14 minute read
INNOVATION IN MOTION
the students and the opportunity to get back to this is hugely welcomed. The need to continue to work hard throughout the whole year has been emphasised, with one leaver offering advice about mock exams –“Make sure you try your very best as you never know – they may be the ones that really count!”
For many, a break in a packed schedule and busy life has been a chance to have some more downtime, and the opportunity to relax more regularly with a focus on slower paced activities was welcomed. One student talked about how she had taken on more responsibility in her community to help out in the village shop (a job that she had anyway) for a few extra hours per week.
While this change of pace was recognised in a positive light, the lack of face-to-face contact, physical closeness to friends and the school environment was very apparent in our conversations. The chance to keep in touch through social media and online video platforms was vital for so many, with a strong sense of selfawareness around mental health and different approaches being taken to preserve and enhance that. One pupil established her own podcast to create and share happiness – music, happy news stories and generally positive reflections. With listeners from all over 22 | Autumn 2020
the world, this was a very interesting and uplifting approach to remaining as upbeat as possible and thinking about a wider community.
For those leaving school, there is a recognition that university will not be the usual experience of previous years gone by, and that it will require some shifting of expectation. There will be a greater emphasis on virtual learning, fewer first year or ‘fresher’ activities and, for some, a requirement to live in tutor groups, rather than more cross-courses and disciplines. With the recognition that this time has taught students to think twice about “overrunning ourselves”, there is also a desire to “grab opportunities, as you just never know what’s around the corner.” There is definitely still wider ambition and one pupil was clear to share her own advice: “Aim to do things and travel to broaden your horizons, however don’t over analyse or over think, as it could all change!”
It is in the context of wider life that the greatest lessons or reflections have been made. A level of flexibility, adaptability and capacity for change is an overwhelming theme in all the conversations we had and one that is so positively communicated by our future generations of alumnae. The students we spoke to talked about a greater sense that they “could cope with change and new circumstances” more than they may have previously realised; the chance to “reconnect with people and get really close to family”. The appreciation for school and all that it offers was very clear, “not only from an educational perspective, but how it allows [students] to make connections and support one another.”
The lasting thoughts from this strong and resilient community of Sixth Formers were about looking beyond their own lives and considering far wider issues in the world. Beyond COVID-19, to consider the global and lasting impact of climate change and the need for greater recognition and response to issues such as Black Lives Matter. One student summed it up well: “Climate change is also an emergency and, although not such an immediate threat as a pandemic, it does make me wonder why governments and leaders are not treating climate change with the same urgency.”
With grateful thanks to Hannah Monk, Amelia Norbury, Naomi Scott, Sahiba Jutley, April Hall, Eilidh Page and Sarah Cooper for their very thoughtful contributions.
(The) quality and intensity of classes definitely (remained) with the online schooling.
Lockdown life has put a different spin on the everyday for many people. Former teacher and pastoral counsellor Jenny Pearson has shared her own personal experiences through poetry, prompting us to think about our own experiences; the good, the bad and those things that we might actually come to miss about lockdown. The Virus as I see it Jenny Pearson 22/04/20
The dogs keep running The cats keep purring The flowers keep blooming
They know nothing of the officious notices spoiling the park benches
They know nothing of the daily deaths
The children keep riding The scooter and bike brigades are herded ‘that distance’ away from all
That measurement that will forever signal required separation
The virtual hug, the socially distanced smile
Yet the rainbows keep coming Their colours shine from windows and pavements
The children keep laughing The music keeps playing
There are some givens in this uncertain world
The sun keeps rising The sun keeps setting
The gardens are tidied The jigsaws completed The fences mended The gates painted
How will it all appear when we look back at this time?
The chalk gifts on driveways in front of cleared out garages
The spring-cleaned homes in the warmth of April
The blossom comes The daffs go The birds sing The fledglings arrive We will sit on the benches in parks once more We will be allowed to pause To hear the burn flowing
The applause will fade The rubber gloves will be removed The masks will no longer cover both smiles and tears
Our new heroes will go on The buses will fill up We will breathe differently
We will be less fearful less wary
We will miss our community or will we sustain our precious connections?
The shared clapping The lone pipers The neon window signs The classical music The bells ringing
How will Thursday nights be?
How noticed will those delivery drivers be?
How welcome will the Royal Mail become?
How will the refuse collectors be treated?
Will those with the initials NHS on their uniforms disappear from our conscious psyche?
Will we remember who to honour? Will we thank those who we no longer take for granted?
Will the video and artistic creativity ebb away? As the speed picks up As the days fill in different ways As we live on, beyond the end of the rainbows As the new beginning unfolds As we reflect on what was, What came to be and Where they join
“Stay safe, stay well, stay home” Where will they come to belong? In history or in the future? In the past or in the now?
The before, the after The hugs will feel new The kisses like gold The planet will wonder what might have been
The dogs keep running The cats keep purring The flowers keep blooming The butterflies will keep landing
The tadpoles will leave The window-sill bears will hibernate once more
The schools will reopen to a grateful generation The rainbows will disappear from windows, but never from the sky
Those of us who were spared must carry “lest we forget” forever within our souls
Our onward journey will be different –the route the speed the destination, the news The meaning of “key”, the definition of “essential” But the dogs will keep running The cats will keep purring The flowers will keep blooming.
What will we then come to miss?
OUR PEOPLE
Across our communities, wherever we live, there have been considerable changes and sacrifices made. For many, there has been the sadness of serious illness and death and, for others, the disappointment of cancelled celebrations such as weddings. Thankfully, there continues to be the joyful news of birth and we want to take the time to recognise and remember those within our own community.
This news is very important and we are grateful to those who take the time to share it. We warmly encourage many others to share their news of pupils and staff and we do hope that in our upcoming editions we will have many more stories and pictures to include.
BIRTHS
WILSON
Baby William Robert Wilson - A son, William Robert, born to Vicky (née Grant Class of 2006) and Mark on 4 May 2020.
DECEASED STAFF
Alison Edwards (née White)
Anne Gibson (née Clark)
Former Senior Housemistress Died 1 June 2020, age 85
Jean McCarthy (née Drummond)
Roderick Mackenzie Slater
Former teacher of Modern Languages Died in France on 7 August 2020, aged 72
DECEASED OGs
Joan Aitchison
Class of 1952 Died 22 January 2020, age 85
Doreen Davidson (née Scott)
Class of 1944 Died 8 March 2020, age 94
Elizabeth Margaret Matheson (née Salmon)
Class of 1956 Died 26 March 2020, age 82
Lady Sheila Miskin (née Scott)
Class of 1946 Died 2 May 2020, age 91
Frances (Frankie) Smith (née Paterson)
Class of 1956 Died 14 February 2020, age 81
Valerie Walker (also known as O’Farrell and Sykes)
Class of 1970 Died 21 March 2020, age 77
TRIBUTES
Jean McCarthy (née Drummond)
As one of her former pupils wrote to me this summer on hearing of Jean’s untimely death: “We all thought she was fab.”
Jean Drummond was fab. Fab as a person, fab as a teacher, and fab as a colleague. The girls from Primary 1 to Upper Six, who were lucky enough to have been taught by her in the few years that she was a member of the PE Department, will remember the joy that she exuded. She was deeply committed to her subject and her pupils, although she would have been the first to admit that she was much more at home on a lacrosse pitch than in a dance studio.
As another colleague wrote to me, “it doesn’t seem possible” that Jean is no longer with us. She was so full of life and contributed hugely to so many of our lives, in so many ways, always bringing fun. She was a rare combination of utter professionalism and glorious silliness. She made her pupils and colleagues alike feel special and valued and took the deepest care of every aspect of their well-being. When I came out of the church after her wedding, I was not surprised to see several of her 1st Lacrosse XII waiting outside for her to appear. They quite simply adored her.
I first met Jean while I was still at St G’s when, as a fifth year, I was selected to play for the Scottish Schoolgirls’ Lacrosse Team, and she was my mentor from the Senior Squad. For me, she was quite simply a goddess and, when I was made Captain in my final year at school, she 26 | Autumn 2020
was the first to write to me offering her congratulations. We went on to share a flat while we were both at college, and it was during that time that Jean made the decision to apply for the position at St G’s. I knew she would love the school and that the school would love her. I was right on both counts! It was in that same flat that the PE Department rehearsed the memorable “Captain Beaky and his Band”. We had agreed to do a ‘turn’ to help our friends (and rivals for the girls’ time!) in the Music Department to raise funds to buy timpani. A whole generation of girls and staff will recall Jean leading us up the steps to the platform in the Assembly Hall wearing rubber flippers, a naval blazer and cap and sporting a large yellow beak!
Joan Clanchy, the Head at the time, appreciated it so much she asked for a repeat performance at the end of term assembly! Jean led us on that occasion with her infectious energy and the utter delight she brought to everything she did. She was in her element!
We have lost a treasure too soon and my heart goes out to her husband, her three sons to whom she was devoted, and their wives, the members of her family to whom she was “Auntie Jean”, and her most special grandson, all of whom, like me, miss her terribly.
Jenny Pearson - July 2020
Anne Gibson (née Clark)
Anne was a very special housemistress. I often thought that the real Anne would have made a marvellous housemistress in the fictional works of Angela Brazil or Elinor M. Brent-Dyer. On reflection, she was perhaps just too good at her job to be credible in such works.
She always knew exactly what was going on in her house. If any boarder felt she had 'got away' with something, it was only because Anne deemed it right to turn a blind eye. She knew instinctively when to slacken the reins and when to pull them tight. Her boarders particularly remember the 'Gibbi Cocktail': if you could swallow it, you were really ill and could stay off school. It was a privilege and a pleasure, such a short time ago, to be at her 80th birthday party, organised by some of her former boarders. Anne was her usual eloquent, elegant, immaculate self, still deeply interested in her former charges. They all showed the same love and respect, tinged with awe, which we, her teaching colleagues, also felt for her.
Nigel Shepley 2020
Anne Gibson always seemed to me the ideal housemistress, her warm and caring personality creating such a happy atmosphere in the Boarding Houses. Also a strict disciplinarian, 'Gibbi' expected and obtained high standards of work and behaviour. But if any girl was unhappy and facing difficult problems at school or from home, she knew about it and gave that girl her total understanding and support.
When I was Acting Head, I might have felt anxious about the extra responsibilities in the Boarding Houses, but I did not: Anne could sort out any problems there far better than I could. When Anne first came to St George's, she taught Home Economics and was herself a superb cook. Lucky boarders always benefited from delicious meals planned and / or prepared by their housemistress. I remember once looking in at Lansdowne House and found them having tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce for supper. Anne had been away for the day and, on her return, was horrified and said so!
Anne had a genius for flower arranging. St George's has always been famous for ‘giving a good party' and none used to be complete without Anne's magnificent arrangements in the Hall and dining rooms.
A housemistress fills a very special and very different role in a school. Gibbi's enthusiasm and dedication made it seem almost easy and certainly immensely worthwhile and great fun. Her boarders were truly lucky people.
Eileen Mackintosh – July 2020
Anne Gibson – ‘Gibbi’
What do you think of? Warm, friendly, comforting, a sort of refuge from the pressures of an ambitious school? She meant those things to me and I was supposed to be in charge. Going back to the house after school was entering another world: was it the fresh flowers, the cake for tea? Those were only the outward signs: it was the real warmth of her smile and the love she had for all of her charges, especially those who were worried.
In my home, we call a jam spoon a ‘Gibbi spoon’. Shortly after I started at St. George’s, Mrs. Gibson told me, with a sigh, that many children nowadays didn’t use jam spoons. I think I tutted, but went home, produced two jam spoons, and stopped my children sticking their knives straight into the marmalade.
When we had both retired, we used to have some long chats on the phone. She always remembered every detail about my grandchildren, as if they really mattered to her. But they did. Everyone really mattered to Gibbi.
Joan Clanchy, August 2020
Lady Sheila Miskin (née Scott)
Lady Sheila Miskin joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and, at the age of 21, was posted to Moscow where she met my father, David Collett. They married in 1951 and were then posted to Athens, Istanbul and Aden before returning to the UK in late 1960. She was widowed in November 1962. She loved travel, particularly in Africa, and also took up salmon fishing in Scotland. In 1980, she married Sir James Miskin, Recorder of the City of London. From 2000-2013, she was the first female President of the Hurlingham Club. She retired to Chichester in 2014.
Joanna Bowen (née Collett) - July 2020
