School Year

Our 1990 school trip got under way on the 8th. May after one or two hiccups. We visited both Glasgow and Edinburgh. Our base was the Loch Lomond Youth Hostel, which proved very comfortable.

Moira Maclntyre, Elda Lunghi and David English accompanied myself and nine children from Primaries 2, 3, 6 and 7. We visited many places in Glasgow and Edinburgh. One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to 'Dinosaurs Past and Present' and 'Dinosaurs Alive' in Edinburgh, I'll leave the telling to the children whose stories appear below. Around Glasgow we went to Glasgow's Glasgow, Glasgow Zoo, Haggs Castle and the Transport Museum. We also managed to fit in swimming sessions, ice skating and a visit to the pictures.

All in all, it was a very successful trip. I could not, however, have done it without the help of parents and friends who raised the money and encouraged the children. Also, my thanks go to Moira, David and Elda for their valuable help.

During June, school photographs were taken again and I think the children's characters shine through.

At the end of June, we held our End of Term Service and Prize Giving. Biddy Russell very kindly presented the prizes. Special prizes were given to Philippa, Rachel and Tom Greaves, when the family left the island for Glamis. After the holidays Claire Kennedy and Andrew Fraser started school, taking the roll to twelve.

At Christmas we held our annual Nativity Play and Carol Concert. The children performed a play called 'The Little Angel' with Jessica Bell and Julia Payne in starring roles. We took a collection for the Blue Peter Romanian Appeal and raised £63.84.

During the year we also raised £55.00 for Barnados which goes to help projects for children in Scotland.

The School Board met regularly and looked at many aspects of education.

Sadly, in January, the school lost an old friend, Hugh MacKinnon. 'Hughie Broadhill', as he was affectionately known, drove the West End school taxi run for over forty two years until he retired in October 1984. He was also seen in and around the school a lot over the years while his wife, Chrissie, was school cook. Hughie will be sadly missed and our thoughts are with Chrissie and his sister, Morag.

At the time of writing, the school is about to say goodbye to another long-serving taxi driver. John Wheeler-James and his wife Margaret are leaving the island at the beginning of March, heading for Cornwall. John took over the school run in 1972 and, ably assisted by Margaret, has given us reliable service over the past nineteen years. We wish them luck for the future.

I would like to thank the many people who have helped us with fund raising this year. A lot of money was raised for the school trip; more than we needed. This allowed us to purchase much needed materials for the school also. I would especially like to thank the Fishing Competition and the Coll Association for their generosity.

David and Margaret Allan ran a competition at Stronvar during their stay. The competition was won by 'Hughie Handy' and the proceeds were generously donated to the school.