Nearly 500 pupils return to Anderson High School

S4-6 pupils returned to the Anderson High School on Tuesday morning, after almost five months away.

490 students were welcomed back to classes on Tuesday, with 161 first year pupils set to join them on Wednesday.

Head teacher Valerie Nicolson said that she was “really optimistic” about bairns returning this week, but admitted that there were “one or two folk that do have some anxiety around” the return.

That was “completely understandable”, she added, but said that the general feeling around the school was one of optimism, and of a need to return to normality.

S4 pupil Emma Newlands said that she was “nervous” about returning to school, while classmate Kara Grant added there was “quite a lot of people that feel the same way”.

Riahnnon Thomason, who is entering S6, said that she was “not sure what to expect” once she made it into the building this morning.

She added that she just hoped that “the school actually stays open” in the face of the current difficulties.

And Shay Regan, also entering his last year at the school, said that he was “glad to return to some form of normality”.

All of the pupils that The Shetland Times spoke to this morning said that they would not be leaving the school at break, or dinner time, to visit local shops.

There is added tension at the school this morning following last week’s SQA exam results, which have proved extremely controversial.

Both Ms Thomason and Mr Regan, who sat exams in S5, said they had been downgraded on at least one exam and that they would now be lodging an appeal with the exam board.

Scottish education minister John Swinney is set to deliver an announcement about the exam results this morning.