Satan and sausages

On Wednesday 3 March, pupils and staff continued the celebration of the Spawforth Library’s 10th anniversary with an uninterrupted reading of Milton's epic Paradise Lost. 
The reading commenced at 7.00a.m. with a variety of staff members and some Upper Sixth reading continuously aloud throughout the day until 6.00p.m.  The final 50 lines were then read by Magnus Linklater, former editor of the Scotsman, who officially opened the library in June 2000.
The eleven hour reading enabled pupils to listen to this epic poem between classes, as Milton draws on his powerful imagination, and diverse sources, in an attempt to write the ultimate poem in the English language and ‘justify the ways of God to men’.
Dr Mortimer commented: “Merchiston’s Milton Marathon is a novel way in which we can appreciate this masterpiece, while bringing the school community together to celebrate the success of the Spawforth Library over the last ten years. ”

The library officially opened in 2000, and was named ‘The Spawforth Library’in honour of the last Headmaster, David Spawforth.  Since that time the volume of books and periodicals has developed extensively, and holdings in books alone now number over 16,000.  Stock continues to be updated regularly in line with the school’s academic curriculum and contains a large fiction section for pupils’ recreational reading.