# Bertha Park High School

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 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 since 2002.
The school has a focus on digital learning and is the only school in the UK to be part of Microsoft's Flagship Schools program.

## History

Planning for a new school in Perth began in 2013 when Perth and Kinross Council 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 Scotland since Meldrum Academy 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, 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 digital learning. This was supported by the provision of iPads 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 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 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

* 1 2 3 Perth & Kinross Council 2024.
* ↑ Perth & Kinross Council 2017.
* 1 2 Maher 2018.
* ↑ Scottish Construction Now 2020.
* ↑ Seith 2019.
* 1 2 3 Scottish Construction Now 2019.
* 1 2 Clark 2019b.
* 1 2 Anderson 2020.
* ↑ Urban Realm 2019.
* ↑ The Good Schools Guide 2018.
* ↑ Clark 2019a.
* 1 2 O'Sullivan 2019.
* ↑ Salcito 2018.
* ↑ RIBA 2020.

## General sources

* Anderson, Kathryn (17 January 2020). "Students show off brilliant Bertha Park High School in Perth". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
* Clark, Rachel (5 July 2019a). "'A whole new way of learning' at Bertha Park". Daily Record. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
* Clark, Rachel (23 August 2019b). "Very special start to term at Bertha Park High School in Perth". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
* The Good Schools Guide (23 October 2018). "Scottish education system". The Good Schools Guide. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
* Maher, Ryan (6 July 2018). "Perth's newest secondary Bertha Park High School ahead of schedule". The Courier. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
* O'Sullivan, Kevin (17 July 2019). "Scotland's newest high school to lock down pupils' phones as part of social media 'detox' plan". FutureScot. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
* Perth & Kinross Council (26 October 2017). "Proposals and statutory consultation for the establishment of a new Secondary School at Bertha Park, Perth". Perth & Kinross Council. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
* Perth & Kinross Council (30 May 2024). "Bertha Park High School". Perth & Kinross Council. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
* RIBA (5 June 2020). "Bertha Park High School, Perth". The RIBA Journal. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
* Salcito, Anthony (18 September 2018). "These are the first Microsoft Flagship Schools". educationblog.microsoft.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
* Scottish Construction Now (23 July 2019). "New £32.5m Perth secondary school handed over". Scottish Construction Now. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
* Scottish Construction Now (9 January 2020). "Deanestor completes £1.5m furniture and fit out at Bertha Park High School". Scottish Construction Now. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
* Seith, Emma (27 July 2019). "The school with breaks after every lesson and no phones". Tes. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
* Urban Realm (2019). "Bertha Park High School". Urban Realm. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

## External links section

* School Website
* Council page for school