History Staff

James Dixon (Head of Department)

James joined Merchiston after 12 years teaching at Marlborough College. He studied at Cambridge and Bristol Universities before working for some years for the Bank of England. His interests include politics, travel and theatre.

Charles Swan
Charles is a Merchistonian who left to gain a Certificate of Education at Loughborough and teach for 12 years at Ratcliffe College before returning to his Alma Mater in 1987. Despite being a keen historian most of Charles's time is spent on the sports field where he teaches physical education and coaches rugby and 1st XI cricket. He enjoys watching sport and reading history.

Mark Appleson

Mark graduated after three years of study in Leeds with an Honours degree, and taught at The City of London Freemen's School and Manchester Grammar School before joining Merchiston in 2001. He teaches PE, Learning Support and History. He is the Director of Rugby at Merchiston.

Alastair Brown

Alastair is the Department's first Australian staff member, and comes from Sydney. As well as playing various sports, he is interested in all aspects of film production. Prior to his appointment to the full-time staff, he had worked as a student teaching assistant at Merchiston.

Simon Thompson

Simon trained at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities, and taught in Durham for four years prior to joining Merchiston in 2008. His interests include music, drama and debating.