The Department aims to guide pupils to success in public examinations, but also to impart a love of reading and the beginnings of an appreciation of literature that will continue to evolve over the rest of a pupil's adult life.  Self-confidence in speaking, the ability to marshal an argument or express personal feelings (both orally and on paper), and a sensitivity to the use of language in literary and non-literary contexts are all consciously promoted in the work of the Department. 

In addition, we aim to encourage pupils:  

• to respond searchingly and personally to what they read
• to think independently and analytically
• to express themselves with clarity and accuracy
• to listen sensitively and critically in a variety of situations.

In the context of our single sex environment, we believe that literary study feeds our pupils' inner lives and develops their emotional vocabulary so that they can better understand themselves and their needs, and so interact more effectively with others.
 

Nigel Mortimer MA DPhil: Head of Department
Dr Mortimer is an Assistant Head, Custodian of the Spawforth Library, Head of Religious Studies, Head of Classical Civilization; Formerly OCR GCSE Examiner (1996-2004).

Paul Williams BA
Mr Williams is Second in Department. He also teaches Classical Civilization. He was Housemaster of Rogerson East from 1989-2000, and an OCR GCSE Speaking and Listening Moderator (2004-6).

Peter Hall MA
Mr Hall is in charge of Merchiston Juniors, and has particular responsibility for the III Form. He was formerly Director of Drama.

Nigel Rickard BA ACCEG
Mr Rickard is Deputy Head. He was Rogerson West Housemaster from 1986-93 and Common Room President from 1994-8.

Stephanie Binnie MA: Director of Drama,
Mrs Binnie also teaches Classical Civilization and  Latin. She tutors in Laidlaw House, where she was  formerly Assistant Housemaster.

Gail Cunningham BA
Ms Cunningham a part time teacher in the English Department. She is the Editor of The Merchistonian magazine and, with Mr Clayton, runs Debating as a school activity.

Jonathan Timms MA
Mr Timms joined the Department in 2010, and is Assistant Housemaster in Rogerson.

Our impressive academic results speak for themselves: in 2006 we were deemed the fourth best department at GCSE in the UK and the Department has frequently attained the highest number of A* grades at GCSE in the School.  In 2008 the CEM Centre at the University of Durham showed that the performance of English Literature candidates at Merchiston was deemed to be so good that 'it could not be attributed to statistical fluctuation' and 'the performance can be attributed, with confidence, to the teaching and learning process': the statistical likelihood of this level of performance is 1:100.  We are pleased that a growing number of boys choose to follow literature courses in higher education; among these, we are very proud of our impressive record of Oxbridge successes.

However, studying English Literature is not really about examinations at all.  The Department's primary aim is unabashedly to impart a love of reading and the beginnings of an appreciation of literature that will continue to evolve over the rest of a pupil's life.  As part of this campaign, in collaboration with the Spawforth Librarian, we run a busy programme of author visits (recently, Neil Gaiman, Chris Ryan, and Nicola Morgan); moreover, for the past ten years a good number of junior pupils have fared so well in the annual national 'Young Writers' poetry completion that their poems have been selected for publication.

The Department administers four other School Prizes, each in Pringle (I, II, III), Junior (IV, Shell, V), and Senior (LVI, UVI) categories:

The Kingsley Darling Verse Prize for verse composition (first awarded 1934)
The Edwards Reading Prize for reading aloud (first awarded 1944)
The School Fiction Prize for prose fiction (first awarded 1998)
The Peyrebrune Declamations for public recitation (first awarded 1999)

The winning entry for the School Fiction Prize is published in the School magazine, as are the winning poems in each category of the Kingsley Darling Verse Prize.

Our termly 'Bag-a-Book' bookfairs remain popular and we continue to take boys to the theatre; in June 2009 I passed personal milestone in conducting my hundredth such trip as Head of Department here.  The annual Lower Sixth trip to Stratford-upon-Avon celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009 also: this excursion not only provides an opportunity to watch two RSC productions, but also brings to life the historical context in which Shakespeare was working.