 Earlston High School is a comprehensive, non-denominational, secondary school for pupils from first to sixth year. Earlston is a rural town which stands on the A68 about 35 miles south of Edinburgh.
The other towns in the catchment area are Melrose, St.Boswells, Newtown St.Boswells, Lauder and Gordon. The catchment area also includes the villages of Bowden, Oxton, Darnick, Gattonside and Westruther.
The school roll has risen from 111 in 1965 to the present 903. It is expected that the roll will continue to rise over the next few years. The expected roll by 2009 is 1000.
Message from the Rector
Welcome to the website of Earlston High School. We hope the contents will give you an insight into the activities and values of the school.
Pupils enter Secondary School as children and leave as adults. During this time the school aims to educate young people to the highest standards of excellence to become full, confident and active members of the community. We are committed to a positive learning environment where achieving to our full potential is central to all we do. Academic attainment is obviously important but we also pride ourselves on creating opportunities for participation in a full range of extra curricular activities.
We are proud of the support the school receives from our parents and the wider school community and we do all we can to foster and develop this.
To sum up, our school tries to offer as much as possible to our pupils, and much is expected of our pupils and their parents or guardians. This approach has been successful in the past but we are constantly working on further improvements. If you have a suggestion or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be pleased to help.
Michelle Strong
Rector
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The Aims of the School
NEW VALUES, NEW LOOK
ETHOS AND VALUES
One day a teenage girl arrived home quite indignant. She was outraged at the way one of her ‘friends’ had spoken to his mum. “How dare he speak to her like that?” she huffed and puffed around the kitchen. ‘We would NEVER speak to you and dad like that’, she shrilled (she was no angel herself!) When she was asked ‘why she would NEVER speak to her mum and dad like that?’ she struggled for an answer. Had she been told not to speak to them that way? No. Were there rules? No. So how did she know?
She went away to think about this. She made many attempts to explain how she knew not to speak to others in this way, she finally concluded ~ ‘we just know not to’.
Values are like this. They simply shape us so that we know how to be. They are not rules imposed from outside. They can’t be forced on us. They are just about the way we run our lives. They determine and influence the way we behave and respond to others and to situations, they shape the way we are. To be effective they come must from within and they take a while to get there. But how do they get there?
Probably by example, by consistency, by reinforcement, by equality, by agreement/consensus, by regular, gentle repetition.
But what does this have to do with Earlston High School?
Earlston High School has a very good reputation. Many people speak highly of the school ~ its exam results, its breadth of education, its productions, its extra-curricular activities, clubs and sports, its openness. As we move into our new school we would also like to be known for our ethos.
Early in the autumn term of 2008 Principal Teachers supported the idea of developing a School Ethos; a set of values which would provide a positive framework on which to base the behaviours, approaches and attitudes of everyone involved in our school, ideally, a way of being which would reduce the need for rules.
A set of values that would be owned and understood by everyone
Since then pupils, staff and parents have discussed and voted, independently, for the values they feel are most important for Earlston High School. Surprisingly 3 values came top of each vote:
Respect
Honesty
Responsibility
Then pupil representatives got together for lunch where they voted for and added 2 more: Commitment
Excellence
Each value probably embraces other values, but these 5 can encompass most.
Next steps
On their own, these words, these values may not mean very much. It’s really important that everyone talks about what the values mean to them, otherwise how do we know them when we meet them or experience them? Can we think of examples of behaviour which demonstrates respect, honesty, responsibility, commitment or excellence?
During the summer term of 2009, in RME (religious and moral education), pupils will have been discussing behaviours that are good examples and demonstrate these values. Staff have been asked (through departments and as individuals) to share their thoughts about ways of conducting ourselves and our lives to show respect, honesty, responsibility, excellence and commitment. S1-4 are looking at values in RME whilst seniors are discussing them with Senior Management in PSE (Personal and Social Education).
Once all this work has been gathered together it will be added to the website, but in the meantime we hope that you will start to discuss and share what behaviours you would expect from those around you and how you might act to show your understanding of our values and ethos ~ the values and ethos of Earlston High School; our pupils, our staff, our families and our community.
The History of Our School
 In 1877 Two Earlston schools were
amalgamated to form Earlston Public School.
Until 1967 The school was a combined
Primary and Junior Secondary School. In 1967 The
name of the school was changed to Earlston High School and the
secondary department received all pupils from Lauder, Channelkirk,Gordon,
Westruther and Hume. In 1974 The school
was upgraded to full 6 year status. In 1976 Melrose was added to the
catchment area. By 1982 The new extension and the
conversion work to the existing buildings were completed. In 1982 Newtown St.Boswells and
St.Boswells were added to the catchment area.
In 1983 Earlston Primary School
became a separate school with its own headteacher.
In 2009 Earlston High School moved to new premises.
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