- last of Spring Term 
Rector
The last posting of the term is the right opportunity for me to write a special word of appreciation of Jeremy Fenton, the School Office staff, and Philip Hall, our website manager. Their tireless work keeps parents and others in touch with what is going on at the Academy, and a major thank you is due to them for their weekly efforts. Thanks and congratulations also to the cast, orchestra and backstage workers who gave us “The Mikado” last week. It was such a cheerful production; fine playing and singing, acting that was witty and laconic, and a pace which was fresh and lively throughout. Thank you also to all who made up good audiences on the three performance nights – but especially to George Harris, Director, and to Philip Coad, conductor. Rare colleagues indeed; they have the knack of building a team, each member of which enjoys playing his or her part. Now, Easter is almost upon us, and I wish pupils, parents, colleagues and other readers of the News Sheet a very good break. That break may be short, but it is the beginning of the summer months and there are good prospects on every front! John Light |
Headteacher
As I write this, I hear melodic sounds emanating from the school hall as numerous groups of musicians put in frantic last minute rehearsals for tonight’s Spring Concert, which I am sure will be a great success. Many thanks in advance to Mrs Russell, Mr Tully and the formidable team of peripatetic staff, who put in a huge amount of work to achieve the standards they do from very young musicians. Remaining on a musical note, tickets will be on sale early next term for the African Children’s Choir concert to be held on May 7th. We are hoping for a sell out. Once again, I am most grateful to you all for the support you give to the children, which enables them to raise such fantastic sums of money for good causes. One such occasion was our wonderful fun run, which we held on New Field on Friday morning. All children, including our youngest 2-year-olds, were out in force and we raised the magnificent sum of £500! All proceeds go to Sport Relief. May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a very happy Easter. Caroline Bashford, Headteacher |
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What's On?
Chamber ConcertTuesday 18th March 7.30pm Main Hall A programme of music performed by the Chamber Choir and our smaller instrumental ensembles. Admission free – no tickets. Parking in the yards. All welcome! Cricket ShopWednesday 19th March 12.30-1.40pm Chance to buy cricket bats, pads, gloves, boots, balls in preparation for the season. Provan Sports will be setting up a stall in the Henderson Row Gym 12.30pm till 1.40pm. Academy Golf CompetitionsMonday 7th April These will be held on the day before the summer term starts. The venues will be the Braid Hill Princes course for the Geits to 3rds competition (Bryce Trophy), and the Braid Hills No 1 course for the 4ths to 7ths (Addis Cup). Details are available from Mr. Armstrong (Physics Dept). Music MarathonSaturday 12th April 3.00-9.00pm Main Hall Six hours of music performed and organised by those going on the orchestral trip to Italy in October. We would be grateful for your sponsorship (in aid of tour fundraising and the Practice-a-thon Malcolm Sargent Cancer Care for Children scheme). Everyone is welcome to come and listen/observe for any length of time! St Giles at SixSunday 20th April 6.00pm St Giles Cathedral Concert given by Chamber Choir and instrumental ensembles. Admission free – all welcome. Peter Gregson - “Spem”Friday 25th April 7.30pm in Greyfriars Kirk Peter Gregson (1991-2004) will be premiering his solo debut CD “Spem”. The CD revolves around Thomas Tallis’s epic 40 part motet, Spem in Alium, and is accompanied by five new commissioned works for solo cello. Tickets available from The Queen’s Hall box office, telephone no 0131 668 2019 and also from Peter’s website, www.petergregson.co.uk. The CD will be launched on April 25th and will be available for sale at the concert and for digital download through iTunes. Notices
End Of TermThursday 20th March The Senior School finishes at 3.00pm. Next term begins on Tuesday 8th April. For the Senior School it will be a normal day. Request for Auction & Raffle PrizesCan anyone beat fossil hunting? The committee for Pipes & Drums Beef-on-the-Bone fund-raising event on Saturday 19th April is on the hunt for auction & raffle prizes. Everything and anything will be considered; we have, for example, weekends in holiday homes & B&B's, hairdressing appointments, vouchers for flowers, wine and DVDs (confiscated from under-age children). There will be a special prize to whoever donates something more original than 'an afternoon's fossil hunting on the Fife coast with a St Andrews University geology lecturer'. Arrangements can be made to collect items or they can be dropped off at the school office. If you'd like to discuss any of this, please contact Jamie Macpherson on 07773 286078 or jamie.macpherson@wilsonjames.co.uk. Thank you! Blackwell Bookshop NewsWe had a fantastic response to World Book Day, selling 83 books - it was lovely to see so many boys poring over the bookshelves! Overall favourite by a mile was, "Where's Wally?". If any students still hold £1.00 WBD vouchers, South Bridge Blackwell's still have all of the titles available and can be found in the Children's Dept on the lower ground floor (follow your nose - delicious coffee aroma from Cafe Nero coffee shop!). For students studying for exams, Past papers and Study guides have been flying off the shelves here at the Academy shop and we are very well stocked, with all subjects covered. During the Easter holidays, South Bridge Blackwell's have a great selection of study materials too and the Schools Dept can now be found on the first floor for all your revision needs. The bookshop will close for business to pupils at 3.00pm on Tuesday 18th March but I am available to staff and parents as usual until the end of term. Wishing you all a peaceful Easter! Pamela Thomson, Blackwell Bookshop Manager. The Clacken ClassicThis is our our Fundraising Golf Day; it will be held on 18th September this year at Craigielaw Golf Club, East Lothian. Bookings for teams of four are now being taken: please sign up for a fun day out and add your support to the Foundation fundraising for 2008. The day includes brunch, eighteen holes of golf from a shotgun start, pre-dinner drinks and prize-giving, followed by a three-course dinner. In addition the club Professional will give a Putting demonstration and some hints and tips; a Golfer’s Goodie Bag will be provided; and we will host a raffle and mini-auction. Return transport can be arranged from Henderson Row. There are plenty of team places still available and also sponsorship opportunities for Hole and Raffle prizes. Please contact Lorna Duncan in the Foundation office for more details and application forms. lduncan@edinburghacademy.org.uk 07921 871005 or 0131 624 4958 CongratulationsAngus Macnaughton (1Y) has been offered a place in the Scottish National Boys' Choir, after a successful audition in January. |
Sport
Junior School Cross Country ChampionshipsThis annual P5/6 race takes place at Inverleith Park on Wednesday 19th March at 11.15am. Pupils have been training for this event from the start of term. So please come and support the runners competing for individual medals and the Division Cup in what promises to be the most competitive race yet! Bring your wet weather gear! FootballU11 Fettes Six-a-side Football Tournament A fantastic effort throughout the games from our team culminated in the final match against Clifton Hall being a cliff hanger: winner takes all! The game ended a draw despite our lads hitting the post 3 times and having the ball cleared off the goal line! Overall the Academy were equal first on points but placed third on goal difference by one goal. What an exciting end to a brilliant football event. Well done, everyone. Thanks to those who supported the team. Results: V Stockbridge Won 3-1, V Merchiston Lost 2-0, V Fettes Won 5-3, V All Stars Won 5-1, V Clifton Hall Drew 0-0 U11 Football v Clifton Hall The Academy started in high spirits with a strong defence and expansive passing from midfield which led to two early goals from Saul Melvin-Farr. At half-time the Academy led 3-1, and we began the second half with high hopes. Clifton Hall had other ideas and stormed into a 7-3 lead. Super substitutes were brought on after 10 minutes which brought the Academy back to a very exciting 7-6, having shown passion in defence and skill in finishing in front of goal. A fantastic effort by all! Thank you to all who played and supported the match. Team: S Melvin-Farr, S Hooke, J Troup, I Murray, Y Komiya, C Scott, R Lopes, J Mateer, E Smith, A Gillies, J O’Brien. Mark Enos, Head of Junior PE SQUASHAs the season draws to a close, several matches took place in the last week. U14 v Merchiston (a): Won 17-9Robbie Orr (Captain) 3-1, Alex Harris 3-0, Calum Sneddon 2-3, Angus Rive 3-2, Tom Smyth 1-3. U16 v Merchiston (h): Won 20-1Hector Macneal (Vice-Captain) 3-0, James Munro 3-0, Robbie Orr 3-0, Calum Sneddon 3-0, Angus Rive 3-0. U19 v Fettes (h): Won 20-0David Rushworth (Captain) 3-0, Jamie Macrae 3-0, Renzo Pedreschi 3-0, Nick Hunt 3-0, Hector Macneal 3-0. U19 v Stewart’s Melville: Lost 8-15David Rushworth (Captain) 0-3, Renzo Pedreschi 1-3, Nick Hunt 1-3, Hector Macneal 3-1, Chris Thomson 3-0. Overall, it has been an excellent season, especially for the U14 and U19. A number of younger players, in particular Robbie Orr, Alex Harris, Calum Sneddon and Angus Rive, have made their mark this year playing both for the U14 and U16. They have shown a lot of skill and enthusiasm and made tremendous progress. As a very young Captain of the U16, but also playing U19, Chris Thomson is going from strength to strength and has been impressive in all his matches. Hector Macneal has made a great contribution U16 and U19, winning all but one of his matches. David Rushworth expertly guided his U19 team through a series of victories. Their winning record was only broken in the last match, but they could still win the league. Alex Blair managed to play in quite a few matches; Jamie Macrae, Renzo Pedreschi and Nick Hunt have shown excellent sportsmanship and played a lot of very good squash throughout the season. YD Harley HOCKEY1st XI v Beaconhurst: Won 1-0 Gavin Morecroft and Johnny Arthur combined to score an outstanding opening goal in the 37th second of the game. Once again the 1st XI played some fine hockey, opening up the opposition and creating many good scoring opportunities. With a scoreline of 1-0 the losing side tend to work harder, apply more pressure and give the opposition less time on the ball. The 1st XI thought at 1-0 up they would have (or deserved) more time on the ball; this led to a very scrappy game dominated by tackling rather than passing. Unlike last week, this was not a delight to watch. 2nd XI v Beaconhurst: Won 3-0 Goals from Chris Littleboy and Daniel Rowbottom completed a very successful season for the 2nd XI. This year they have made fantastic progress, there is a great spirit in the squad and the players are prepared to work hard for each other. Every single member of the squad returns next year and I am confident that many of them will make the transition from 2nd XI to 1st XI with great success. JD Pillinger GOLFThe senior golf team’s winning streak unfortunately came to an abrupt end in the Scottish Final of the Independent School’s Golf Association National knockout competition. Faced with a very professional outfit from Loretto and a very wet Craigielaw golf course, the team were on the back foot from the opening hole. Bertie Allison missed the first green with his approach shot whilst his opponent splashed out of a bunker to about 10 feet. It was all down hill from there! The team of Bertie Allison, Nick Peoples and Rory Grey (a late replacement for Chris Duncan) all hit the ball well from tee to green but could not match the short game of the Loretto boys who tend to play much more golf during the winter. There can be no arguing against the 3 -0 result in favour of Loretto. The consolation for the Academy was that both teams were invited to the British final of this competition which is due to be held in Reading on 27th – 28th April. N Armstrong |
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