St Paul’s High School in Pollok flew the flag for St Andrew’s day in November.

The school had a whole raft of activities on the day for pupils, parents and teachers, to commemorate Scotland’s patron saint and celebrate our country’s heritage. 

Head Teacher Ron O’ Donnell said, ‘We wanted to involve pupils in celebrating and appreciating many of the aspects that make Scotland not only great but also unique and distinctive. We planned to enjoy Scottish music, literature, innovation and success, comedy and laughter, the beauty of our land and the richness of our traditions, Scottish sport and entertainment, the history of our country and the diversity of cultures here.’

Events included the 200 pupils creating a saltire flag in the playground, flown over by a Strathclyde Police helicopter, and a mass ‘strip the willow’ dance in the school hall, involving over 400 ‘birlin’ staff and pupils.

The S6 pupils were charged with teaching the school to dance. School captain Marie McCue told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘It’s been a bit of a challenge keeping them under control but it’s worked out great!’

S3 pupils Karen Finnan (14) and Robyn Barr (13) said that it had taken them only three days to learn the traditional dance. Robyn said, ‘There’s been loads of different things to do – it’s been really good fun.’ 

The day also saw performances from pupils in a production of Macbeth alongside a concert from Glasgow pop group Middle of the Road. Pupils counted down the school’s top ten Scottish songs over the school PA system, interspersed with facts about famous Scots of yesteryear.

Crookston Councillor William O’ Rourke told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘I think it should happen every year in every school to back up what the Scottish executive is doing. The day should be a holiday in itself.’

Director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service, Michael McGrath, was at St Paul’s on St Andrew’s day. He said, ‘There was a tremendous variety of activities on offer from the traditional to the modern, and it was great to see all these children and staff chipping in to have a good time.’

Mr O’ Donnell added, ‘There’s a lot of talk about a flexible curriculum and non-formal ways of learning, and if this isn’t flexible then I don’t know what is! There’s been great teamwork, spirit and inventiveness.’