Former Pupil & Staff Spotlight – Miss Anne MacLeod

Our Former Pupil & Staff Spotlight page celebrates the huge variety of careers, achievements and stories within our Former Pupil & Staff community, and provides a space for them to look back on their experiences at Wellington.

Get to know…

Miss Anne MacLeod – PE Teacher 

Who was Head of Department? I was

Who were your colleagues? Mrs Cotter, Mr Ness & Mr Craig

Where were your classrooms located? The gym at Carleton Turrets Hall, our playgrounds and the playing fields at the Old Racecourse & Cambusdoon. We also used Citadel in Ayr and many other local sports centers as required.

Who was the Head of School? Mr Cummings, Mr Grigg, Mrs Gardner & Mr Dunsmuir

What house were you in? None, the PE department were involved with all houses for marching and interhouse competitions.

What years did you teach at Wellington: 1982 to 2002

Favourite School Lunch at Wellington: I didn’t have much time for lunch as we always had lunch practices, but I do remember some really nice soups!

What was your favourite sport? That’s hard! I loved lots of sport including Netball, Gymnastics, Athletics, but as my Hockey career developed, it has to take a special place.

What position in Hockey did you play? Usually right half or right back.

Most Important item in your kit bag? My Hockey Stick!

Any pre-event rituals you like to follow? A song! A good warm up, some tactics from our coach.

Do you have a message for our current pupils? The friends you make through sport are very special, I still see lots of friends from my hockey days.

Have you been back to Wellington since you left? Yes, I came to help coach athletics in the summer for several years, I also did some learning support and became an invigilator for Higher exams.

Best memories of your time teaching at Wellington: I obviously remember some of the amazing successes like winning District Hockey trophies, Scottish Hockey Championships & the Scottish Senior Relay Gold medal, but very importantly, I remember the enthusiasm pupils showed, the friendships made and the many ways pupils supported one another and made my time there very special.

Here are a few examples:

1. We were doing class 100m heats. There was a little girl with Down Syndrome, who was afraid of the noise of the whistle blowing. A classmate said to me “Miss MacLeod, could you put me in a different heat and then I can come back and hold my classmates hand as she starts the race”. Job done and it worked!
2. We had 3 very fast sprinters in the senior age group but needed a 4th member to make up the relay team. A step in volunteer, who was not as fast, but still a good sprinter was willing to come along to all the training. She started the race, we made the change over early and the result – a win in the Scottish Relay Gold.

Sport is about more than winning, it is about joining in, making friends, supporting one another, having fun and sometimes winning as well.