Sabbatical Travels

I think it is so interesting when you start something with an end in mind, and then get captured by something you had not considered, then taken in another direction, and that direction turns out to be just what you needed after all.

Monday 24 April saw me heading to New York on the long, no-stops flight from Auckland. Prior to leaving there was considerable discussion about the decision to only take hand luggage, and that turned out to be a fantastic decision – although I was tired of the same clothes at the end of seven weeks! I have just returned to New Zealand after seven weeks overseas on what I thought was going to be so important for visiting to the unwavering commitment of the Board of Governors to the growth and development of our college, providing us with an opportunity to learn from other esteemed institutions and visionary leaders, and to envision the future of education at Queen Margaret College. schools, reconnecting with colleagues from the past, and generally just having a break from the day-today demands of running a school. To a certain extent those things were achieved, but as I now reflect on where I've been, what I’ve been doing, and what will carry with me the most, it is quite different than anticipated. My trip took me to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, all our castles, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Leeds, Durham, Oxford, London, and Japan. My grateful thanks as always to the Board of Governors who provided me with this opportunity and to Anne Winnall and my Leadership team, who ran the school beautifully in my absence.

I am honoured to present to you a photo essay that encapsulates the essence of our college's rich history and showcases the transformative insights I gained during my sabbatical. It is my hope that these captured moments and shared experiences will inspire all of us as we continue to shape the future of Queen Margaret College.

Edinburgh Castle, a fortress built in the Iron ages. The Castle sits upon Castle Rock, the result of a volcano that erupted many millions of years ago. There is evidence of people living on top of Castle Rock since the Bronze Age, almost 3000 years ago; its strategic advantage is clear. The first king of Scotland who is known to have made his residence on Castle Rock was Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore), whose wife was Queen Margaret. Queen Margaret died here in 1093.

St Margaret’s Chapel was built in her honour by her son, King David I, and is Edinburgh’s oldest building. St. Margaret’s Chapel was built between about 1130 and 1140 on the highest point of the rock. It is a small chapel but inside all QMC students and staff would recognise the stained-glass image of Margaret. As always, our understanding of history is part myth, part factual. In 1314 the castle was captured by Robert the Bruce. He destroyed all the buildings in the castle, except for the little chapel. On his death bed in 1329, Bruce spoke of the story of Queen Margaret and issued orders for the chapel's repair, with some forty pounds Scots being put aside for that purpose. For many years afterwards the building was known as the 'Royal Chapel in the Castle'. When I entered the Chapel, I truly felt the connection QMC has with this place. Old Girls who have spoken to me previously about visiting shared similar feelings.

This stained glass portrait of St Margaret is found in many Margaret schools around the world. When I visit Margaret Schools in Japan, Scotland, and indeed New Zealand, this image is seen in all those schools. The connection we each have to St Margaret of Scotland is represented both by the image of the woman but also through our shared history, values, and our personal remembrance of Margaret. This glass was likely completed in the 1920s and the chapel itself was supported in its repair by the sister of the late Queen Elizabeth II, aunt of King Charles III. In 1993, as a commemoration of the 900th anniversary of the death of St Margaret, Historic Scotland renovated the chapel and St Margaret's Chapel Guild refurbished it with a new altar cloth, ten bench seats, an alms chest, a flower stand, and a display case for a facsimile of the St Margaret's Gospel book.

The flowers in the chapel the two days I visited were these, and I was immediately thinking of our flowers that our Old Girls have so often provided – and it is these colours and flowers used. Jane Ball and Lynne Speight should be very proud that what they so often provide for us at school is so in keeping with the beautiful little Chapel of Queen Margaret, in Edinburgh.

In 2019, QMC rediscovered our facsimile of the Gospel Book of Queen Margaret. This Gospel Book is considered in the Catholic tradition to be the first of the three acts for Margaret to be considered a Saint. The pages shown in the chapel have a reproduction of some of the images from the original Gospel book and tell the story of its importance.

I was most fortunate to visit St Margaret's School in Aberdeen and spend time with Principal Anna Tomlinson. Many of you will recognise the statue of St Margaret holding a bible and the hand of a child. We have the smaller version at QMC which we use for several occasions. St Margaret's School is a girls' school and, again, the connection Anna and I had was immediate and we found so many similarities in our schools, our values and some of the days we celebrate – including Queen Margaret's birthday, 16th November.

From Aberdeen I travelled to Dunfermline Castle, the home of Queen Margaret during her reign with Malcolm. Margaret had eight children and after her death many women who were wanting to become pregnant travelled to Dunfermline to put some of the clothing that Margaret wore over their own stomachs, in the belief that this would help them with both pregnancy and childbirth.

Dunfermline is where Margaret was buried, and today the burial site is clearly marked and visited by many people. It seems most unusual to us today that after Margaret was made a Saint her remains were taken away from her burial place. During the Reformation St. Margaret’s head somehow passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and was later secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution. It is believed that the Catholic Church in Dunfermline has part of her shoulder blade in its cathedral.

In Durham Cathedral this very interesting, modern painting of Margaret sits with the four other northern Saints. I found this painting particularly confronting because it does not resemble the very beautiful calm woman we see depicted in the stained glass. The work is by Paula Rego, and she describes it as 'the best of contemporary art. It speaks of a woman whose spiritually is wise, tough, discerning and farsighted. It is not altogether a comfortable image, but it belongs well in a building that stands for a perspective of life lived not simply for the day but in the light of eternity.' The young boy with her is her son David, and Margaret is holding her Gospel Book.

Finally, in this story, I come to Oxford. I was so privileged to spend time at the Bodleian Library and with the help of Dr. Dunning I managed to see this somewhat simple book which is the original manuscript of Margaret's Gospel book. It is very tiny, not much larger than a Kindle. It is stored two storeys below ground in the Bodleian where all the manuscripts are more than 800 years old. I had to write and request the opportunity to see the book, and this had to be handled by one of the curators of the oldest manuscripts. Doctor Dunning spent a few hours making this happen. I am incredibly grateful to him and look forward to sharing more about the experience later.

When the book was opened, I immediately recognised the exact similarity with our own QMC copy of this book. I was so surprised that I was allowed to touch it without wearing gloves. Dr. Dunning explained that because the pages are not paper it was perfectly safe for me to touch them, and he was delighted to be able to share what is a lifetime's passion of work, knowing that this would be shared with a wider group such as you readers today. I was also surprised at just how much I was touched by being in the presence of something that is not only so beautifully preserved and so old, but something that had once been handled by Queen Margaret of Scotland.

At the beginning I said I was captured by something I had not anticipated, and that ‘thing’ was just how important understanding Margaret became to me. I have known a part of her story and, like my predecessors, have shared some of that with the student body each year on or around her birthday. But she has become more than that now, and I find it remarkable that a woman born in the 11th century could read and write, who actively worked to make a difference for all the people in her community, and was clearly revered by those around her, still has relevance to so many people. It places even more importance for me on providing the education we do, the service and values that we live by, and making the connection continue to champion the origins of our school.

Jayne-Ann Young Principal