathallan became an all-through school, in 2011 it endorsed the Scottish Government's Curriculum for Excellence. One consideration was "a need to ditch the Common Entrance Exam", a total of about ten exams.[9]

Lathallan School opened a science centre in 2016, including "a working greenhouse laboratory for environmental science... [and] an eco-garden and outside teaching area".[10] The school named one of the laboratories for retired faculty member Donald "Kangy" King.[11] He had introduced the Nuffield Science syllabus at Lathallan,[12] with inquiry-based discovery learning in the traditional subjects of physics, chemistry and biology.[13]

Outdoor curriculum

In 2018, Lathallan opened a treehouse classroom that supports the school's outdoor curriculum.[14] When nine-week old Oxford Sandy and Black piglets arrived at the school in 2018, they added to the farm environs that also included "...a treehouse classroom, zipwire, polytunnel, potato field and chickens".[15] Four alpacas joined the other farm animals on the 60-acre site in 2021.[16] Lathallan involves students in its on-site farm as part of its sustainability goals. Many of the school's meals are 60% sourced and produced there. The school's goals include sourcing and producing meals 100% on-site; reducing food miles to create positive environmental impact; and helping students understand where food comes from.[17]

Pipe band

The Lathallan School pipe band had its origins in 1958.[18] The band was officially established in 1964 and until 1972 it was led by Harry Stott, who had learned to play bagpipes with the King's Own Scottish Borderers in World War I.[19] It opened the 2004 Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.[18] In 2009, the band published the CD Blaw na Gael and the cut "Highland Cathedral" (the Lathallan school song) was voted "Castaway's Favourite" on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs in 2015.[18][20] In 2014 the pipe band celebrated its 50th anniversary.[21] Four Lathallan pupils were among 300 student pipers selected in 2019 to play "Highland Cathedral" on the Red Hot Chilli Pipers' Fresh Air album.[22] The Lathallan pipe band program received a £1000 donation from the Montrose Port Authority after their performance at the 2019 opening of its North Quay.[23]

Athletics

Lathallan has hosted the annual rugby "Snowdrop Sevens" tournament since 1990,[24] and has a history of rugby teams, dating back to the years before its move to Brotherton Castle in 1949.[25]

Two Lathallan netball teams won national victories in 2018, as both the S2 team and the senior team won the Scottish Schools Cup finals.[26]

Awards and honors

  • 2021 Keep Scotland Beautiful: Lathallan School won the Green Flag Award for the fifth year in a row.[27]
  • 2018 Summarised inspection findings of Education Scotland, Practice worth sharing more widely: "The high-quality outdoor learning provision".[28]
  • 2018 The Duke of Edinburgh's Award: Lathallan School received recognition for the fourth consecutive year. More than 70 per cent of Lathallan students had enrolled in the award scheme, with a 50 per cent pass rate.[29]

Notable Old Lathallians

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lathallan School, which opens at Colinsburgh, Fife". Herald and Express. Torquay, Devon, England. 25 October 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Lathallan History". Lathallan School. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Lathallan pupils celebrate school's big birthday". Courier. Garstang, Preston, England. 18 January 2020. p. 19. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  4. ^ King, Pamela M. (1980). "David Scott of Brotherton, Kincardineshire (2)". hibbertfamily.org. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  5. ^ McLeod, Fiona (28 October 2009). "Quiet evolution of school where history is made as well as taught". Scotsman. Edinburgh, Scotland. p. 38. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Royal visit for Lathallan". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Lathallan School » SCIS". www.scis.org.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  8. ^ Coxon, Ian, ed. (16 November 2003). "Scotland Preparatory; Part 2: The Top Independent and Prep schools". Sunday Times. London, England. p. 61.
  9. ^ Marshall, Chris (10 December 2011). "Top school switches to national curriculum". Scotsman, Edinburgh, Scotland. p. 14. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  10. ^ "New Science Centre at Lathallan School". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  11. ^ "One of north-east school's most popular teachers to be remembered by former pupils". Press and Journal. 3 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Lathallan honours former teacher". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  13. ^ Rob Walker, "Getting Involved in Curriculum Research: A Personal History", in Martin Lawn and Len Barton, eds., Rethinking Curriculum Studies: A Radical Approach, 1981, 2nd ed. Routledge Library Editions: Education 20, London / New York: Routledge, 2012, ISBN 9780415664653, pp. 193–213, p. 193.
  14. ^ "Mearns treehouse classroom opens". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  15. ^ Strachan, Graeme (14 December 2018). "Pupils to get lessons from the pig patch at Johnshaven school; EDUCATION: Lathallan adds piglets to outdoor learning activities to teach children how to treat and look after animals". Courier. Garstang, Preston, England. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Alpacas arrive at school in Angus". Plus Company Updates. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  17. ^ Bennett, Gabriella (15 September 2019). "Pupils served up a vital lesson in healthy eating; Scottish Independent Schools Review; Being taught about good food -- and even growing their own -- is proving a hit on curriculums". The Sunday Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  18. ^ a b c "Finavon pipe boy to play at Pittodrie". Kincardineshire Observer. Montrose, Scotland. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Bagpipes with a story arrive at Lathallan School". Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  20. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Professor Sue Black". BBC. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Lathallan School Pipe Band turns 50". Kincardineshire Observer. Montrose, Scotland. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  22. ^ Walsh, Stephen (30 April 2019). "North-east pupils guest on Red Hot Chili Pipers' new album - Four Aberdeenshire pupils have piped their way onto a hugely popular traditional music album". The Press and Journal Evening Express. Aberdeen Journals Ltd. OCLC 459178472. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Pipe band boost after port performance". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Lathallan under 16s take trophy at fifth annual Rugby 7s tournament". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Frans ten Bos; Powerful Scottish rugby star of Dutch ancestry who escaped the Nazis with his parents in 1940". Daily Telegraph. London, England. 8 September 2016. p. 31. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Lathallan netball team through to quarter finals". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  27. ^ Stell, Garrett (28 May 2021). "Eco heroes: Crisp packet skirts and tree-planting earns Lathallan Green Flag". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Lathallan School summarised inspection findings" (PDF). education.gov.scot. 11 December 2018. p. 20. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Lathallan names number one in Scotland for award scheme". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  30. ^ "Old Lathallians ready to turn clock back 50 years". The Courier. Dundee, Scotland. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Rugby legend Chris Paterson visits Lathallan". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  32. ^ "Wainwright hails "fantastic" Lathallan Snowdrop Sevens". Mearns Leader. Stonehaven, Scotland. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

External links

  • Official website
  • "Highland Cathedral" Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Fresh Air (Spotify audio, 3:36 minutes)
  • Lathallan School Pipe Band: Presentation Day 2019 on YouTube (video, 2:46 minutes)


56°48′01″N 2°19′29″W / 56.8004°N 2.3248°W / 56.8004; -2.3248