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10 MarchThoughts: If we disregard the week’s Half Term, last week was in fact week 8! There is a theory in schools that pupils and staff often need to be looked after very carefully in week 8 of a term because it is that stage of the term! Our week was particularly busy with classes, of course, but also with the start of the end of term reports’ process; Enlightened Curriculum events, such as the J4 trip to Camera Obscura in Edinburgh, the Cecil Stagg Society and the Lower Sixth Politics trip to Holyrood; much, much sport, including basketball, cross-country, fives, football, hockey, rugby, squash, sub aqua and swimming; let alone outdoor education. The School also hosted its termly Charity Highland Ball, run by our former Deputy Head, Ken Houston, and his wife, Jean; on this occasion funds were being raised for the Alzheimer’s Society. When I spoke to the staff at the weekly Common Room meeting on Monday, I congratulated everyone on navigating last week! Equally, the pupils were congratulated in Headmaster’s Assembly!
Highlights: Readers of Headmaster’s Headlines will know that we are celebrating the Spawforth Library’s 10th anniversary and I have already mentioned the Reading Rocks series involving members of staff speaking about their favourite books; we also have the usual Bag-a-Book days. Last week’s highlight was Sausages and Satan – Merchiston’s Marathon Milton Madness! This was a non-stop reading by 20 staff and pupils of Milton’s Paradise Lost, Books 1-12, in the Library, and 174 pupils and staff went to listen to the reading throughout the day. The Head of English and Assistant Head Academic, Dr Nigel Mortimer, gave a wonderful talk about Milton and Paradise Lost at last week’s Headmaster’s Assembly. 3 MarchThoughts: As I sit writing this diary entry, the pale blue sky and a shining sun light up the Merchiston campus as we draw near to the beginning of spring. While the mornings are still frosty and some snow is still lying on the grounds, the daffodils outside Castle Gates are beginning to come through! It strikes me that very often we forget the importance of this campus. Quite intentionally, this school has never had bells indicating the beginning or end of a commitment as we wish the atmosphere to be one of calm, order, peace, and relaxed purposefulness. It is incredible that as one walks up the drive towards the main School building, one can see Edinburgh Castle in the distance, and if one looks back one can see the snow-capped Pentland Hills, metaphorically looking over us and caring for us. I never cease to remind the boys to lift up their heads and their eyes when they are walking around the School to see what is around us. I want to write a few words to highlight different aspects of the relationship between the School and the parentalbody. In recent weeks, we have had a meeting of the Parents’ Forum and the minutes of these meetings are circulated to all parents at the end of every term. Last week, we had a Fifth Form Parents’ Dinner on Friday evening and the extremely important Fifth Form Parents’ Meeting on Saturday at lunchtime. It was wonderful to see the cars lining up the drive and filling the
Highlights: I have five from last week! First, it is often forgotten that we play 20+ sports at Merchiston, both within and outwith our campus. The boys are passionate about football and I congratulate the 1st XI on getting through to the next round of the Scottish Independent Schools Football Association Cup. Secondly, on Tuesday evening Barbara and I hosted the whole of the Upper Sixth to drinks in their 6A Club. This was followed by supper at MacKenzies in the village, hosted by Messrs Anderson, Heathcote and Mitchell. We have been running this Upper Sixth function for many years now and we see it as a way of thanking our young men for their sense of service and leadership to and for Merchiston and each year’s Upper Sixth sets the tone for the rest of the School. In many ways, we treat our Upper Sixth like young undergraduates. Thirdly, I wish to commend the Co-ordinator of our Personal & Social (PSE) programme, Paul Williams. Last week, there was a Fifth Form PSE drugs talk by the Police and an anti-smoking and alcohol presentation to the Second Form; more often than not, there is a PSE event every week. For example, this week (week 9) there is a talk to the Fourth Formers on adolescent relationships. We are always endeavouring to improve our pastoral care and our PSE programme plays a crucial role in how we try to look after, nurture, lead and educate the boys. Fourth, the Sixth Form Highland Ball, involving our sister schools, St George’s and St Margaret’s in Edinburgh, and Kilgraston, Perthshire, took place on Saturday. It is important that the boys are given the opportunity to learn Scottish Country Dancing and nobody was sitting out on the side in the Memorial Hall on Saturday night! The dancing was punctuated by an excellent dinner in the middle of the evening. I am envious of the skills of the boys and girls! Finally, the Evening Chapel Service on Sunday, led by the Chaplaincy Team, inspired those present to reflect and to receive spiritual nourishment. As this was the last Evening Chapel Service of the Lent Term, Nick Blair decided to challenge the boys to make the most of Lent. In all areas of life we accept that growth and excellence comes by putting in some effort – in academic work, sport, music etc but we often think that the spiritual side will just happen by chance. So Nick’s three challenges were as follows. First, why not read Mark's Gospel during Lent? He gave away 100 Gospels; they are 64 pages long; there were 32 days until Good Friday, which means two pages each day. Nick already prays with various members of staff each morning at 7.30am; his second challenge to the boys was to try praying for the next four Wednesdays of term at 7.30am in the Religious Studies room. His third challenge was to stay behind for voluntary Communion after the Service – to draw near to God and He would draw near to us. Ian Mitchell (teacher of Physics and Evans Housemaster), who had lived for some years in Chile, led prayers for those affected by the recent earthquake there. All in all, it was an uplifting Sunday evening Service: a good mixture of music, reflection, challenge and fellowship. 24 February
Highlights: Usually, I comment on highlights which have taken place in the preceding week but today I am going to pick out two happening this week. Yesterday, we had in School two Governors who are on the Board’s Education & Pastoral Committee, namely Michael Ridley, a former Head of Denstone College and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and John Broadfoot, a new Governor, a Merchistonian and a former Rector of Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow. They were observing classes and just being part of Merchiston for the day. Being a school governor (or indeed charity trustee) can often seem a thankless task but, to my mind, guiding a school is one of the most meaningful types of voluntary work one can do. 18 FebruaryThoughts: Whilst week 6 may have been a slightly shorter week due to the beginning of Half Term on Friday afternoon, one would not think so, looking at the commitments the boys undertook over the course of the week: a tremendous reaffirmation of classwork; the completion of important preliminary GCSE exams by the Shell and the Fifth Form; a rehearsal for the Choral Society Concert with St George’s (which will take place in the McEwan Hall on 7 March); fascinating Enlightened Curriculum events, such as a Maths and Science Colloquium at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow, a Mathematics and Economics talk at Merchiston by one of our present parents, Professor Zhou of the University of Oxford, and boys submitting their entries for the School Fiction Prize; let alone sport! In the latter, we have seen sustained activity in the following areas: fives, football, squash, rugby and swimming.  Highlights: I have three for last week. First, the English Speaking Board exams for the First-Third Forms; Merchiston is totally dedicated to this concept which tests the boys’ ability to speak in public and to memorise text. Secondly, earlier in the week many of our Lower Sixth Formers undertook leadership training with one of our charity partners, The Place2Be. Many of our Sixth Form pupils are committed to being ‘big friends’ in five local primary schools, acting as male role models, often for children who may lack such a role model in their lives. Finally, the Chinese New Year Dinner with St George’s, this year celebrating the Year of the Tiger, is an important annual function at Merchiston. To conclude, I really do hope that boys, parents and guardians enjoy some family time together over Half Term, and equally that our U16s have enjoyed their rugby tour to France. How fortunate they are in having this opportunity!
9 FebruaryThoughts: As we look back on week 5, what a week! I recently read a quote by the President of Toyota in which he admitted that they were “on the brink of capitulation to irrelevance”. We hope this will never be said about Merchiston and certainly last week saw a vivid example of what we all believe in: the continued mixture of academic classes, numerous Enlightened Curriculum events (six in all) across the whole age range (8-18), and so many House activities with our sister schools, as well as rehearsals for the imminent Choral Society Concert on Sunday 7 March at the McEwan Hall, let alone sport. In yesterday’s Headmaster’s Assembly, it was a joy to welcome John Chuanzhong from Zhuhai No 1 Middle School, Guangdong, China, and his party of 10 pupils and 1 teacher, who are visiting us for two weeks. We have been forming links with this school over the last few years and we have very much enjoyed and benefited
2 February
Congratulations: Physics Olympiad: we congratulated the following pupils on their success: John and Roy on their Gold Medals (which puts them in the top 50 in the UK and they go forward to the next round); Scott on his Silver Medal (placing him in the top 150 in the UK) and John on his Bronze Medal. In sport, congratulations to the hockey team on their win against the Loretto 2nd XI. We thanked the boys who were involved in hosting the boy visitors in School from St Andrew’s College, Buenos Aires, and also the Chalmers West boys who acted as guides for the Entrance and Scholarship Days last Thursday and Friday.  Highlights: First, it was a delight to welcome so many prospective pupils to Merchiston last Thursday for two days of assessments and fun! They stayed in Chalmers West and the Housemaster, Philip Rossiter, and our boys really enjoyed spending so much time with our guests. Secondly, on Sunday, when I was on my daily training walk to the School gates and back (a highlight in itself!), I bumped into one of the staff who had escorted the Pringle boys on the Pentland Peaks expedition. She could not have been more complimentary about the boys – how they had abided by health and safety rules, yet how they had revelled in being in the great outdoors and able to see for miles from the top of the Pentlands! I think our boys are so lucky in that the co-curricular is seen as such an important element of the total curriculum. Finally, and it is a very small, personal highlight, this photograph may amuse you! I am continuing my rehab journey and last week my physio suggested we meet at the gym, where I managed to do a small series of exercises, including five minutes on the bike! I agree the resistance was not high but my slow road back to fitness goes on. I continue to be amazed at all the support I have received from all members of the Merchiston family. What is also interesting is that this personal experience will help me to understand much better someone who is coming back from an injury or recovering from surgery.
26 JanuaryThoughts: As the Headmaster, one occasionally receives correspondence about the boys – sometimes this is critical, but usually it is complimentary. Either way, we always answer each letter or email and we read out the comments to the boys (if appropriate). So, it was my great pleasure to read out the following email at yesterday’s Headmaster’s Assembly. “I was invited by St George's to give the Immortal Memory speech at their Burns Supper on Friday evening, and I am just writing to say what a pleasure it was to meet the Merchiston boys who were there. They were high-spirited, obviously had a sense of fun, and during the dinner and ceilidh were polite and courteous with the adults who were there… it was a great pleasure to see these fine young men on Friday - a great advert for your school. Please pass on my congratulations to them.” You may be interested to read my reply: “It gives me great pleasure to read such words simply because we work so hard in the School at teaching the boys how to behave. We think that they have to be taught manners; this is part of growing up. Equally, they make mistakes when they grow up; we try to show patience, maybe punish them (for part of punishment involves reform) and then we start again. You will know that the St George's/Merchiston Schools work closely together on a variety of fronts and we have a lot of respect for St George's. I am delighted that you enjoyed the evening amidst the young. I always find them so invigorating.”
Congratulations: Construction Challenge: we congratulated the Merchiston team consisting of John, Tom, Rob, Tom, Peter, Archie, Casper, Douglas, Matthew and Alexander, on winning the final of the Construction Challenge. Senior Maths Challenge: of the 64,000 entrants to the Senior Maths Challenge, about 1200 were invited to go on to the next stage, the Maths Olympiad. From the Merchiston contingent of 7 pupils, 3 have done particularly well. We congratulated Ruoyo and Zulian on being awarded Bronze Medals in the Maths Olympiad, which means that they are in the top 100 candidates in the UK and in joint 3rd place in Scotland. Highlights: This week, we spent a considerable amount of time concentrating on the themes of character, iron, steel, and perseverance. Such attributes should underpin everything that is happening within Merchiston on a daily basis. First, Saturday afternoon’s Scottish Schools Cup semi-final was a wonderful sporting occasion at Colinton. I congratulated the boys, who could not have played any better, on the quality of their passing, tackling and wide play, which was of an extremely high standard on such a miserable day. Over the course of the season, and due to the light touch of their coaches (and this is a great lesson to us all that sometimes we can get the best out of people in a gentle, yet firm way), they began to believe in themselves and to think My second highlight centres on the word “perseverance”. Last year, Nguyen Anh left Merchiston after his Finally, I have to walk a little every day so on Sunday evening, Barbara and I decided that my daily exercise would be walking to Chapel and back. We enjoyed the Service which was a haven of quiet before the beginning of another busy week. Dr Mitchell, one of our Physics teachers, spoke and the title of his talk was "If you want to walk on water then you have to get out of the boat." This refers to the Gospel story of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ disciple, Peter, recognised that he had the opportunity to do something very special and was prepared to take a risk to do it. However, he had to leave the boat, ie his comfort zone, to do so. Dr Mitchell challenged the boys to think what their "boat" is and to leave their comfort zone in order to do something special. He also talked about how, although Peter had to be rescued by Jesus, what he did should not be construed as failure. The real failures were the other 11 disciples in the boat who did not seize the opportunity as Peter did. And so we begin an action-packed week 4: many lessons, Enlightened Curriculum events, co-curricular activitiesincluding many sporting fixtures, the Sixth Form Reel Club and perhaps most important of all, the arrival of four Moray House trainee teachers in Chemistry, Design & Technology, History and Mandarin respectively, who will spend approximately six week with us in the relevant Departments. Merchiston is delighted to support the University of Edinburgh in offering placements to trainee teachers; a truly prosperous society can only be one that is well educated and one that values teachers.19 JanuaryThoughts: Week 3 at Merchiston is as busy as ever. Yesterday morning, it was my great pleasure to be able to be present at Headmaster’s Assembly, albeit in a tracksuit and speaking from the floor. I was so impressed by the natural way in which the boys welcomed me and spent ages talking to me after Assembly! Any old ruse to ensure a late arrival to lesson 1! We started Assembly by humming two different notes and we practised first, the School song, and then a hymn. I read recently that young adults prefer to practise singing secular songs before moving to hymns. “Ready Ay Ready” is a difficult song in that it is not straightforward fitting the music to some of its lines in terms of the scansion of the words. However, the words are long-lasting. As we prepared to sing the hymn, “Now thank we all our God”, I reminded the School that we are so fortunate in the UK in that, for the most part, we do not have to deal with the sort of tragedies that Haiti is facing at present. We prayed for all those involved in this tragedy and for the rescue efforts. We also went over “Our vision for the School”, “Do what you do do well”, and my “Thoughts for the Year 2009/2010”. Thank you to the Captain of School and the Heads of Houses who helped me with this. I finished this part of Assembly by speaking about the Radio 2 morning programme, “Wake up to Wogan” – the remarkable show he presented for 27 years and from which he retired at the age of 71 in the Christmas holiday! Some followers of “Headmaster’s Headlines” may have enjoyed “Wake up to Wogan” and may indeed be listening to his replacement, Chris Evans, and making judgements! Wogan said, “It’s always been a source of enormous pride to me that you, the listeners, come together in my name, that you’re proud to call yourselves my listeners, that you think of me as a friend. Someone that you’re close enough to to laugh with, to poke fun at and occasionally, when the world seems a little too cruel, to shed a tear with. If anybody embodies the generous warm spirit of this country, it’s you, my listener.” India
Highlights: I have three from last week. First, our 8 and 9 year olds were so fortunate to attend the Lemony Snicket event at the Queen’s Hall and we heard about it at Assembly. I asked our youngsters to tell us all about this experience yesterday morning, as they sat alongside the Captain of School and the Heads of Houses – for this is the This week, we will be having a Cecil Stagg Society meeting, sports fixtures in five sports, a Choral Society rehearsal with St George’s, our Upper Sixth are going to a Burns Supper at St George’s, and on Friday we will be hosting a Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) training day and teachers from all over Scotland will be learning about how to lead a Department. Finally, this Saturday could be one of those really special Merchiston days: a full morning of lessons (which we endorse totally), seven rugby fixtures in the afternoon against the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, and the semi-final of the Brewin Dolphin U18 Scottish Schools Cup at Merchiston in which we will be playing Stewart’s Melville. Whether we win or lose, this should be one of those tremendous sporting occasions in Scotland. 12 January
7 January 2010
We welcomed eight new pupils and two exchange pupils to the School at the first Headmaster’s Assembly of the term: Matthew (J5); Charles and Felix (Second Form); Brahim and Mars (Fourth Form); and Josh, Cusson and William (Shell). Diego and William (the exchange pupils) have joined the Fifth Form and Lower Sixth respectively. We also welcomed two new members of staff: Nick Burt (Design & Technology and Art & Design Technician) and Tim Bayes-Powell (our new Gap graduate from New Zealand).
Highlights: At the end of last term, we had three very successful Christmas meals, and two Carol Services, as well as the production of A Doll’s House at St George’s School for Girls, with Merchiston boys participating. The Director of Drama wrote to us as follows: “It was an absolute pleasure working with the boys and it was great fun putting on the production with them. They were polite, enthusiastic and very hard working, especially in the final lead up to the performance, which was very hectic!” It was also a joy to receive an email from the mother of a daughter at an Edinburgh school, who invited a number of Merchiston’s Lower Sixth Formers to a Hogmanay party at her home. She wrote as follows: “I do feel that this is a rather difficult age for teenagers as they want to socialise with their friends but of course they are rather dependent on their parents allowing them to have friends to their homes. I am writing to you to let you know that ALL the boys were an absolute delight. They were charming, so appreciative, extremely polite and helpful and quite frankly it was so refreshing to be in the company of such nice young men who showed how pleased they were to be invited. They are a credit to your school.”  As we embarked upon the 11-week Lent Term, we ended Headmaster’s Assembly with “handshaking”, a Merchiston tradition. This custom goes back to the headmastership of John Gibson (1850-56). At the beginning of the Autumn Term of 1856, knowing he was seriously ill, he shook hands with every boy after prayers. He passed away a few days later. The tradition began of the Headmaster shaking hands with every boy at the end of prayers each night. The ceremony was embellished, as can be seen in this rather grainy photograph to promote a more closely-knit society within the School. During the tenure of Cecil Evans as Headmaster of Merchiston (1936-58) – otherwise known as “the tank” – he has wonderful eyes in the portrait which hangs opposite the “Gents” on the first floor landing of the main school building – the Headmaster shook hands with every pupil at the end of evening prep, which he supervised in the Memorial Hall. We amended this tradition some ten years ago to take place at the beginning of term and also involve the entire Common Room as a symbol of friendship as we welcome each other back to the challenges and fun of the next term.
Archive: Autumn 06, Lent 07, Summer 07, Autumn 07, Lent 08, Summer 08, Autumn 08. Lent 09, Summer 09, Autumn 09 |
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Congratulations: First, my congratulations to all involved in Sunday night’s Choral Society Concert at the McEwan Hall (more on this below). And continuing with singing, we congratulated the boys who took part in Singposium Scotland on Saturday 27 February – they were described as “polite, easy to work with, and ready and willing to enter into all that was asked of them with enthusiasm and great good humour”. Well done! We also congratulated our debaters (Alexander and Laurie) on progressing to the semi final of the ESU National Mace, and public speaker Adam on winning through to the final of the ESU National Public 
Speaking Competition. Hector and Ross are through to the second round of the Seniors Mace. Fergus won the Society for Renaissance Studies Sixth Form Essay Prize for his essay on the politics of Shakespeare’s plays. Turning now to sport and 
Cross-Country Race. In football, the U10s 
won against Loretto and the seniors beat Fettes. The basketball team beat Glenalmond. The swimming team won against Morrisons and just lost to Glenalmond. Finally, Sam was congratulated on being selected for the Scotland U17 Rugby Squad. And, on a completely different note, we congratulated Dr Federica Vian (teacher of Maths) on her marriage to Dr Anatoly. 
although not featured in the prize list. My fifth highlight of the week was the 
quads. Incidentally, I think it was a very good innovation that some years ago we requested pupils from the Fifth Form upwards to attend the relevant Parents’ Meetings for, after all, it is they who are the focus of these discussions! We really do believe in the importance of parents playing a role in the educational journey of their son(s). 
Congratulations: The following (photo above) were congratulated on gaining a Distinction in the recent English Speaking Board examinations: First Formers Angus, Oliver, Xander, Andrew, Daniel, Alasdair and Angus; Second Formers Ruairidh, Peter, Jordan, Kirill, Duncan, Thomas, Tom, Angus, Jamie, Benn, Ruaridh, Hari and Fingal; and Third Formers Laurence, Andrew, Euan, Benjamin, Karsten, Charles Angus, Jamie, Gregor, Jamie, Alasdair, Daniel, Gregor, Cameron and Harry. Charlie (photo right) has gained the honour of a Merit in the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) 2009/10 Schools Art Award (sponsored by Baillie Gifford) for his work which will be displayed in April in the RSA Library as part of the RSA ‘New Contemporaries’ exhibition. Cameron won the 60m hurdles in the Scottish Open event in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. James, Lewis and Alex (below right) have been selected to shoot for the Scotland B Team against the other Home Nations and the Channel 
Islands. Our 1st XI won their match against Heriot’s in the Scottish Independent Schools Football Association Cup and our swimmers won against Fettes – 15 personal best times were set and for the first time in six years, one of our swimmers (Michael, photo left) broke a School record in the U14 100 Yard Individual Medley. The colts fives side won the Edinburgh Schools Fives Championships and the 
senior fives team beat Rossall School. 
Thoughts: As we sat yesterday morning looking out over a beautiful Merchiston campus as the early morning sun was breaking through the frost and the grounds appeared to glisten, we were reminded of how very fortunate we are to be here. This morning, on the other hand, the snow is coming down thick and fast! I really hope that all parents, guardians and boys enjoyed some family time over the course of the Half Term week. It is not that long ago that we introduced a week’s Half Term in the Lent Term as opposed to the previous short 3-4 night break. The downside of this may be that the second half of term is highly compressed, and is even more action-packed than usual. This week alone looks so exciting. The Fifth Form preliminary results have all been collated and dispatched to parents, and this week we have the Fifth Form Parents’ Dinner on Friday evening, followed by the extremely important Parents’ Meeting on Saturday morning. I like it that the boys attend this meeting as well. University offers are still streaming in to our Upper Sixth Formers from UCAS (the body which administers this process). Whatever parents may read in the press, boys from Merchiston continue to receive excellent offers from so many good universities. However, let us not forget that in that ‘magical’ Pringle Centre, our J4, J5 and First Form boys are being inspired by their teachers and the building blocks are being put in place - a part of Merchiston’s future is taking shape! There are Enlightened Curriculum events, such as the Lower Sixth Biology DNA Technology Workshop – and how 
the teaching of Science has been revolutionised over the years! And, of course, the boys and staff are excited to be returning to the classroom! The Upper Sixth gathered last night for drinks and then dinner at MacKenzies in Colinton with the Dean of the Sixth Form – every year the Upper Sixth are so important in setting the tone for the whole School. And turning to music at Merchiston, this week, we have a saxophone workshop, and there is a vital Choral Society rehearsal with St George’s in preparation for Sunday’s Concert in the McEwan Hall. I believe that acting on a stage and singing in a choir are two of the most searching team activities which a boy can undertake. And, as ever, we have numerous House activities, and sporting fixtures in six sports this week, namely curling, fives, football, rugby, squash and swimming.
Congratulations: We congratulated Max (photo above) on being awarded his Major Games tie. And on a different note, two of our Gap graduates, Michel Marnewick and Alesha Jones, were congratulated on their recent engagement. Michael is now on the staff at Merchiston, teaching PE and helping out with Pringle Sport, and Alesha plays a vital pastoral role in Pringle. They will be returning to New Zealand at the end of the year.
Moreover, yesterday we gave a warm welcome to Philomena Marshall, the Executive Principal of Excelsior Academy in Newcastle (one of our partner schools), who was visiting Merchiston in her capacity as an observer on the Education & Pastoral Committee, meeting the staff and seeing us in action. Numerous Heads of Department were looking forward to meeting her and being asked, “How do you monitor and self-evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in your Department?” She spoke to the boys at Headmaster’s Assembly in a very inspirational fashion about being aspirational and she drew comparisons and similarities between the pupils at Merchiston and Excelsior Academy. Secondly, the Spawforth Library is one of Merchiston’s key facilities, for what it stands for is of supreme importance. We are celebrating the Library’s tenth anniversary during the remainder of this term and the first half of next term with a number of events organised by the Library’s custodian, Nigel Mortimer, and the librarian, Julia Williams. I will come back to this in due course, but one of the activities begins this week, namely Reading 
Rocks – Books, Boys and Biscuits. A member of staff will be talking about his/her favourite piece of fiction, and it is voluntary for the boys and staff to attend! Peter Hall (Head of Junior School), David Turner (teacher of ICT and Music), Keith Pettigrew (Head of Chemistry) and Stephen Campbell (Head of Mathematics) have already signed up; they will be speaking about Jane Austen’s Emma, François Mauriac’s Le Noeud de Vipères (The Knot of Vipers), Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited respectively. Fascinating! So, as you can see, week 8 is well and truly underway!
from the pupil and staff exchanges between our two schools. Mr Chuanzhong said that his school were very much looking forward to hosting a group of Merchiston pupils and staff during the Easter holiday, mentioning the wonderful scenery in Zhuhai, the seafood dishes and the hospitality offered by the Chinese people. I reminded the School that the Six Nations Championship brings so many people together. What I also like about it is the volume of the singing! So yesterday morning, I invited the Director of Studies, Mrs Marion Muetzelfeldt (who is Welsh), to speak to the School about the importance of singing in Wales before we sang “Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer”! She spoke beautifully about Wales and its singing tradition, going on to explain the meaning of two Welsh words, which for her were evocative of Wales, but which she thought could also refer to Merchiston: ‘hwyl’ which means ‘enthusiasm for whatever you are doing’, and ‘hiraeth’ which means ‘a very fond memory of your homeland’. 
She thought that in years to come the boys might well remember Merchiston with ‘hiraeth’, and indeed talk about it with ‘hwyl’. I then delivered a short talk on role models, indicating to the boys (irrespective of the example set by others, such as professional footballers) that they had so many role models to aspire to within Merchiston. We concluded this part of the Assembly by remembering that the Ten Commandments point to one way of living
Congratulations: We congratulated on stage the following pupils, who were All Rounder Scholars on entry to Merchiston but who have now been awarded Sports Scholarships to reflect their major contributions to sport in the School: Patrick, Sam, George and Ben. We also applauded Cameron on winning the recent indoors Scottish Athletics 60m hurdles in Glasgow and Patrick on gaining a Bronze Medal for rowing in the recent indoor championships. Merchiston has again won the Edinburgh Schools Senior Fives Championships (for the 11th time in 14 years) in the final against Fettes – our team consisted of Patrick, Peter, Douglas and Matthew. On the academic front, Charlie was congratulated on being awarded an Academic Exhibition for Maths and English. In sport, there were wins for the B1s, C1s and D1s over Galashiels Academy, and for 
the D2s and D4s against Stewart’s Melville. The Pringle U13 football side won against Fettes. 
Highlights: I have four from last week. First, the annual Scholars’ Dinner at which one of our Governors, Professor Lorraine Waterhouse, BA, MSW, School of Social Sciences and Political Studies at the University of Edinburgh, spoke about Scholarship, and in particular about James Clerk Maxwell, the Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician who was born in Edinburgh and studied at Edinburgh Academy. This was the 12th such Dinner and it represents one of those many opportunities in the annual cycle of the Merchiston way of life where the minds of the boys are hopefully opened and inspired. Secondly, I was able to attend the ‘Merchiston Journey’ for prospective parents on Thursday evening. This is an event at which senior pupils speak about their ‘journey’ at 
Merchiston and we were delighted to hear from Fergus, Marinus, Myles, Johan and Fergus. It was extremely gratifying to hear a prospective parent comment that there was a real sense of warmth and respect, and that something truly great had been created at Merchiston. Of course, we are not at all complacent. Third, it was so good to have twelve teams playing sport on Saturday morning! We have had a disrupted games’ programme for much of this term because of the weather and the boys like their sport! Fourthly, I am delighted that our idea of a Grandparents’ Chapel Service was so well supported and we welcomed 115 parents and grandparents. The Service was led by Pringle pupils and our visitors enjoyed the opportunity to tour the School and have lunch in the Dining Hall afterwards. This was a true Merchiston family day. 
Thoughts: Week 4 has seen the combination of classes and so many activities outside the classroom, including some with our sister schools, as well as Parents’ Meetings. In Tuesday’s Headmaster’s Assembly, David (right) spoke about the AS Geography field trip to Morecambe Bay, and Charlie and Tom (left) gave a report on the 
As usual, we started Assembly by practising our humming and singing, and we then sang one of the boys’ favourite hymns, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?” We also had up on the screen the incredible photo of the moment of pure joy in Haiti, when a small child was pulled out from the rubble; this serves to remind us of how fortunate we are and how we must always continue to be mindful of world tragedies and do what we can to help. 
Chips received a Certificate of Distinction, placing him in the top 300 candidates in the UK. In sport, 
that they could move mountains. This group of players have gradually all become leaders of men and role models for all the rugby players in the School from top to bottom and vice-versa. There was a real splendour about the whole occasion and about how both teams (Merchiston and Stewart’s Melville) played. I felt that our supporters too acquitted themselves well. Their support was measured, respectful, gentlemanly, humorous, sporting and whole-hearted, and it added so much to the atmosphere. I am not being whimsical and I am bound to say this about our school but Saturday illustrated so well why Merchiston is such a captivating school, which exudes such a tremendous spirit. In life we cannot win all of the time but Saturday was all about the people who make up this community, its ethos and sense of what we believe in, what is important and unimportant. Saturday afternoon at Colinton was a great advertisement for school sport but we move on for amidst the tragedy that has befallen Haiti, rugby – even a semi-final – is only a game. 
two-year Sixth Form career and 
Knight, writing in the Sunday Times, felt that that’s the crux of it. “Wogan, and the camaraderie his show generated, embodied something good and cheering – that sadly loaded word ‘decency’ I suppose; not the smug kind but a human version, with warmth and wit thrown in, the kind that made you feel privileged to be part of the gang. The values epitomised by “Wake up to Wogan” were as nostalgic as a gobstopper, except they were real, not manufactured – and there aren’t many places left that you can go for a guaranteed dose of kindness, laughter and decency.” I indicated to the School that it was so important that Merchiston should be a place that embodies “kindness, laughter and decency”. We enjoyed listening to Terry Wogan and Aled Jones having fun with their Christmas single, “Silver Bells”, and I was delighted that so many boys knew of Terry Wogan and his charitable works.
Congratulations: We congratulated Peter on being appointed Junior Captain of Gullane Golf Club. Cameron (photo above) was congratulated on winning the Scottish Schools indoors 60m “closed hurdles” race in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, at the weekend. In rugby, the 1st and 3rd XVs won their matches against North Berwick High School, and the curling team beat Mearns Castle School in a Scottish Schools qualifier.
Merchiston 8-18 journey. Secondly, it may be strange to view Saturday’s Junior Entrance and Scholarship Assessment Day as a highlight of the week! But, we were delighted to welcome youngsters to Merchiston to sit entrance tests and to take part in some fun activities. Many staff and boys, including, of course, our Admissions Department, were involved in the Day, and I hope our visitors enjoyed showing us the best that they can be. Thirdly, a massive highlight of last week was Merchiston’s 10th fundraising Burns Supper. It is a very special event, organised by parents and staff, led Mrs Biggar (Merchiston parent) and Philip Rossiter (Head of Middle School). The boys in the form of the Pipe Band play such an important role in the proceedings. Three Headmasters (from Scotland and Northern Ireland) attended as my guests and they were extremely gracious in their praise of the boys, the staff and the actual event itself. Do put next year’s event into your dairies, particularly if you have never attended a Burns Supper at Merchiston! 
Thoughts: We have had a very good start to the Lent Term, despite the snow and ice, and being unable to use the sports pitches outside. However, the boys have been enjoying an alternative sporting programme, using our indoor facilities and others outside the School. At Tuesday’s Headmaster’s Assembly, Grant spoke about the curling team’s recent success in winning the Hay Trophy in a Scottish schools’ competition and we heard from Fergus about the 2nd XV’s tour to Belfast during the holiday. A letter was read out from St Luke’s Leprosarium which had used our recent donation to provide a special meal for their leprosy patients and children on 27 December.
Congratulations: We congratulated Raleigh and Fergus (photo above) on their promotion to senior prefectship. The following pupils were congratulated on achieving Music Awards from ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) and Rockschool: Harrison (guitar), Ruairidh (guitar), Alastair (guitar), Fingal (treble recorder), Thomas (guitar), George (guitar), Lachlan (guitar), Jack (drums), Michael (violin) and Benjamin (guitar). Oxbridge offers (photo below) have been received by Fergus (to read English at Oriel, Oxford); Fraser (Medicine at Lincoln, Oxford), Scott (Engineering at Pembroke, Cambridge); Ruoyu (Engineering at St Edmund Hall, Oxford) and John (Engineering at St Hilda’s, Oxford). In sport, the curling team achieved further success with wins over Hamilton Grammar School and Larkhall Academy in Scottish Schools Cup qualifiers. Well done to you all!
Highlights: Last week, we were delighted to be nominated “For excellence in Academic Achievement” by Best-Schools.co.uk, which has placed Merchiston in the Top 20 Independent Boys Only Senior Boarding Schools in 2009 in recognition of our A Level and GCSE results and the number of pupils with exam success. Indeed, we have been placed 15th and it may be worth noting that four of the schools above us are co-ed in the Sixth Form. Please click on the link for the 
Thoughts: I very much hope that all members of the Merchiston community enjoyed some family time together over Christmas and the New Year, and indeed we wish everybody a happy and healthy 2010. It is wonderful that the School is back in session and thank you to both parents and pupils for overcoming the travel challenges posed by the current ‘big freeze’. JRB informed me on 5 January that it was the 19th day of this record-breaking weather; he added that in the Lent Term of 1963 not a single game of sport could be played on the pitches due to a very cold spell! 
Congratulations: Daniel was congratulated on being awarded his Arts Honours for Music. In sport, Grant, Hammy, Mark and Alastair (photo left) were congratulated on winning the Hay Trophy for curling for schools in Scotland.
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