Stewart's Melville College

Stewart's Melville College

Motto	"Never Unprepared!"
Established	1832 (Melville College) & 1855 (Daniel Stewart's College), merged 1972
Type	Independent School
Principal	David Gray
Location	Queensferry Road Edinburgh EH4 3EZ Scotland
Students	700 (approx.)
Gender	Male
Ages	11–16
Colours	Black and red
Website	Stewart's Melville College

Stewart's Melville College (often referred to as SMC, The College, or Stew Mel) is an all boys (with the exception of sixth form) boarding and day private school situated in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is one of Scotland's premier academic and sporting educational institutions with a roll of over 700 pupils, Some pupils board on site, but the vast majority live in the surrounding area and are day pupils.^[1] A number of scholarships and bursaries are awarded each year.

The school is twinned with the Mary Erskine School ("MES"), an all-girls private school approximately one mile (1.6 km) from Stewart's Melville College. Together SMC and MES have a co-educational Junior School which caters for pupils from 3 to 12 years old. The Junior School split between the two campuses. Both SMC and MES are managed by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, which is also responsible for the co-educational George Watson's College. Both schools also share a Principal, and most extra-curricular activities are run jointly.

Pupils at Stewart's Melville mainly sit SQA exams, including Standard Grade, Intermediate 2 (almost completely replacing Standard Grade), Higher Grade and Advanced Higher Grade levels. A Level examinations can also be sat in art and music. As is the case with many independent schools SMC has examination results well above the national average. Almost all pupils go on to higher education.^[2]

History

Front of David Rhind's building of 1848

Stewart's Melville College originated following the merger of two schools — Daniel Stewart's College and Melville College — in 1972 to become "Daniel Stewart's and Melville College". After the merger the red trim was added to the Daniel Stewart's blazer for general use and the red blazer of Melville College for those awarded colours.

Melville College was founded in 1832 by Rev. Robert Cunningham. Originally named "The Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics", its name changed when the school moved to Edinburgh's Melville Street in the city's West End.

Daniel Stewart's College was opened in 1855 by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, to whom Daniel Stewart, upon his death in 1814, left a sum of money and instructions that it should be used to create a hospital for needy children within the city. The hospital was located on the current Queensferry Road campus (designed by David Rhind). The hospital was transformed into "Daniel Stewart's College" in 1870.

In 1974 the link with another nearby Merchant Company school, the all girls Mary Erskine School, was formalised and The Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School was formed. Nursery to Primary 3 are housed on the Mary Erskine campus, with Primary 4 to 7 on the Stewart's Melville campus. Today the sixth form of both schools is entirely coeducational.^[3]

Sport

The school is involved in a wide variety of sports, most of which are coached by mixture of staff from general departments as well as the PE department staff. Sports, are sectioned into winter sports and summer sports. Winter sports include Rugby Union, field hockey, cross-country, swimming, squash, curling and badminton, whilst in summer pupils take part in athletics, tennis, golf, sailing, fencing, cricket and volleyball.

A number of pupils have been selected to represent district and national teams. Stewart's Melville College has thrice been champions at Under-18 level at rugby, in 1999 (in their first year of entering) and 2006. The cup was won again in 2011 defeating Edinburgh Academy 19-10 in the final. The Former Pupils Rugby club also play in Division 1 of the Scottish National Premier League.

There is also a school rugby club available to pupils and non-pupils of Stewart's Melville, named the Stew Mel Lions, although the majority of players within the club are pupils at the school. This club is for young teenagers keen on rugby and is held at the school's sports ground at Inverleith.

The development rugby squad (consisting of fourth and fifth year students) go abroad on tour every second year, with past trips to destinations including South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Australia amongst others.

"Ravelston Sports Club", a large on-site sports centre opened in 2000. The sports centre is mainly used by pupils for PE lessons and sports training, but is also open to members of the public with a monthly membership fee. Extensive rugby and cricket pitches and athletics facilities are located at the school's sports grounds in Inverleith.

Performing arts

It should be noted that the school is involved in a number of activities, such as debating, which are not enlarged upon here.

Music

The school runs a large number of choirs and orchestras have performed in a variety of prestigious venues, for example the annual Spring Choral and Orchestral Concert in the Usher hall. The school's Chamber Choir, consisting of 30 students from S5 and Sixth Form of Stewart's Melville College and the Mary Erskine School have recently completed a tour of Rome, performing at a number of venues including St. Peter's Basilica. In the past there have also been tours of Spain organised by the school's prestigious and highly regarded Concert Band as well as numerous school hosted events and an annual Christmas carol service in Saint Mary's Cathedral.

The school's Big Band which came first place in its category in the Glasgow Music Festival while also sweeping the highest score in the day, earning them the "The James McAdam Memorial Trophy". The Erskine Stewart's Melville Pipe Band regularly compete in RSPBA competitions across the country and have toured countries such as Germany and Hungary in the past.

Private music tuition is offered to pupils and normally takes place during the school day. These lessons allow pupils to work towards an Associated Board or Trinity Rock School qualification. The school is proud of its musical heritage and supports any pupil who wishes to join the orchestras and groups.

The school also provides the 'Silvestri Scholarship' to one pupil from Romania each year, encouraging them to learn for a year and participate in the school's wide variety of Musical Activities. Other scholarships provided by the school for Music include the 'Janie Beeston Music Scholarship' awarded to an outstanding string player in the Sixth Form, who is expected to perform in all of the school music groups and perform a solo number in the public Spring Concert, along with smaller awards and bursaries which pay for students' tuition fees on one or more instruments.

Drama

The school also places a strong focus on drama, most recently Of Mice and Men was performed in the newly renovated T.F.C. (see below), drawing an estimated crowd of 250 by its final night. In the past, works such as The Importance of Being Earnest, The Tempest, A Streetcar Named Desire, Macbeth, Journey's End and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged have been performed. Every year there is a "Senior School Musical" which takes boys and girls from third year upwards who work together with a director, musical director, and choreographer. The most recent musical as of June 2010 was Jesus Christ Superstar. The musical for 2011 is to be The MacBeth Project, which has been written in-house. Students have taken part in many recent professional performances in Edinburgh including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,Evita, Whistle Down the Wind and Swan Lake. In 2006 the Sixth Form produced a legendary adaptation of The Sound of Music, raising over £500 for Medicins Sans Frontiers.

The drama department itself runs from a small studio with full lighting capabilities. Although comparatively recently introduced to the school this department has built up a sizable array of pupils, and provides the full range of Scottish Qualifications. The department runs small "Showcases" each year which allow pupils in the exam subjects to show their work to the public. These always prove popular and allow even those who may not normally find themselves commanding large roles to share the stage.

Tom Fleming Centre for Performing Arts (Formerly "Performing Arts Centre")

The school's Victorian assembly hall was comverted to the "Performing Arts Centre" between 2005 and 2007. This £3.5 million project,^[4] was paid for in part by donations from the parents of the schools current pupils and former pupils. The Centre itself has 800 seats that fold back into the wall, providing a variety of possible configurations. Although its first usage was for the S3's Intermediate 2 English exam in April 2007, the centre was officially opened on the 23rd of August 2007. It is also available for use by the public and is used as a venue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.^[5]

On October 8, actor John Cairney unveiled the new name for the centre, "Tom Fleming Centre for Performing Arts", named after former pupil Tom Fleming, one of Scotland's leading broadcasters.

Extracurricular

There are many activities available for pupils outwith the classroom. The school has a large Combined Cadet Force of around 120 pupils. This consists of a larger Army section (affiliated to the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and previously the Royal Scots) and a smaller, Royal Air Force section. Many pupils also participate in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. A popular debating society also exists, under the stewardship of the pupil president and the Coach, which often competes in national events. There are also a large number of smaller organisations which run in the school.

The school circulates an annual bulletin, The Collegian to current and former pupils and staff. It contains a synopsis of school activities, both academic and extracurricular, including activities by school teams, clubs and societies throughout the year. There is also a section devoted to former pupils.

In addition to this, the pupil-produced magazine "STEM2" is published several times each year. The name derives from the original "STEM", which was the school paper in the 1970s, which itself comes from "STEwarts Melville". All the articles are written by pupils, and are also edited by a pupil editorial team. It is self-funded and sold in school to pupils, teachers and parents for 50p. It also includes a 4 page full color supplement, in addition to the four pages of STEM2 in color, created by First and Second Year Pupils.

Carbisdale

Since 1973, the school has organised an outdoor education programme for the boys of SMC and the girls from MES in the third year. It is located in the north of Scotland at Carbisdale Castle, a historic castle which has been converted into a Youth Hostel. The trip consists of a number of outdoor activities that vary from year to year including hillwalking, orienteering, golf, kayaking, team-building activities, visits to nearby historic sites and environmental studies of the surrounding woodland. Carbisdale Castle has a plaque of the Stewart's Melville College badge in its foyer above the main door.

Pastoral

In the first year pupils have a form tutor who is responsible for their well-being. Each form tutor will have approximately 20 students: these students will be in the same Form Class. There is an Assistant Head Teacher who has overall responsibility for the first year.

Between Second Year and Fifth Year boys, are split into house groups. There are six different houses (named after areas of Scotland):

• Appin
• Ettrick
• Galloway
• Kintyre
• Lochaber
• Torridon

Each house has a Head of House who is in charge of the welfare of all boys within his/her house. There is also an Assistant Head of House who has specific responsibility for those pupils in the house in each year group. There is an Assistant Head Teacher who has overall responsibility for all pupils in Second to Fifth Year.

There are corresponding houses at Mary Erskine's also. The 'House Challenge' is an annual event involving both the boys and girls in each house. It contains several events covering a wide variety of school societies, ranging from the House Music Competition to the Inter-house Hockey. The competition comes to a climax on Sports Day with a 4x100m relay between each house. The winning house is then awarded a cup at the school's prizegiving ceremony.

Before being changed in 2000, there were eight houses which were named after eight of the firths of Scotland: Beauly, Cromarty, Dornoch, Forth, Lorne, Pentland, Solway and Tay.

Sixth form

When pupils enter the sixth form they are merged with the girls from the Mary Erskine School. Classes take place at both school sites, with buses operating regularly to transfer students between the two. There are approximately 240 students in a normal year group.

In sixth form students are largely independent. Students have a tutor (twinned with another at the other site) with whom they register in the morning, and who also helps them with their UCAS applications.

All members of the sixth form are prefects and are expected to help out with duties around the school sites. The maintenance of the prefect body is the responsibility of a Head Boy and a Head Girl, along with five deputy head boys and five deputy head girls.

Notable former pupils

See also: Category:People educated at Stewart's Melville College

The school maintains a Former Pupils Club, which organises social events throughout the year. There are branches throughout the UK and abroad.

Notable former pupils include:

• James Bertram (Carnegie secretary)
• Michael Boyd (director), Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.^[6]
• Finlay Calder, international rugby player and British and Irish Lions captain.^[6][7]
• Jim Calder, Scottish and British Lions Rugby Player^[7]
• John Alexander Cruickshank VC, recipient of the Victoria Cross in the Second World War.
• Graeme Dyce, tennis player, winner of the Australian Open Boys' Doubles in 2007 along with Finnish partner Harri Heliövaara
• Tom Fleming CVO, OBE, FRSAMD, actor and television commentator.^[8]
• David Florence, Olympic canoeing silver medallist.^[9]
• Dario Franchitti, professional racing-car driver.^[10]
• Stuart Henry, popular radio disc jockey of the 1960s and 70's.^[11]
• Kheredine Idessane, sports broadcaster.^[12]
• Donald MacGregor, Olympic marathon runner.
• David McCall, rugby player ^[13]
• Finlay Mickel, Olympic skier.^[14]
• Doddie Weir, international rugby player.^[15]
• David Wilkie MBE, Olympic swimming gold medallist.^[16]

References

1. ^ "SCIS - Stewart's Melville College". 2010. http://www.scis.org.uk/schools/details/61/Stewarts-Melville-College. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
2. ^ "Academic Results & Leavers' Destinations". 2008-2009. http://www.esms.edin.sch.uk/SM-Results.aspx. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
3. ^ "Structure of the Schools". http://www.esms.edin.sch.uk/About-Structure.aspx. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
4. ^ "Performing Arts Centre". http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1479582007. 
5. ^ "Performing Arts Centre Stewart's Melville College". 2010. http://www.edfringe.com/venues/performing-arts-centre-stewart-s-melville-college. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} The Herald (28 February 2008). "How charitable status boosted income of private schools". http://www.heraldscotland.com/how-charitable-status-boosted-income-of-private-schools-1.875537. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
7. ^ ^{a b} The Scotsman (11 September 2010). "Top private school expels four teenage boys caught with cannabis". http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Top-private-school-expels-four.6525969.jp?articlepage=2. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 
8. ^ "ESMS News Update December 09 (page 10)". December 2009. http://www.esms.edin.sch.uk/GetFile.aspx?ItemId=1316. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
9. ^ "David Florence - Education". http://www.davidflorence.co.uk/index.php?page=about&section_number=3. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
10. ^ Dario visiting Stewart's Melville on 4th December 2009
11. ^ "Edinphoto - Daniel Stewart's College". 16 August 2009. http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_g/0_groups_and_outings_daniel_stewarts_college_4b_1950-51.htm. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
12. ^ "BBC Press Office - Kheredine Idessane Biography". August 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/scotland/kheredine_idessane.shtml. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
13. ^ David McCall playing in the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup Final at Murrayfield
14. ^ "International Ski Federation (FIS) Biography - Finlay Mickel". http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?type=biog&competitorid=40099&sector=AL. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
15. ^ "Rugby in Asia - Doddie Weir". http://www.rugbyinasia.com/feature/457/doddie-weir-not-so-much-a-name-but-more-a-condition. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
16. ^ "BBC - A Sporting Nation - David Wilkie wins gold in Montreal 1976". http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0079/. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 

External links

• The Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools Website
• The Stewart's Melville School Website
• The Stewart's Melville RFC Website
• Stewart's Melville College page on Scottish Schools Online

Coordinates: 55°57′N 3°13′W / 55.95°N 3.217°W / 55.95; -3.217