In 2010

The Moderator's Reception, London

On one of the most inclement St Andrew's nights that London has experienced in quite a while, the Moderator of the General Assembly of The Church of Scotland attended the annual reception held at The Fleming Collection by the Caley. Despite the weather, 50 of the Caley's wonderful supporters from within and around London, came to hear the Moderator, the Right Reverend John Christie speak, with great compassion and understanding, of the work of the Caley and the children and service wives he had met on a recent day spent with the Caley visiting 2 schools and a Forces Community Centre. The Moderator reminded all of the power and importance of partnership in working effectively together for the common good. One of the Caley Scholars spoke, also very movingly, of her training (for which the Caley provides some support) as a nurse, specialising in the support and care for the victims in the UK of sex traffickers.

Everyone present also had the opportunity to enjoy the art of the 'Glasgow Boys' currently hanging on the walls at The Fleming Collection, to whom we are most grateful for providing such a wonderful and appropriate venue.

Below are a small selection of photographs from the evening.

From L to R, The Moderator, James MacBain and Keith Robertson

The Moderator and a guest

Keith Robertson, Chairman of The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust welcomes The Moderator and guests

The Moderator addresses the Reception

Caley Scholar, Alison Shanley, addresses the Reception

Above and below - Guests enjoying the art at The Fleming Collection

All photographs are courtesy of Hannie Lagan & Jon Nicanor

A Day with the Moderator, Scotland

The Moderator, the Right Reverend John Christie, generously agreed to spend the day of 9th November with the Caley, visiting two schools where the Caley is providing support in several forms as well as visiting 2 Scots Community Centre near Glencorse. The Moderator was accompanied by Mrs Carolyn MacLeod, the Caley's Education Project Manager in Scotland and Mr James MacBain, the Caley's Chief Executive.

The Moderator, Kath Forsyth and a student at Firrhill High School

(Above and Below) The Moderator with students at Firrhill High School

They started the day at Firrhill High School, meeting with the Acting Head (Mr John Wood) and Deputy Head, the Head of Learning Support, the Church of Scotland Chaplain who works with the school and with Mrs Kath Forsyth. Kath is the teacher, mother and army wife whom the Caley supports to work two days a week with the service children enrolled at Firrhill. A number of these children have experienced postings between the education systems in several countries including England, Scotland, Wales, Cyprus and Germany, as well as having a parent on deployment. The Moderator met 6 of the pupils with whom Kath works and heard first hand of their hard work and their interests at school.

(Above and Below) Visiting the Community Centre of 2 Scots at Glencorse

Over lunchtime the Moderator met with the civilian and military staff who resource the Community Centre of 2 Scots at Glencorse. A tour was made of the facilities, including the IT provision made by the Caley in the Centre's IT room. The Moderator also had the opportunity to meet some of the partners of those currently deployed who were very welcoming.

(Above and below) The Moderator with some of the children from Mauricewood Primary School

Carolyn MacLeod of The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust with the children of Mauricewood Primary School

Mauricewood Primary School at Penicuik also has significant number of service children. The Head made the Moderator most welcome and the visitors saw several pupil activities. The Moderator spent some time moving between 3 groups of pupils, all service children, and hearing about what goes on in their lives. The Caley provides support for a skilled professional to talk with service parents and children on a regular basis in a dedicated space at the school.

All photographs are courtesy of Craig Allen

Caley Scholar - Fabienne Crocket

Fabienne (pictured on the right) in India, February 2010

To read about Fabienne's experiences, in her own words, please go to our Downloads Page

Caley Scholars - Stuart and Robert Kent

Pictured above are former Caley scholars Stuart (left) and Robert (middle) with their father, Paul Kent

We are very proud of the achievements of former scholars Stuart and Robert. The photograph above was taken at Robert's graduation from St. Andrews University in 2009. Robert, a former pupil at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane attended St Andrews from 2004-09. Robert graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with French and has taken up a new full-time job in Edinburgh recently.

Also pictured above is Stuart Kent, also a former pupil of Queen Victoria School, who after 2 years at Nottingham Trent University is now studying for a HND in Practical Journalism at Glasgow Metropolitan College.

Paul Kent is also a former pupil of Queen Victoria School and served in the RAF for almost 22 years and now works at the University of Warwick.

(Tri-Services) Service Children Practitioners' Conference - 8 November 2010

On Monday 8 November, The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust's (the Caley) Service Children's Education Project in Scotland ran it's second annual conference on issues concerning the education of Scottish Service Children.

The conference was held in collaboration with the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane with the School generously providing excellent conference facilities at Dunblane and catering for the 70 conference participants.

The participants were drawn from the Scottish Government, the Armed Services, Local Authorities, HMIe, Forces Welfare Organisations, Schools, Third Sector Organisations and interested individuals.

The themes of the Conference were:

Improving support for children and families of Military Service personnel (Tri-Service) facing deployment to operational zones, and support for their teachers
Promoting good practice on mitigating the effects of mobility for Service Children
Developing co-ordinated action to meet the educational needs of Service Children in Scotland

The Conference was opened with a Welcome given by Keith Brown MPS, Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Government.

The conference was a resounding success allowing for the sharing of best practice as well as the highlighting of areas of concern and development. A series of conference outcomes emerged which the Caley will be following up on and ensuring are moved forward.

The Caley's Education Project in Scotland is managed by Mrs Carolyn MacLeod, who was the prime instigator and organiser of the Conference. Malcolm Noble provided considerable advice. Malcolm is Honorary Consultant to the Education Project in Scotland, is a Director of the Caley and was elected at the Caley's AGM on 4 November 2010 as Deputy Chairman of the Caley. Administrative support was provided by Mrs Lisa Freedman and Mrs Jo Parish of the Caley's Watford Office.

For more information please contact: admin@rcst.org.uk

James MacBain Receives His Caley Badge From John Horsfield

James MacBain John Horsfield

John Horsfield - A Man of Many Talents!

On his first day of retirement John attended, on our behalf, a 7.15 a.m. Watford Chamber of Commerce Meeting at Watford Football Club and proceeded to sell 2 signed football shirts in an auction, which he conducted. John was successful in raising £330.

James was left open-mouthed at John's auctioneering skills!

John Horsfield - Auctioneer, Watford Football Club

James MacBain, Chief Executive - A Brief Biography

James MacBain

James MacBain has been closely involved with education and training for the last 20 years. In the early 1990s, based partly in the UK and partly in Southern Africa, he worked with development charities providing training and rural development opportunities to those living in Sub-Saharan Africa. From 1995 to 2009 James worked successively for 3 universities in the South of England taking senior roles in their international activities. He returned to the charity sector in 2010 with a short post at the Royal Commonwealth Society heading their portfolio of education-orientated programmes.

James knows Scotland well having visited regularly since he was a small child, including a number of winters spent in the Highlands. His professional work has taken him to Edinburgh and Glasgow, the former on a regular basis. He has taken his family to Scotland whenever possible.

James has a passionate belief in the crucial importance of education and in the varying ways of helping facilitate access to educational and training opportunities and of making the most of those opportunities. He is a strong supporter of the Scots who serve in the Armed Forces and in providing support, where possible, for those in their families who are in education or wish to be.

John Welcomes James MacBain to The Caley

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new Chief Executive, James MacBain.

Below is a photograph of John welcoming James, who will take over formally on 24 September, 2010.

John Horsfield James MacBain

John and Kay Horsfield's Retirement Picture

Here is a photograph of the picture presented to John and Kay Horsfield at John's Retirement Celebration on 8th July.

Artist: Caroline Bailey

(There is light reflection in the photograph. More images are available on Caroline Bailey's website.)

Caley Scholar Receives the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

We wish to congratulate 19 year old Conor Ogg on his award. He sent us the following account of his adventures:

"After an arduous two and a half years of hill walking, navigation skills, physical activity and service to the community to gain the Bronze and Silver awards, I embarked on a further year to gain the Gold award.

This consisted of twelve months service in which I taught snare drumming to learners in the pipe band of which I am a member. This membership qualified me for my six months skill requirement. For my physical activity (twelve months) I undertook amateur boxing. A residential placement for a minimum of five days was also required and as a Company Sergeant Major in the combined cadet force I was in charge of an operations section at a week's camp in Nescliff.

The ultimate achievement, however, was undoubtedly the four day expedition for which our group chose to canoe through the Great Glen, no small task! After some adverse weather over the first couple of days, which included five foot waves in Loch Lochy, which although sounds small, is certainly a concern when in a small canoe. However, towards the end of the second day things began to brighten up considerbly and we were able to make good progress throughout the rest of the expedition, which finished just south of Inverness.

It was certainly a great trip which brought the best from our group and enabled me to receive the Gold Award at Hollyrood where we were congratulated by Prince Phillip."

Conor Ogg with his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Certificate

Caley Scholar is Awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship

Joanna Fraser, a former Caley scholar who is now a Teaching Assistant in Forensic Science at the University of Abertay Dundee, is one of just 100 recipients of this year's Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowship scheme which aims to broaden experience while bringing tangible benefits to UK society.

Joanna's PhD focuses on fingerprinting and, in particular, investigating sophisticated techniques to reveal fingerprints on clothing through 'vacuum metal deposition' where metal vapour is deposited onto the material to establish whether prints have been left.

Joanna is currently working in close consultation with the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) Forensic Services Dundee and the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) on this method, which may even help determine a sequence of events in a potential crime scene.

The travelling fellowship will allow Joanna to visit world-renowned experts in universities and police departments across the globe, and hopefully attend and present at an international forensics conference in Australia. She hopes her research will provide valuable material for her PhD, which should be complete within the next two years.

Joanna Fraser

Joanna was helped during her studies with a Caley living expenses grant.

Message from John Horsfield, Chief Executive

I thought some of you might like to know that I will be retiring from my role as CE of The Caley at the end of July. I have been here now for 15 years and I am proud that The Caley is again a thriving organisation. Much of our work is with the children of Scots serving in Afghanistan, helping them and their teachers cope with a parent on active service. I guess many of you have experienced this and I would be interested in hearing about how you coped and how the Caley staff helped you deal with your fears.

One of the things I will be doing once I am retired is to write a history of The Caley. Our archives provide lots of information but I would like to include some of your memories; so please contact me: john@rcst.org.uk

Finally there will be a farewell bash in early July in the Drill Hall of the London Scottish Regiment. I think some of you may have gone to a Christmas Party there. If you would like an invite please contact jo@rcst.org.uk It will be a fun evening with the band beating the Retreat and some of our new scholars performing.

John Horsfield

Sheelagh Harwell.... in her own words

Sheelagh Harwell wearing her stethoscope, lab coat and book all bought with money from the Trust

'I applied to the Royal Caledonian Schools Trust because I am funding myself through medicine as a second degree and required financial help for tuition fees and books. The RCST has helped me enormously. Not only did they provide me with a book fund, which allowed me to purchase many core textbooks and a stethoscope that are so crucial in a medical degree, but also a grant that helped me with tuition fees. My second year of medicine has therefore been much easier than my first, for example travelling to different hospitals has become less of an expense and inconvenience and I can revise at home from my textbooks rather than in the library, and most of all, I am not permanently living out of my student overdraft anymore.
Medicine is full of experiences such as electives, of which Glasgow has two. I hope to travel abroad for at least one of these electives to see how medicine is practised without a national health service, especially in third world countries. The RCST fund has allowed me more freedom since I won't have to work all summer to earn enough for my tuition fees, and therefore I can stay on for a couple of weeks after my elective in the country, in order to experience the culture there and make the most of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Thank you!'

Royal Ballet starlet...

Majors student, Natasha Watson was excited to be attending a one-day course at the Royal Ballet School... Even more so when the faculty asked her to stay! The school was so taken by Natasha (13) that she was offered an immediate place in the school which attracts top young ballet dancers from across the world.

Keen to sit her Standard Grade exams before she makes such a big move, Natasha has accepted a covetted place on the Royal Ballet School Senior Associate programme. She will travel to London fortnightly to train in classical ballet, national dance, pointe work and natural movement.

Natasha is preparing to sit two Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) exams this session - Grade 5 and Intermediate - having recently gained 96% for Intermediate Foundation. She studies ballet, jazz, modern and tap with us and is a student on their Majors Programmestudying the RAD vocational graded syllabus. She spent the summer dancing with the RAD on a full scholarship, spent a week at RoyalBalletSchool and has now gained a place on both the Scottish Ballet and Ballet West Associate schemes.

She has won countless titles, prizes and awards at dance festivals across the UK, and is also an accomplished actress, having starred in film, TV and radio drama. She is the youngest Scot to be nominated for a BAFTA award!

The Royal Caledonian Schools Trust is proud to be able to support Natasha. Well done Natasha for all your hard work.