Ian R C Cowie, President of the Royal High School (RHS) Club suggested in February that the creation of a video record of the experiences of Pupils and Staff during the Covid pandemic of the past year would be a valuable historical record of this difficult time. His idea was enthusiastically supported by the Rector and pupils, and Ian got to work.

This page contains an overview of the process of creating the videos, a video ‘trailer’ summarising the four components, and the individual video content. The videos were introduced, compered and edited by Ian, and the individuals recording the videos were Lucy Krauth, School Captain 2019-2020, Cameron Thores, School Captain 2020-2021, Eilidh Newlands and Caitlin Kiddie, School Vice Captains 2020-2021, and last but not least, Pauline Walker, School Rector. Each individual was asked to respond to the same set of questions, and their responses provide a fascinating insight to life at home and in School during this incredibly difficult period for these talented pupils and their Rector. Before taking a look at more detail, you might like to view the Covid Schola Regia Trailer.

The following gallery shows the participants, and some of their responses to the questions; click on any of them to enable a full screen display and some comments. (if you can’t see the text at the foot of each photo, use the keyboard ‘down’ key)

The Videos

Click on any of the images below to start a video. For the Introduction (by Ian R C Cowie) click the bottom right image

2020-2021 Vice Captains Eilidh Newlands and Caitlin Kiddie, and Captain Cameron Thores
Rector Pauline Walker, 2019-2020 Captain Lucy Krauth and RHS Club President Ian Cowie

Interview questions included the following

• When did you first realise that a pandemic could affect your education?
• What was the reaction in the school when closure was announced?
• How well did the school adapt to online learning?
• What was the reaction when exam cancellation was announced?
• What was the view of the SQA algorithm?
• Will pupil/staff relations improve as result of more teacher assessment?
• Did pupils feel cheated for missing out on Leaving Ceremony and other events, irrespective of no social life?
• Do pupils feel disadvantaged by the fact that their education has been disrupted?
• Should there be a case for pupils to re-sit a year if it was practically possible?
• Will schools….and for that matter the world, ever be the same again? Have there been any immediate positives?