50th Anniversary of Girls at Fettes

from Old Fettesian Newsletter 2021

OFA Office Bearers/The Fettesian Trust

Due to our inability to have a public celebration we used Twitter to promote this special anniversary. We showcased some images of early Fettesiennes, some reflections of early girls and the views of the Heads of girls’ Houses today. There were tweets from the Sports department showing Fourth Form girls jumping for joy in their hockey session and there were tweets to promote access to the recorded Zoom conversations that we had with some of the very first girls. You can see a selection on this page and the next.

Alongside our Twitter celebration the school flag flew on the 11th September 2020 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of girls at Fettes. The Head promoted the significance of the day in her digital assembly to the school as no Chapel was possible due to Covid restrictions. The whole school also watched a heart-warming video address from the President of the OFA Amanda Forsyth (née Baker) (Ar 1982–1984).

At the end of the day we received a response from our very first girl, 50 years on. Amanda Mackenzie-Stewart (Gl-Ca 1970–1972) wrote: “I’ve seen today’s Twitter celebration. Wonderful! I can’t tell you how delighted I feel. I love the idea of the flag flying! It didn’t fly on my arrival as I recall. You’ve done such a fabulous job in really tricky circumstances.”

Lucy Redmond (Ar 2016–2021), Head Girl of Fettes College 2020/2021, also gave us her thoughts on the significance of the day:

It was an honour to be asked to be Head Girl, and it is made even more special as we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of girls at Fettes this year. I feel extremely lucky to be the Head Girl in such an important year in the school’s history, where we are not only celebrating the 150th year of the school, but also the 50th year of girls. I find it unbelievable to think how this time 50 years ago, the first girls were being welcomed to the school, as today you would never know that girls weren’t always such a huge part of Fettes. It is amazing to think how in a relatively short space of time girls have become so important and Fettes wouldn’t be the same without them. Having been in Arniston, it was fascinating to learn about our history of originally being a boys House and to see it now as a thriving house for over 50 girls is very special. To be at Fettes today is such an opportunity for everyone, as it is a place to make lifelong friendships and gain invaluable life skills. For the girls, we are all so lucky to be part of one of four great girls Houses, where we feel at home and gain confidence which will help to shape us when we leave Fettes.

Fettes Community @fettescommunity

**The sun made an appearance to finish off a truly wonderful day!**

The current Fettesiennes spent time in their Houses watching some of the video interviews with the early girls and enjoyed the archival displays provided by the College Archivist, Craig Marshall. Never before has there been so much interest in the early brown skirts. The kilt is definitely preferred.

Girls have come a long way at Fettes. In 1970 our first girl made up 0.23% of the school roll. In 2020 girls made up a considerably larger 48.7%. At the start of this academic year there were 770 students at Fettes, 375 of whom were girls, with 287 in the College and 88 in the Prep School.

Later in the term we were treated to a thought-provoking virtual panel event with some highly intelligent women giving us their view on the next five years… from Leicester, Colorado and London and New York. They gave a fascinating and uplifting view on the global pace of change from their perspective. To listen to the podcast from this event search ‘Fettes Community Podcast’ on your usual podcast provider or by visiting this link: www.buzzsprout.com/1544329/ episodes/8081645