General

The sun was shining on Friday and we had a wonderful time trekking with the alpacas along the shore of Loch Ness. A massive thank you to Loch Ness Alpacas for accommodating us again this year.

The Battlefield Trip has been a great success. The pupils have been a real asset to the school, showing respect when appropriate while also being full of fun and enthusiasm. The staff are very proud of the pupils and hope they have gained a great deal from the experience.

On Tuesday, our S3 Girls Do STEM group enjoyed an inspiring visit to the beautiful Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park!

Following on from her visit to Culloden Academy last week, L&D Officer, Iona, gave us a fantastic tour through the drive-through reserve before hosting an insightful Q&A session with six incredible women from across the park. Each shared their own journey into conservation and highlighted the vital role women play within STEM industries, including zoology and wildlife conservation.

A huge thank you to RZSS for making us feel so welcome and for giving our pupils such an inspiring experience.

This trip also marked the end of our 2025/2026 Girls Do STEM programme. Throughout the year, our pupils have had the opportunity to learn from an amazing range of organisations, including Highlands and Islands Airways Ltd, Morrison Construction, SSEN, West Fraser, NHS Highland, Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery, RESILIENCE Medicine, and finally the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Learning about the importance of women in STEM has hopefully shown our fabulous S3 girls that they truly can be anything they want to be…. with passion, determination, and hard work.

A fantastic Friday morning last week for our S3 Barista students as they took part in an exciting visit to Starbucks.

Students enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the shop floor, gaining valuable insight into the hospitality industry and the skills needed to succeed as a barista. From exploring the origins of coffee to learning about customer experience, teamwork, and product knowledge, students were able to connect classroom learning with real-world careers and develop a greater understanding of opportunities within the sector.

They also discovered the importance of smell, the famous coffee “slurp,” and how food pairing can completely transform taste; proving there’s far more to the perfect cuppa than just “milk and one!” To top it all off, students got hands-on creating Starbucks’ famous Strawberry Acai Refresha which may just be the perfect summer drink!

A huge thank you to Bekka and Abby for delivering such an engaging and memorable experience for our young people. Opportunities like this are invaluable in helping students build confidence, develop employability skills, and gain meaningful insight into future career pathways within hospitality and customer service.

The new timetable for pupils currently in S1, S2 and S3 will begin on Monday 18th May. Pupils will receive new timetables during extended Registration which will be from 8:40am to 9:00am on Monday 18th.

From the start of the new timetable, Registration will be at 8:40am each day. Block 1 will be from 8:50am to 9:40am. Block 2 onwards, morning break and lunch, will be at their current times. Please ensure you are on time for registration each day. The warning bell at 8:36am is the signal to go straight to Registration.

Congratulations to Emma Boyd (S3) and Annalee Sinclair (S1) who competed in the Allstar World Dance Championships in Orlando, Florida last week. They achieved 3rd in the world for Jazz, being narrowly beaten by teams from Australia and Mexico. They were also 6th in Lyrical. Well done girls.

Congratulations to Lewis Russell (S1), Alasdair Gray (S2) and Carrie-Anne Law (S3) who took part in quads, doubles and a single. Well done to Alasdair and Lewis for securing bronze as part of a Quad in their age category.

Two teams from Culloden Academy went to Kingussie on Tuesday to compete in the regional round of the UK Maths Trust Team Challenge.  Culloden A came in first and have been invited to the national final in Manchester in June.  Culloden B also performed very well and placed 6^th  out of the 12 teams attending.

The pupils who participated were:

Culloden A:

• Innes Simon S3
• Micah Macdonald S3
• Lewis Conway S2
• Szymon Kuzma S2

Culloden B:

• Bethany Hanlon S3
• Bethan Thomas S3
• Isaac Ising S2
• Alasdair Gray S2

Congratulations to Julian Smolinksi who took third place at the Scottish Boccia Championship in Glasgow yesterday. Competition was fierce, as can be seen in the photo of the tie break for Bronze Medal position. The Highland team had a great day, with all three qualifying players making it to the semi finals, two medals and family and friends supporting all the way.