Thurso High School

Ormlie Road, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7DS
Tel. 01847 893822 Fax. 01847 895509
E-Mail thurso.high@highland.gov.uk

Caitlin to perform at
London National Lottery Awards Event

Fifth year pupil, Caitlin Sinclair is flying to London this Wednesday (1st Sept) to take part in the National Lottery Awards Event which is being shown live on Sat 4th Sept at 7.30. The show is being recorded at the Roundhouse in London in front of a 500 invitation only audience, and is being presented by John Barrowman.

Caitlin has being playing the fiddle for almost 8 years and spent the summer touring with the Feis Chataibh Ceilidh Trail.  The band received lottery funding for their sound system along with several of Scotland’s other Feis’ and were subsequently invited to Glasgow to audition for the Award’s Event.  Four fiddler players from across the Highlands were picked at the Scottish auditions and have been practicing in Glasgow and Inverness for the big night.

Thurso High School Young Engineers
Compete
in UK Heats

Eleven pupils from Thurso High School headed south before the end of term to challenge English schools at the Greenpower Midlands Heat. Teams Coyote and Roadblockers made the long journey down to Mallory Park racing circuit in Leicestershire to race their electric cars around the one-mile track. An early start on Friday 2^nd July and both teams got their cars successfully passed by race scrutineers, before powering up and venturing out onto the circuit for the practice session. The one mile oval track passes around a lake and has a slight hill before returning to the main straight, the Greenpower electric cars would not be using “Shaw’s Hairpin” or “Stapletons”, which challenge the superbike riders and touring car drivers that usually compete at the circuit.

The early morning drizzle cleared and the grey clouds disappeared as the bright hot sun shone through. The F24 race started at 1pm with Coyote and Roadblockers placed thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh on the grid respectively. Both cars made good starts with Roadblockers just pulling ahead as Coyote’s electronic speed controller gradually brought the motor up to full power. Two minutes and ten seconds later and Coyote completed its first lap, a further ten seconds later and the slightly heavier Roadblockers car made it up the hill to complete its first lap.

Two hours passed by without incident, Coyote had moved up to ninth place and Roadblockers were in fifteenth place. Both teams had made pit stops to change drivers and it was time to change again. Roadblockers were overdue in the pit lane, but were not visible on the track. A tense time followed as the team searched the track for their car and driver. Finally a recovery trailer appeared with the car and driver, bringing them back to the paddock. On approaching the “John Cooper Esses” bend another car had tried to overtake a car called “Prometheus”. The “racing incident” that followed had caused no injuries, but Roadblockers chain had come off and a tyre had burst. Some fast work by the pit crews of both teams and Roadblockers were returned to the race.

In the meantime, Coyote had climbed up to third place and was looking all set to push on up to first when a puncture brought an unplanned pit stop. A short while later and Coyote was back in the race, by far the fastest car on the circuit as other teams batteries were starting to show signs of losing power. Lightning may not strike twice, but Coyote suffered a second puncture. The pit crew were getting faster and the car made a speedy return to the race. The speed controller was turned up to maximum power and Coyote set out in pursuit of a podium placed finish.

After four hours it was all over and it was a close finish. Coyote had completed 100 miles in the four hours, despite the punctures and finished in 5^th place. The cars in third and fourth place both completed 101miles and the second placed car had completed 102 miles. Road blockers covered 79miles despite the time they lost in the paddock, finishing in fourteenth place. In the Scottish heats at Alford the winning car had travelled 72 miles in the time allowed.It had been well worth the journey to give the cars a chance to perform on the longer, wider circuit.
Mr Ford

Louise Wins
Modern Studies
Prize

Debating Clarke Trophy Winners

Best Speaker/Clarke Trophy Winner- Louise Rogers

Final Competitors-
Louise Rogers, Heather Balshaw, Megan Mackay,
Emma Gunn,Courtney Mackay, Lauren Lafferty

Louise Usher from 5th Year’s 5S7 was awarded this year’s Arthur Yates shield in recognition of her excellence in Modern Studies over the school year. Louise’s class teacher, Mr Omand, said ‘Louise has the most tremendous ability to write balanced analysis and developed points in her essays, and I very much hope she has done well in her Higher exam when the SQA certificates arrive through the letterboxes on 5th August’. The shield is awarded annually and donated by the local Labour party. Its winner is of course chosen in a strict non-partisan way!