Bertha Park High School is a non-denominational state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. Planning for the school began in 2013 when

Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council ( gd, Comhairle Pheairt is Cheann Rois) is the local government council for the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland. It employs around 6,000 people. The council was created in 1996, under the '' Local Governme ...

voted to accept Scottish Government funding for a new school in Perth. The school opened in 2019, and was the first new high school in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

since 2002. The school has a focus on

digital learning Digital learning is any type of learning that is accompanied by technology or by instructional practice that makes effective use of technology. It encompasses the application of a wide spectrum of practices, including blended and virtual learning ...

and is the only school in the UK to be part of

Microsoft's Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

Flagship Schools program.

History

Planning for a new school in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

began in 2013 when

voted to accept funding from the Scottish Government's Schools for the Future Programme. In total the project would cost £32.5 million, with the Scottish Government providing £19.6 million. Construction work on Bertha Park High School started in December 2017. When opened it would be the first new high school in

since

Meldrum Academy Meldrum Academy is a secondary school run by Aberdeenshire Council in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was established in 2002. The acting head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, prin ...

in Aberdeenshire opened in 2002, and the first in Perth and Kinross since 1972, with other new school buildings having been replacements for pre-existing ones. The School opened for classes in August 2019, and this was followed by an official opening on 16 January 2020 where Scottish Education Secretary and local MSP John Swinney unveiled an official plaque to commemorate the event. Its first and current Headmaster is Mr Stuart Clyde.

Grounds and facilities

Located on the northern outskirts of Perth the school building is arranged on a north–south axis, with the northern end of the building designed to put learning on show with a taller, highly glazed frontage. In contrast, the rear of the building is lower and backs on to a south-facing playground, in turn, linked to the neighbouring residential area. Upon opening the school facilities included a sports hall, multi-use games hall, gym, synthetic sports pitches, and an amphitheatre.

Curriculum and teaching

As a state school in Scotland, Bertha Park teaches the

Curriculum for Excellence Curriculum for Excellence is the national curriculum for Scottish schools for learners from the ages 3–18. It was developed out of a 2002 consultation exercise – the 'National Debate on Education' – undertaken by the-then Scottish Execut ...

, as set out by the Scottish Government. The school is unusual in the local area as only teaching four subjects a day, and has an emphasis on

. This was supported by the provision of

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...

s to all the students when the school opened, provided as part of a two-year research project by the

University of the Highlands and Islands , type = federal, public , image_name = UHI Coat of Arms.jpg , image_size = 150px , established = 2011 – University status 1992 – UHI Millennium Institute , chancellor = The Princess Royal , vice_chancellor = , budget = £139m (202 ...

intended to study the effect of such devices being used within teaching and learning. The local council intends to use the results of this study to examine the benefits of this approach into the future. At the same time, students are required to lock their own phones in lockers during school hours, which the school says will improve their learning, with the content available via the iPads being restricted by the council and teachers being able to control their use in class.

Awards and recognition

In September 2018 it was announced that the school would be one of the first 17

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

Flagship Schools, where it is hoped schools will be able to innovate new ways of using technology in teaching. Bertha Park was the only school in the UK to be selected. In 2019 the school won the Scottish Transforming Learning Award.

Citations

General sources

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External links section

School Website

Council page for school
{{authority control 2019 establishments in Scotland Schools in Perth, Scotland Educational institutions established in 2019 Secondary schools in Perth and Kinross School buildings completed in 2019