Headmaster's Blog

Friday 8 December 2023 HM Blog 8th December 2023 As we edge closer to term concluding this time next week, there has been plenty of activity to keep this busy term’s momentum going. Monday’s arrival of construction work offices, vehicles and boundary fences, and an extremely friendly and organised site foreman Jason, has given us a feeling that Christmas is coming!
Friday 1 December 2023 HM Blog - 1st December 2023 Are you a ‘radiator’ or a ‘drain’? That is the question asked in Monday’s assembly and an explanation of the two analogies followed.
Friday 24 November 2023 HM Blog - 24th November 2023 As the intrusion of assessments reached fever-pitch this week, including all the overreactions typically associated with this necessary evil, Svetlana Norel our quiet and calm ‘artist in residence’ has peacefully gone about adding a few finishing touches the magnificent mural in the dining room.
Friday 17 November 2023 HM Blog - Friday 17th November 2023 The contest between light and darkness intensifies in November and on a wonderful autumn Remembrance Sunday the sun shone on a proud town parade here in Melrose. Amidst the marchers were seventeen smartly turned-out St. Mary’s pupils, four dedicated staff and numerous kind-hearted and conscientious parents. The town looked glorious and the service around the War Memorial was very moving.
Friday 10 November 2023 HM Blog - 10th November 2023 We all negotiate steep and shallow inclines in our weekly routines and at times these mole hills and mounds turn into mountains. November is mountain season with assessments looming. However, it is the overreaction, not the assessments themselves that create the mountains. The assessments are mole hills.
Friday 3 November 2023 HM Blog - 3rd November 2023 On Thursday a list of the weekly events appears on my desk with a note stating ‘reminder for your blog for the .Mail’. The list always appears when I am not at my desk because, despite my approachability best depicted in the photo ->, keeping up with all that is happening in this beehive of a school seems to get more complicated by the week. The note is never signed either!
Friday 27 October 2023 HM Blog - 27th October 2023 The much needed eleven-day half-term holiday soon flew by, and it has been a busy old start back since Wednesday morning when a few bleary-eyed souls walked onto campus.
Friday 13 October 2023 HM Blog - Friday 13th October 2023
Friday 6 October 2023 HM Blog - Friday 6th October 2023 When we send our Form 8s off into the wider world of senior school, we hope that they will go on to be happy, thrive and extend all their talents and best traits at the next ever-complex stage of their development. We believe we enhance their chances by providing a preparatory education purpose built to give them a long-lasting momentum, wherever they go onto beyond.
Friday 22 September 2023 HM Blog 22nd September 2023 One of the many senior school representatives who presented at last weekend’s Bang Goes the Borders Science festival commented that he could not believe how invested in the day the staff and parent helpers were. This served as a reminder of a team spirit and sense of community that is a stand-out feature of our proud place.
Friday 15 September 2023 HM Blog 15th September 2023 You might be forgiven for thinking the Head was making his way to Monday morning’s assembly dressed as Lord Sutch, a character of unorthodox political persuasion who stood for election 39 times covered in rosettes, on behalf of his Monster Raving Looney Party. This was not the case. I was actually sporting some of the rosettes our hugely successful equestrian team had amassed at last weekend’s NSEA qualifier at Alnwick Ford.
Friday 8 September 2023 HM Blog - 8th September 2023 Monday morning’s assembly started with the usual celebration of achievement – Pre-Prep Stars of the (previous) week and more Associated Board Music exam certificates. We also took the opportunity to welcome newcomers to Abbey Park, Gregor McNeish and Lauren Boucher who have moved into the lodge at the back gate. Mr McNeish is helping with some Games coaching and PE and Miss Boucher will be offering her expertise towards some administrative functions around the school.
Friday 1 September 2023 HM Blog - 1st September 2023 Happy new school year!
Tuesday 11 July 2023 Headmaster's End of Term Blog The end of term was something of a whirlwind, but with ample cause for celebration. Forms, 6, 7 and 8 all returned from their respective residentials with tales of achievements, enjoyment and camaraderie that made all the staff involved in organising and running these trips, worthwhile.
Friday 9 June 2023 Friday 9th June This final week before ‘half’ term (three quarters of the way through the term!), is bookended by two contrasting events. On Monday, after a short assembly during which many and varied achievements were celebrated, Forms 6 and 7 began their exams, and Form 8 embarked upon the tranche of Common Entrance papers being concluded as I write. Deep intakes of breath were evident as our senior pupils headed for their respective ‘Mastermind chairs’.
Friday 2 June 2023 Week ending Friday 2nd June The multiple roles we fill in a school environment are a bit like working in a horticultural nursery. No two plants are the same, all require water, sunlight and the right temperatures at different times of the year, with on the one hand a bit of occasional pruning, dead heading or other trimming; and on the other more sunlight, water and the occasional re-composting!
Friday 26 May 2023 Week ending 26th May Our gathering for assembly on Monday morning always starts with celebrating our Pre-Prep ‘Stars of the (previous) Week’. This tradition guarantees our 43 Pre-Prep pupils listen intently, at least for a short while! The process of them coming individually to the front to receive their certificates and stickers to a round of applause from the school, never fails to bring a smile to so many faces. It provides a most uplifting start to our Monday mornings.
Friday 19 May 2023 Friday 19th May 2023 There has been a transport theme to much of what has been going on in our little community over the past few days.
Thursday 11 May 2023 Thursday 11th May 2023 Our week started with a splendid rendition of ‘When I Grow Up’ from Matilda the Musical sung by Form 4. https://bit.ly/44RfnjN Parents joined us in the Morrison Hall to listen to the short performance and enjoyed witnessing our 9th Accelerated Reader Quiz prize draw, among other routine celebrations. Stars of the week included Lochie whose parents were in attendance to hear his older sibling sing, and enthusiastic applause from mum and dad brought smiles to many faces, not just those of Lochie and his big sister.
Friday 5 May 2023 Friday 5th May 2023 The pace of busy St. Mary’s days has reached its maximum this term, and reflecting on the past couple of weeks since the blog written on Friday 21st April has highlighted what can only be described as a whirlwind two weeks in the school calendar.
Friday 21 April 2023 21st April 2023 There was a range of complexions staring towards the lectern in assembly on Tuesday morning, some pale and battling the shock of a school morning wake up time, a few with tell-tale ski goggle sun tans, and the vast majority with healthy early signs that Vitamin D had been on offer from ever-increasing sunlight over the Easter break. My own skin tone reflected a couple of windy and sunny golf outings, beach walks and a happy, sunny Melrose 7s. The latter also accounts for a few extra grey hairs each year it comes and goes, mind you! After welcoming new pupils, and highlighting the lovely fresh decoration of the Morrison Hall (completed by Paul and Davie who went above and beyond), we took time to reflect on another wonderful contribution to the Melrose 7s from the British Army’s squad, which consisted of athletic and powerful individuals, mainly of Polynesian descent. This year, last year’s winners did not progress beyond the quarter finals, so their dignified exit again con
Friday 24 March 2023 Friday 24th March 2023 The Artful Dodger put his arm around Oliver, and welcomed him into Fagin’s gang, at a time when the workhouse runaway was in utter despair, feeling unloved, unwanted and hunted.
Friday 17 March 2023 Week ending Friday 17th March 2023 Whilst the style in which he conducts his relationships might be questionable in this day and age, there is no doubt that the magnetism of 007, Bond… James Bond, still pulls strongly. This was evident when the boarding team put on a Bond themed ‘Games Night’, last Friday evening and 32 pupils beat the rush by getting their names down in time. https://bit.ly/3FrJW4v
Friday 10 March 2023 Friday 10th March 2023 After a two-week gap, sitting down to reflect on all that has been going on in, around and beyond the walls of Abbey Park feels a bit like preparing to write a Prize Giving speech.
Friday 10 February 2023 10th February 2023 Human beings thrive in communities when they have healthy, rewarding and meaningful connections to family, friends and others. This fact was highlighted in Monday morning’s assembly where we marked the beginning of Children’s Mental Health Week.
Friday 3 February 2023 Friday 3rd February 2023 We are into a phase in a very short term, where senior schools are calling for references on each of our Form 8 pupils ahead of the wide ranging entry processes, some of which have been concluded already. Scholars have been working with real intensity through the extended curriculum and our sporting, musical and drama talented have been preparing and taking part in various assessments.
Friday 27 January 2023 27th January 2023 Mention the name Judy Johnson to the people of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, and they will most likely smile and recount an event from 2018 that can warm our hearts and help us through the dark and short January daylight hours. This was an episode that had aghast beachgoers fearing for Judy Johnson’s life but that teaches us so much about popular misconceptions.
Friday 20 January 2023 20th January 2023 This time last week, we were visited by two splendid gentlemen FPs George Scott-Watson and John Sutherland. George, John and their late and much missed friend Alastair Brooks all attended St. Mary’s between 1940-45.
Friday 13 January 2023 13th January 2023 Happy New Year! At the beginning of the Lent Term, pupils can look a little shell-shocked on their return to school, largely due to suddenly having to get up in the dark after cosy, warm and long lie-ins over the Festive season. I know staff feel the same, but most of us need routine to help us function, even if at times that routine feels draining, demanding and downright inconvenient!
Friday 16 December 2022 Friday 16th December We started this final week by acknowledging what a complicated last few school days these are for pupils. One minute they are performing on stage looking smart, singing up and smiling like the Von Trapp family, the next they are letting their hair down at a Christmas party. Knowing and understanding expectations has made the week a huge success and as enjoyable for staff as it has been for pupils.

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