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The Buddy Bench was placed in the Pre-Prep playground at The Buchan School, thanks to generous parents who provided a donation to fund the purchase of the bench. The idea of a Buddy Bench is to provide a place for the children to sit if they need a friend or someone to talk to.

Melissa Hawley, Head of Pre-Prep, said: “The children enjoy sitting on the bench and know if they see a friend there, they can go and have a chat and check in to see if they are okay. It’s a lovely initiative!”

Friends at Buchan (FaB) were delighted to fund the installation of a 3D printer at the Buchan. Using the 3D printer, children can design builds using specialist software, print and refine them.

Alan Macnair, Head of ICT, said: “The 3D printer is a great opportunity for the children to learn more about digital design within the ICT curriculum and gives a real purpose to 3D design – it encourages problem solving, creativity, hands on learning and increases engagement.”

Alan has started a unit of work in ICT using the 3D printer and hopes that it will eventually be able to provide cross-curricular links with Art.

The Chapel Sound System has revolutionised Chapel Services for the School. Chaplain, Rev Erica Scott, said: “The sound system is a welcome addition to the chapel it is now possible to hear everybody and anybody wherever they stand to deliver in chapel. There is a microphone at the lectern at the pulpit and a freestanding microphone that can move around. The headset is a Godsend.”

The Buchan School installed a brand-new defibrillator, which has been supplied by Craig’s Heart Strong Foundation and generously funded by a parent. Charlotte Holtby kindly provided the funds for the new defibrillator due to Charlotte’s close ties with heart issues. Her son Freddie was diagnosed with a Bicuspid Aortic Valve when he was just eight weeks old and is under the care of Alder Hey. Her other son Luca was diagnosed with Patent Foramen Ovale (a small hole in his heart) when he was 14 years old.

Charlotte said “What Craig’s Heart Strong Foundation does is amazing. Providing The Buchan School with a defibrillator was not only a blessing and a privilege, but also it gives peace of mind to everyone that it is there; saving lives matters.”

Janet Billingsley, Head of The Buchan School, understands how important it is to have such medical provisions available. She said: “The Buchan School is extremely proud of our medical provision and we are grateful to Ms Holtby for her generous donation and Craig’s Heart Strong Foundation for providing this new defibrillator to our school.”

When Alice Kiernan left the Buchan, her family gave a donation to the School’s Music Department. Alicia is a superb musician who sang in the Buchan Choir and was winner of the Buchan Masked Performer competition, during the 2022 lockdown. She was also Head of Choir 2022-23.

The money was used to purchase one of four laptops. The children in Prep use these laptops to compose and experiment with various online music programmes, such as Learning Music with Ableton and Chrome Music Lab.

Jenni Garrett, Head of Music, said: “This donation has made an enormous difference to the Music Department, allowing the children to access these online programmes, which help to enhance the provision of Music at The Buchan School. The children engage very well with the laptops and have enjoyed using the various music exploration sites.”

The organ is an integral part of Chapel Services, being used three times a week and for major Services and points in the liturgical calendar. It has also benefitted a number of pupils who have had organ lessons.

With thanks to a very generous donation, KWC Boarders voted to obtain four brand new paddleboards, in order to enjoy the Irish Sea on our doorstep.

Susie Parry, Head of Boarding, said: “Our boarders spent the summer term of 2022 getting to grips with this new way to exercise, exploring our immediate coastline during the summer evenings. The paddleboards have brought joy, a sense of adventure, real team work (those paddleboards don’t pump or clean themselves!) and lots of individuals together. Such a pleasure to hear the laughter, see the smiles, and be begged to allow the boarders out on the paddleboards as often as possible, wind and tides permitting of course!”

Thanks to generous donations, The Buchan School were able to renew their sports equipment for pupils to enjoy during PE lessons and extra-curricular sports clubs.

The diversity of our student body gives the School its unique identity.  Over the last five years over £100,000 has been donated to support Bursaries and Scholarships for talented pupils, who would not otherwise be able to join our community.

At King William’s College we have completely refurbished our Science facilities thanks to a very substantial donation from the MacLeod family. Five brothers from the family have been members of the College in recent years and the donation is in memory of one of the brothers, Dosch, who tragically died in a car accident in 2014. His ambition was to study Medicine at university and it is hoped the new science wing, which is named in his honour, will enable others to achieve that goal. 

Seven laboratories have been totally redesigned and fitted out with the latest equipment, together with the Bragg Lecture Theatre, named after our most famous old boy, the Physics Nobel Laureate William Bragg. 

Thanks to a generous legacy from a parent of a former Buchan pupil, in addition to donations from the school’s community and Friends at Buchan, we have established the Buchan STEAM Studio.  The Studio aims to help children develop skills from an early age based on teaching methods in line with STEAM education.

The Studio is kitted out with a range of LEGO® products to guide student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking that integrate with the STEAM learning system, helping youngsters to develop innovative mindsets with the ability to think creatively.

Ultimately, we hope the studio will become a hub for the local community, bringing together schools, teachers, parents and companies to provide STEAM education for pupils that will last a lifetime and help inspire tomorrow’s scientists and engineers.

In 2018 Friends at Buchan (FaB) helped to fund the refurbishment of the Buchan Library.  In the new space, pupils can comfortably relax with a book on a variety of bean bags and cushions or take a seat on one of two funky sofas. The refurbishment has been a welcome improvement to provide a cosy hub to the centre of the School.

In 2018 we were pleased to welcome Henry Kelly (H, S 1964-72) to open a brand new language lab at KWC, made possible thanks to his generous support. The impressive 16 computer facility includes state of the art technology which will not only help improve vocabulary, expression, grammar and pronunciation, but will allow students to listen to and speak different languages more than is normally possible in a traditional classroom environment.

We believe that strong language skills are an asset which promotes a lifetime of effective communication. The Kelly Language Lab will allow students to practise without the fear of judgement or making mistakes. They can work at their own pace and learn their language in context. This is particularly motivating for our young people who can see first-hand how their language skills benefit them in real life situations.

Nicholas Kitto (D 1968-1972) and his family have generously supported the Arts at College in celebration of his and other family members’ time here, including his grandfather John “Jack” Kitto (D 1905-1911), who was Head of Dickson and a member of the 1st XV.  His donation provided funds to equip the Art Department with new resources, including an excellent A1 photographic printer, and funded an annual photography prize.

In 2015, as part of a joint project with Friends of KWC, the College renovated the space on the ground floor of the Art Department.  The new space is used by all age groups during teaching, as well an exhibition area for students and visiting artists. It has been named The Kitto Studio in recognition of the support of the Kitto family.  

Major General Sir Peter Downward (OKW 1936-1941) was an outstanding alumnus and keen supporter of College.  He sadly passed away in 2014 and since 2015, in recognition of his love for his old school, Sir Peter’s family generously fund an annual lecture that forms part of the Sixth Form lecture series.  The ‘Downward Memorial Lecture’ allows students to hear from leading speakers from the fields of Science and International Relations, two of Sir Peter’s primary interests.  Speakers have included Sir Peter’s son Professor Julian Downward, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE and Greg Whyte OBE.