On Saturday the 17th August the President James Forbes had the great honour of awarding the SSTA prize for LGBT Learner of the Year to Eilidh Nicolson at an Awards ceremony in Ayr.

The new Council of the SSTA met briefly after Congress. The purpose was to elect a new Executive and Finance Committee. We announce the result below.

A sample of members were asked to complete an on-line survey on their readiness to deliver N4 and N5 qualifications next session.

Members are reminded that the season of Working Time Agreements is here. Given the increasing workload implications of National 4 and 5, it would be advisable to review the allocation of time in the school agreement devoted to curriculum development and Formal Assessment.

The Association is conducting a survey of members to find out how prepared they are for the delivery of the new courses next session. The survey should take no longer than a couple of minutes to complete.

Due to Lack of interest in the Seminar we have had to cancel the event. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. 7 March 2013 The Seminar is an all day event, which will take place on Friday 15 March at the Westerwood Hotel, Cumbernauld and is free to SSTA members.

Following a number of enquiries regarding Working Time Agreement the Association has produced an advice sheet for School Reps which is available to download. Should you have any questions regarding your school Working Time Agreement please contact headquarters by emailing info@ssta.org.uk or calling 0131 313 7300.

There were 500 responses. The highlights of the survey are as follows Nearly 90% supported the electronic format being used. The great majority of respondents were happy with the smaller printed format (80%). 75% of respondents rated the articles in the newsletter as being interesting and relevant and 69% believed that 2 newsletters per session were sufficient. The full survey results are available for any member. Please contact the Acting General Secretary.

The Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Goring to the post of part-time Professional Officer. Richard, a former depute headteacher in Hamilton Grammar, has a long association with us as an active member and is held in the highest regard in all quarters.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association today confirmed the early retirement of the General Secretary, Ann Ballinger with effect from the end of December 2012 on health grounds. The Council of the Association had already been informed of Ms Ballinger's intention to retire early.