School Awards

Wed, Jun 12th 2019 at 12:50 pm - 2:00 pm

Award winners from Madras College spoke to the Club.
Also induction of new member Dr Andrew Blaikie


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The Rotary Club of St Andrews welcomed a new Member, Dr Andrew Blaikey at its recent meeting. Andrew, who was proposed for membership by Arthur Griffiths is a consultant with Fife Health Board and also teaches at the University of St Andrews as part of the Global Health Implementation Team. St Andrews Rotary club is cooperating with Andrew on a 5 year Arclight project in Malawi. Arclight devices, which are driven by solar power, are used in the early diagnosis if eye disease in remote areas in developing countries.

Annually the Rotary Club of St Andrews has awarded two prizes to outstanding senior pupils at Madras College. 

This year, Yijia Dong and Jacquelyn Ryan were chosen jointly to receive the "Service to School" Award..  

.The "Leadership Award" winner was Judith Holmes who was unable to be present because she is currently involved in charitable work in Romania.  

Picture shows Yijia and Jacquelyn with Depute Rector, Olav Darge, and Club President Kim Keble-White.

The Rotary Club of St Andrews was visited by a Rotarian from Arizona. Bob Logan, who came  with his wife, is currently president of the Rotary Club of Tucson and a Paul Harris Fellow.


A very appreciative audience of guests and Rotarians heard from Jacquelyn and Yijia, as to how their offer to start a Mandarin Language Club, took them by surprise, when 41 pupils turned up for the first session!

YiJia Dong and Jacquelyn Ryan described how they quickly learned that confidence and self-esteem are key requirements for teachers and pupils alike. Setting realistic but high standards raises expectations and encourages learning.

YiJia was also able to make comparisons with the education system in China when she spent two weeks in school in China. With school starting at 6am and finishing at 4pm it was a long day and is often followed by evening classes.

Jacquelyn also assisted in running maths and language clubs and once again came across the fact that a lack of self-esteem is a barrier to learning. However, if that factor can be overcome then pupils are often surprised at just how good they are at the subject.

Both speakers gave thanks to the staff at Madras College for the support they have received and to the Rotary Club of St Andrews for the awards.

President Kim Keeble-White in giving the vote of thanks, praised YiJita and Jacquelyn for their excellent presentations and wished them every success in the future.

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