Sport, Recreation and Leisure, Page 4 - Kibble, A Lasting Legacy. Residential, secure, education, fostering, social enterprise, training for young people and youths.

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Sport, Recreation and Leisure

View the Sport, Recreation and Leisure booklet

Talent shows and Christmas Pantos

Talent shows and Christmas Pantos still play an important role within expressive arts at Kibble.

Mark McGraw, Kibble pupil 1948-1951

Mark McGraw, a pupil/resident during the late 1940s/early 1950s has also recalled singing and performing in school concerts during his time at Kibble.

Expressive Arts

Expressive arts currently play an important role at Kibble, with pupils and staff working together to produce two shows a year: a summer talent show and a Christmas pantomime. These utilise and develop a range of skills and talents, from set and video design/production to music and dance, as well as team working skills.

There is, however, a lengthy tradition of such activities and entertainments in the school:

‘Visited school this evening, when the boys enjoyed an improvised concert.’

(Visitors’ Book 1859-1963, Mr. James Clark, 9th October 1889)

‘The meeting with parents and guardians of the boys this afternoon was very successful…there was an interesting programme of songs, duets, instrumental solos and readings.’

(Visitors’ Book 1859-1963, Mr. Clive MacKean, 29th October 1910)

Mark McGraw, a pupil/resident during the late 1940s/early 1950s has also recalled singing and performing in school concerts during his time at Kibble.

(Mark McGraw, Kibble pupil 1948-1951, interviewed 01/02/2008)

Ballroom dancing was also taught in the 1950s, as it was felt ‘that if the boys can dance properly, they will not be compelled to “rock and roll”.’

(The Kibble School 1859-1959, commemorative centenary booklet, p.16)

An early precursor to ‘Strictly Ballroom’!

Another former pupil, now a member of staff at Kibble, is a living example of the transformative power of music:

‘It made a big impact on me, you know? I mean, I...that was my first experience of...being in the Kibble was my first experience of seeing somebody singing and playing the guitar, which is basically what I went on to do.’

(Alan Mitchell, Kibble pupil 1986, Kibble staff member 2005–present, interviewed 15/12/2006)

Alan has had some success as a professional musician but switched to a career in residential childcare. He now works in classroom support at Kibble, as well as tutoring pupils in guitar playing, and continues to write and perform music.

Kibble School Camp, Dunure 1952

Summer camps have also been a key feature, with the annual trip to Dunure encompassing many activities until its demise in the 1970s/1980s.

Outdoor Pursuits

Outdoor activities have included such diverse pursuits as moped driving, canoeing, hill walking, mountain biking and grouse beating. Summer camps have also been a key feature, with the annual trip to Dunure encompassing many activities until its demise in the 1970s/1980s. The late Clark McKechnie (Interviewed 07/07/2005), a Residential Social Worker at Kibble for some thirty years, remembered playing “cowboys and Indians”, diving and swimming in the sea, dam-building, and collecting agates while at Dunure.

Jean Logan, formerly a Residential Social Worker, and now an Online Assessor at Kibble, highlights the lack of money available for leisure during the 1980s, meaning that staff had to be creative in providing activities at evenings and weekends:

‘…all the fun was outside, you know, you made your own entertainment. We used to take them up the hills and do night time exercises with them and play soldiers. I mean, it sounds crazy but it was great fun, and everybody got into it, the staff and boys… But…eh…I would say probably making your own entertainment was more fun.’

(Jean Logan, Kibble staff member 1986-present, interviewed 08/03/2006)

The value of outdoor pursuits is still very much recognized, as one of Kibble’s former Principal Teachers explained as he spoke about mountain biking trips:

‘…it’s absolutely fabulous because it brings in all sorts of things like their fitness, the skill of actually negotiating some of these trails in the forest, reading a map…eh…taking a shot at the responsibility of being the leader. I always say the slowest guy is actually the guy who determines the pace, not the fastest guy, so they have to take responsibility for setting a suitable pace. And then again, they’re out in the wilds and they’re looking at things, and they’ll often stop and say, “Check it out – there’s an eagle sitting on that post over there”… as I’ve always said, it’s behaviour-related but sometimes we deliberately take the kind of high risk character who is causing mayhem in the school, to try and break the monotony of school that he’s not “buying into”, and say, “Well this is what’s available to you”. Give them a kind of idea and say, “Right, we’ll take you again. Honestly, we will take you again but you need to attend classes, we need to check your points to make sure you’re, you know…barring the wee hiccup here and there, you need to understand it’s behaviour related”.’

(David Speirs, Principal Teacher 1984-2008, interviewed 08/02/2007)

A Lasting Legacy

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