Bekka is Graeme High School’s top pupil for 2019

In her speech to teachers, parents and pupils during last week’s awards ceremony, head teacher Lesley Carroll said the school has always been proud of its achievements and the success of its youngsters.

She added: “Our school is a place where we don’t feel shy or embarrassed about our achievements – we tell everyone who will listen. We’re not boastful or conceited, but confident and proud.

“Success in school should be a vehicle for future success in adult life. You wish your child to have as many opportunities as possible in terms of further studies or career choices and you would wish these successes to be recognised and celebrated.

“In August, our S4 pupils gave us the best National 4 results in Falkirk Council, our National 5 pupils performed extremely well and in S5 all published measures were up. All of this makes me very confident and ambitious for this year’s results. To each and every one of you, well done and congratulations.”

Bekka Cairns (16) was named the school’s top pupil, while fellow student Ian Crorie was awarded the proxime accessit title.

Former St Margaret’s Primary School pupil Bekka, from Polmont, is just entering her sixth year and admitted she was surprised to be named school dux.

“My favourite subjects are physics and English,” said Bekka. “I know I want to go to university to study physics or astrophysics, but I’m not sure what I want to do after that.

“I wanted to be an author when I was younger.”

She has certainly been the author of her own success, but, as her head teacher was quick to point out at last Wednesday’s ceremony, she could not have done it without a little help.

“Bekka and Ian, you are an absolute credit to your families and to your school. But, of course, you must not forget that you didn’t get here on your own. Parents and staff have provided you with support, encouragement, love, expert skills and knowledge and opportunities every day of every week.”

The head teacher added Graeme High pupils not only enjoyed academic, artistic and sporting success – they also proved to be good citizens and valued members of society by helping to make their local community a better place.

She said: “At the heart of our school community is our ability to respond to the needs of others in our locality and beyond. In the last ten years, we have raised tens of thousands of pounds for local and national charities.

“This Christmas we again delivered almost 100 hampers to pensioners in our local area — a very tangible expression of our commitment to giving back to our local community. Each of our Houses, led by our House Charity Leaders, have worked hard to support, raise awareness and fund raise for their chosen House Charity of Strathcarron Hospice, Teenage Cancer Trust, FADHM and Falkirk Foodbank.”

Social Subjects and RMPS

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Geography – Isla Ramsay; History – Skye Stewart; RMPS – Emma Reynolds

National 5 Awards

Geography – Abbie Cockburn; History – Aiden Lyons; Modern Studies – Louis Ainsley; RMPS – Eva Serafini

HIGHER AWARDS

Geography – Ian Crorie; History – Lauren Isles; Modern Studies – Amie Shirra; RMPS – Saskia Liddell

Physical Education and Hospitality

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Physical Education – Molly Sharp; Sports Leader – Sarahjane Polson

National 5 Awards

Hospitality – Abbie Cockburn and Lauren Morelli; Physical Education – Ciaran McGuckin

HIGHER AWARD

Physical Education – Daniel Agnew

Enhanced Curriculum

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Care – Kyle Spink; Early Learning and Childcare – Caitlin Lang; Hair Academy – Lauren Sneddon; Police Studies – Calum McLay and David Petrea

MERIT AWARDS

Care – Caitlin Lang; Early Learning and Childcare – Elle Black; Hair Academy – Megan Macaulay; Police Studies – Charlotte Deanie and Jessica Thomson

Business Education and Design and Technology

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Administration and IT – Catherine Dalglies and Ellie Moore; Business Management – Jessica Kyle and Danielle Malone; Design and Manufacture – Sean Hill, Alan Macaloney and Ruairidh Whiteside; Graphic Communication – Ben Edwards, Mark Johnston and Kyle Robertson; Practical Woodwork – Lewis Pilley and Jake Thompson

National 5 Awards

Administration and IT – Abbi Cummings; Business Management – Alistair Fraser; Design and Manufacture – Jamie McCallum and Rory Sneddon; Engineering Skills – Saskia Liddell;

Graphic Communication – Louis Ainsley and Abby McNab; Practical Metalwork – Arron Carruthers; Practical Woodwork – Mason Martin, Scott McGregor and Jawad Zada

HIGHER AWARDS

Administration and IT – Harry Strachan; Business Management – Bronwen McGuire; Design and Manufacture – Tegan Clark; Graphic Communication – Callum Callahan

English and French

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

English – Sophie Fulke and Lewis Witherspoon; French – Rachel Forbes

MERIT AWARDS

English – Bekka Cairns, Aiden Lyons and Alicia MacDonald

National 5 Awards

English – Emma Minski and Jack Rodger; French – Abbie Cockburn

HIGHER AWARDS

English – Elisha Shaw; French – Simi Singh

Advanced Higher Awards

English – Ewan McCormick and Charlotte Soper; French – Boglarka Balla

Biology, Chemistry and Physics

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Biology – Sam Forsyth and Harry Strachan; Chemistry Mark Johnston and Elise Oliphant; Physics – Murray Brown and Callum Callahan

National 5 Awards

Biology – Louis Ainsley; Chemistry – Abbie Cockburn; Physics – Louis Ainsley

HIGHER AWARDS

Biology – Bekka Cairns; Chemistry – Boglarka Balla; Physics – Bekka Cairns and Ian Crorie

Advanced Higher Award

Biology – Heather Richards; Chemistry – Ross Livingston and Heather Richards; Physics – Ryan Maxwell

Mathematics and 
Computing

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Computing Science – Murray Brown; Mathematics – Kourosh Barclay and Mason Martin

Merit Awards

Mathematics – Bekka Cairns, Abbie Cockburn and Mark Johnston

National 5 Awards

Computing Science – Louis Ainsley; Mathematics – Louis Ainsley

HIGHER AWARD

Mathematics – Ian Crorie

Advanced Higher Award

Mathematics – Ryan Maxwell

Art, Drama and Music

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS

Art – Halle Smith; Drama – Liam Burt; Music – Aiden Lyons

National 5 Awards

Art – Blair MacLeod; Drama – Aiden Lyons; Music – Jack Brown

HIGHER AWARDS

Art – Molly Sharp; Drama – Laura Brown; Music – Michael Miller

Advanced Higher Awards

Art – Poppy Hepburn; Music – Sarahjane Polson

Service to the School and Community

The Andrew Steele Prize – School Captains; The PTA Shield for Outstanding Achievement – Hana Mackay and Jake Newton; The Bob Nimmo Prize – Sarahjane Polson; The Class ’98 Prize for Outstanding Achievement – Darcy Cassells; The Jessie Kettrick Trophy for Service to the School – Zayn Ali; The School Board Shield for Outstanding Achievement – Heather Richards; The Mhairi McDonald Award for Outstanding in Science – Harry Strachan; The Viv Scott Award for Sporting Excellence – Jack Hodge