Celebrations for the Leavers of 2020 and the Leavers of 2021

CELEBRATIONS FOR THE LEAVERS OF 2020 AND THE LEAVERS OF 2021

On Saturday 11th December the Leavers of 2020 and the Leavers of 2021 were invited to get together and celebrate their time at Fettes. Both year groups had been unable to have their Founder’s Day due to the effects of the pandemic in both Summer 2020 and in Summer 2021. And surely 628 days after lockdown began in Scotland on 23rd March 2020 we would be able to meet together again?

Alas even in December 2021 the new Omicron Covid variant thwarted our plans at the final hour to be able to include parents and to host a dinner dance. But, thankfully each year group was still able to attend a very special chapel service at Fettes, made all the more special by a very strong sense of Fettes reunion.

The chapel service combined congregational singing with prize giving and an address from our Guest of the Day, Amanda Forsyth (née Baker) (Ar 1982–1984). Amanda skilfully talked about some of the future advantages of the pandemic to these year groups and how their pandemic experiences develop strong leadership experiences: ʜ Leaders have to step into unknown territory ʜ Being the first at anything means having to deal with uncertainty ʜ Be unafraid to ask for help and advice ʜ Good communication matters ʜ As long as you don’t hate talking, you won’t hate networking ʜ Make sure that no-one is left behind

Needless to say, for those present the opportunity to sing in chapel was very nostalgic and there were raise the roof moments (namely: ‘I vow to thee, my country…’ and ‘Flores Fettesia’) from 97 of the 125 Leavers of 2020 and 55 of the 126 Leavers of 2021 who were able to be back at Fettes once again.

Both year groups do deserve our collective support on their journey ahead. If you have yet to sign up to the Fettes Community Portal (fettescommunity.org) please do so. On the portal you can add yourself to the directory and sign up to offer or indeed seek support.