Headmaster's Headlines: Autumn Term 2008

16 December

My thoughts: The final week of term, week 15, was action-packed!  First, it was a pleasure to welcome Peter and Alice Deakin to Headmaster’s Assembly at which their baby son, James, received a blessing! (Mr Deakin is our new Head of Geography and Director of Co-curricular Activities.) This is the time of the year when the annual Dr David Stranock Memorial Rugby Match between Merchiston and Royal Belfast Academical Institution is played in Belfast; for the second year running, the match was a draw and on this occasion the RBAI retained the trophy!  For those of you who did not know Dr Stranock, he was a long-standing member of the Merchiston Common Room, joining the School as a teacher of Biology in 1979.  He was also passionate about rugby and cricket, he was an outstanding photographer and editor of School publications.  Sadly, he passed away after a long illness in July 2007.  On another note, much of the end of term mailing, which helps parents to keep up to date with developments at Merchiston, will be available on parentnet, as opposed to the usual Merchiston ‘brick’ arriving through your letter box on Christmas Eve!

My congratulations: I would like to congratulate our rock bands, including The Mystic Floorboards and the staff rock band, known as Ruth & The John Napier Five, on their performances at the three Christmas Dinners.  It was wonderful to hear Ruth & The John Napier Five performing Let’s Dance, House of the Rising Sun, and I Heard it through the Grapevine, and then we had a special appearance by ‘Elvis’ himself (Fergus West) with Memphis and All Shook Up.‘Elvis’ gave us an incredible performance and had to reprise his numbers!  I would also like to congratulate and thank our catering and domestic staff for their tremendous diligence and care of us all over the course of the term, and for the delicious Christmas meals, which were served so graciously. 

My highlights: I have three with which to conclude this term.  At the end of the Senior School Christmas Dinner, I requested the Upper Sixth to stay behind and help with the clearing up, bearing in mind the Sandhurst motto, “Serve to Lead”.  Once they had finished, led by the incredible ‘deejaying’ of Christopher G, the Upper Sixth danced, and then went into the kitchens to invite every member of the domestic staff to come and join them – a wonderful sight!  The Carol Service, which we transferred back to School, was of a really high standard and at the end of the Service, I thanked the organist, David Turner, the Director of Music, Philip Rossiter, the Choir for their amazing sound, and the Chaplaincy Team, led by Nick Blair, for their remarkable ministry to the Merchiston community over the course of this term.  Our 175th Anniversary year concluded with a magnificent fireworks’ display in the grounds at the front of the School. I very much hope that parents, families, boys, friends, and members of staff enjoy some family time over the course of this holiday. 

10 December

My thoughts: It has been wonderful to see the crisp frost and snow on the Colinton Estate in recent days! Week 14 has been incredibly busy, both within and outwith the classroom, and I will touch on some of these activities below. One of the less pleasant aspects of the Headmaster’s remit is that one sometimes has to deal with situations in which boys (and occasionally staff) have made mistakes; this all part of the job of trying to lead people onwards and upwards. So, it is always wonderful to receive complimentary letters as I did last week from the Honorary Secretary of the Society of the Friends of St Andrew’s, Jerusalem. “Thank you for allowing James and Robert to play for our Annual Service to mark St Andrew’s Day on Friday afternoon. To say they did themselves and the School proud would be an understatement. Their playing of “Highland Cathedral” at the end of the Service was quite magnificent and everyone enjoyed it. However, they were also both extremely smartly turned out and I enjoyed meeting them before the Service.” The boys have held up well this week as coughs and sneezes are more in evidence! The Upper Sixth are working hard in preparation for their examinations at the beginning of January: the Maths Department is preparing students for 167 papers, although the other Departments do not have quite so many!

My congratulations: It is such a pleasure being able to say “well done” to the young adults in this School. Headmasters are not immune from making mistakes and I was only too delighted to rectify a mistake by awarding Stuart his Senior Prefectship. Over the course of this term, he has been outstanding in his leadership role. Equally, Stuart and Glenn were appointed Prefects (photo below). Fingal and Kirill (left) were granted Academic Exhibitions for showing particular potential in Maths and I am sure they will enjoy their numbers book! Arts Honours for Drama (photo top left) were granted to the following: Duncan, Scott and Campbell for sustained contributions to Sound, Lighting and Special Effects in our plays over the years; Graham in recognition of his outstanding performance as Piggy in Lord of the Flies, in addition to a number of smaller contributions in Macbeth and The Prime of MissJean Brodie; and Duart for his dedication as Assistant Director of Lord of the Flies, as well as numerous contributions over the years to Macbeth and Oliver! In addition, the following exceptional performances as lead roles in Die Fledermaus were recognised with the award of Arts Honours for Drama: Fergus and Charlie (also for their contributions to both Macbeth and Oliver!), and Fergus. Turning to the Pipe Band, at the end of the Summer Term Gavin came 3rd in the Drum Major Challenge Quaich in the Scottish Schools CCF Pipe Band Competition, and Aaron gained 3rd place in the Junior Solo Drumming Event. Finally, I was delighted to congratulate Patrick (below left) on his nomination by the National Governing Body for Cycling to attend the “National Talent Orientation Camp” to be held at Loughborough University in January 2009. It is worth quoting a few sentences from the nomination letter. “As in any walk of life, talent is a mixed blessing for a young person. It makes them different at a time when being one of a crowd is the easiest option. Raw ability is only a small part of success in sport; self determination, hard work and support from a range of key people is what sets the ‘could have beens’ from the ‘final achievers’. Navigating the performance pathway at an age when young people have to make so many choices and have so many school commitments is not an easy task.” I believe these are wise words for us all. On the Camp, Patrick will have the chance to meet Olympians who have made similar life choices. I congratulated the participants in the wonderful Pringle Christmas Concert last Tuesday, and the Merchiston staff who sang in the Merchiston and Colinton Community Choir Concert on Sunday evening. Mr Turner leads the Choir, and Ms Cohen and Mr Hall contributed to a wonderfully innovative evening. These Concerts are always open to parents and members of the public. Finally, we congratulated the following sports teams on their respective performances: the U19 squash team against Watson’s and the curling team against Heriot’s.

My highlights: My first highlight was Lord of the Flies, which Mrs Hunter and I really enjoyed. We appreciated the set’s clever sense of depth, its visual impact, the colours, the poster, the juxtaposition of boys and girls on the stage, the shape and perspective on stage, the lighting, including the shelter scene, and so much more. Slowly but surely, the play had a tremendous impact. The boys and girls epitomised the disintegration of civilisation as tribalism began its inexorable march. I reminded the School that the cast cannot do its job without the efforts of the back stage crew, who looked after the following: sound, lighting, smoke effects, poster design, set design and painting, props (including the pig!), costumes, make up, hair, let alone the stage management, photography, first aid and crowd control! My second highlight was the CCF parade last week and it was wonderful to see the journey some of the pupils have made from the Shell through the Cadre to leadership positions in the Combined Cadet Force. This is a tremendously valuable activity and it will hold the boys in good stead for the rest of their lives. My third highlight is an odd one! Dr Gill, the Tutors and the Housemasters have supervised over 75 university applications over the course of this term. The UCAS application process is a very important one and it goes through various stages. Every boy has his ‘Oxbridge’ within him! My fourth highlight was a bit of fun we had yesterday morning! Some former Merchiston parents, Mr and Mrs Gilmour, wished to say a special “thank you” to the School for looking after Dan and Simon. Accordingly, they bought a bull, called Rawburn Eveready! Rawburn is his, as it were, breeding name; Eveready is his Merchiston name! He was born in March 2007 and his current weight is 1,000kg. He is to be sold at the Perth Bull Sales on Tuesday 3 February 2009, and we are planning to take some pipers and drummers along, as well as our Young Farmers. We are very much hoping that Eveready will be able to visit Merchiston before he is sold. Term ends tonight and we are looking forward to the joy of the Carol Service – as I write this entry, I can hear the boys practising in the Memorial Hall. The Service will conclude with a firework display on the rugby pitches. I will write a further diary entry later this week.

2 December

My thoughts: This is a wonderful time of the term for me as I really enjoy looking at the boys’ end of term reports, and seeing how the teaching and learning, and the total curriculum programme have been brought together! It is excellent too that our Upper Sixth Form historians have undertaken a History research trip to the University of Glasgow this week. In Headmaster’s Assembly, we had a report from Jamie and Cameron on the Third Form trip to the Buddhist Monastery in Eskdalemuir. Moreover, we were delighted to welcome Chris Hutchinson, the Headmaster of the Newcastle School for Boys, to Merchiston. This school was formed out of the merger of two prep schools, Ascham House and Newlands – in the past we have received many boys from both schools, and Mr Hutchinson met two of his former pupils, Andy and Adrian, who are at now Merchiston (photo left). Mr Hutchinson gave us an enlightening talk on time! We concluded the Assembly by listening to the Close Harmony Group singing two numbers: Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Rainy Days and Mondays!

My congratulations: This week, pride of place went to Fingal (left) who was congratulated on the platform on two counts: first, on being awarded a Music Scholarship, and secondly on the tremendous achievement of gaining a place in the National Children’s Orchestra (UK) for U12s. Arts Honours for Music were awarded to Tom and Craig for their contribution to instrumental and choral music; to Justin (a member of all three Choirs); and to Myles and Fergus who sing in all three Choirs, in addition to being members of the Pipe Band (photo below). Moreover, Ken (above) was congratulated on being appointed Captain of Swimming for this academic year. I also congratulated the Chapel Choir, and indeed the School on their performance and participation in the Advent Service; I particularly enjoyed the Magnificat in D by Colin Ashworth and Remember, O thou man by Thomas Ravenscroft. In sport, our congratulations went to the following teams on their respective performances: our rugby teams against Fettes, Loretto, Ardvreck, St Mary’s and Cargilfield; our swimming teams against Clifton Hall; our U13 football side against Belhaven; and the U10 football side against Loretto.

My highlights:

25 November

My thoughts: It was wonderful at this week’s Headmaster’s Assembly to hear Tom and Jordan (left) giving us their match report on the F1 rugby tour to Oxfordshire! Moreover, it was a pleasure to hear James Dixon (Head of History & Politics) summing up the 175th Anniversary talks in a number of this year’s Headmaster’s Assemblies. This week, we practised hymn singing again and we split the boys into two groups: the Sixth Form and the rest of the School. In the first practice, the two groups came out equal; the second time the Sixth Formers edged out the rest of the School! I believe that singing is therapeutic! I concluded my words to the School with the simple question: “I wish to be inspired but what am I going to do about it?” I wished to set the boys thinking about their own efforts, seeing these as absolutely critical in inspiring others and vice-versa. So, it has been tremendous to learn this week that one of our old boys, Billy, has been awarded an Academic Exhibition as he has embarked upon reading Medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, in recognition of his fine A Level results. In the UCAS process, he received rejections from several universities so he set about working to the best of his ability, asking his teachers to help him as much as possible and to mark his past papers as quickly as possible. Thus, Billy’s achievement illustrates the paradox of this question.

My congratulations: This week, I congratulated on the stage Roy, Tom, Kit, Cheng, Jipeng, Alex, George and Horace on winning Gold Awards in this year’s Senior Mathematics Challenge; we had 30 entrants of whom 24 received an Award. Roy was our “Best in School” and he has now been invited to progress to the British Mathematical Olympiad. Moreover, since Horace performed so well at the Intermediate level of these Challenges last year, he has been extended a special invitation to take part in this event. I also congratulated Anh, Alex, Stewart (left) and Gregor who have advanced to the Area Final of the Bank of England’s prestigious Economics Target 2.0 Competition. This requires a team of four students to put themselves in the position of the Monetary Policy Committee and deliver a 15-minute presentation on what they think the interest rate should be to achieve the Bank’s long term target of 2.0% CPI inflation! The team is then questioned by the judging panel, which is made up of prominent members of the Bank of England. The chief judge, the Bank’s principal economics agent and advisor in Scotland, said that he was enormously impressed with the structure, economic understanding and argumentation of the boys’ presentation and that he was proud to send Merchiston through as one of Scotland’s only two representatives. I am delighted for these pupils and equally that Economics is flourishing under the care of William Clayton. In sport, our congratulations went to the U13 tennis team, consisting of Donald, Alasdair, Callum and Rob, (left) who did extremely well to reach the last eight of the National Schools Tennis Competition. This is a tremendous achievement. Moreover, in the Edinburgh Schools Swimming Competition last week, Jeff won the Gold Medal for the 12/13 years old 100 metre breast stroke; and Keith gained Bronze in the 14/15 years old breast stroke event. Finally, in rugby I congratulated the following teams on their performances: the 1st XV in their Scottish Schools Cup match against St Columba’s; the D2s and the D4s against Cargilfield; the F2s against St Mary’s; and the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, B1, B2, C1 and F1 XVs against Stewart’s Melville. And in squash, the U16 team were congratulated on their performance against George Watson’s.

My highlights: I have three this week. First, it was tremendous that 150 boys took part in the Choral and Instrumental Concert on Friday evening; there was a very varied programme and many good performances. Moreover, Gayle Cordiner (our former Director of Marketing) greatly appreciated the contribution of ten members of the Pipe Band at her wedding at Merchiston on Saturday! Secondly, it was marvellous to see 18 teams fielded against Stewart’s Melville on Saturday, both home and away, in a true festival of sport. Finally, listening to talented musicians is such a pleasure. We ended this week’s Headmaster’s Assembly with Rong Bing playing Liszt’s Liebestraum. And so we move on to week 13, in which pupils are performing in Die Fledermaus at St George’s, we have the Rogerson East Highland Ball on Saturday, and the Whole School Advent Service on Sunday, as well as sports fixtures in rugby, basketball, fives, swimming and football, and, of course, lots of teaching and learning!

18 November

My thoughts: Last week, Barbara and I visited Rockport School, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and it was a privilege and a pleasure to speak at their Remembrance Day Service in Glencraig Parish Church on the 11th of the 11th (photo right). In the past, Merchiston has received boys from Northern Ireland, and Rockport very kindly hosted a fork supper to allow us to connect with Merchistonians and prospective parents. While we were away, a world famous author, Chris Ryan, came to speak at the School and sign copies of his latest book (photo below). He was touched to hear about Nick, and very kindly donated some of his books (on audio CD) to him, inscribing them 'Who dares wins'! School activities continue apace in all their variety, and teaching and learning has reached a critical stage in this fourth quarter of the term, particularly for the Upper Sixth who will return to School after the Christmas holiday to three weeks of very important public examinations. Pupils are preparing for the Choral and Instrumental Concert at the end of this week, and rehearsals continue for this term’s drama productions with St George’s, Lord of the Flies (at Merchiston) and Die Fledermaus (at St George’s). Last week, Drew Livingstone of the Stewart Ivory Foundation spoke on the subject of “The Financial and Economic Crisis” to the Sixth Form, as part of the Enlightened Curriculum. As ever, sports fixtures abound.

My congratulations: In Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated the members of the winning Go4Set Helepad Team who all demonstrated excellent teamwork and problem solving skills. This is a new Engineering Competition, with the emphasis on environmental issues; the team consisted of Jay, Vlad, Scott, Joe, Johnny and Richard. (Photo left). I thanked our librarian, Mrs Julia Williams, for hosting Chris Ryan, in addition to all the tremendous work she does in the School – the Spawforth Library is one of my favourite Merchiston facilities! I also congratulated the Modern Languages Department, and the boys, on a “first” for Merchiston, namely two Language Evenings last week. Finally, I congratulated the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, B1, B2, C1 and C2 XVs on their good performances against Glenalmond, as well as the 1st VI Tennis Team and the Colts Fives Team on their respective performances against the Royal High School and Fettes.

My highlights: I do hope the boys, the staff, parents and host families have enjoyed some family time over the weekend leave. I thought it was marvellous that we began this fourth quarter of term with four types of parents’ meetings: Upper Sixth parents and boys in the Robertson Hall for a UCAS briefing, followed by meetings with teachers; the Pringle Parents’ Forum and the Parents’ Forum. We believe that the partnership between the School and the home of each pupil is absolutely vital. My second highlight was the guest speaker at this week’s Headmaster’s Assembly, Mrs Maureen McGinn (pictured below), the Chief Executive of the Laidlaw Youth Trust . Many of you will remember that Lord Laidlaw has supported Merchiston with two extremely generous donations: the first to the new Sixth Form House, to be known as Laidlaw House, and the second to fund Scholarships for pupils who are able and talented (academically or in the Arts), who would not otherwise be able to come to Merchiston and who have not hitherto been educated in the private sector. Mrs McGinn’s talk (linked) was entitled “Who packs your parachute?” It is brief, but if you do not have time to read it all, I quote the last paragraph for you:

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, you may wish to recognise people who pack your parachute…

It was a pleasure to show Mrs McGinn round Laidlaw House which will soon see staff and pupils beginning to take up residence within it, and in addition she also took the opportunity to meet the Laidlaw Scholars. Mrs McGinn is also Deputy Chairman of Excelsior Academy, which Lord Laidlaw has helped to sponsor. I visited this brand new Academy recently and I was shown round by two Sixth Form Ambassadors. We are very much hoping to be able to form links with the Academy, particularly between our two Sixth Forms. And so the ‘hurly burly’ and the excitement of week 12 is upon us!

11 November

My thoughts: As we complete week 10, the busyness of School life continues to astound me, eg the English Speaking Union (ESU) Schools Debating Competition; Enlightened Curriculum events such as the Sixth Form Lecture, the Pringle theatre trip, the Senior Mathematics Challenge and the History/Personal & Social Education talk on Palestine; rehearsals for Lord of the Flies and Die Fledermaus (both with St George’s); and sport, eg block fixtures against Strathallan and Howe of Fife, matches against Belhaven, an U10 Rugby Festival, shooting against Ardvreck, curling, tennis, basketball, kayaking and fives! Let us not forget too that we have just enjoyed a Boarding-In Weekend (a fun, activity-packed weekend designed to give day pupils a taste of the wide variety of activities on offer to our boarders at weekends, including social functions with our sister schools, St George’s, St Margaret’s and Kilgraston). Moreover, we continue to concentrate fully on teaching and learning and the completion of preps.

My congratulations: At Headmaster’s Assembly, we congratulated James on winning the first of nine Senior Winter Grand Prix Tennis events; he is now ranked no 7 in the Scottish Senior Tennis Rankings. Oliver (photo left) has been selected for the U18 Eastern Cricket Academy and the U19 National Squad. Major Games Ties (see photo above) were awarded this morning to William and Harry (cricket); and to Stuart, Jack, Andrew, Stuart, Simon, Guy, Tom, Lewis, Alex, Harry, Rory, William and Glenn (rugby). NB Rory, William and Glenn have already been awarded Major Games Ties for other sports! Well done to the 1st XV on their win against Strathallan on Saturday; also to the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, B1, C1 and D1 XVs who also came out on top in Saturday’s matches. And, earlier in the week, the 2nd XV had a good win v Edinburgh Academy. Congratulations also to the basketball team who won their fixture v Glenalmond. At Pringle level, there were victories for the D1, F1, U12 and U10A teams; and the Pringle football team won their match v Cargilfield. On the debating front, we congratulated Gregor and Martin who have progressed to the 2nd round of the ESU Schools Mace Debating Competition.

My highlights: I have two. Last week, at my request, the Captain of School led Assemblies in Pringle, the Middle School and the Sixth Form, and he spoke on the topic of perseverance. Secondly, the whole School Service of Remembrance and Dedication on Sunday is an extremely important occasion in the Merchiston calendar. Our Memorial Hall, in which our School Services are held, was built as a memorial to staff and former pupils who gave their lives in the Great War (1914-1918) and now serves as a memorial to those members of the Merchiston community who lost their lives in the two World Wars. There are 177 names on the World War I plaque, and 81 names on the World War II plaque, both of which are at the entrance to the Memorial Hall. However, our Service is also one of reconciliation, and during it Merchiston boys and girls from St George’s, representing 25 nations, placed candles at the foot of the cross as a sign of hope and reconciliation for our world. It was a delight to welcome our preacher, Mr Mike Ridley to the School; Mr Ridley is the former Principal of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and is a Merchiston Governor. Please click this link to read his talk. The Leader of the Chaplaincy Team, Nick Blair, spoke movingly about the 1912-13 Merchiston rugby team, nine of whom died in the war; the son of one of the team members who did survive read the lesson yesterday – he is Malcolm Gourlay, the Chairman of our Board of Governors. And so we move onwards and upwards into week 11!

4 November

My thoughts:  Last week at Merchiston was incredibly busy with the announcement by the Office Scottish Charity Regulator and our decision to be open and welcoming with regard to media interest.  I also communicated with our parental body, prospective parents, feeder schools, old boys, and indeed our present pupils.  However, in addition to this I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the Lower Sixth Parents’ Meeting (which students attend) and it was a pleasure and privilege for Barbara and me to host the whole of the Sixth Form at a Gathering.  Our J4 and J5 boys went to Mary Poppins; our Shell year group attended a PSE seminar on HIV Awareness with Emma Cole; Hamilton, Campbell and Scott (pictured left, now in the Lower Sixth) were presented with their Arkwright Scholarships in London; the Rogerson East Reel Club has started; and we had a Boarders Activities Weekend in Pringle. 

Moreover, the end of the week saw a remarkable celebration: the 150th Anniversary of the longest running schoolboy rugby fixture in the world – that between The Edinburgh Academy and Merchiston.  Over 900 people from both schools attended the Celebratory Dinner held at Murrayfield on Friday 31 October, and some 360 boys from both schools played in a remarkable festival of sport the following day at Raeburn Place. 

In standing back and thinking about sport, whether individual or team sports, one sees that it has so much to teach us – some of these lessons are about winning and losing gracefully; challenging ourselves and stretching beyond our comfort zones; displaying leadership; learning how to assess, take risks and be courageous; and not least working as a team. 
Rugby is a wonderful team sport: “Together Everybody Achieves More”.  These are all very important life skills for young people to learn and ones they will need as they go out in due course into the world of university and employment, but also vital in their relationships with other people, whatever their context.  In all this, let us not forget the passion and the contribution of all the rugby coaches, as well as the grounds staff, the caterers and the medical staff who, over the years, today, and no doubt in the future will continue to look after boys playing sport. 

My congratulations:  At this morning’s Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated the 1XV on their 11-8 victory over The Edinburgh Academy in the 150th match, and the 4XV, B2s and C2s on their wins.  The D2s recorded a victory against St Mary’s, Melrose, and the D1s drew their match.  This morning, I also wished to highlight the remarkable leadership shown by this year’s Captain of the 1XV (photo left).   Leadership is often portrayed as being heroic and David’s leadership has indeed been such: he has been so positive, supportive and effective, including in his individual conversations with his squad, following the accident to Nick, a member of this close-knit team; this style of leadership is setting a tremendous example up and down the School.

My highlights:  I have three this week.  Mr Rossiter, Miss Godfrey and Mr Campbell, together with Marinus, Myles, Aaron, Craig, Marco, Christopher, Joe, Rory, Jack, Fergus and Guy attended a ‘Music and Question & Answer’ session at one of our feeder prep schools last night, St Mary’s, Melrose.  Angus and Graham joined the staff on the Question & Answer panel.  It was wonderful to hear the boys playing their music; and it was a particular pleasure to see Angus’s and Graham’s composure and measured confidence as they answered questions, not knowing beforehand what they were going to be asked!  My second highlight was the Annual Physics Lecture (this has now been happening for about 20 years); this year, Claire Patterson of St Andrews University spoke to us about “Seeing Life through a New Light”!  In the morning, 70 students from other schools came to the lecture, and in the evening it was attended by 60 Merchiston pupils.  It was tremendous to hear that Pringle pupils also came along and that the lecturer laid on a master class for our Physics Olympiad candidates.  This sort of an event is all about Merchiston reaching outwards and providing a curriculum of enrichment for one and all.  Thirdly, I invited Miss Cordiner to say a few words to the Merchiston community at Assembly, as she leaves us next week.  She will be returning to get married to David in the Memorial Hall on 22 November, and the couple will be living in Aberdeen.  She has contributed a huge amount to Merchiston – to pupils, members of staff, and indeed parents over the course of her eight-year spell at Merchiston.  You may find her words interesting to read. We wish Gayle and David every happiness and success for the future. 

28 October

My thoughts: I really do hope that all families/guardians and boys have enjoyed some time together over last week! Certainly, the School grounds received a real battering over two days of awful weather and it is wonderful to look out of my study window on a sunny, peaceful, autumn morning. At the beginning of the second half of a term, I always like to remind our new boys, who arrived 8 weeks ago, that they now know Merchiston inside out!

My congratulations: In yesterday morning’s Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated a number of rugby teams on their wins in the last week of the first half of term: the 1st XV and D2s v Heriot’s; the 3rd XV and B1s v St Leonards; and the B3s, C1s and C3s v George Watson’s; the B2s drew against Watson’s.

My highlights:

15 October

My thoughts: In the introduction to Sunday’s Harvest Festival, I read out the following postscript from a parent about the spiritual provision at Merchiston: “If I may add, I thought Sunday evening’s Service, and Nick Blair’s ministry in particular, showed all that is so good about Merchiston. What shone out – for all to see – was the true depth of the School, what it stands for and what it means to all those lucky to be a part of it.” Small notes such as this continue to reaffirm what we are striving to accomplish on a daily basis in so many different ways. Last week, members of staff continued their lifelong learning over the course of an evening with St George’s School, Edinburgh (one of our sister schools). It was wonderful to witness the hubbub of conversation and the camaraderie before the lecture and around the supper tables afterwards. The visiting speaker was Professor Lindsay Paterson, Associate Director of the Institute of Governance and Professor of Educational Policy at the University of Edinburgh. He gave us a challenging lecture entitled “Why do people learn?” and parents may be interested to read his notes.

At Headmaster’s Assembly on Tuesday morning, we were delighted to welcome Mark and Belinda Appleson, and their baby daughter, Emily, onto the stage for Emily to receive a blessing; she was born during the summer holiday. Also, Richard Lucas, Third Form Housemaster and teacher of Mathematics, gave us a fascinating talk in this year’s 175th Anniversary ‘1833’ series on the famous Scottish theologian, Dr Thomas Chalmers, who was the brother of our founder, Charles Chalmers.

My congratulations: Yesterday morning, I congratulated all the musicians in Friday’s Solo Instrumental Concert, and equally all who helped with Saturday’s Information Morning. Many prospective parents were very impressed with the contribution our pupil guides made to the event. In sport, we congratulated the 1XV, 4XV and 6XV on their wins against George Heriot’s; also the 3XV and B1s who defeated St Leonards. And earlier last week, the 1XV, 4XV and 6XV came out on top in their fixtures against Berwick High School. At Pringle level, there were rugby wins for the U10 A and B sides against Cargilfield, and for the D2s against Heriot’s. The U10/11 swimming team won their match against The Compass and the U12 football team did likewise against Loretto and Fettes. Also, the School shooting team performed exceptionally well to record a win in their Shoulder to Shoulder fixture against Dollar Academy. And in a similar area, our clay pigeon shooting team made their mark in the recent Scottish Championships: here we came second, with Jack and Angus shooting particularly well.

My highlights:

7 October

My thoughts: As we travel backwards and forwards to the Spinal Injuries Unit at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, on walking into the Unit one is so struck by the positive atmosphere and attitude of both the patients and the staff, and in some ways the Unit feels like a boarding house! There is a wonderful day room, a swimming pool and a gym and it is staffed by some quite remarkable people.

My congratulations: In this week’s Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated the following on gaining their Lifesaving Certificate and Bronze Medallion: Kit, David, Jaffar, Grant, Chris, Callum, Marinus, Nicholas, Duncan, Myles, Max, Raleigh, Graham and Kelvin. This is a wonderful way to earn some money of a weekend and during the holidays if one decides to go to university – and it is a far healthier than working in a public house! But more importantly than that, these boys are servant leaders for we cannot run recreational swimming at Merchiston without having lifesavers on hand (as well as a member of staff, of course), and the sessions are so popular with all our Houses. I also congratulated the 4XV and the F1s on their wins against Sedbergh, the D2s on their draw, and I thanked all the boys and staff who travelled there but unfortunately could not play due to the bad weather conditions. The U16 squash team were also commended on a fine win against Edinburgh Academy. Finally, we congratulated Charlie on being awarded a Senior Sports Scholarship.

30 September

My thoughts: First of all, the immense variety of the Merchiston way of life never ceases to amaze me! In the past week, we have had Enlightened Curriculum talks and trips, a meeting of the Cecil Stagg Society (Second and Third Formers discussed various aspects of ‘Animal Farm’ over doughnuts!), the Lower Sixth Geography field trip to Arran, the Young Farmers Club meeting, and Mr Anthony Nemecek speaking about universities in the USA. The latter event was opened up to other schools and we were delighted to welcome pupils from nine schools.

My congratulations: We congratulated Daryll and Daniel (photo left) on being awarded Sixth Form Sports Scholarships, and Matthew on his Senior School Sports Scholarship. In sport, Fraser (photo below) set a new School record for the 1500m at an athletics meeting this summer: 4 mins 6.8 seconds. Our shooting team won their shoulder to shoulder match against Strathallan, and the U13 football team their fixture against Fettes. Turning to rugby, our congratulations also went to the F1s on winning the U11 Section of the Loretto Sevens; and to the 1XV, 2XV, C1s and C2s on their wins against Dollar; to the D2s on their victory against Fettes, and to the F1s and U9s on winning their matches against St Mary’s, Melrose. Those gaining their Duke of Edinburgh Award winners were as follows: Bronze: Chris, Angus, Myles, Gavin; Silver: Tom, Fergus, Craig, Tom, David.

My highlights: I have five. First, we have been blessed with some glorious weather in Edinburgh in the past ten days. The skies have been wonderfully blue, yet as the leaves begin to turn, autumn is in the air! Secondly, Mrs Hunter and I attended a meeting and dinner with the Senior Prefects and we particularly remarked on the sense of friendship and the leadership ability which was so evident among them. In this regard, we have returned to an innovation I tried several years ago whereby designated Senior Prefects attend meetings of the various leadership teams in the School, eg the School Leadership Team, the Heads of Department or the Housemasters. Thirdly, as I watched from my study window on Friday, I could not help but be impressed as I saw one House (Rogerson East) departing for a cinema trip and two other Houses (Chalmers East and West) for a disco. What I liked in particular was seeing the easy camaraderie of the boys, their Housemasters and Tutors, and indeed their Prefects as they climbed into the buses! Fourthly, I like the variety of sport and this week I am going to give top place to our 7XV (our ‘Barbarians’ team!) which played against Strathallan, our Shoulder to Shoulder Shooting Team which won against Strathallan, and the Merchiston Abe Wood Basketball Blitz Competition! You may know that Abe Wood was until recently our basketball coach. Finally, it is very important that Merchiston opens its doors to the outside world and last week we had two important visits: that of students from Jonkopping University, Sweden, and secondly, we participated in the Edinburgh Doors Open Day on Saturday (photo left). So many people walked round the School and in particular were interested in the history of the Colinton Estate and that of Merchiston.

26 September

I write an extra entry this week! We have seen some wonderful weather in Edinburgh this week and this morning was no different to the glorious four days from which we have already benefited. Accordingly, on the way to my Study I decided to take in the Tennis Courts, and watched our tennis coaches hitting balls with a pupil from Merchiston and a pupil from St George’s. I was mightily impressed with the skill level of all four! Thereafter, I called by the Pringle Centre and I really enjoyed talking to the boys in J4, J5 and First Form and all the members of staff in this gem of a place. I thought to myself as I walked up the drive, “What a marvellous start to the day.”

It did cross my mind as I was walking up the Cameron tartan carpet to my Study that it was unusual not to hear the Choir rehearsing, and then I was summoned from my Study to a whole school gathering in which two renditions of ‘Happy Birthday, Headmaster’ were sung! I replied with a few words of thanks, indicating that this sort of occurrence and, indeed, the last two weeks, illustrate that there is a great sense of strength and camaraderie within the place that is Merchiston, the boys, the parents and those who work within it.

I very much enjoyed cutting my 50th birthday cake and I am absolutely delighted that all members of the community have the chance to enjoy a piece of cake. This gathering came as a complete surprise, and it just goes to show that it is possible to keep a secret at Merchiston!

23 September

My thoughts: Events at Merchiston over the last 10 days have put everything into perspective.  However, we have no choice but to continue School life in as positive and joyful a fashion as possible.  One cannot fail to be impressed by the courage of the injured pupil’s father, who arrived to support the 1st XV on Saturday morning.  He will have known that by so doing he would meet so many people who would naturally wish to express their sympathy to him.  I believe that the measured and sensitive support of the Merchiston parental body has seen the School at its very best. We very much hope that the uplifting sound of Mr Rossiter’s organ recital at Headmaster’s Assembly this morning was carried ‘on the air’ from Edinburgh to Glasgow (where the injured pupil is in hospital).

My congratulations: In Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated Marinus (photo left) on being awarded a Scholar’s tie for Music (Piping Exhibition), and Anh on his appointment as a Senior Prefect.  Moreover, Major Games ties were awarded to Rakeeb and Jamie (photo above) for representing the 1XI cricket team last term.  I was delighted to be presented with the Scottish U13 Tennis Championships Winners’ Shield by Calum!  Our congratulations also went to the 1XV, 2XV, 4XV, B1s and D2s on their wins at the weekend.  I was also very pleased to hear that our U13s and U11s had really enjoyed playing in the Loretto Sevens Tournament, and that our U11s had been the winners of their age group category.

My highlights: I have four this week.  First, it was a joy to congratulate on the stage Alexander, Matthew, Toby, Fingal, Kiril, Robert and Donald on gaining Pringle (Junior School) Awards for academic work and sport.  I found myself thinking that the future of the School appears to be in very good hands.  Secondly, I continue to be amazed by the level of activity in the School involving the boys, staff and parents, whether this be receptions or a trip to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament.  Thirdly, Barbara and I much enjoyed visiting Chalmers East last week, spending an evening with the boys in their second home!  The fourth highlight was Mr Paul Williams’ talk this morning on Alfred Tennyson’s “Lady of Shalott”, written in 1833 – another in this year’s 175th Anniversary series of talks on various aspects of the year 1833.  Who would have thought that while Merchiston was being founded, Lord Tennyson was writing his famous poem!

17 September

The School has contacted all current members of the Merchiston community, but I know that friends and Merchistonians will be keen to hear news about the member of the 1st XV who was injured on Saturday.  The player (who we are not naming to respect the family's privacy) has suffered a serious spinal injury and he is now in hospital in Glasgow.  Last night Mark Appleson, Javier Palacios and I visited him and his family.  While they have a difficult path ahead of them, they are very grateful for the support from the Merchiston family.  Obviously they are all in our thoughts and prayers, and as a School we are spending time looking after the other boys and staff who are distressed by this situation.

16 September

My thoughts: It is wonderful that we have completed 10 days of term and the first full week has been so active! I could write about so many different events but I am particularly pleased to see that the Spawforth Library Induction Sessions have taken place, that our Upper Sixth are concentrating on their personal statements for their university applications and that the newly named society, the Cecil Stagg Society, is up and running… we will hear more about this in due course. Barbara and I have really enjoyed visiting two boarding Houses already: Pringle and Chalmers West. We were given a warm welcome and it was a particular pleasure to spend time with the boys.

My congratulations: I congratulated the following new Scholars at Merchiston (photo left): Stefan (European Scholar), Johan (the HMC Scholar), Koyo (Waseda Scholar); Fourth Form Scholars (photo above): Alexander, Andrew, Dominic, Christopher, Arun, Joe, Adam and Johnny; and Music Bursary holder Euan. All-Rounder Awards have been granted to the following: Rory in the Lower Sixth, and to Fourth Formers David, Ben, Fraser, George, CJ, Ruairidh, Hamish, Angus, Angus and Richard. In addition, I congratulated Lawrence on the following tremendous achievement: out of the 250,000 candidates who entered the Maths Challenge this year, 1,200 were selected to enter the Mathematical Olympiad. Lawrence was one of these and was also one of only 300 to receive a Certificate of Distinction, as well as a Bronze Medal. Also, our congratulations went to our three tennis teams; firstly, the U18 team, in the second week of the holiday, came 11th in the finals of the British Schools Tennis Championship, beating Loughborough Grammar School and Cheltenham College. This was the first time a Merchiston team had reached the finals and the team consisted of: Stewart (a member of last year’s Upper Sixth), Jasper, Donald, Hamish and Patrick. Moreover, the U15 tennis team (Jasper, Patrick, Hamish and David - photo left) were runners up in the Scottish Schools Tournament; and the U13 team (Donald, Alasdair, Callum and Karstan - photo below) went one better by winning the Scottish event and going through to the next stage of the competition.

9 September

My thoughts: The beginning of a new year is always so exciting as we embark upon planning and putting into action each boy’s academic programme, let alone the cultural and sporting programme. Choir auditions have already been held, and auditions for Lord of the Flies are taking place. Junior and Senior Activity Options, as well as the Senior Sports Option, not to mention all the other sports, have started!

My congratulations: In this week’s Headmaster’s Assembly, I congratulated numerous pupils on the mantle of leadership bestowed upon them.

Senior Prefects: Tomas, Tom, Stewart, Alastair, Anh, Kyle, Martin, Richard, Cheng, Luke, Gabriel, Lewis, Richard, Michael, Rory, Alex, Jack, Grant, Malcolm, Adam, James and William.

Other very important leadership roles in the School encompass the following:

CCF – RSM: James

Pipe Band – Pipe Major:Marinus; Pipe Sergeant:Duncan; Drum Sergeant:Jack
Students’ Forum – President:Richard; First Secretary:William; Second Secretary: Alex.

Captains of Sport: Rugby: David; Basketball: Alexander; Curling: Grant and Hamilton; Fives: Henry; Hockey: Kyle; Shooting: James; Vice Captain: Patrick; Squash: Ross; Tennis: James.

I reminded these students that the hard work and service now begin!

My highlights: I have three for this week. First, ‘handshaking’ at the beginning of the new academic year is always a momentous moment. Secondly, members of the School community – pupils, staff and parents – gathered in a packed Memorial Hall for the first Whole School Service of the year, conducted by the Chaplaincy Team, and including the Christening of Harry Charman, the son of Deborah and Richard Charman (Director of Sport and Head of Physical Education). Thirdly, I am delighted that our Pipe Band played at the Tesco Community Day on Saturday. So, as you can see, we are up and running!

5 September

My thoughts: We have just completed four weeks of the public examination results’ process. You will have seen snippets about our results on our website and you will be receiving the full details in due course. It has been a busy, joyful four weeks as the Academic Management Team, particularly the Director of Studies, Mrs Marion Muetzelfeldt, and her secretary, Mrs Vivien Birchmore, have looked after so many boys and parents. There have also been some anxious moments but we appear to have resolved most of these! So one thought as we embark upon the third term of our 175th Anniversary Year is the wonderful sense of a new beginning and a new start! School life may appear to be cyclical, but this is not so, simply because there are always new faces and new situations. In the first Headmaster’s Assembly of the new academic year, I had three parts to my message to the School and you may be interested in reading this (pdf document).

My congratulations: In Headmaster’s Assembly, I also focused on congratulating the boys on their academic results. First, the following Scholars were congratulated on gaining 4 or more As in their AS Levels: Anh, Stewart, Dickson, Tomas, George, Niall, Alastair and Stuart (photo left); 3 As were achieved by Gregor and Alex; and 2 As by Arthur, Alexander and James. Gibson Awards (an Award granted to those who have performed particularly well in their ASs or GCSEs and who were not already Scholars) were given to Guuang’an, Martin, Patrick, Ross, Thomas, Dominik, Maximilian, Gary, Jipeng and Cheng to recognise the excellence of their AS results (bottom photo). Alex, who was an Exhibitioner, became a Gibson Award holder. Turning to the GCSE results, I congratulated the following Scholars: Tom on gaining 11 A*s; Fergus and Craig on their 10 A*s; and Kit, Max and Fraser on their 9 A*s and As. (photo left) Gibson Awards for outstanding results at GCSE (the criterion was gaining more A*s than As!) were granted to Jonathan, Robbie, Jacob, Harry, Mark, Callum, Myles, Rakeeb, Scott and Sam – the latter is a new pupil who achieved very good SQA results (top photo). I hope that these young men enjoy wearing their Scholar’s ties! In all this, the achievement of gaining, say, 1 A, 3 Bs and 7 Cs, may be just as important as those of the high-flying Scholars: what matters is that each and every young man reaches his potential.

My highlights:

Archive: Autumn 2006, Lent 2007, Summer 2007, Autumn 2007, Lent 2008, Summer 2008