 I always think it is important to present to the School as many visitors as possible in order to keep us looking outwards. Over the course of the term, we have welcomed two new prep school Headmasters, Ben Beardmore-Gray from Mowden Hall, Northumberland, and Peter Sutton from Ardvreck, Perthshire. These were their first respective visits to Merchiston to meet staff and pupils, including their own school’s former pupils, and to see Merchiston at first hand in order to be able to discuss it as a potential school of entry with parents. The Germantown Friends School exchange pupils, Charlie Bentley and Henry Shah, spent five weeks at Merchiston, and we also welcomed the Midnite Youth Theatre Company from Perth, Australia. The Headmaster of Casterton School, Lancashire, Dr Peter McLaughlin, also visited us and spoke to us in Assembly. Merchiston has links with both Casterton and Queen Margaret’s York, which are English girls’ schools. Maureen McGinn, the Chief Executive of the Laidlaw Youth Trust, spoke to us in Assembly about the importance of making a difference. Furthermore, we must not forget that the Army, Navy and Royal Marines Liaison Officers play an important role in looking after boys who are interested in joining the Armed Services. You will remember that Merchiston has formed a partnership with Zhuhai No 1 Middle School, Guangdong, China, and it was a great pleasure to welcome boys and girls and teachers from this school to Merchiston for two weeks. Later in the year, a number of our staff and pupils will have the chance to visit Zhuhai No 1 Middle School, and I am most grateful to Michelle Hsu-McWilliam, Paul Corbett and Hélène Knights for taking this initiative forward.
 A notable visitor this term was Dr Leonard Sax, who led three seminars for visiting Heads of boys’ schools, staff and parents respectively on ‘Why Gender Matters’ and ‘Boys Adrift’. Copies of his presentations can be found on the Merchiston parentnet. It was remarkable to hear him say that boys have to be taught to be gentle people, or indeed gentle men – 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 gentle man is about far more than politeness and Chaucer’s courtesy: it is about virtues like duty, sensitivity, honour, loyalty and perseverance. Of course, there is a danger of applauding a speaker who feeds our beliefs. However, this was a fascinating day and such research may well go some way yet in encouraging a swing back to single sex schooling.
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