We have continued to celebrate Merchiston’s ‘1833-2008’– it certainly has a fine ring to it! One highlight this term was the Whole School Photo; in the event, we took two photos: one serious and one fun! The boys looked resplendent in their ‘1833-2008’ ties and it is interesting to see how popular this tie is with so many pupils. Our ‘1833’ talks in Headmaster’s Assembly continued this term with a fascinating talk on ‘1833: Darwin and The Beagle’ by Matthew King, Head of Biology; Stephen Campbell, Head of Mathematics, spoke about John Napier, and whilst the latter was not directly linked to the Merchiston of 1833, the School’s previous location was Merchiston Tower, which was his home. On a sporting theme, we had two special events: the first was the 175th 1st XV and Cup XV Rugby Dinner, which included Governors, the parents of the players and the senior coaches. David Sole joined the top table at the Dinner and congratulated the team and the coaches on an outstanding season, and shared many of his experiences with us. Moreover, 120 boys and 18 staff attended the Celebration of Sport at Merchiston Dinner, representing 15 sports. The theme of this Dinner was ‘Elite Sportsmen’, and for the first time this year the ‘Stewart Crerar Quaich for International Sporting Achievement’ was presented at the Dinner. Stewart and his grandfather, JS Crerar, have kindly donated this trophy to the School. The guest speakers at the Dinner were Simon Webster and Allister Hogg, both Scottish internationals.
 Our Commemoration celebrations began with the 175th Anniversary Dinner Dance in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. We were welcomed by the wonderful sound of our Senior Pipe Band, and over the course of the evening a wide variety of musical entertainment was provided by Matthew King, playing jazz on the piano, the Prov Johnston Tribute Band, one of our boy rock bands (The Mystic Floorboards) and the staff rock band. (The Prov Johnstone Tribute Band is a mix of professional musicians and medical people who play for free to support charity. The unusual name came from a colleague they lost to leukaemia. His friends formed a band and threw a fundraiser for leukaemia research. They raised a great deal of cash and were so good that they have been playing together for charity ever since. Some of you may remember their highly acclaimed performances at previous Commemoration Dinner Dances.) Whilst the evening featured a fundraising element, it was all about members of the Merchiston community enjoying each other’s company – parents, Merchistonians, staff and guests. The Merchistonian Club held a similar eventat the EICC some two years ago. We decided not to employ an event manager, but the team consisting of my wife, Barbara, Gayle Cordiner (Director of Marketing), Carolyn Thornton (Merchistonian Club Assistant), Carole Burnett (Marketing Assistant) and Elaine Crawford (former Merchiston parent) came up trumps! I am most grateful to all who pledged items for the auction, the raffle and the silent auction; and indeed thank you very much indeed to all of you who submitted bids. I am delighted to let you know that the auction raised £20,050; the silent auction £14,996.50; the raffle £3,457 and photos £160; in addition, £10,000 for the naming of two rooms was contributed, making a grand total of £48,663.50! 
On the Saturday morning, we held our annual Commemoration Service, when we reflect on and celebrate the founding of the School. This year’s Service was enhanced hugely by a most inspiring and thought provoking talk by our guest speaker, Dr David Millar BA, BSc, MSc; Merchistonian (1980-85). David is Lead Clinical Neuropsychologist for adult neuropsychology services at the Regional Neurosciences Centre, Newcastle General Hospital. He studied for a BA Sports in the Community at Jordanhill College but suffered a spinal cord injury whilst playing rugby in New Zealand in 1989. After a short sojourn as a publican in Tillicoultry, David read for a BSc in Psychology and worked in injury rehabilitation in New Zealand. Since then he has gained a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Newcastle, and an MSc in Clinical Neuro-psychology from Glasgow. One of the tests of a good Chapel Service is that it lives long in the memory, and this will certainly be the case for the Commemoration Service; David spoke with quiet and inspiring dignity about the sporting accident that left him in a wheelchair and about his determination to refuse to let his disability limit him. Please click on the link to read his talk.  A Lower Sixth Former told me at the Concert afterwards that Dr Millar’s talk was one of his top two talks in all his time at Merchiston! I also enjoyed hearing the Close Harmony Group singing Gaudeamus Igitur, and especially the Chapel Choir singing Parry’s two-part I was glad. Following the Service, the Art & Design and Design & Technology Exhibitions demonstrated the importance of these subjects in Merchiston’s 175th Anniversary year. They are creative, yet problem-solving subjects of the present and the future. Equally, one could not help but be impressed by the Senior and Junior Pipe Bands playing on the Gibson Lawn before we moved to the Dining Hall for a buffet lunch and a concert involving the Folk Group, the Saxophone Quartet, the Close Harmony Group, the Concert Band, and two Boy Bands (The Mystic Floorboards and The Foxy Boxers). This was intended to be a relaxed and informal opportunity to hear Merchiston’s musicians, rather than a formal concert.
Other events under the 175th Anniversary banner have included the Merchistonian Touch Rugby Tournament at which 12 teams were fielded. The McLeod Cup and Forbes Bowl competitions saw 20 musicians taking part (including singers) and 9 instruments being played (clarinet, cornet, flute, oboe, piano, saxophone, trombone, trumpet and violin). It was a pleasure to welcome Mrs Patricia Forbes back to Merchiston to present the trophies; the Forbes Bowl was donated to the School by her husband and our former Headmaster, Donald Forbes. The adjudicator of the competitions was Nicholas Gleed, Director of Music at Bedales School. The performers at the Celebration of Pringle Music included a folk group, a recorder group, and a rock group. The Celebration of Music at Merchiston evening saw approximately 80 Senior School musicians playing. On the latter occasion, we welcomed Malcolm Harding, former Director of Music at Bradfield College, as our guest speaker; he also spent time as our ‘musician in residence’, working with our musicians in School over the preceding days – an innovation at Merchiston.
 Finally, as I write we are preparing for the Pringle Celebration of the Year and Prizegiving. This year’s Prizegiving speaker will be Robbie Grant, a Merchistonian (92-97), Associate with Linklaters, London. What is so fascinating about Robbie is his desire to contribute to society and his charitable ventures so far have included running across the Sahara and rowing across the Atlantic.
So, as you can see, our 175th Anniversary has been well celebrated this term! I have been touched and impressed by the way in which the School has responded to this whole concept and we have seen a real manifestation of appropriate pride. However, we have also kept our feet firmly on the ground with a huge number of activities which contribute to the Merchiston experience.
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