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Summer 2008

24 June

We had a marvellous day on Saturday for the Games and other festivities, and were fortunate to stay dry until all was finished.  Then, in the early evening, the heavens opened to remind us of previous joyous occasions, endured in thunder and lightning.

Thank you to Mr Saunders and to all who worked so hard on the Games, and congratulations to all athletes who took part, some of whom showed that records are there to be broken, not merely respected.  An enormous thank you also to the organisers of the Big Picnic; it was a wonderful event, informal, friendly, lively – but it took a huge amount of work to bring it together.  To Tory Craig and to all the team, congratulations and our admiration.

Finally, a warm farewell to parents, pupils, colleagues, other readers.  We have had thirteen wonderful years at the Academy, and have been so happy and, indeed, so privileged to be part of a great school which is centred upon people, not statistics.  It is a very special community, and I hope very much that all feel welcomed and encouraged when they first join, and supported as they move on.  Best wishes to all, especially this week to leavers – and thank you for all that this school has meant to us and to our family.

17 June

No sign of a wind-down as the term approaches its close: athletics heats, full programme of cricket fixtures on Saturday, Art and Design Technology Exhibitions just ahead.  On top of that, we had wonderful music this weekend, including a most stylish performance by the Chamber Choir on Friday, Piping and Drumming Competitions at Loretto on Sunday, and then on Sunday evening, the Choral Concert in St Stephen’s Centre.

Thanks as always to the huge number of pupils and Choral Society members who take part in these activities and who get so much out of them, and special thanks to the teachers who ask and achieve such good standards.  A special mention in this instance must go to Michael Gray and Jakob Jorgensen, our Piping and Drumming specialists, and to Peter Backhouse who assembled a huge choir, a fine orchestra and wonderful soloists to create a sound and an occasion to be remembered.  He himself gave the evening his personal accolade: “It was quite good”.