Concerts

All musical groups perform regularly: over 150 musicians take the Queen's Hall stage each May - a few final year pupils are given the opportunity to perform solo concerto movements - and there are major concerts each November in school or in Stockbridge. Reports of some more recent concerts feature on another page.

Weekly lunchtime concerts in school give further opportunities for performance by soloists and small groups. Many smaller wind, brass and string ensembles rehearse weekly and are on show in the twice-yearly chamber concerts in the Hall. We are always pleased to receive invitations to perform for charity purposes.

Plays

There are many opportunities to study and perform drama at The Edinburgh Academy, whether it be in the classroom, studio theatre, one of our two larger performance spaces, or even the open air. A typical year might see a division one-act drama competition in October, a major production in March and a junior play in May, as well as the annual drama competition for the Fourths as part of their English GCSE curriculum.

The Senior School has its own well-equipped workshop theatre, which accommodates audiences of up to 120, and the Junior School hall, with its new lighting system, attracts audiences of over 300

Functions

The annual Speakers' Dinner is always a popular event, and other public speaking opportunities are provided by Burns Nights and debating.

Reel Nights and balls, including the annual Leavers' Ball, provide the dancing. There is also an anuual Academy Ball organised by parents.

Field Days 

Field Days originated with the CCF, which uses one day per term out of school for visits, parades and inspections.

Nowadays the whole school becomes involved in visits and special projects of various kinds. These have included local places of interest as well as further afield.

Cadet Force

A choice of Army, Navy or RAF Sections of the CCF is available to 14 year olds. They learn the military rudiments including drill and survival, shooting and safety, and are also able to participate in a wide variety of adventurous activities including scuba diving, rock climbing, canoeing, skiing and camping. They also go flying and sailing to complete their first year's training.

One of the advantages of a large campus at Henderson Row is a lot of room for a marching band. The Academy CCF takes full advantage of this with its Pipes and Drums, which is part of the CCF.

Charities

Each year a committee selects one or more charities and then organises activities to raise funds. For example we have Own Clothes days, serve refreshments, organise sporting or other events and in the last week of autuumn term we have our usual Christmas Fair, Frugal lunch and Carol Service collection. We have had raffles at the Burns suppers, a fashion show, car washing and innumerable other things.

In 2005-6 a total of over £11,500 was raised for charity. This was a great achievement by our hard working charities committee.

Foreign Contacts

We run a short trip to Le Touquet in northern France, for a large group drawn from our Seconds and Thirds, which combines fun and education, giving the children the opportunity to put into practice all they have learned in the classroom. In addition, we organise trips to Paris to help our senior pupils with A-level course work and to Madrid to experience the culture and the Spanish way of life.

From time to time requests arrive from abroad and from within the Academy for exchange arrangements or for “paying guest” accommodation to allow pupils to live with a family in a foreign country for a short period during the holidays. Such arrangements not only benefit the language of a pupil involved but can be a valuably broadening experience.

Pupils who are intending to take French or German at Higher or A-Level may derive particular benefit form spending two or three weeks in France or Germany during the summer following their GCSE exams. Visits to Münstermaifeld, where our German exchange school is situated, can be arranged for individual pupils.

The Academy has close ties with a top lycee in Paris. Individual exchanges, for a term or longer, can be arranged, and the Academy always has several French (and German) pupils studying here at any given time.

Mentoring

Small teams of three of four final year pupils (Mentors) are attached to each class in the Geits to Thirds.

Specific duties range from involvement in registration, checking prep diaries and supporting pupils who have difficulty with personal organisation, through to assisting new pupils generally in the adjustment to the Senior School. Mentor teams also help to organise class events, and are expected to take a leading role with their class at Charities events.

As an additional part of the Mentoring system, Seventh Year pupils also assist in the work of the Learning Support Department. They help in a number of ways. Some give individual tuition in the Sciences to pupils who are learning English as a second language. Some help junior pupils with their reading or their computer skills. Others go into classes and act as classroom assistants, helping pupils with additional support needs. Some seniors also help at the Junior School.

This scheme has proved to be very beneficial and it has been enjoyed and appreciated by both the junior pupils and the senior volunteers.