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2 April
20 March
My highlights: I conclude with my highlight of the week: the visit of Balgreen Primary School pupils for an afternoon of fun at Merchiston. The boys and girls were split into four groups for the following activities: magic, swimming, basketball and computing, and our Lower Sixth mentors looked after the children for the afternoon. It was a real pleasure to have them in the School and thus to be able to make a small contribution to the life of our local community. One little boy entering the Old Library just said, “Wow”! Finally, I wish all the members of the Merchiston community a very happy Easter and I hope you manage to have some family time over the holiday. On Sunday, Barbara and I will be leaving for Hong Kong, where we will meet prospective and present Merchiston parents and their sons, and indeed old boys. We are looking forward to visiting again the home country of many of our pupils. 18 MarchMy thoughts: The joys of being a Headmaster are all about praising the School, yet also pointing it out when we occasionally let ourselves down. I started yesterday morning’s Assembly by commending the pupils on the incredible achievements of the past term, both within and without the classroom, but also saying that we must always endeavour to maintain the highest of standards. Yes, we will make mistakes as we grow up and that is part of the process, but the key is how we learn from our mistakes. So, we hummed and sang this morning because I believe in the therapeutic and cathartic effect of humming and singing; we sang the School song, followed by that great hymn, “Guide me O thou great Jehovah”. Distinctions in the English Speaking Board Examinations were gained by Angus, Lewis, Jamie, Gregor, Marcus, Euan, Jamie and Matthew in the First Form; by John, Archie, Dougal, Douglas, Jamie, Andrew and Cameron in the Second Form; and by Jonathan, Aaron, Gregor, Tom, Robert, George, CJ, Oliver, Christopher, Joe, Dominic, Laurie, Lewis, Euan, Edward and Rory in the Third Form.
Lastly, our congratulations went to a large number of boys who took part in last week’s Piping and Drumming Competition, and, in particular, to the winners of the various trophies; also to Marinus and Angus who came 2 nd and 3 rd respectively in the piping events they entered in the Glasgow Highland Club Competition last weekend. Moreover, 30 pupils took part in the enjoyable Pringle Concert and Junior Music Competition held on Tuesday evening of last week. 11 MarchMy thoughts: You will see from this weekly diary that today is our fun 1833 day! It crossed my mind in Headmaster’s Assembly as some of the 1833 rules were being read out that a number of them will always stand the test of time, ie:
4 March
This morning I congratulated the pupils who had gained offers
27 FebruaryMy thoughts: We are now into, what I call, the real ‘nub’ of the term. It is tremendous that the mornings and evenings are becoming lighter and we are through the dark days of December and January! But hopefully we continue to exude light! Last week, it was interesting to welcome back a former Head of English, Mr Mike Ridley. After leaving Merchiston, he became the Headmaster of Denstone College, Staffordshire, and then the Headmaster of Royal Belfast Academical Institute. He really enjoyed sitting in on lessons and seeing the quality of the teaching and learning. Life at Merchiston is busy, but it has been a pleasure to pop into the final rehearsals for the Choral Society Concert with St George’s at the McEwan Hall My congratulations: I congratulated Jasper on winning the 16 and Under Scottish Indoor Doubles Championship, and we welcomed Marcel du Coudray, our tennis coach, to Headmaster’s Assembly. I thanked the pupils – speakers and musicians – who contributed to ‘The Merchiston Journey’ event. The 1st XV were congratulated on their win at the weekend against the High School of Glasgow; as were the 2nd, 3rd , B1 and D1 XVs on their victories, and the Senior Fives Team on defeating Fettes. My highlights: A headmaster’s job is so varied. I really enjoy trying to look after the interests of the boys, the staff, the parents, old boys, future pupils and their parents, Governors, and indeed helping external agencies, such as the Scottish Government. Last week, listening to ‘The Merchiston Journey’ presentations by Sandy, Leo, Struan and Scott, helped by music from Ben and Charlie, I mused on how incredible the journey of a boy at Merchiston is. Their eyes radiated conviction, and, if anything, some might have felt their presentation was too slick – too good to be true! My second highlight this week has been visiting Ardvreck School, Perthshire. It was wonderful to be welcomed so warmly by Mr and Mrs Sutton and to have the opportunity again to speak to the boys and girls at the Evening Service; I ended my talk with five “whispers” for the pupils to remember: “JOY – Jesus first, others next, yourself last. Do something different. Make the most of now. Do what you do best. Peace be with you!”
Assembly finished with a very different rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ by our GCSE musicians, conducted by Ms Cohen. So, you will see that we have had a tremendous week at Merchiston. As we concluded, I encouraged the School to remember that we are embarking on continuing to do our best, both within and without the classroom, over the forthcoming week. 19 February
My congratulations: Shortly before Half Term, I congratulated many boys in Pringle, who had successfully submitted poems to the “Talking About My highlights: I have two this week. In yesterday’s Assembly, Ruth Cohen continued our ‘1833’ theme, and spoke about Music, in particular about Brahms. It was wonderful to hear his music resounding around 8 February
My highlights: I have three. First, our Scholars’ Dinner: it was wonderful to have among us former members of the History Department: Mr NJ Diver, Mr JW Donaldson and Squadron Leader JG Dunlop. Moreover, we were joined by Merchistonian former Scholars: Jonathan Scott, Hew Edgar, Mark Muetzelfeldt, Ricky Aldridge, Guy Kewish, Andrew Powell, Barney Ross, George Hodge, Edward Sloan, Lewis Allen, Iain Mossman, Mamoun Shafi, Mark Sloan, Alastair Hall, Matthew Kirkwood, Ben Quayle and Alex Targowski. Secondly, last night it was fascinating to watch Sixth Formers escorting their partners to the Sixth Form
5 February
 I went on to talk to the School about Dr Leonard Sax (pictured with me here) who maintains that a boys’ school should be teaching the pupils to be gentlemen – he meant by this the opposite of macho, aggressive behaviour. We should ensure that there are stories of leadership for the boys to emulate. He argued that being a real man is all about politeness (ie standing up when people enter rooms, especially females, and indeed not interrupting them when they are talking), but, of course, being a gentleman is about far more than politeness and Chaucer’s courtesy: it is about virtues like duty, sensitivity, honour, loyalty and perseverance. I urged the School to remember this message as we embark upon a new week, both within and without the classroom. How fitting it is that the “S is for Stones” was all about perseverance. Finally, it is impossible for me to sum up in one diary entry how proud I am of what is going in the School, with the boys and the staff. Who would not like to attend an Enlightened Curriculum History Talk on the Spanish Civil War, or take part in the Upper Sixth Classical Civilization Trip to Cast Gallery Museum, Cambridge, or indeed enjoy a Boarding-In Weekend!
29 January
Again, I am staggered by the variety of Merchiston life and last week was no exception: Choral Society rehearsal with St George’s; production in our theatre of The Premier by The Midnite Youth Theatre Company from Australia; First-Third Form Parents’ Meetings; and many lessons, much sport, and Report Card Week imminent! We were delighted to welcome four students from the Moray House Institute of Education at the University of Edinburgh, who are with us for their second PGDE teaching placement, namely Sophie, Roderick, David and Craig. Teachers really matter, and indeed without them I do not believe we can have a prosperous society. I also welcomed our visitors from Zhuhai Number 1 Middle School, our partner school in mainland China, and we hope to write more about this in due course. It seems remarkable to see boys and girls from Zhuhai here at Merchiston, reminding us how small a world it is for only last Easter Mrs Hunter, Mrs Dow and I visited this school. A number of our own pupils will visit Zhuhai later this year.
“First and foremost, I congratulate members of the Cup XV on your tremendous performance on Friday night in filthy weather conditions. You won this competition despite challenging draws all the way through; on many an occasion you were able to show your natural flair, but on others you had to ‘dig deep’ and persevere through to victory. As you know, my latest aphorism on winners is that those who win, more often than not, do so because they make the right decisions in the toughest of circumstances. It is an incredible achievement in the recent history of the Scottish Schools Cup for Merchiston to win it again: all the schools now have a level playing field in terms of age, whereas in the past some of our players were 6 months older than the opposition. I am also astounded by the generosity and graciousness of players who are too old for the Cup team, or have been badly injured and thus unable to play; your support has been remarkable. So, my warmest congratulations to the team and the squad on this outstanding achievement. As regards the supporters, I have enjoyed seeing the development of good pride, spirit and humour! Many people have commented to me (when we get it right!) that the way in which you support your teams reflects that excellent spirit, in and out of the School. On Friday night, I sat miles away from you, not because I am ashamed of the Merchiston support, but simply because I find watching tight matches difficult; in fact I was amongst Watson’s supporters and I was pleased that many remarked to me on our sense of spirit. It was also tremendous that so many Merchistonians and parents travelled great distances to be part of the occasion. Turning to the staff, as pupils will know, we are indebted to all the coaches who look after the Merchiston rugby journey from Pringle all the way up the School. Thus I am particularly delighted for our two 1 st XV coaches, Mr Appleson and Mr Palacios, that the Cup run this year has culminated in victory. Furthermore, we cannot do without our caterers, who feed you well for all your fixtures, and our groundsmen, who look after our pitches with such care; it was a particular pleasure to see so many works and admin staff at the match. Equally, so many members of the pastoral staff also helped afterwards with the post-match celebrations. 22 January
15 January
8 January 2008My thoughts: First of all, this week I welcomed everyone back to School and I wished them a happy New Year. Furthermore, I wish all our parents, Merchistonians and supporters of Merchiston a happy, healthy and peaceful 2008. New members of the Merchiston community were welcomed, including Mrs Jackie Ghazal, our new Pringle Assistant, and Miss Jorgelina Orihuela from St George’s College, Argentina, who will be teaching here until half term in February. Our new GAP Student Assistants are Charles Fairfield-Smith, Canberra Grammar School, Australia; Anna Flynn, Loreto Normanhurst School, Australia (Anna will also help in Pringle as an Assistant Housemother); Angus Lockhart, The Southport School, Australia; and David Owen, Lindisfarne College, New Zealand. Last but not least, we welcomed two new pupils: Christopher into the Fourth Form and Andy into the Shell!
Archive: Autumn Term 2006, Lent Term 2007, Summer Term 2007, Autumn Term 2007 |
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Mrs Hunter and I (and my PA Mrs Dow and her husband) spent some time over the course of the holiday visiting Hong Kong. We have many boys from Hong Kong and China at Merchiston and I always think that such an opportunity gives us the chance to see the home country of boys at Merchiston. Many parents will know that Barbara and I flew backwards and forwards to the UK from Africa and indeed, my PA flew to and from Hong Kong for school! So, we feel that we understand what the boys are doing and what the parents are feeling. And so, on my second trip to Hong Kong, we particularly enjoyed hosting a Drinks Party at the Hong Kong Football Club where Campbell, Fergus, Andrew and Justin (see photo) gave a presentation. Campbell, Fergus and Andrew all live in Hong Kong and Justin visits Hong Kong every year. I asked each pupil to go through his first impressions of Merchiston; his biggest challenge at Merchiston; his greatest achievement at Merchiston and the best thing about Merchiston. As part of this presentation we also produced a slideshow of 250 photographs epitomizing the Merchiston way of life. We took the opportunity to meet prospective parents, and indeed agents who act on behalf of the School. 
Highlights of the trip included a boat trip to Lamma Island hosted by a prospective parent Jacqui Donaldson; attending the Hong Kong Sevens; taking the tram up The Peak; an amazing cable car journey to the Po Lam Buddha; and Mrs Hunter and Mrs Dow very much enjoyed being taken to the Jade (and Pearl) Market by Mrs Robson for a bartering lesson! We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Merchiston parents and boys who made us feel so welcome. We were amazed by the infrastructure of Hong Kong, the hospitality of the people, the incredible courtesy and the recognition of the importance of manners. 
My thoughts: It does feel strange still to be working alongside my admin staff on Good Friday, but such are the vagaries of the calendar. This shortened week has seen so much activity: a sub aqua lecture, the annual whole School cross country race, the Watson’s ‘Caritas’ 7s, the 1XI football match against the staff, the Sixth Form Society theatre trip, the J5 trip to the National War Museum, the Lower Sixth attending the Oxford and Cambridge Student Conference, let alone the 175th Anniversary 1XV Rugby Dinner, at which former Scotland Captain and British Lion David Sole (see photo) spoke. I have also particularly enjoyed seeing all the reports of the Shell, the Fifth Form, the Lower Sixth and the Upper Sixth. Our GCSE historians are already in Eastern Europe and our Sixth Form Spanish students in Malaga, and as I write, I see the bus departing for Alpe d’Huez for the annual ski trip! 
My congratulations: This morning I was just staggered to receive four trophies: the Merchiston Rugby Sevens Cups for the Senior 7 and the U15 7 categories. (As regards the latter, a member of staff wrote to me as follows: “This was an extraordinary win in which the boys showed incredible character, resilience, determination and the will to win.”) I congratulated all the members of the U15s (Tom, Sam, Matthew, Gavin, Angus, Callum, Matthew and Alexander) and also the Seniors (Kit, Angus, Chris, Rickie, Alex, Malcolm, Andrew, Scott and Lewis). Furthermore, I was presented with the Miller Drummond Trophy for Curling (which Merchiston has won for the third consecutive year), and the Scottish Schools Fives Championships Cup at senior level. The curling team consisted of Grant, Charlie, Andrew and Mark. Moreover, Fraser (photo left) won the Scottish Schools U17 Cross-
Country Championships; he was also selected to represent Scotland at cross-country in Nottingham last weekend, and to represent the Scottish Schools Athletics Association in the Schools International Cross-Country match against England, Ireland and Wales, to be held at Strathallan next week. Again in rugby, we congratulated the 7XV who won their match against Stewart’s Melville and the D1s who reached the final of the Mowden Sevens; also the Fives team who defeated Sedbergh. We must not take this level of success for granted. However, it is important to note that Merchiston is not obsessed with winning; it is obsessed with encouraging each boy to be the best he can be and to encourage others to be the best they can be. Indeed, not everybody can be a winner, so at Merchiston we seek to inculcate in every boy the joy of participating, whether this be in class work, prep, culture, sport, leadership or voluntary service; by taking part and concentrating on performance, the end results will take care of themselves.
Thus, I was delighted to congratulate so many young men in a myriad of areas of School life. Ben (left) was congratulated on being promoted to Senior Prefect. Bo won a Gold Award in the Physics Olympiad, and Bronze Awards were achieved by Yujie, James, Angus and Haoyang. In the Intermediate Mathematics Challenge, 34 Awards were granted to Merchiston pupils out of 49 entries. Two of our entrants have been selected to progress to the next stage of the Challenge – the Mathematics Olympiad; and 5 have qualified for the European Round. Horace was congratulated on achieving Best in School, a Gold Award, qualification for the Olympiad and scoring 123, the second highest score ever attained by a Merchiston pupil in the Challenge. Moreover, Tom won a Gold Award and qualified for the Olympiad. Gold Awards and qualification for the European Round were gained by Ivan, Kelvin, Scott, Chris and Rong Bing. Other Gold Awards were won by Guy, Kit and Alastair. The Design & Technology Department ‘Student of the Term’ 
Awards, based on a project, some of which was completed in the pupils’ spare time, were won by James (Junior Award), Christopher (GCSE Award) and James (Senior Award). The following were congratulated on their very good January module results: Upper Sixth Formers Angus, James, Alex, Laurence, Haoyang, Bo, Jonathan, Billy, Douglas, Charlie, Keith, Mark, Leo, Stewart, Matthew, Alasdair and Tim; and Lower Sixth Formers Nguyen, Stewart, Dominik, George, Niall, Gary, Jipeng, Alex, Guang’an, Thomas, Dickson, Tommy, Cheng and Takuya.
Arts Honours and Sports Colours: William (left) was congratulated on being awarded Arts Honours for Music. Russell was awarded his Squash Colours; and Jamie and Ross received Squash Half Colours. Rugby Half Colours were granted to David, Glenn, Nicholas, Luke, Tommy, Gregor, Bruce, Alasdair, Joe and Henry.
My highlights: Essentially, they are what is happening in the last two days of this term and in the Easter holiday: the Oxford and Cambridge Student Conference for the Lower Sixth; the Sixth Form Society trip to ‘The 39 Steps’ at the King’s Theatre; the J5 trip to the National War Museum; the Third Form Dinner; the 1XV Rugby Dinner; the GCSE History trip to Eastern Europe; the Sixth Form Spanish trip to Malaga; the ski trip to Alpe D’Huez; and sporting fixtures. Finally, I invited Mr Robin Silk (left), Head of Sixth Form, Housemaster of Rogerson West and History teacher, to say 
Such guidelines are timeless and I think it is vital that the Merchiston community – the pupils, the staff and the parents – continue to uphold them to the utmost. I have sent parents my notes for a recent, extra Headmaster’s Assembly on the importance of courtesy and good manners at all times. Whenever a School receives a complaint – and occasionally members of the public do write to me to complain – we investigate it and then act accordingly. The measure of leadership is not necessarily how one reacts to the complimentary notes but rather one’s response to those which suggest we can do better. However, I was delighted to receive a card from a Balgreen Primary School class teacher after her visit to Merchiston with a P7 and P1 group. She expressed her and the children’s delight with their time at Merchiston, mentioning the respect and obvious happiness in the School, and particularly their fascination with Georgina, our boa constrictor, which lives in the Biology Department! 
My congratulations: This morning I had great pleasure in congratulating so many young men on their award of School Honours or Sports Colours. Arts Honours for Contribution to School Music have been awarded to Charles, Patrick, James, William, William, Malcolm and Grant. Full Rugby Colours have gone to Russell, James, Chris, Sam, Andrew, Kit, Angus, Alex, Benny, Sandy, Rickie and Jamie. The following received Half Rugby Colours: David, Glenn, Nicholas, Luke, Tommy, Gregor, Bruce, Alasdair and Joe. Fives Colours have been awarded to Russell, James, Jamie and Alasdair; the team has been undefeated this year in School matches. Patrick and Nicholas have gained Shooting Colours, and Gregor has been awarded Hockey Colours. Finally, Football Half Colours have gone to Jamie, Alex, Rickie, Kit and Chris. Moreover, I was delighted to congratulate David, Luke and Henry on their selection for the Under 17 Scotland Rugby Squad.
My highlights: I have four this week. It may seem very strange for me to pick out the arrival of examination results for many of our Lower and Upper Sixth – these are the results of the AS and A2 papers the boys sat in January. Many pupils have fared extremely well but each of them is receiving a great deal of care and attention from the Academic Management Team, his Housemaster and his Academic Tutor. I informed the School that Friday 14 March is a rather special date: the month (3) and the day (14) gives 3.14 which is pi to two decimal places. That is why teachers around the world mark this Friday as International Pi Day. I had to be reminded what exactly pi is – my Maths days being long gone! Simply put, it is the number you get when you divide any circle’s circumference by its diameter. My third highlight was the Lower Sixth Parents’ and Pupils’ Meeting, followed by the Sixth Form Dinner for Parents and Pupils on Friday night. It was wonderful to see such a full Memorial Hall for the drinks party, and entertainment was provided by the boys – a pianist, pipers and rock bands. But most of all, it was a pleasure to see so many parents, boys and staff enjoying each other’s company. I took this opportunity to thank Mr and Mrs Robin and Asli Silk for their huge contribution to Merchiston life, and especially the Sixth Form. My fourth highlight is 1833! It has been great fun seeing senior prefects wearing 1833 dress; our J4 and J5 youngsters also wore appropriate attire, as did so many staff. Each member of the School has been presented with a 1833-2008 tie, which is very distinctive! 
My thoughts: You will be delighted to know that tremendous progress is being made on the new Sixth Form Quarter, namely Laidlaw House. The photo of the Bursar and myself on the scaffolding at roof level shows the incredible views that will be enjoyed from the House. This new facility underlines once more Merchiston’s commitment to being a boarding school with day pupils within it. In this morning’s Assembly, we heard about the physicists’ visit to 
from Oxford and Cambridge Universities: James, Angus, Haoyang and Bo. Moreover, Sebastian (a Merchistonian) has been offered a place at Cambridge, and an older Merchistonian, James, will be undertaking a Diploma in Education, also at Cambridge. On the sports front, our congratulations went to Russell, Jamie and Sam on being selected for the 
My highlights: As I have said so often, it is so difficult to pick out highlights. But, clearly, the 175th Anniversary 
on Sunday evening. I would urge all parents who can do so to come to this event, which begins at 7pm. Merchiston is not full of Choral Scholars, but what I like so much about the School is the dynamic chemistry between the boys and the staff, both within and without the classroom, and I can promise you that you will hear some young people singing so well – it is excellent that our boys will be collaborating with girls from St George’s on this occasion.
Finally, we were delighted to welcome Dr McLaughlin, the Headmaster of Casterton School, Cumbria, which is a girls’ school. Merchiston is totally committed to being a boys’ school and we continue to form links with so many girls’ schools, such as Casterton, Kilgraston, Queen Margaret’s, York, St George’s and St Margaret’s. Dr McLaughlin, who is now in his fourth headship, spoke at Assembly about whether there was any real difference between the slave trade, abolished by William Wilberforce, and the mining of tantalum by workers on very low wages to supply all our mobile phones. (Every time we upgrade our mobiles and do not recycle the old ones, are we contributing to injustice?) I mentioned to the School that Dr McLaughlin was brought up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and I was delighted that Michael was able to spend some time talking to Dr McLaughlin – it is indeed salutary to remember that Michael only goes home once a year. He follows in the footsteps of his brothers, Tafadzwa and Tendayi, who also attended Merchiston. 
My thoughts: First of all, I welcomed the School back from Half Term and how apt was the beginning of the 2nd verse of yesterday morning’s hymn 387, Psalm 23: “My soul he doth restore again”. Shortly before Half Term and over the holiday, our Fourth Form visited the First World War Battlefields, and it was excellent to hear that this was a very successful trip. Moreover, our 4th XV went on 
My Generation’ anthology, so this morning it was my great pleasure also to congratulate 28 of our Fourth Form (photo left), whose poems are also being published in this book: Ruaraidh, Barney, Rupert, Duncan, George, Angus, Dennis, Rory, Claude, Edward, Charlie, Philip, Santiago, Chris, Chris, Philip, Iain, Thomas, Jamie, Jay, Teddy, Callum, Jack, Angus, James, Oliver, Tim and Matthew. I also commented that, whilst we may be perceived as being particularly strong in Maths and Science, it is a little known fact that the numbers of boys studying English Literature are also extremely high, and that they too achieve excellent results! Our 1 st XV were congratulated on being given the accolade of ‘Team of the Month’ for January by the Rugby World Magazine. Congratulations also went to our basketball side on defeating Loretto, to the senior football team who had won their match against Edinburgh Academy, and to the Pringle U13 Football Team on their win against Fettes.
the Memorial Hall. Secondly, 
My thoughts: As we come to the end of week 5, yet again the combination of academic work, cultural activities and sport has been stunning. This week alone we have seen the Intermediate Maths Challenge for Shell and the Fifth Form, the J5 trip to the National War Museum of Scotland, the Fourth Form Battlefields trip, 
My thoughts: Last week, we had the tremendous opportunity to listen to Dr Leonard Sax, the author of Why Gender Matters and Boys Adrift. I will return to this later in this diary entry, but I was delighted to hear him say that boys should enjoy writing poetry, and reading and studying English Language and Literature. Accordingly, it was tremendous to be able to congratulate on the platform members of Pringle who have had poems accepted for the anthology “Talking About My Generation”: John, Rory, Nathan, James, Ross, Gregor, Vlad, Aaron, Toby, Jamie, Cameron, Andrew, Geordie, Ben, Douglas and Drummond (photo left). This morning, we very much enjoyed hearing a member of staff, Miss Gayle Cordiner, telling the wonderful 
We were delighted to welcome pupils and staff from Zhuhai Number 1 Middle School in China (photo left) and it was incredible to hear one of their staff, David Wu (centre of photo), speaking such perfect English in his address to the School. On a completely different note, I read out to the School the following newspaper review of Andy Knox’s single 'Feel Me'. (Andy graduated from Merchiston in July 2006.)
My congratulations: This was a full week of congratulations! Peter was congratulated on being a short-listed finalist in the Baillie Gifford National Economics Essay Competition. I congratulated and thanked Andrew, Richard, Stuart, Lewis, Stewart, James, James, Lewis, Glenn, Simon, Nicholas, Tomas, Duart, George, Ali and Alex for undertaking their Bronze Medallion Lifesaving (photo left). This really benefits the School community. Our thanks also went to Adwin and Kelvin for their valuable assistance in organising the Merchiston/St George’s Chinese New Year Dinner. The first of the Lower Sixth Abernethy Leadership Training Courses took place last weekend. In sport, I congratulated our 2nd XV on their win against RGS Newcastle; our 1st XV lost to the quarter-finalists in the English Daily Mail Schools Cup with the last kick of the game… (Sport teaches you a lot about life!) The Colts Fives Team were congratulated on their win against Edinburgh Academy, as were the Basketball Team on winning their match against Lasswade High School in the Scottish Cup Plate Competition. 
My thoughts: Today at assembly Mr and Mrs Charman brought their young son Harry on to the stage for a blessing from the Chaplain. We had a talk by our new Head of History & Politics, Mr Dixon, who gave us an interesting account of the 
My highlights: I make no apology for saying that it was important to celebrate the achievement of Friday night. Hearing Queen’s “We are the champions” and “We will rock you” resounding out all over the Memorial Hall, with the help of Mr Nicholls, gave the morning a real sense of occasion. I wrote the following note to the School community:
This was a tremendous Whole School night and it is absolutely right that we should celebrate success. Again, I wish to congratulate all the players, the coaches, the supporters, and all the staff at this time. I often think that head teachers should keep their feet on the ground in both triumph and adversity, and that is why I try to remain level-headed in both situations. However, that does not take away from the fact that I feel immensely proud of this achievement and the way in which the whole School has pulled together. So, we celebrate, and we move on: we continue to focus on our academic work and on our cultural activities (and the Choral Society Concert is a further Whole School occasion later this term); we continue to develop as games players and to become better leaders; we continue to look after one another within and without our School community, particularly those who are less fortunate than ourselves.”
My thoughts: Believe it or not, it is extremely difficult to encapsulate my thoughts, congratulations and highlights in a brief diary entry! Last week, we welcomed Mr Ben Beardmore-Gray, the new Headmaster of Mowden Hall, and it was extremely gratifying to hear him say that he was bowled over by the pupils, the staff and the presentation of the School. Moreover, at this morning’s Headmaster’s Assembly, we welcomed Mr Peter Sutton (left, with Sixth Formers Angus and Ben), the new Headmaster of Ardvreck; in his time, he served with the Black Watch, and he was Chaplain at three schools before going to Ardvreck. His talk was about the Reel of the 51st Division, a highly popular Scottish dance, and he told us a little about the history of the dance, based on St Andrew’s Cross – it is all about reaching out and inclusivity. Do click on the link to find out more about a 
My congratulations: First of all, I congratulated Bo (left) on being awarded a Certificate of Distinction in the 2007/08 British Mathematical Olympiad, placing him in the top 300 in the UK and the Best in Scotland. Our congratulations also went to the following six upcoming internationalists – a remarkable achievement for, after all, we are a relatively small school: Cameron has been selected for the Scotland U19 Rugby Training Squad; Jamie, Sam and Russell for the Scotland U18 Rugby Training Squad (photo below). Patrick and Peter have been selected for the Scotland U15 Cricket Squad, which tours South Africa at Easter. 
My highlights: I have four from the past week. First, it was exciting to watch our 1st XV reach the final of the Scottish Schools Cup on Wednesday, yet what was just as pleasing as the tremendous play on the pitch was the sense of spirit amongst their supporters, who conducted themselves in enthusiastic and sportsmanlike fashion. Some of you may not know that I have never played rugby in my life! But as a sport, it has a wonderful ability to bring people together. I also reminded the School and the players that, win or lose on Friday night, I will think no differently of them. The final promises to be a tremendous school occasion at Murrayfield. Secondly, on Friday I met a Merchiston parent who had flown in from Germany for the Burns Supper on Saturday, and he offered to help us by giving a Sixth Form Society talk on Engineering, as part of the Enlightened Curriculum at Merchiston. What was so pleasing was that so many of our Sixth Form voluntarily attended Dr Hertle’s talk. The variety of our Enlightened Curriculum events continues to amaze me: last week, the Lower Sixth attended a Personal & Social Education talk on Mental Health and Well-Being, and A Level English pupils went to the Royal Lyceum Theatre to see Tennessee Williams’s A Glass Menagerie. We must continue to broaden the boys’ horizons outside the classroom. Finally, a quiet highlight was Sunday evening’s Chapel Service, an Epiphany Eucharist. The boarders enjoyed the Service, and then those who wished to do so were invited to attend the Eucharist afterwards. It is a great pleasure to see the growing numbers of boys who choose to do this. So, as you can see, this has, yet again, been a very varied week at Merchiston, involving the pupils, the parents and the staff. 
My thoughts: I very much enjoyed listening to Jamie and Xander speaking about their trip to the Glasgow Science Centre at this morning’s Headmaster’s Assembly. Alastair reported on the 2nd XV Tour to Belfast in the holidays, and we saw Jordi model our new tracksuit! Returning to the Belfast Rugby Tour, I was presented with the David Stranock Memorial Quaich. It has been agreed that this trophy would be played for every year on the annual Belfast Tour and Merchiston won the Quaich in the match against Royal Belfast Academical Institute. Many of you will remember David who was an outstanding A Level and GCSE Biology teacher, a gifted photographer, editor of the sports section of The Merchistonian and editor of The Merchistonian Newsletter, as well as a tremendous coach of rugby and cricket. 
My congratulations: I congratulated Philip on gaining an All-Rounder Award; Tom on passing Grade 8 Piano with merit, and William on passing Grade 8 Alto Saxophone. I do think it is interesting that these two young men like learning; they also like sport; and they like leading. Finally, our congratulations went to Hamilton on being named the Design and Technology GCSE Student of last term. In order to achieve this honour, a pupil has to demonstrate one or more of the following criteria: outstanding commitment to the Department (spending non-contact time, activities, prep sessions), outstanding independence and quality of work, and/or significant effort and improvement. I also congratulated Pringle on winning the Prep Schools Indoor Football Competition. Finally, I thanked the School, the readers and the Chaplaincy Team for their contribution to Sunday’s Whole School Service – my address was entitled “Blessing, Blessed, Beatitudes and Buns on Sunday”. 
My highlights: My highlights of last week can be summed up with the word ‘Sunday’. First, we welcomed Mrs King and Mrs McNicol from the Teenage Cancer Trust. Mr and Mrs King lost their daughter, Zoe, to cancer just before Christmas, and the Sunday Service collection has gone to this charity. Secondly, Barbara and I were amazed at how many parents travelled so far to attend the Drinks Party for Chalmers West and Chalmers East parents in that hidden gem in the School, the 6A Club! Thirdly, as I was walking to the Sports Hall to watch the Prep Schools Football Competition, I saw some of our boys playing outside Rogerson and in the West Gardens, and Sixth Formers studying in the Spawforth Library for modular exams. A glimpse of our all-encompassing lifestyle, all in one day!
And finally: On suitable occasions throughout the course of this celebratory 175th Anniversary year, we are going to give further snippets of information about the history of Merchiston to the members of the School. So, in Headmaster’s Assembly, I took much joy in reading out the following from the Merchiston A-Z. ‘D is for Desk Tops. The following letter appeared in The Merchistonian of December 1909. “Dear Sirs – I wish to ask what has become of the old desks out of the Assembly Hall. Those desks were very interesting on account of the names of some very old Merchistonians which were carved on them. Could not some fit place be found for them where they might still be seen by the public? More than one Merchistonian has inquired after their fate. Hoping that steps may be taken for their speedy recovery. – I am, etc. Wood Carver.”’ Of course, the old desks have been preserved and form part of the decoration in the Old Library!
To wind the clock back to last term: the final Headmaster’s Assembly of Tuesday 11 December reflected on most of the achievements in the last week of term, but on the final day of last term our 1st XV won their rugby fixture against Methodist College, Belfast, one of the leading rugby playing schools in Northern Ireland. The Whole School Service of Nine Lessons and Carols saw some wonderful singing by the Choir (and indeed the congregation!). My thanks to the Choir, the readers, the Chaplaincy Team and the staff for their contribution to this Service. Over the course of the holiday, the 2nd XV went on its annual tour to Belfast and this saw the inauguration of the David Stranock Quaich for the fixture between Merchiston and Royal Belfast Academical Institute.
My highlights: The highlight of the Assembly (especially for the boys!) was the launch of our 175th Anniversary celebration with a
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