And they're off! Our Belgium Battlefields History Trip left early yesterday morning and after a long, overnight ferry crossing they have arrived safely in Rotterdam ready for the last leg of their journey.

They have lots planned for today, along with lunch in Ypres. Watch this space for photos throughout the week!

Open Day – Saturday 17 May.  This event is for students who have applied for a post-school course, and also those who are undecided about what to do next year.  

This year the Art Department entered 7 artworks for the Royal Academy Young Artists’ Summer Show in London and 1 of them has been selected!

This is the first entry from our school to be accepted for this open submission exhibition, which celebrates the art of students aged 4-19 studying in the UK every year . The painting “Date with a Wizard Frog”, created by Heather Robinson in S1, will be part of the online exhibition from 15 July, as well as the display at the Royal Academy from 15 July to 10 August.

This is the full list of participants this year:

• Emily Russell – S4

• Adam Bodie – S3

• Anna MacLean – S3

• David Macleman – S2

• Alasdair Matheson – S2

• John Hector Kane – S1

• Heather Robinson – S1

You can see their artworks here. These were all done in pupils' own time; some used the lunchtime clubs in the department and some worked at home. The ideas, themes and inspirations all came from them.

S1 Virtual Evening – Wednesday 21st May – 5pm - Booking is now open!

Due to the size of the year group and the number of staff who have multiple S1 classes; you may not be able to book an appointment with every subject teacher. In a school of our size this has always been an issue. Therefore last year we trialled a hybrid model of a main ‘in person’ evening (taking place next week - booking now closed) and then another opportunity to book appointments as part of a virtual evening. The virtual parents’ evening should only be used as a ‘top up’ and not the main evening for your bookings – for example you were unable to get an appointment with History on the main evening. It should not be used for multiple appointments. Please refer to the criteria check list.

Some ground rules so that all participants are following the same protocol which should ensure everyone’s wellbeing.

• Conversations should take place in appropriate rooms / surroundings e.g. kitchen, lounge, study and not in a bedroom

• All participants should be appropriately attired as they would be for a real life face to face meeting

• No conversations should be recorded

• If you are using a device with e.g. FaceTime or WhatsApp to enable both parents from different households to attend simultaneously please flag this up to the teacher as a matter of courtesy at the start of the conversation

• As in real life, your child is welcome to attend

• Please be on time as the slot times are not flexible at all and will start/finish exactly on time

Ready to book your slots? Click here

Huge congratulations go to Finlay McLean and Charlie Fraser of S3 who have passed their Drum Kit Trinity Rock Music grade 8 exam. They are both pupils of HLH tutor Mr O’Parka here at Inverness Royal Academy. Finlay passed with merit and Charlie achieved a distinction award. This is an amazing achievement and they are only in S3! Anyone interested in signing up for music lessons should do so here