Academic achievement is critical to each and every young person attending Merchiston. However, I like to think that how we go about it matters more: we believe that the whole variety of life at Merchiston, in a subtle way, leads each young man to concentrate, almost unintentionally, on the development of his mind and on his academic work. The Fifth Form, Lower and Upper Sixth (202 pupils) have sat public examinations, of which there have been approximately 200 over a period of 5½ weeks. As ever, the organisation of all this is a remarkable feat, and indeed it is ongoing throughout the academic year; on several occasions, I have watched Tim Lawson, our Examinations Officer, administering examinations with efficiency and calmness – you will understand that this is critical to both the pupils and the staff! Our J4 and J5 boys have taken their 5-14 tests under the aegis of Niamh Hairs and Fiona Trotter, and all the First Form-Shell pupils have sat internal examinations. Of course, examinations are not the only way of measuring how each pupil is fulfilling his potential: I believe that many boys have to learn to like learning and each pupil is encouraged gradually to develop a personal work ethic, as well as that sense of the inspirational and the intellectually exciting. These two approaches are foundational to Merchiston’s academic philosophy.
Enlightened Curriculum
 In many ways, the Enlightened Curriculum sits neatly alongside all the work that goes on in the classroom and all the preps completed outside the classroom, and if I were a pupil, I would find it difficult to choose between all the opportunities available! Some examples this term have been theatre trips (and not just to Edinburgh but also a wonderful trip to Stratford); the Junior Maths Challenge; a visiting author; the ever-popular Bag a Book Days and the Book Passport Scheme based in one of our most impressive facilities, the Spawforth Library; the Peyrebrune Declamations; the Kingsley Darling Verse Prize and the Edwards Reading Prize; the Stock Market Challenge (which our Shell pupils won!); our Higher Education Careers event; the Sixth Form Festival; the Second Form Geography field trip; the Third Form History trip to York; and our Modern Languages Film Society, Cercle Cinémane.
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