Busy Bee Summer Term 2023

Summer Term 2023

Headmaster’s Message

Our teachers have needed little excuse to get outside with 100 acres of Fettes grounds and all that Scotland has to offer providing the perfect backdrop. We are so lucky to have such energetic and talented staff and the opportunities that space, facilities, and access to the landscapes of Scotland provides are only meaningful if we make the most of them. I am very grateful to everyone for their energy and enthusiasm this term and hope that you enjoy reading about what we have all been up to in this latest version of Busy Bee.

I don’t think I can remember a Summer Term with such a spell of fine weather, and the children have certainly made the most of it as this edition of Busy Bee proves!

A note from the Editor

Welcome to the Summer Term edition of the Busy Bee! In what was yet another action-packed and memorable term, our pupils were busy in the classroom, on the sports pitches, with trips and adventures, and taking part in the plethora of extra-curricular activities on offer. They also made the most of our green spaces on campus for work, rest, and play!

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School Life Earth Day

Our theme for Earth Day was ‘Water’ and the entire school was out and about learning more about this most vital resource. Some of us focussed on the link between water and food, heading to the biodigester where the Fettes food waste goes, whilst others spent time in environmental action workshops at the Water of Leith.

S Form found out about how Scottish Sea Life, visiting the Scottish Seabird Centre and 1st Form had a special day of ‘Devotion to the Ocean’, educating each other about key and pressing issues facing the world's Oceans. We all enjoyed a plastic free lunch and recycled our food containers in the Prep Garden compost heap!

1st Form went on to present their learning at a World Oceans Day Assembly and we began the process of raising plants for a sale in aid of Pristine Seas next term.

Summer Entertainments

After a busy term and the end of year exams, the last couple of weeks of the school year were in sight. The Summer Entertainments evening was a chance for all of us to simply enjoy each other’s company and have fun dancing, playing, challenging each other on the inflatables, and eating a delicious BBQ. It was a fabulous evening for our community.

Boarding Life

Arran and Iona Highlights

The boarders are always busy bees. Outside of the school day, they enjoyed a wide variety of trips and activities. This term, these included visits to Go Ape, Fort Douglas, Water sports at Port Edgar, trips to the cinema and much more. In between, they were up for early morning runs, took part in football competitions and plenty of team building activities. They sung around the firepit, celebrated birthdays together and helped each other both in and out of their houses. Their final outing of the year was a joint one, with Arran and Iona boarders heading to Badaguish to spend a long weekend camping and enjoying outdoor activities.

Learning

In School Rainforests P Form, S Form Spanish

Learning by doing is fun and effective. P Form were challenged with learning all about the rainforest by making their own dioramas, which they did splendidly! S Form enjoyed an afternoon over at the Senior School, immersing themselves in the Spanish language and trying their hands at flamenco.

Out of School

T Form Northumberland and 1st Form Stirling Castle

In addition to their Earth Day outings, pupils took part in a variety of learning trips, including 1st Form’s visit to Stirling Castle which was the grand finale to their topic of the Scottish Wars of Independence.

T Form set off to the wilds of Northumberland for their Roman History trip. They had a fabulous couple of days exploring Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum and walking a section of Hadrian's Wall.

Co-curricular

End of Term Trips

The end of term trips and camps were wonderful occasions, providing a chance to spend time in each other’s company, reflect on the end of the term and look forward to the summer break. The weather wasn’t very kind, but we all carried on regardless, heading north, south, east, and west for adventures in East Lothian, Jedburgh, Aberfoyle and The Firth of Forth.

The Arts Art End of Term exhibition

Our budding artists produced such inspiring work during the term!

M Form made relief collages after looking at Matisse’s scissor drawings and experimented with abstracting shapes and colour matching.

P Form used shapes in nature to inspire their artwork, constructing and painting a collaged pot plant, whilst S Form looked at the work of American artist Jasper Johns and created a piece of artwork’ using opposite colours.

T Form used the natural form of shells as their starting point, beginning with observational drawing and mark making before moving on to sculptural making, and 1st Form used a wide range of different media to draw seed heads with a focus on mark making.

2nd Form’s aim was to loosen up and enjoy using colour and paint. They made colour notes in sketchbooks using the local environment and hedgerows for direct observational drawings. This culminated in the creation of their own ‘network drawing’ by layering ink and leaf rubbings.

Music

There was so much musical achievement to celebrate from the term. From S and T Form pupils’ electrifying performance of ‘The Curse of MacCabbra Opera House’ following their project and workshop with Scottish Opera, to 1st & 2nd Forms’ vibrant and joyful performance of the Lion King.

We had a feast of music at the wonderful Informal Concerts, which showcased a record number of performers, and our drummers achieved remarkable success with the Senior School Pipe Band.

We enjoyed a tremendous Singing Competition Final with some exquisite performances and lots of energy and fun to boot and the Summer Concert was a fabulous musical hurrah to the end of a memorable term.

Drama

The 1st and 2nd Forms’ Play is a highlight of the Summer Term, and the corridors of the Prep School were alive with African rhythms as the joy of the ‘Lion King Jr’ passed through pupils and staff alike. The pupils worked tirelessly on their production, taking ownership of their scenes, acting as directors, and contributing many of the creative ideas on show. Everyone performed with such skill throughout the three-night run of the show which was enjoyed by the entire Prep community.

SportCricket

It was the first year where everyone (girls and boys) played cricket and we watched with pride as our pupils encouraged, supported, and inspired each other to improve skills.

The U9s enjoyed learning the very basics of the game and made tremendous progress. The U10s and U11s also experienced a season of improvement, sometimes learning the hard way; they will be better for it!

The U13 teams included many pupils who were new to the game, and their season was a mix of dramatic highs and lows, which was all part of the development process.

Athletics

Sports Day

The Scottish Prep Schools Invitational Athletics Championships involved a total of 9 schools and 358 competitors in a packed programme of track and field events. Despite the conditions, we witnessed a wonderful afternoon of sporting achievement. The Fettes team came away with 16 individual bronze, 13 silver and 15 gold medals.

Sports Day was the usual mix of competition and fun, with records broken and everyone giving their all for those vital final House points!

End Termof

Prizegiving

Prizegiving was the culmination of a very busy last week of term, and it was a celebration of the many events, efforts, and achievements of the Fettes Prep community throughout the year. As well as celebrating with those who won prizes, we enjoyed discovering more about the adventures of our guest speaker, explorer and writer, Charlie Walker. He spoke about lessons learned while cycling across Eurasia and Africa in one continuous journey and we were hugely inspired by his get up and go attitude!

Leavers Events

The last week was one full of memorable events for our wonderful 2nd Form as we wished them a very fond farewell. We wish them many happy days and the best of luck for the next part of their Fettes journey. We always look forward to hearing about their achievements and it’s such a pleasure to see them around and about on campus.

We hope you have enjoyed this latest version of the Busy Bee. We wish everyone a very happy summer break and look forward to being together again for Autumn Term 2023!