BUSY BEE
The magazine of Fettes Prep 2023-24
Headmaster’s Welcome and Prep Vision
Charlie and Becky Minogue
Welcome to the latest publication of Busy Bee which I hope you enjoy reading as much as we have enjoyed putting it together!
This magazine aims to complete the impossible task of distilling the essence of what we get up to over the course of a school year and I hope that reading it gives you a sense of the range of opportunities available to children at Fettes Prep.
This is an exciting time for Fettes Prep as we have launched our new vision to parents and the outside world. It is, as we all know, a world that is changing incredibly quickly: in 2016, research for the World Economic Forum concluded that 65% of primary aged children would be doing jobs that didn’t currently exist and I suspect that the number may now need to be revised upwards.
At Fettes Prep, we believe that schools have a duty to prepare children for the world as it is now and will be in the future, rather than how the world has been in the past. As a result, we have developed a new vision for the school - ‘Prep for Life’ - that sets out in 3 strands how we plan to give our children an advantage in the next stages of their education and the rest of life in general.
Prep for the Future
We have planned various projects designed to give children the skills they will need to thrive in a fast-changing world. The keystone project focuses on our teaching, and our outstanding teachers are redesigning their lesson planning to teach the required knowledge from their schemes while encouraging the children to think in very particular ways. Knowledge is therefore being acquired in practising critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, resilience and empathy and this innovative approach is resulting in some very interesting lessons.
Prep for Fettes Senior School
A range of projects will ensure we provide the best possible preparation for Fettes Senior School. Children at Fettes Prep transfer without the need for a terminal exam and this allows us to prepare them more holistically for the opportunities they will have in what is a world class senior school.
Prep for a Kinder Tomorrow
Kindness has always mattered to us as a school, but schools must be proactive in combating negative influences on their culture from social media and the internet. In seeking to embed kindness into all aspects of school life we will be reviewing pupil leadership, rewards, sanctions and shared language, as well as incorporating the teaching and assessment of empathy through normal curriculum lessons. This innovative approach was featured in a recent article in The Sunday Times, as was our desire to start a conversation with parents on how we might work together to reduce children’s exposure to social media at a young age.
I look forward to trumpeting the various initiatives that will stem from this vision, and to watching the children of Fettes Prep benefitting in the years to come.
Governor’s Message
Hugh Bruce-Watt
It’s been my privilege to have been a Governor member of the Fettes Prep School Committee since 2016.
Time has certainly flown by and as we come to the end of another Summer term, I’m delighted to write a few words about the thriving community that is the Prep School. Come to think of it, the Headmaster of the Junior School (as it was known then) taught me as one of the Upper 6 English A level class in an upstairs classroom in Malcolm House in 1976 – so my connections go back too long to contemplate.
The sheer number and variety of activities at the Prep School is, to me, truly astonishing. A look back at this term alone tells a great story – Hamilton, Hadrian’s Wall, Orchestra Day, Walk and Talk Club, U13 Netball Champions, Earth Day, “being bored”, Charity Runs, Fidra the Therapet to name genuinely what are just a few highlights alongside the great sport, music and drama which are a regular feature of Prep School life. And without singling anything out, I hope I can single out ‘The Vackees’ for special mention as a real highpoint of the term for me. Congratulations to everyone involved in a real coming together of talent and teamwork.
Those who attended the launch of the Prep School vision on 3 June were I hope inspired by the work Charlie and his staff have been doing to develop and cement the excellence that exists in the Prep School. Charlie has brought real enthusiasm and drive to the School Improvement Plan and crucially has the committed support of all his staff. As a former Prep School parent I would have been delighted by the direction of travel in the three areas of curriculum, preparation for the next stage and kindness and inclusivity.
Aside from regular Governors’ meetings, visiting the Prep School is always a great pleasure. I’m always struck by how everything takes place in the context of the Prep School’s culture of care, vitality and learning. Each moment is about community, teamwork, social interaction and learning. That doesn’t happen without a truly dedicated and talented team across academic, pastoral and co-curricular and I’d like to pay tribute to all of the Prep School staff – and sign off by wishing Andy and Alex Rathborne a long and happy retirement. Sad there will be no more Rathborne’s reminders! Good wishes too to all those moving on to the College or other destinations in September. I hope everyone has an excellent summer and a well-deserved rest.
Learning
We are not only focussed on what we are learning, but how we are learning, with an increasing emphasis on our pupils developing the skills of critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, resilience and empathy. In the photo above our pupils enjoy puzzling out some maths rules, evaluating evidence and drawing conclusions whilst being assessed on their collaboration. This embeds the skills into their learning and makes it huge fun.
LEARNING TRIPS
Getting out and about on various trips is always popular – our pupils enjoyed a wide range of trips throughout the year which included: a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, Hopetoun House, Vindolanda in Northumberland and nature visits to Aberfeldy and Callander and a visit to the theatre to see ‘Six – The Musical’.
KINDNESS AND INCLUSIVITY
Kindness and inclusivity are fundamental to all that we do, and opportunities to encourage these values in our pupils abound both in and outside of the classroom.
From the final message of ‘loving kindness’ from the first Headmaster of Fettes College, Dr Potts, through to our actions now, and plans for the future, this fundamental thread runs deep and will always be cherished.
The School that puts kindness at the core of its curriculum
The Sunday Times
Boarding Life
ARRAN HOUSE
During all three terms, the boys have enjoyed many activities and opportunities in and about the house. Our new games room with darts board, air hockey, pool and gaming console has provided hours of fun. The boys have enjoyed cooking meals and snacks in the evenings.
We have had many early morning gym sessions, charity running and house football events with senior houses. We have sung songs, played games, watched movies, celebrated birthdays and many successes throughout the year – and generally have had a lot of fun in moving forward together!
ARRAN HOUSEOUT AND ABOUT
Our Sunday activities programme has been filled with lots of exciting activities which have included trampolining at Ryze, sailing and kayaking at Port Edgar, creating our own ceramic pottery, chilling at the cinema and enjoying rounds of crazy golf. The experiences that the Arran Family have had together have created memories for life! Togetherness and family are what we are about and to have these opportunities as a house every week has been invaluable in helping all our boys grow.
ARRAN HOUSEADVENTURES
Arran on Arran - we had an amazing time visiting the Isle of Arran and climbing Goat Fell in the Autumn term. The experience of taking the ferry and the resilience of the boys climbing in adverse weather will be remembered for a long time! In the Spring term the boys headed to the Cairngorms to a bothy and participated in an escape and evade exercise on snow-capped mountains. Map and compass reading and teamwork were key to the success of the weekend. A brilliant weekend was capped off with some sledging and snowball fights! Many amazing and lasting memories were made on both adventures. The Arran boys teamed up with Iona House for this year’s summer challenge. The Benmore Outdoor Centre hosted the pupils - activities on offer included canoeing, kayaking and gorge walking.
IONA HOUSE
It is great to reflect over the year and to think of the times we have all gathered together as a house, whether it be enjoying a Thanksgiving Dinner, making sushi (with a guest appearance from the Headmaster) or cooking pancakes for Sunday breakfast we have lots of fun in all that we do together.
Baking is another of our many activities and we especially enjoy sampling the results of this! Everyone enjoyed making brownies and decorating cupcakes for a school fundraiser.
IONA HOUSEOUT AND ABOUT
Our weekly Sunday trips are varied and great fun! We visited Conifox early in the year and learned how to heat and re-mould plastic to create keyrings, soap dishes and combs. During the colder winter months it is good to do more indoor activities and our visit to Alien Rock climbing wall was a great way to warm up muscles on a cold day; and there was no fear of heights!
Our visit to Jupiter Artland provided the perfect opportunity to experience some culture and art outdoors in the Summer term.
IONA HOUSEADVENTURES
This year, on a lovely sunny day in September we took to the water from from North Berwick on a boat trip to see the Gannets on Bass Rock. It wasn’t the smoothest crossing, and our sea legs were definitely tested, but it was worth it to see the magnificent birds. We stayed overnight in Berwick hostel before enjoying more water-based activity the following day at Foxlake – being pulled across the lake at speed on a Ringo and then trying to get around the inflatable course without falling, or being pushed, in!
For our Spring Adventure we enjoyed a game of Monopoly around Edinburgh, where the route followed is dictated by the roll of a dice and no two teams go the same way. The following day we set off for Glasgow on the train, with picnic in hand, to attend the Musical production of Charlie and ChocolateFactory
Special memories are created on our Adventure weekends!
School Life
REMEMBRANCE
Pupils, parents and staff came together as a community to remember all who lost their lives in conflict. The laying of poppies was followed by a Remembrance Service in Chapel.
BONFIRE NIGHT
Thanks to the expertise of Mr Hall who sets up our fireworks each year and our Estates team who gather materials for the bonfire, pupils and parents enjoyed one of the highlights in our community calendarBonfire Night! We had a great turn out for a fabulous display which was followed by a BBQ, a lively ceilidh and indoor and outdoor games.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Every year the fabulous Fettes Catering team pull out all the stops to provide us with a delicious Christmas Lunch, and this year’s event was the usual joyful and raucous occasion. The entire meal is appreciated by us all and the highlight is always the ‘chocolate bombs’ which are dropped onto the tables at the end of the evening!
BURNS SUPPER
We celebrated the Bard in style with superb speeches, magnificent music and amusing acting – a lively ceilidh for 2nd Form rounded off a great Burns Supper evening.
WORLD BOOK DAY
We love reading at Fettes Prep, and this year’s World Book Day featured a fashion show of all of the book themed costumes as well as readings of our favourite books.
Assembly was followed by a delicious and spectacular Hogwarts themed lunch, and we enjoyed taking part in the bookmark designing competition later in the day. Additionally, we ran a Book Drive to help a local school start their own library.
We had great fun immersing ourselves in the joy that books and reading brings.
FIELD DAY
Field Day offers us the opportunity to head out of the classroom and learn together in outdoor environments. This year, M and P Forms went to Edinburgh Zoo while S Form caught the ferry across to the historic Inchcolm Island. T Form took up the challenge of bulb planting among the war graves at Warriston Cemetery, while 1st Form boarded a coach to Glasgow’s famous Science Park. 2nd Form walked to Edinburgh’s old town to visit Mary King’s Close and other famous landmarks.
CHARITY RUNS
The annual Charity Runs are always greatly anticipated and are a fun way to raise funds for a charity of our choice. This year’s choice of charity was World Land Trust which works with partners around the world to buy up vital important pieces of biodiversity rich land.
EARTH DAY
This year’s Earth Day topic was Land, and once again we were all out and about. M and P Forms took advantage of the expertise available at the Royal Botanic Garden, S Form focussed on issues around land and food by visiting Social Bite and The Granton Community Gardeners project. T Form headed to the Pentlands to learn about the importance of connection to land and to look closely at the landscape around them. Meanwhile, 1st Form visited Roslin Glen to immerse themselves in a beautiful Scottish landscape and 2nd Form set off for the Water of Leith for land-based workshops and volunteering.
The Arts
- Music, Piping & Drumming, Drama, Art
ART
Examples of the Art we studied in the Autum and Spring terms and our Summer Exhibition
Autumn Term
This term M Form have focussed on the exploration of cave paintings, experimenting with colours and annotating their sketchbooks. They also completed large-scale chalk and charcoal work based on handprints.
P Form honed their skills in various artistic media centred around the theme of ‘Fruit and Veg’. Exploring collage, observational drawing, and painting inspired by Picasso’s ‘Still-life with Fish, Fork and Slice of Lemon’ produced some creative outcomes.
S Form have delved into a variety of media techniques on the theme of ‘Buildings’, utilising different materials to create textural rubbings, and activities such as collecting, sticking, drawing, making connections, and printing techniques.
Spring Term
M Form were introduced to the idea that many artists use flora and fauna to inspire their work. They also experimented with new materials and practised cutting and collage skills to help explore shape and colour to build their own collage of insects.
P Form created a series of images based on the work of Ruth Piper. First, they designed their own paper abstract artwork using bold colour and patterns such as lines, swirls, circles and cogs shapes. This led into making a cardboard relief sculpture, created by splitting the corrugated cardboard, stacking and cutting shapes before layering up to create a 3D relief work.
P Form looked at the work of Jean Michel Basquiat for inspiration, starting by studying skeletons and drawing them using a variety of media – graphite sticks, charcoal, oil pastels and poster paint.
S Form looked at the work of Kandinsky. This started with mark making to sound to inspire abstract shapes, lines and bright colours which then helped the pupils to create their very own ‘Kandinsky inspired’ art piece.
Autumn Term
T Form explored diverse drawing techniques, including observational drawing to create a still-life composition. Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Sprig of flowering almond in a glass’, the pupils used oil pastel, linseed oil, and graphite on plaster, resulting in beautiful plaster blocks with tactile qualities.
1st Form studied the theme of ‘Journey/Place’ through drawing in their sketchbooks, incorporating imaginative and observational expressive mark-making techniques. They developed the project by studying the work of Tom Phillips before planning and creating their ‘tin label’.
Spring Term
T Form looked at the life and work of Kimmy Cantrell over the Spring term, discussing his frequent use of pattern, colour and shape. This inspired us to then create a visually balanced piece of work crafted from card.
1st Form created a variety of work based on cells, initially looking at the form and pattern elements of cell shapes before isolating and simplifying what they saw. Much fun was had in using oil based marbling inks to create swirls, blobs and droplets on the surface before catching them on paper.
1st Form also worked on a mixed media poster for the school production of ‘The Vackees’. This was followed by a short project to learn about ‘quality of line’, using the colour palette of Paul Klee to paint an abstract composition in watercolour.
2nd Form completed some beautiful drawings of star anise before learning the skills of lino printing and printing them on a colourful, textured background.
SUMMER EXHIBITION
The Summer Exhibition was a showcase for all the wonderful art created by our pupils.
Each pupil exhibited a piece of work which ranged from print to painting, collage to clay, painting to paper fashion, and sculpture to mixed media; pupils even ‘drew’ with masking tape! The variety of scale added extra interest, as did the contrast between the vibrancy of the colourful collage, and the drama of the monochrome black and white charcoal studies.
DRAMA - ‘THE VACKEES’
‘The Vackees’ conveyed the turmoil of the Second World War, when millions of children were moved out of endangered cities to the country, and in essence was a tribute to those who experienced such upheaval in their young lives. The audience were transported with the evacuees, in a gloriously decorated theatre and on a dramatically varied journey, filled with fun as well as fear. The huge number of participants (over a hundred) added to the challenge of the process, and made a tremendous impact on stage. A highly accomplished band accompanied the singing, as well as several terrific ensemble numbers.
The acting was sophisticated and empathetic, delivering a totally effective piece of theatre. The audience for each performance were engaged and uplifted by the exuberance and enthusiasm of all the pupils in this truly memorable production.
DRAMA - ‘LITTLE MATCH GIRL’
This special seasonal production was, for the very first time, presented in our Theatre. This facilitated the creation of a magical set and use of effective lighting, including a luminescent moon, adding to the visual impact. With characterisations complemented by the perfect array of costumes, M & P Form performed to an intrigued audience. It was an unusual adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s well-known fairytale, woven together with the traditional Nativity story, to make ‘The Little Match Girl’s Christmas’.
While preparing, the pupils contributed their own ideas, developed acting skills and learned much about collaboration and personal commitment. This undoubtedly contributed to a final performance which engaged and touched the audience in equal measure.
Everyone performing was involved in delivering the sensitively crafted script, as well as singing the poignant lyrics of some contemporary songs and more familiar carols. In a further collective effort from members of the cast, additional entertainment was provided with a jaunty jig of a dance!
MUSIC
The last few weeks of the Autumn term were extremely busy for our young musicians in the Prep School. The Autumn Concert was a cornucopia of musical delights with a vast number of singers and instrumentalists performing with gusto and some astonishing skill. The sheer variety of ensembles was as impressive as ever: Pipes & Drums, Orchestra, String Group, African Drumming Ensemble, Jordan Singers, Gallery Choir and Chamber Choir as well as some very impressive instrumental soloists. Chamber Choir sang beautifully at Canongate Kirk for the Combined Armed Forces’ annual Carol Service. Our Choral Society gave a moving performance of Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams to close this special event. Our School Carol Service gave the choirs a chance to shine again, with poignant solos and soaring descants to send us all on our way into the end of term.
The Spring term was as busy as ever for our Prep School musicians with Piano and Instrumental Competitions giving platforms to our talented players. It was exciting to see so many pupils involved and our visiting adjudicators were seriously impressed with the standard of playing.
Our Informal Concerts have been as popular as ever with lots of lovely performances from pupils from all year groups sharing their talent.
A large number of pupils represented the school in the Edinburgh Competition Festival with several winning their class and many being awarded ‘highly commended’.
The Spring Concert at Stockbridge Church was a tour de force as always with stunning performances from our choirs and ensembles.
The Summer term was packed full of musical magic. Our Informal Concerts have showcased a record number of performers with delightful singing and playing from everyone. The Choral Society worked hard towards their performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria – their singing in the Chapel was a tour de force; accompanied by a professional orchestra and soloists which included parents, teachers, Senior School and Prep School children as well as a few Old Fettesians.
Our Prep School Singing Competition gave a delightful summer’s evening entertainment, and our adjudicator was blown away by the standard of the performances.
The Summer Concert involved the whole school singing three uplifting songs, two of which were dedicated to Mr and Mrs Rathborne to thank them and to wish them well in their retirement. It was wonderful to see so many young musicians taking to the stage either singing, playing solos or as part of ensemble - a truly joyous celebration of the musical year!
MUSIC - SCOTTISH OPERA
Throughout the year we enjoyed two visits from Scottish Opera, the second of which saw S and T Form pupils give the most exuberant performance of ‘Vikings the Quest for the Dragon’s Treasure’ in collaboration with musicians from Scottish Opera. This mini opera was performed in the theatre to a full house; the pupils excelled themselves and it was wonderful to see them singing and acting donned in Scottish Opera costumes.
Co-curricular Activities
ACTIVITIES PROGRAMME
The activities programme offered a vast range of options throughout the year, so there was something new for everyone to try each term.
The sessions gave pupils the chance to spend time with friends old and new and learn or improve their skills together. From debating to cookery, disc golf to dry slope skiing, gymnastics to STEM club, and much more, Tuesday and Thursday evenings were a fun experience for all.
END OF TERM SUMMER TRIPS
Once exams were over, thoughts turned towards the much-anticipated end of term trips. 1st Form and S Form were away on exciting overnight camps. S Form joined Wild Outdoors at the base of Nisbet Farm near Jedburgh for an action-packed couple of days learning life skills including shelter and fire building, cooking their own food and some fun games of hide and seek in ghillie suits. 1st Form based themselves at Dounans Centre in Aberfoyle where they took part in team building activities which included archery, scrambling and tree climbing.
M and P Forms went to East Links Country Park for a day of fun play whilst T Form enjoyed pizza and ice cream on Portobello Beach. 2nd Form had a day on the Union Canal and a day at Yellowcraigs Beach.
CLOTHES EXCHANGE
During the Spring term our attention turned to fashion and its impact on the planet. We held an assembly which included a video contribution from Earthshot Finalists, Colorifix, a UK company who are developing environmentally friendly biological dyes. We heard how our clothing choices and purchasing patterns can affect the planet, and the assembly was followed by a clothes exchange, where we looked to renew our wardrobes by swapping rather than buying new!
PRISTINE SEAS PLANT AND BAKE
Having started growing our plants for the Pristine Seas fundraiser in the summer of 2023, we were thrilled to see how much everything had grown by the Autumn term! We held our sale in September and added sea themed cakes into our offering. Thanks to a fantastic team effort, we raised £1,200 for Pristine Seas, which will go towards helping them in their quest to create more marine protected areas in the world’s oceans.
PREP GARDEN
Our beautiful Prep Garden bursts to colourful life in the Summer term, and we have been busy with tasks including adding more pollinator friendly plants, growing and potting our own plants from seed, painting planters, and cleaning our greenhouse!
Fettes College Head, Helen Harrison and her husband Rob were guests of honour at our summer Garden Party. Our youngest gardeners proudly showed the results of the effort they have put in during the regular break time garden clubs and the Junior Award Scheme garden sessions.
COMMUNITY ACTION
Social Bite
Taking action to help others is a great life lesson and a few examples of community action included fundraising for Social Bite’s Festival of Kindness. Following a whole school collection of gifts for those who would otherwise go without, we continued our collaboration with S Form’s visit to the Social Bite café on Rose Street to learn more about the subject of food poverty as well as donating to a Social Bite lunch for the homeless.
Community Gardens
2nd Form visited the Water of Leith and spent time clearing the footpaths, enabling better access for all; S Form spent an afternoon at the headquarters of Granton Community Gardeners, placing wood bark to prevent the spread of weeds.
Sport
GIRLS HOCKEY
The girls played approximately 55 weekly fixtures across the age groups over the season. The Under 9s and 10 enjoyed some fun tournament style matches, where each school had numerous teams and they played several games across the afternoon. The Under 11’s worked hard to build their skills and understanding of the game and the A team rose to the challenges of tournament play in two events. It was great to get 4 or 5 weekly fixtures for our Under 12 and 13 girls. The Under 13 A and B girls enjoyed a trip down to RGS Newcastle early in the season, and it was good preparation for the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) qualifier for the A team. The girls played incredibly well in the qualifier winning all their pool matches. After two close matches in the round robin final they finished 3rd overall. They also reached the quarter finals of the East District Tournament. We were excited to have six of our girls representing Saltires this year, with one girl also representing East District U14 at the Inter District Tournament.
BOYS HOCKEY
A shorter season but a busy one for boys hockey. The under 12 and 13 boys were able to field six teams and we had great block fixtures for all these teams against Merchiston and Cargilfield. The Under 13 A team led from the front in an impressive manner. They came 2nd in the qualifier to reach the national finals. It was particularly exciting to see the Under 12s showing great potential for next year. The Under 11 and 10 boys got stuck into some exciting games throughout the season. The Under 11 A boys took part in two tournaments and reached the semi finals in both. The Under 9 mini matches were full of their usual fun and entertainment, but not missing out on some great competitive spirit.
RUGBY
The U13 rugby teams had a season full of fun, togetherness and a gritty determination. It was a pleasure seeing our boys move forward in every training session. The attitude of never giving up and a tight friendship bond was evident from the start with this year’s group.
The Under 11s had a season full of learnings in ups and downs. There were new boys that had never played the game before and now love it!
The U9s had a fun filled season of understanding, evasive running and learning the basic skills through contact and touch rugby. Our philosophy is simple – play to space. That was very evident in every year group. The rugby future is very bright at Fettes Prep.
NETBALL
Our netball teams had a very successful season with all the girls taking part in several fixtures across all nine teams. The junior teams showcased all that they had learned over the season and played exceptional netball. There was a huge amount of depth in the U13 and U12 squads who were still able to compete at a high level and produce brilliant wins. The U13A team had an unforgettable season, winning the Scottish Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) Tournament, which meant a trip down to Millfield to compete in the National IAPS competition to play against the top schools in the UK. This was the first time that Fettes Prep had made it to the finals and the girls performed brilliantly, finishing 2nd in their pool and losing out in the quarter finals by just 2 goals. The team went unbeaten in the rest of the season including the Scottish Cup competition where we won the final 35-18.
CRICKET - BOYS, GIRLS AND MIXED TEAMS
We had a Summer term full of development at every level. The U9s enjoyed learning the core skills and developed their understanding of how the game of cricket works.
The U11s enjoyed pushing on their skills, playing pairs cricket in both hardball and softball formats with great success. Many players new to the game fell in love with it and they can’t wait for next year!
A very large group of U13s had great fun in both hardball and softball formats. There were some very competitive fixtures for both the boys and the girls and some of our players have achieved selection for representative teams and clubs outside school. A wonderful term of cricket at Fettes Prep. Roll on next year!
CROSS COUNTRY
Our pupils have been training during lunch breaks throughout the season and were well prepared for the various cross country events in the Spring term. House cross country was competitive, as usual, with everyone giving their very best for their House. Fettes Prep had a good representation at the Scottish Independent Schools’ Invitational Cross-Country Competition and they enjoyed the new course this year. We also took numerous teams to the Merchiston relays where our senior girls were in the top three.
SCOTTISH PREP SCHOOLS INVITATIONAL
ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
A large and very appreciative crowd witnessed a fantastic display of athletic achievement at this year’s Scottish Prep Schools Invitational Athletic Championships. Races and field events were hard fought and won, and in addition to superb athletic performances there were entertainments and refreshments in plentiful supply, with bouncy castles and a Luca’s ice cream van. Sponsors, Savills, distributed their famous mini rugby balls, and prosecco for parents, which added greatly to the fun of the afternoon.
SPORTS DAY
Sports Day was a fabulous way to begin the last day of the school year and also represented the last chance for pupils to gain vital House points in the race to be crowned House Champions for the year. Everyone took part in a mix of fun races and highly competitive events. There was even the opportunity for parents and staff to join in, and they certainly gave it their all in the tug of war competition.
Thanks to our catering team there were refreshments for spectators and competitors which added to the atmosphere of the event.
SPORTING SUCCESS
This year has been a successful one for our teams on the national scene. The Under 13 A boys hockey team qualified for the National IAPS Finals at Repton School. They played incredibly well on the finals day to secure a bronze medal, placing them 3rd in the UK IAPS Schools. The Under 13 A girls had a magnificent campaign through the rounds, quarter and semi-finals to reach the Scottish Cup Netball Finals. It was an exciting day at the Glasgow Emirates Stadium to take the win, placing them top in Scotland in their age group.
Two of our girls won the U12 section of the Kilgraston Tennis Tournament, which featured eight schools.
We were thrilled and proud of our U13 girls’ netball team who won the Netball Scottish Schools Cup.
2nd Form Leavers 2024
As our 2nd Form prepared to leave us for senior school, they enjoyed an outdoor ceilidh with the 3rd Form and we asked them to share some highlights of their time at Fettes Prep. We have selected just a few, but each of our pupils take with them some very special memories that we hope will remain with them as they progress through Fettes College.
When all the boarders went on Iona adventure. We had to go around Edinburgh to find specific places. During that time, we also got to go to the shops.
My favourite memory is playing in the rugby B’s and going undefeated for the whole rugby season.
My favourite memory was IAPS in T Form, even though we placed better this year, we had so much fun, and the memory of winning qualifiers is unforgettable.
Roasting marshmallows on orchestra day last year with Sixth Formers.
Zip lining, gorge walking, football and chilling with my friends.
Throughout the four years I have been at Fettes Prep one feeling has always stuck with me through all my ups and downs and that is a sense of belonging. I don’t know what it is, friends, teachers etc but if you put them in a blender, you create a lovely sense of homeliness and that has been with me through all my many positive memories.
Going into school for the first time. Anytime when I laughed with my friends.
The day I walked into Arran House knowing no one and Jun (now my best friend) started talking to me, so he was my first friend I made in this school.
My favourite moments from the Prep School was seeing my Orders and seeing just how much I’ve improved since the last set of Orders, especially the effort grades.
My favourite 2nd Form memory is coming back after rec or a holiday and catching up with my friends and talking about all the cool things we did and swapping back clothes and getting each other prezzies and just having a great night back together.
LEAVERS’ DINNER DANCE
Our 2nd Form Leavers had a wonderful Dinner Dance to celebrate the culmination of their Prep School days. The sun shone on a glorious evening which began with soft drinks and photo opportunities with parents and staff in the beautiful school garden. A short walk to the Dining Hall followed where our catering team provided a delicious supper. After this it was a quick hop back to the Prep Assembly Hall to watch a slide show that, much to the amusement of all, showed the Leavers from the age of 7 and up! This was followed by a very lively disco.
PRIZEGIVING
Prizegiving is always a special occasion – saying farewell to our leavers and sending them off to the exciting adventure ahead at senior school; hoping that the lessons learned, whether in the classrooms, on the games pitches or through the myriad of opportunities they have had stand them in good stead going forward.
We also celebrate all of the successes of the year in all their forms, and also an expression of the wider Fettes Prep community that has worked together over the course of the year.
Staff Leavers and Starters
ANDY RATHBORNE
12 years is a significant length of time in the life of any school and Andy Rathborne’s contribution to Fettes Prep over that time has therefore been substantial. He has been an exemplary Deputy to two Headmasters and left his mark in so many ways. Andy’s experiences as Deputy Head at Caldicott and Head of Craigclowan have enabled him to cast a wise eye over the daily challenges thrown up by children, staff and parents and his ability to think ahead and spot potential problems will be missed. He is passionate about sport in Prep Schools, and we are sure he will continue to keep active in retirement. We also wouldn’t be surprised if a cricket club in the Southwest of England didn’t find themselves with a very experienced new coach very soon!
ALEX RATHBORNE
Alex has been responsible for Prep School Marketing during her time with Fettes Prep, but her involvement goes far beyond this. Arguably, her biggest impact has been felt from her environmental work and hundreds of children have been helped to feel differently about the natural world through her passion and hard work. Our annual Earth Day has been brilliant but watching her at work with the Gardening Club has been a particular joy! We are sure she will find an outlet for this passion in retirement and wish her the very best for the future.
REBEKAH DALLAS
Replacing Andy Rathborne as Deputy Head from September is Rebekah Dallas who fought off stiff competition to be appointed earlier in the year. Originally from New Zealand, Rebekah has held senior positions in various schools, including that of Deputy Head at Sedbergh Preparatory School and Head of Ben Madigan School in Belfast. She and her young family are very excited to be joining Fettes Prep at such an exciting time and she brings a wealth of experience of making change and moving schools forward. We look forward to welcoming her in September.
