Headmaster's Blog

Friday 30 May 2025 HM Blog - 30th May 2025 Melrose 7s came and went without major incident and huge thanks to staff, the Friends of St. Mary’s and the FP Association for providing various service to our front field guests for the day. Thank you, too, to current and former parents for making all the jobs done by staff on the day, so much more straightforward and hassle free. Perhaps the greatest thanks should go to Julie in the office, for her patience when dealing with the range of requests, and particularly the last-minute rush that ensued as the build-up in the final week intensified.
Friday 23 May 2025 HM Blog - Friday 23 May 2025 Monday morning assembly is turning into a weekly medal presentation with numerous pupils gaining accolades and awards for their endeavours in local clubs and events. Congratulations are also bestowed on our eventers who represent St. Mary’s but rely entirely on their tireless and dedicated parents (and horses) to provide them with their successes. Well done this week’s champions – the Woods, Scott-Plummers and a Reddihough. We also congratulated our tennis team which performed so well in a festival at Belhaven Hill last Sunday.
Friday 16 May 2025 HM Blog - 16th May 2025 We know of several families that adjusted and adapted holiday plans over last weekend’s extended break to accommodate the Glenalmond College 6s cricket competition. Thank you to all for attending and to Mr P and Mr Rooney for sacrificing a day of their own holidays. No silverware was collected but spirited performances left our dedicated U13 and U11 coaches feeling the Sunday competition was worth attending.
Thursday 8 May 2025 HM Blog 8th May 2025 Imagine today being your ninety-ninth birthday and therefore eighty years ago it being your nineteenth. What a wonderful present VE Day must have been at that time, and Sir David Attenburgh who likened himself to Private Pike of the Home Guard in Dad’s Army at that time was studying at Cambridge University. What a great evening he must have had, knowing that the free world was going to remain just that.
Friday 2 May 2025 HM Blog - 2nd May 2025 The St. Mary’s week concluding today has been a smorgasbord of activities, topics, themes and events with human kindness and hard work being a common thread running throughout.
Friday 25 April 2025 HM Blog - 25th April 2025 There was a jocundly atmosphere as the green and yellow uniforms reappeared here at school on Tuesday morning and like a conveyor belt of daffodils they filed into the Morrison Hall for a welcoming first day of Summer Term assembly.
Friday 28 March 2025 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 28th March 2025 Following last week’s most entertaining performances of Henry the Tudor Dude, tales aplenty were told on the return of our seniors from their ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’ to Yorkshire, with competitive fixtures against Cundall Manor School and Ampleforth College. Tours can throw up challenges, the most extreme of these presented on the rugby field at Ampleforth, but Mr Rooney’s boys stood up well to an unusual Under 13s physical encounter. St Mary's Melrose - Spring Tour 2025
Friday 21 March 2025 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 21st March 2025 Following a busy Friday and Saturday involving the very popular and much-enjoyed boarders pizza and disco night St Mary's Melrose - Boarders Disco and an U11 boys’ hockey tournament at Merchiston in which our brave campaigners came runners-up, St Mary's Melrose - U11 Boys Hockey - Merchiston Tournament it seemed fitting to highlight in Monday’s assembly the tireless positive difference our boarding team seem to make to life here at St. Mary’s.
Friday 14 March 2025 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 14th March 2025 It is a life-enhancing privilege to bid farewell to our Form 8 leavers at the end of the Summer Term with words of encouragement, gratitude and all our good wishes for the future. It is equally satisfying witnessing them in their senior school surroundings, and particularly touching when they come and say hello.
Friday 7 March 2025 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 7th March 2025 If you were a pupil at St. Mary’s between 1978 and 1988 you would have had the pleasure of being taught by Mr Phil Hawes, a most charismatic, empathetic schoolteacher who helped inspire a love of medieval history among many of his tutees.
Friday 28 February 2025 HM Blog - 28th February 2025 This has proved to be one of those whirlwind weeks in the St. Mary’s calendar that would take a considerable length of blog to review in the appropriate detail that the organisers deserve.
Friday 21 February 2025 HM Blog - 21st February 2025 As we emerge from our winter hibernation, with snow drops populating the ground, the first signs of daffodil shoots appearing and a crisper brightness to the sunlight when it shines, the importance of a good night’s sleep remains an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
Friday 7 February 2025 HM Blog - 7th February 2025 Expecting the unexpected is part and parcel of working in the school environment, and this week’s diet of surprises emphasise that point very well.
Friday 31 January 2025 HM Blog - 31st January 2025 Mr Rooney very generously bought me a book recently. ‘How to be More Paddington’ makes for some uplifting and thought-provoking reading. With ‘being grateful for what we have’ the theme I had in mind for assembly a week ago last Monday, turning to this particular chapter in the book seemed appropriate.
Friday 17 January 2025 HM Blog - 17th January 2025
Friday 10 January 2025 HM Blog - 10th January 2025 The Reverend Richard Coles – a most interesting and likeable chap in his early sixties who once lived the high life as a member of the popular music group The Communards, wrote an article in the Times newspaper soon after his ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ jungle experience in December.
Friday 13 December 2024 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 13th December 2024 Our final week of a whirlwind term began with presentation of Art competition certificates to three worthy recipients: Magnus, Archie and Stella. Their Form classes had entered a competition back in January where they painted characters or scenes from Alloway Kirk, where Tam O’Shanter had been drawn by the noise of a party, and nearly fell into the hands of witches, warlocks and the devil. The delivery of prizes fell into the hands of a willing but less-mobile chain of octogenarians!
Friday 6 December 2024 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 6th December 2024 Question - What do Hugh Grant and our Housemaster Stefan Rooney have in common (apart from charming, good looks of course)?
Friday 29 November 2024 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 29th November 2024 In ancient times the Japanese divided their year into 24 periods. The natural world comes to life in even more vividly named subdivisions of the traditional Japanese calendar. On 22nd November we entered a fourteen-day phase of ‘Shosetsu’ (lesser snow)!
Friday 22 November 2024 HM Blog - Friday 22nd November 2024 The magnificent Whale wall hanging that has appeared behind Mrs Lewington’s desk in the library was explained to the school on Monday. Within the hanging are depictions of smaller whales and their length. The challenge being set to classes is for the number of books being read to equate to the length in number of feet of each whale. ‘Whale bagging’ might be a simple way to explain this challenge.
Friday 15 November 2024 HM Blog - 15th November 2024 ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’
Friday 8 November 2024 HM Blog - 9th November 2024 After congratulating the U13 boys 7s squad who had competed courageously at Ardvreck 7s the previous day and handing out our Monday morning Star of the Week certificates to pre-prep, it was time for nursery rhymes with the Headmaster…with a history lesson or two thrown in!
Friday 1 November 2024 HM Blog - 1st November 2024 James I of England and VI of Scotland insisted on the tradition of a ‘Guy’ effigy to be burned on bonfires, and fireworks to be set off on November 5th to commemorate the Catholic conspirator’s attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament containing the King and his protestant council in the year 1605. Guy Fawkes himself was not burned at the stake but died a gruesome death involving torture and hanging.
Friday 25 October 2024 HM Blog - 25th October 2024 I think we were all in need of a rest at half-term after the whirlwind of a start to the academic year, and it is always a bonus if the sun shines during the picturesque autumn season break. It did for the most part as our National Schools Equestrian Association finalists headed for Addington Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire to take on the might of much larger schools’ teams; some of which (it has been reported) arrived in giant school emblazoned equestrian lorries.
Friday 11 October 2024 HM Blog - 11th October 2024 The secret to a successful Week 7 is to make it a busy one, with little time to realise holidays are very nearly upon us. Focusing minds on serious matters on Monday morning was Mrs Stuart’s intention in assembly, and she got us all thinking carefully and in more depth about food wastage. This provided an education for us all as we learned of the energy, time and resources used to put a glass of milk on our tables.
Friday 4 October 2024 HM Blog - 4th October 2024 When asked in Monday’s assembly, it was difficult for the school to come up with any profession that did not require at least the most basic of Mathematics knowledge. In fact, the reality is that we cannot function day to day without some mathematical understanding.
Friday 27 September 2024 HM Blog 27th September 2024 We could not have hoped for a better turnout at last week’s Bang Goes the Borders festival of learning, and with over 1800 visitors to the campus the efforts of our exhibitors, staff and pupils got the fulfilling reward they deserved. St Mary's Melrose - Bang Goes The Borders - Saturday 21st September 2024 (stmarysmelrose.org.uk)
Friday 20 September 2024 Headmaster's Blog - week ending 20th September 24 After celebrating our Pre-Prep Stars of the Week at the start of Monday’s assembly, and recognising the endeavours of our eight eventers at Alnwick Ford the previous day, St Mary's Melrose - National Schools Equestrian Association - NSEA (stmarysmelrose.org.uk) Miss McRae spoke of the forthcoming Bang Goes the Borders festival of discovery.
Friday 13 September 2024 HM Blog - 13th September 2024 With the excitement and anticipation of the new academic term being two and a half weeks old, hard work, routine, a drop in temperature and a noticeable fading of daylight hours, some may be inclined to be feeling less motivated and an instinct to prepare for winter hibernation.
Friday 6 September 2024 HM Blog - 6th September 2024 Miss McRae is renowned for pulling a rabbit out of the hat at this time of year, as excitement and anticipation builds towards songs being selected for Squad Singing. The now legendary draw took place on Monday in assembly and the Form 8 representatives looked somewhat confused as animations with a hint of tartan were pulled from the four coloured envelopes.

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