NEWS Summer '10 - Strathallan School

NEWS Summer ’10 

The Tudor Rose 

Riley House’s production of the ‘Tudor 

Rose’ was a thrilling musical depiction 

of the life of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. 

All members of Riley took part with each 

year group having a number in which 

to showcase their singing and dancing 

talents. The pupils had used Music and 

Art lessons to work towards the show 

and their own art work featured as part 

of the striking set. Ten solo singers 

impressed with their fine voices and 

an on-stage pupil band added to the 

impact of the show. 

Representation ti at 

National Equestrian 

Events 

Heather Larson took part in the Horse of 

the Year Qualifier in June. Riding her horse 

Billy, Heather won the Working Hunter Pony 

event which means that she will compete 

in the Horse of the Year Show in October at 

the Birmingham NEC. 

Rosie Williams competed in the BE90 event 

at Badminton in May, a challenging event 

which features dressage, show jumping 

and cross country. 

National Selection 

for Hockey 

Congratulations to three Strathallan 

pupils who have been selected 

to represent Scotland. Michael 

McKenzie played for Scotland 

U18 Hockey Team against Ulster 

in Ireland. Murdo Elwis has been 

selected for the Scotland U16 Team 

to play in a series of matches against 

England at the end of June in Lilleshall 

and Laura Glasgow was selected to 

play for the Scotland U16 Team against 

England in June. 

Christina Farrar has also been invited 

to attend Scotland U16 Training after 

her impressive performances at the 

recent U15 Inter District Tournament. 

Speaking at the 

Scottish Parliament 

Steven Segaud is a member of the 

National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, 

and was invited to speak to members of 

Scottish Parliament and friends of NYOS 

about his time with the orchestra and how 

it has influenced him. Steven was the only 

current member of the orchestra selected 

and did an excellent job of promoting 

NYOS as part of its thirtieth Anniversary 

celebrations.

2 www.strathallan.co.uk 

Sport... 

Girls Hockey Tour 

Twenty six girls head off to 

Australia on a hockey tour on 

6th July for three weeks. The fi rst 

match is in Singapore followed by 

two matches in Tasmania , two in 

Brisbane, fi nishing in Sydney with 

two matches. 

Many thanks to the Strathallian 

Club for contributing to the fund 

raising and also to the many 

individuals and companies who 

have very kindly sponsored the 

tour. 

Sailing 

Jordan Black has spent much of 

the winter months travelling to 

Rutland and Cumbrae to train with 

the ITCA Intermediate National 

Youth Squad and RYA Squad 

respectively. He has trained with 

the National squad in Bradwell in 

Essex during the Easter holidays 

and is at present joint leader in 

Scotland after a series of six two 

day events on both sea and loch. 

Jordan recently won an event at 

the Scottish Schools Brown Cup 

at his home club at Loch Earn and 

is looking forward to the National 

Championships at Pwhelli in Wales. 

Jordan is already planning to move 

up to the Laser Radial at the end of 

this Topper season. 

Tennis Triumph 

Swimming 

Despite being in the middle of 

exams in May, Joe Lipworth won 

four Gold medals at the Midlands 

District Distance meet in Dundee and 

recently won a Gold and two Silver 

medals in the 16 & Under age-group 

at the British Gas National Open 

Championships at Tollcross. 

Joe competed along with Duncan 

Scott, Sandie Smillie and Eilidh 

Gibson at the Scottish National 

Age-Group Championships in April 

at Tollcross where Duncan recorded 

seven personal best times in a 

number of events ranging from 100 

metres to 1500 metres and covering 

all the swimming strokes and won a 

Gold, two Silver medals and three 

Bronze medals. 

Sandie also had an outstanding 

weekend at the Midland District 

Distance Championships in Dundee 

at the end of May producing several 

excellent personal bests, winning 

six Silver medals and two Bronze 

medals. 

Strathallan was the only School to 

have both its girls’ and boys’ teams 

qualify for the fi nals of the Scottish 

Schools Tournament this season. 

The Girls fi rst six had an excellent 

season remaining unbeaten in all 

their School fi xtures. 

In addition Eugenia Ramos and 

Anastasiya Veretennikova won 

the U16 Girls Doubles at the 

Kilgraston Tennis Tournament and 

the mixed doubles team of Ruairidh 

Watson & Lea Gill, Christian Kolb 

& Anastasiya Veretennikova and 

Moritz Rechburg & Sophie Beamish 

won the Glenalmond Mixed Doubles 

Tournament in May to follow on from 

their qualifi cation for the national 

fi nals last term.

Summer 2010 3 

National Champions in Athleticsti 

At the Scottish Schools Relay Championships Strathallan had three teams taking part and all three reached the finals. The girls team 

of Philippa Orr, Kirstin Lamotte, Alice Farrar and Patricia Moyo won gold, bringing the trophy back to Strathallan for the second year 

in a row. Philippa, Kirstin and Alice were also in the successful team last year. 

At the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships Ben Giles won a Bronze medal in the 2000m Steeple Chase and Ciara Elwis won a 

Silver in the Pole Vault. 

Rising Stars of Rugby 

Keith Buchanan and Alex Henderson have been 

selected to play in the Scotland U17 Squad’s trip to 

Spain at the beginning of the holiday. 

George Horne, Craig Rintoul and Tom Wilson have 

all been selected to attend the Scottish Rugby 

Camp in July which is an invitational camp for 

potential international players. 

National Selection for Tetrathlon 

Callum Fletcher was chosen to represent Scotland and 

captain the Scottish Boys Junior Tetrathlon team which 

competed in the Junior Regional Competition in North 

Yorkshire in June. The event consists of four disciplines, 

shooting, swimming, cross country riding and a 1500 

metres cross country run.


Sport & Activities... 

Canoeing 

Brother and sister Angus 

and Eilidh Gibson have been 

canoeing and swimming from 

an early age. The swim training, 

particularly in the Strathallan 

Swim Team from Elaine Johnston, 

has helped tremendously with 

their strength and confi dence in 

the water. Coached by parents 

Gary and Jane Gibson initially 

Angus did not take to it at all, 

then, like his father, he jumped 

into a C1 boat, where you kneel 

instead of sit, and he has never 

looked back. 

Eilidh was 4th British J15 

Ladies Kayak in a very strong 

fi eld including some GB 

internationalists. She won the 

trophy for Best Lady. Angus won the 

J12 Canadian Singles event and with 

his partner Aiden Waters also won 

the J16 Canadian Doubles. 

Eilidh has won all of her last three 

Division 2 Ladies Kayak events so 

she has now been promoted to GB 

Division 1. Angus is now in GB 

Division 2. 

Kayaking Club 

The Club with the support of Jane and Gary Gibson has been a real 

success this year. The thirteen competitors who made up the Strathallan 

Canoe team won the Scottish Schools Championships at Alva this term at 

our first attempt. Ten individuals also won prizes.


Cricket 

The 1st XI when not weakened by 

international calls has done well. 

Victories have been achieved over 

Dollar Academy, the XL Club, the 

Strathallians, MCC, Merchiston 

Castle and Glenalmond College. 

Key in these victories have been 

the runs scored by captain Freddie 

Coleman. He scored 113 not out 

against Dollar, 104 against the 

XL Club, 99 not out against the 

Strathallians, an unbeaten 140 in the 

win against the MCC and 126 against 

The Caledonian Academy. He is 

not, however, the only centurion, as 

Keith Wigley scored an unbeaten 

102 against the XL Club. Nick Farrar 

has also scored heavily with his 89 

against Loretto being a highlight. 

With the ball, Declan Norrie, Nick 

Farrar and Paul Wigley have been the 

mainstays of the attack. 

Once more we have players who 

have gained national honours. Nick 

Farrar has been selected for the 

Scottish U18 squad and the U17 

team who play in the English County 

Championship over the summer. 

Freddie Coleman, in addition to 

playing for the U19 side, the National 

Academy XI and the Scottish Lions, 

earned a cap with the full Scotland 

side in their Pro40 match against 

Nottinghamshire in May. When term 

ends he is off to his contract with the 

Warwickshire Academy and we will 

be watching with interest to see if he 

can add to his Scotland selection. 

Chess 

Four pupils took part in the quarter 

finals of the British Land UK Chess 

Championship, the biggest chess 

tournament in the world. A total of one 

hundred and forty children took part in 

the Northern Megafinals in Edinburgh 

where Lisa Winkler won the title of U15 

Northern Megafinal Suprema. Lisa 

qualified for the semi finals in July. 

Equestrian 

Excellence 

Strathallan’s Equestrian Teams 

excelled at the annual Scottish 

Schools Equestrian Championships at 

Gleneagles. 

The Intermediate Team of Jenny 

Summersgill, Emma Cheape, Rosie 

Williams and Sarah Cheape won the 

dressage and show jumping events 

and were overall winners. 

In the Senior Section Heather Larson, 

Corrie Stewart, Flora Hay and Olivia 

Woodes-Rogers won the show 

jumping event and came second 

overall.


Gallery... 

Ross Defereras 

Kim Chan 

Lucy Garvie 

Callum Kettles 

Abbey Kemp 

Ruairidh Clark


Josie Dibnah 

Jack Somerville 

Stephanie Harrison 

Carla Crossan 

Kate Cockburn


Music... 

Perth Festival of 

the Arts Lunchtime 

Concert 

In May Strathallan’s Musicians were 

invited to give the fi nal lunchtime 

concert of the series for the Perth 

Festival of the Arts in St John’s Kirk. 

The audience was treated to a broad 

and varied programme including ‘On 

the Idle Hill of Summer’ from George 

Butterworth’s ‘A Shropshire Lad’ sung 

by Oliver Beetschen. The Choral 

Scholars performed the Agnus Dei from 

Michael Berkely’s ‘Hereford Communion 

Service’. Steven Segaud gave a 

polished performance of Rebecca 

Clarke’s ‘Passacaglia’ for viola and the 

Chamber Choir gave an enchanting 

rendition of Vaughan-Williams’ ‘The 

Springtime of the year’. A subsequent 

review by local Music Critic, Alister 

Allan stated: 

“It was a pity that more people did not 

attend this most enjoyable concert. 

They missed a treat.” 

Stories into Music 

Some of the Riley children presented 

their musical depictions of Julia 

Donaldson’s stories to an audience of 

Primary 1-3 children from Forgandenny 

Primary School in June. Mrs Sim 

Sayce’s classes had been composing 

tunes for the different characters in 

The Gruffalo. 1J composed the music 

for The Gruffalo while First Form 

undertook the mood music for The 

Gruffalo’s Child; the melody for the 

giant to sing was performed by Second 

Form set 1. Forgandenny awarded the 

performances the ultimate accolade of 

two thumbs up. 

Concert Series 

There has been a series of 

Concerts performed to an extremely 

high standard this term. This 

began with the A-level public 

recital which was held at the end of 

April, featuring fi ve pupils who had 

prepared their various programmes 

on different themes. 

This year, we also sought to feature 

pupils’ creative talents by featuring 

works in a Composers’ concert. 

This inaugural concert featured 

works written and performed by 

pupils, including ‘In Flanders’ 

Fields’ by Ciara Elwis, ‘Lost with no 

disguise’ by Sean Garrett, ‘Agnus 

Dei’ by Hannah Johnstone, two 

songs by Will Farquhar , as well as 

a collaborative pop song, ‘About 

you’, written and performed by 

members of Riley Form II, Eliza 

Younger, Aurélie Thompson, Megan 

Crawford, Nicola Bell and Bethany 

Murphy. 

Not to be outdone numerous 

members of the VIth Form 

performed in their annual Year 

Group concert. Prominent 

performances included Will 

Farquhar’s moving rendition of 

Lennon & McCartney’s ‘Blackbird’, 

Joanna MacLachlan’s poised 

performance of the ‘Intermezzo’ 

by Brahms and Ciara Elwis’s 

dazzling display of the opening 

Allegro from Carl Reinicke’s 

‘Undine’ Sonata.


Music Department 

Trips 

The Department has been busy this 

term taking pupils outside Strathallan 

to see professional productions. 

Forty members of the Senior School 

travelled to the Edinburgh Playhouse 

Theatre to experience the West End 

touring production ‘Les Misérables’, 

featuring Pop Idol runner-up Gareth 

Gates. 

The children of Riley travelled to 

Edinburgh’s newly refurbished Usher 

Hall to hear a concert titled ‘Heroes 

and Rogues’, given by the Royal 

Scottish National Orchestra. Riley 

were treated to a sight-and-sounds 

spectacular and the programme 

featured familiar works such as Holst’s 

Mars from ‘The Planets’, Dukas’ 

‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, Greig’s ‘In the 

Hall of the Mountain King’, the theme 

music from computer games ‘Halo 3’ 

and ‘Advent Rising’, along with the 

theme from ‘The Simpsons’. 

Headmaster’s Music 

Despite the demands of national and 

internal examinations, pupils offered 

a rich and varied programme, loosely 

based on the theme of ‘Travel’, at 

this term’s Headmaster’s Music, held 

in Chapel. Performers included the 

Chapel and Chamber Choirs, Riley 

Choir, Choral Scholars, String quartet, 

Wind band, a group featuring Katy 

Marshall and Hannah Johnstone as 

vocal soloists, as well as a quintet 

from Riley Form II performing their 

own composition. All the featured 

instrumental soloists were from the 

outgoing Upper VIth. The audience 

was treated to works by Bach, 

Villa-Lobos, Armstrong-Gibbs and 

Stephen Schwartz, as well as some 

more unusual works by Gwyneth 

Walker. Otto Kakhidze recited 

his own multi-lingual poem ‘The 

Journey’. 

The performance ended with a set 

by the Big Band featuring, for the 

last time, the performing talents of 

Upper VIth soloist Oliver Wale. The 

audience’s standing ovation won the 

encore which it richly deserved. 

Glasgow West End 

Festival 

On the fi nal weekend of term, the 

Chapel Choir, Chamber Choir and 

Choral Scholars travelled to St Mary’s 

Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow, to sing 

Choral Evensong as part of the fi nal 

evening’s festivities for the Glasgow West 

End Festival. They performed music by 

Poulenc, Stanford and Fauré as well as 

Preces and Responses composed by 

Director of Music, Mr Richard Walmsley.


UK Schools Biology 

Championships 

Form III pupils, Eleanor Allingham, 

Georgina Howell, Ross McDonald, 

and James Cockburn competed in 

the UK Schools Biology Challenge 

this year, each receiving a Bronze 

certifi cate. 

British Physics 

Olympiad 

The annual British Physics Olympiad 

is set for the top students in their 

fi nal year before going to university. 

Over a thousand take part each 

year, with the best fi ve entries 

going on to represent Britain in the 

International Olympiad. 

This year, Kuo Hong Wong gained 

a Silver Award while Andrew Glover 

and Chwei Pieng Tieng both gained 

a Bronze Award. 

Kuo Hong Wong and Andrew Glover 

have places to study Physics at 

the universities of Cambridge and 

Oxford respectively. 

Arkwright 

Scholarship Award 

Four Fifth Form Design Technology 

pupils, Mhairi Bannerman, Justin 

Tsang, Callum Kettles and Conor 

McCarthy were among over 800 UK 

school pupils who applied for the 

prestigious Arkwright Scholarship 

Award earlier this year. The 

Arkwright Scholarship is dedicated 

to encouraging the most talented 

pupils to consider a career in the fi eld 

of design and engineering and to 

become the young engineers of the 

future. 

All applicants should be intending to 

study Maths and Design Technology 

in the Sixth Form and our four pupils 

had to complete an application 

form to highlight their technological 

interests and aspirations, as well as 

sit an Aptitude Paper to test their 

designing and problem-solving skills. 

The DT Department is delighted that 

all four applicants attained a high 

enough score in the Aptitude Paper 

to be invited for interview by a panel 

Biology Olympiad 

Kuo Hong Wong and Katy Marshall 

represented Strathallan in the National 

Biology Olympiad earlier this term with 

great success. The pair competed 

against other top A-level Biology 

students from all over the UK, Kuo 

Hong was awarded a Silver Medal and 

Certificate and Katy received a Highly 

Commended Certificate. 

Academic... 

of judges, who are looking to award 

around 240 scholarships nationwide. 

Although Strathallan has a good 

reputation for pupils being awarded 

an Arkwright Scholarship, this is 

the fi rst year that such a number 

of applicants has made it through 

to the interview stage. Successful 

scholars are matched up with a 

specifi c industry sponsor and this can 

lead to work experience, university 

engineering taster days and specifi c 

career guidance in their chosen fi eld. 

The Arkwright Scholarship Trust’s 

reputation for identifying talented 

committed students encouraging 

them into engineering, technology, 

maths and science is well known. 

Design Technology at Strathallan is 

a popular subject at A-level, Higher 

and GCSE with recent external exam 

results at 100% A-B and over 60% 

A grade pass at both A-level and 

Higher as well as over 45% A*-A pass 

rate at GCSE.


History Department 

The History Department has had a busy 

academic year. The main focus of our 

activity outside the classroom has been 

on subject enrichment, one of the main 

building blocks of the new Curriculum 

for Excellence, incorporating off-site 

trips with events organised within the 

School. 

In November Mr Fitzsimmons took 

the Higher historians to a Medieval 

conference at Stewart’s Melville 

College in Edinburgh. Here pupils 

had the opportunity to listen to, and 

question, three experts in various fi elds 

of Medieval History, ranging from the 

Crusades to David I of Scotland and 

the impact of the Black Death. All the 

topics are crucial parts of the Higher 

syllabus and the pupils’ experience 

was just the tonic required in the leadup 

to Trial Examinations in January. 

January saw the sixty-fi fth anniversary 

of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau 

by the Soviet army. The Head of History, 

Mr Fitzsimmons and the Chaplain, 

Father Quick, led a chapel service 

devoted to remembering the victims 

of ethnic cleansing and genocide in 

the 20th Century. As the fi rst of our 

Holocaust Memorial Days, it was felt 

important to establish this event in a 

relatively low-key way: Mr Fitzsimmons 

explained briefl y why it was important 

to recognise this day in the School 

calendar, with its emphasis on the 

‘Legacy of Hope’. The Chaplain had 

chosen some apposite hymns and 

prayers for the occasion but the centrepiece 

of the service was the showing of 

the HMD video on the Legacy of Hope, 

featuring a number of survivors of the 

Holocaust. Pupils listened intently and 

respectfully to what was said before 

fi ling out of Chapel in unusually solemn 

and thoughtful mode. 

With the January modules over, and 

to lighten the depressing winter 

weather, Mrs Billing, new to the History 

Department this year, organised a superb 

Tudor History theme evening for our AS 

and A2 historians. Central to the evening 

was a Tudor feast prepared by the pupils 

and a number of Tudor challenges, 

including a quiz and some memorable 

Tudor speeches ranging from a poem by 

Henry VIII to Elizabeth I’s Tilbury speech 

of 1588. Everyone was encouraged 

to dress up in costume with a Tudor 

theme. The prize for most convincing 

Tudor dress went to Mr Proctor, 

resplendent in his hose and waistcoat. 

In conjunction with the Spanish and 

Art and Design Departments, we ran a 

trip to Barcelona in the Spring halfterm. 

Led by Mr Proctor and Senorita 

de Celis Lucas, the pupils explored 

the historical and artistic delights of 

the Catalan capital, sampling the local 

culture and cuisine, and practising their 

Spanish on the unsuspecting locals. 

A Spanish trip has been the staple of 

our trips for the last four years and has 

proved particularly popular amongst 

pupils. Past destinations have included 

Seville, Madrid and Granada. 

On Speech Day the Department 

mounted an exhibition for parents & 

pupils on the work we do in History. The 

emphasis was on displaying the wide 

range of subjects and time periods we 

cover throughout the School, and on 

showcasing past and future educational 

trips. We also had on continuous repeat 

a photo montage with explanatory text 

on the early history of Strathallan. 

Future trips coming up in the new 

academic year include a visit to the 

Battlefi elds of the Great War in the 

October half-term and a GCSE study 

visit to Berlin in the spring. On the 

Battlefi elds trip we intend to lay wreaths 

at the graves of two Strathallians who 

gave their lives in that terrible confl ict – 

Allan Harley and George Mollison.


Other... 

Prep School lActivity it Day 

Fifteen pupils from Ardvreck School were welcomed to the School 

in May to participate in a fun packed day of sporting, musical 

and academic activities. 

The children spent a very hot morning canoeing, rock climbing 

and trampolining before their well earned lunch. The afternoon 

started in the Biology Department where the initial disgust at the 

thought of dissecting a heart was soon overcome and in no time 

at all, every one of the children was enthusiastically handling and 

examining the hearts. This turned out to be one of the highlights 

of the day! 

The afternoon concluded with the crashing of drums and singing 

in the Music Department. 

Five Mile Charity Road Race 

The 11th edition of the Strathallan 5 mile Road 

Race organised and run by the School in aid 

of local charities saw 99 entries. Runners from 

Perthshire, Fife and beyond came to tackle 

our undulating and scenic 2 lap course on a 

warm and breezy Saturday night. Mike Carroll 

of Perth Road Runners won the race in 26:12. 

The winning lady, Corstorphine’s Gillian Carr, 

finished in 32:02 and Scott Smith was the 

winning U20 runner in 36:04. 

Run & Become of Edinburgh also contributed 

to the success of this fund-raising event by 

donating shop vouchers as prizes. All proceeds 

go to C.H.A.S., Cancer Research and Get Kids 

Going!


Speech Day 

The theme of this year’s Speech 

Day was underlined by the word 

“extraordinary”. As Mr Thompson 

addressed the guests it became 

apparent that Strathallan is indeed 

an extraordinary place where 

extraordinary things can and do 

happen. 

This was a theme which was 

acknowledged by this year’s Guest 

Speaker Mark Beaumont, ‘The Man 

Who Cycled The World’, who has 

followed his passion, set himself 

challenging goals and has made a 

career from prodigious feets of cycling. 

Mark wrote on his twitter page later on 

that day that he had “really enjoyed 

visiting Strathallan School, very 

impressed with the pupils and their 

wide range of achievements”. 

The School has enjoyed a positive 

year following its recognised academic 

success, largest School roll in fi fteen 

years and numerous musical and 

sporting achievements at national and 

international levels. The Art, Design 

Technology, Chemistry, History and 

Modern Languages Departments 

were all open for guests to view for 

themselves examples of the academic 

work throughout the School. 

The Music Department produced an 

excellent concert in the Chapel before 

the guests spilled out onto the Lawn to 

listen the Pipe Band prior to lunch in 

the Marquee. 

G Fest 2010 

Just like the Icelandic volcano which 

caused some people to miss out on 

the event, the competition erupted, but 

with talent rather than ash. 

G Fest 2010 was an event organised 

entirely by pupils in aid of Cancer 

Research UK. It was centred around 

the popular video game ‘Guitar Hero’. 

The seven senior houses battled it out 

to win the prestigious ‘Guitar Hero’ 

award. Every pupil involved showed 

great enthusiasm, but the eventual 

winners were Ruthven (Junior) and 

Freeland (Senior), the latter retaining 

their title. The true highlight of the 

evening, however , was the live band. 

‘The Phentones’ performed three 

songs which were thoroughly enjoyed 

by all. 

With help from our sponsors WH Smith, 

HMV, Boots and Game station an 

impressive sum was raised for charity.


Strathallian... 

Nicol 1959 Reunion 

A contingent of Strathallians now based all 

over the world organised a Reunion held in 

the Royal George Hotel on Saturday 5th June. 

The Strathallian Club was approached for help 

in contacting Nicol Boys who left School 1959 

and invitations were sent out bringing a group 

of 18 together for dinner. The following day 

the Headmaster welcomed the party back to 

the School to enjoy Strathallian Day, and the 

Strathallian Club held a small reception prior 

to their moving on to enjoy the Strathallian Day 

activities, with a tour led by current pupil Jamie 

Dinsmore, the grandson of Jimmy Dinsmore, one 

of the party. Tim Harrison who organised the event 

said later “Wherever we went, and whoever we 

met, the sheer unbridled enthusiasm for all that is 

the current Strathallan, shone like a beacon.” 

London Dinner 

Strathallians came from far and wide this year to attend the 

London Dinner in the Caledonian Club, with some travelling 

from as far as Strasbourg and Geneva. David Young, the 

Chairman of the Board of Governors and the Headmaster 

both paid tribute to the work done by Tony Bucher to 

develop the London Dinner and who very sadly passed 

away at the end of last year. A wonderful meal was enjoyed 

by all before retiring to the library downstairs for some lively 

conversation and reminiscing. 

Freeland Reunion 

The Strathallian Club was delighted 

to welcome back over eighty Former 

Pupils to School for the Freeland 

House Reunion in April. Family 

groups joined us, with the Philip 

Family particularly well represented 

by three generations. Following 

a reception in Freeland House, 

lunch was enjoyed in the Dining 

Hall. Robert Proctor’s tenure as 

Housemaster was recognised by 

some of those who had been under 

his tender care and they took the 

opportunity to make a presentation 

to mark his retirement at the end of 

this academic year. Freeland prefects 

then led tours around the School to 

round off a very enjoyable day.


Strathallian Day 

Over 400 guests enjoyed Strathallian Day this year. Cricket and 

Girls Hockey kicked off proceedings; lunch was then served in the 

Music Room with entertainment provided by the Big Band. Touch 

Rugby and Football also saw competitive matches, the overall 

result being a win to the School in all sports. Clay Pigeon Shooting 

and Golf were very popular whilst Riley Paddock proved yet again 

to be a massive hit with the younger visitors. Many people took 

the opportunity to see round the School on informal tours led by 

School pupils. For some it was their fi rst visit while for others it 

was their fi rst visit back to School for many years. The traditional 

Hog Roast rounded off the fun fi lled and entertaining day. 

Michael Moore, the 

new Secretary of 

State for Scotland 

After the elevation of Danny Alexander 

to the Treasury, Michael Moore, 

Liberal Democrat MP for Berwickshire, 

Roxburgh and Selkirk became the 

Coalition’s new Secretary of State for 

Scotland. 

Michael was born in Northern Ireland, 

the son of an Army Chaplain. He 

arrived in Riley in 1977 and left after 

achieving 9 A grades at O-level plus, 

to the undoubted chagrin of Mr Barker, 

a B in Chemistry. Contemporaries 

and staff at Strathallan will remember 

him for his height, his quiet sense of 

humour, his charm, his intelligence, his 

conscientiousness and his reliability. 

He performed in the Orchestra, was in 

teams for Rugby and Cross Country 

and was an NCO in the RN section. 

His father, having retired from the 

Army, took over the Parish of Jedburgh 

and Michael sat his Highers at the 

Grammar School there. He progressed 

to Edinburgh University, graduating 

in Politics and Modern History. He 

was a political researcher for Archy 

Kirkwood for a year before taking 

articles and qualifying as an accountant 

with Coopers and Lybrand. Then 

selected as David Steel’s successor 

and duly elected to the constituency of 

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale in 

1997. At this time he was a Manager in 

Coopers Corporate Finance Offi ce. 

At Westminster, he has been party 

spokesman on Transport, Shadow 

Foreign Secretary and Shadow 

International Development Secretary. 

He still lives in the Borders and married 

Alison in 2004. 

Strathallian 

Fishing Day 

The 23rd May saw the annual ‘clash of 

the piscatorial titans’ as the Strathallian 

anglers took on the best that the School 

could field at Frandy Reservoir in 

Glendevon. Amidst wonderful upland 

scenery, the anglers plied their wits 

against the feisty but fickle finned 

residents of the loch in challenging 

conditions (is there anything but for 

this event). No longer as naive as 

at the start of the session, the trout 

proved to be elusive and all anglers 

had to work hard to connect with the 

fish – but nevertheless success was to 

be had and at the end of a long day, a 

respectable number of fish were brought 

to the scales. 

This year the School team, captained 

by Anthony Glasgow, the Bursar, 

was victorious with nine fish to the 

Strathallians’ six. All agreed that it 

was wonderful to have the youngest 

competitor, Charles Gifford (Form IV 

Simpson House) take the prize for best 

fish of the day. Robin Easton beat the 

Bursar by a few ounces for best bag 

of the day, each angler having taken 

three fish. 

The Strathallian team, captained by 

Stuart Biggart were magnanimous 

in defeat – but vowed to fish harder 

next year to avoid loosing three in a 

row. The date for the next challenge is 

already in the diary for 22 May so dust 

off your tackle and join in…!


School Memories 

The Centenary is approaching in 2013 and with 

this in mind the School is intending to produce 

an updated History of the School. We would 

love to hear from you if you have any photos or 

memories of your time at Strathallan. Please 

contact Aileen Wilson alumni@strathallan.co.uk 

or 1738 815082. 

Strathallian Club 

Forthcoming Events 

Leburn House Reunion 

Sunday 19th September 2010 

Join us for drinks at 1.15pm followed by lunch 

in the School Dining Hall. Take the opportunity 

to catch up with old friends on an informal and 

relaxed afternoon. The event is being funded 

by the Strathallian Club so there is no charge. 

Partners are very welcome. 

Christmas Fair 

Tuesday 14th December, from 11am 

Visit the Christmas Fair in the Music Room before 

the end of term Carol Services where there will 

be stalls offering a wide variety of goods for sale. 

Ideal for a spot of Christmas shopping. Tea and 

Coffee will also be served. 

Sir Ian Grant 

Ian Grant (Freeland ’60) was made a Knight 

Bachelor in the New Year’s Honours List following 

his retirement as Chairman of The Crown Estate, a 

post he had held since October 2002. He was also 

the Scottish Commissioner of The Crown Estate from 

1996 until his retirement. 

From leaving university until 1993, Mr Grant 

farmed a mixed arable and livestock enterprise 

near Blairgowrie. He was President of the National 

Farmers’ Union of Scotland from 1984 to 1990, 

and during that period represented Scottish and 

UK farming interests at home, in Europe and 

internationally. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal 

Agricultural Societies in 1987, and the following year 

was awarded the CBE for services to Agriculture. 

He has also served as Deputy Chairman of both 

Scottish and Southern Energy and the NFU Mutual 

Insurance Society as well as being Chairman of the 

Scottish Tourist Board and a non-executive director 

of both the Clydesdale Bank and East of Scotland 

Farmers. 

In October 1987 he was elected a Fellow of the 

Royal Agricultural Society, and in June 1988 was 

awarded the CBE for services to Agriculture. 

Forgandenny Perth PH2 9EG Scotland UK 

T +44 (0)1738 815003 F +44 (0)1738 812549 

Scottish Charity No: SC008903 

Strathallian...

NEWS Summer '10 - Strathallan School

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