Paving the Way Phase 1 of the big landscaping project at Uphill Junior School is underway! In Scotland we might call the body of water that forms at the front of the school each time it rains the “Uphill Lochan’ (a small lake or pond). Not an ideal entrance feature, and one that needs to […]
Infrastructure at Uphill: The Final Step(s) Uphill Junior School lives up to its name as our school site is anything but flat, a reflection of the wonderful geography of the surrounding landscape in the crater lakes area of west Uganda, bordering the Kibale Forest. The landscape around Uphill is not the only spectacular feature – […]
Anyone for Stovies? * We are all very aware of how limited Earth’s resources are, and how important it is to protect and conserve what we have on the planet. In Uganda they have been promoting the idea of using less firewood for cooking for some time, not only to conserve their natural resources but […]
Every Friday is a Good Friday During our trustees’ visit in February 2026, we got to see our new vocational classroom in use. In pride of place were the sewing machines and knitting machine, and there was more waiting for us. We really enjoyed helping with the ‘unboxing’ of the Workaid consignment of equipment which […]
In advance of our annual Trustee visit, and the start of the 2026 Ugandan academic year, we are delighted to report very positive news from Uphill Junior School. During 2025 the school applied for, and was awarded, PLE (Primary Leaving Examination) exam centre status. This means that that the P7 candidates are able to sit […]
Providing our rural children with co-curricular skills alongside their broad range of academic teaching is one of the key missions of Uphill Junior School. For the past few years, this has extended beyond the classroom into offering the experience of hands-on vocational skills training. Summer workshops have covered a range of entrepreneurship skills In 2024, […]
We are lucky to have really good communication with the Elius, the Uphill Junior School Director, via digital messaging services. This blog gives you a flavour of our regular chats… Team Uphill – Elius with trustees Liddy, Belinda and Max Background to this conversation Towards the end of the COVID lockdowns the Uphill staff asked […]
For a community where toys are not a regular thing for children, it was good to see a wee one cuddling a doll made from banana leaves during school playtime at Uphill. Commenting on this to one of the teachers, she said, “We can all make them.” My reply was, “Please can you show me […]
If you ever wondered whether Girlguiding was a truly worldwide organisation, here’s a tale that will convince you. Following a chance meeting with some Ugandan Guiders in Entebbe during 2022, Liddy, a longtime Brownie leader in Scotland, went on to make further Guiding connections in Uganda. The result of these links is the formation of […]
A New Kindergarten for Uphill This is the story of ten years in the life of a rural Ugandan school building. These days we in the west are all being encouraged to reuse or recycle to cut back on waste, and help reduce climate change. In Uganda, our experience is that before anything is thrown […]
Another school year is coming to a close in Uganda and the Class of 2024 have completed their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and left school. This was the eighth year in a row that pupils from the school have had the opportunity to sit these important national examinations. The Uphill Class of 2017 was the […]
Developing interactive and hands on learning activities for the teachers and pupils is one of the priorities at Uphill. We help when and where we can and gradually new strands of teaching are becoming embedded in the classrooms. This is the second blog about new resources that have ben introduced into the school. Hands On […]
The Uphill Compost Toilet Project was born out of necessity – a new toilet facility is urgently needed for staff and visitors to the school. The current ‘temporary’ shallow drop latrine was built in 2018, in response to a requirement by the school inspectors, and is now almost full! We struggled to find a place […]
In June 2023 we received the incredible news that Hazel’s Footprints Trust had awarded us a generous grant of £15,000 – the biggest we have received to date! This financial boost set the wheels in motion for a significant transformation in the Uphill Junior School staff housing compound. By October, with final agreement on the […]
November 6 2023 was a sad day for the Uphill community. We learned that Uphill Head Builder, Waren, had died following a brief spell in hospital. He was 53 years old. Installing the school sign at the junction from the main road (2017) Laying bricks for the girls’ latrine in February 2019 Overseeing construction work […]
Why did we decide to fit eco stoves in the new kitchen at Uphill Junior School? Deforestation is a major problem across the world – a survey of African forests estimated that the continent lost 10% of its forests between 1990 and 2010. A large proportion of felled wood goes into the production of cooking […]
It’s been the long-held wish of both our school’s director and the trust to help the long-term sustainability of the school by finding our school staff a permanent place to live. Currently the staff use rented rooms which are small, not well maintained, lack many facilities, and are not very secure. The rent for the […]
Learning through play is central to early years education, and it’s just got easier in the Uphill Kindergarten. Our 2022 Christmas Appeal – Are You Sitting Comfortably? – was a great success and the new intake of youngsters in Baby Class are really enjoying the low tables and chairs that have transformed their classroom. Teamed […]
Porridge might not be considered the most exciting foodstuff, unless, of course, you happen to be a pupil at Uphill Junior School where a mug of porridge really, really brightens up your day. Since the Uphill Porridge Club was launched in 2022, we have had great reports of how successful it has been, and how […]
Uphill Junior School pupils are happy to see men at work on the school site, knowing that every building brings new opportunities for them! We have been planning and fundraising for a new kitchen with dining hall for the school for a while now, and are delighted to report that the building is now up! […]
