Stewart's Melville College
| Stewart's Melville College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
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Queensferry Road | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent school |
| Motto | "Never unprepared" |
| Established | 1855 & 1832, merged 1972 |
| Principal | David Gray |
| Enrollment | 700 (approx.) |
| Colour(s) | red, black |
| Website | www.esms.edin.sch.uk |
Stewart's Melville College ("Stew Mel" or "SMC") is an independent school (also known as a private school) in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a roll of over 700 pupils; all of which are boys with the exception of the sixth form which is co-educational. Some pupils are boarders, but the vast majority live in the surrounding area and are day pupils. Fees are around £7,700 (GBP) per year for day pupils and around £14,000 for boarders.
The school is twinned with the Mary Erskine School ("MES"), an all-girls private school approximately one mile (2 km) from Stewart's Melville College. Together SMC and MES have a co-educational Junior School which caters for pupils from 3 to 11 years old. The Junior School is located mainly on the SMC campus. Both SMC and MES are managed by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, which is also responsible for the co-educational George Watson's College.
SMC offers pupils the ability to sit SQA exams, including Standard Grade, Intermediate 2, Higher Grade and Advanced Higher Grade levels. As is the case with many independent schools SMC has examination results well above the national average. The majority of pupils go on to higher education. [1]
History
Stewart's Melville College originated when two schools – Daniel Stewart's College and Melville College – merged in 1972 to become "Daniel Stewart's Melville College".
Melville College was created in 1832 by Rev Robert Cunningham. The school was originally named "The Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics" but its name changed when the school moved to Edinburgh's Melville Street.
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 transformed into "Daniel Stewart's College" in 1870.
At its inception, Stewart's Melville had eight houses, named after eight of the firths of Scotland:
The motto of Stewarts' Melville is "Never unprepared".
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 include Rugby Union, football, field hockey, athletics, swimming, cricket, squash, fencing, sailing, curling, badminton and volleyball.
A number of pupils are selected to represent district or national teams. Stewart's Melville College are the current national rugby champions at under-18 level. 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.
Sports, for pupils, are sectioned into winter sports and summer sports. Some of the winter sports include: Rugby Union, field hockey, cross-country, swimming, squash, curling and badminton. Some of the summer sports include: athletics, tennis, golf, sailing, fencing, cricket and volleyball.
Currently the development rugby squad consisting of mainly fifth year (16 year old) students are embarking on a tour of South Africa in the summer months.
There is a large on-site sports centre, named "Ravelston Sports Club" which opened in 2000. The sports centre is mainly used by pupils, but is also open to members of the public with a monthly membership fee. Extensive rugby and cricket pitches and athletics tracks are located at the school's sports grounds in Inverleith.
Performing Arts
Music
The school runs a large number of choirs and orchestras which prove popular and perform in a variety of high-end venues. For example the annual performance in the Usher hall. Within the next year a choir tour of Rome is planned. In the past there have been tours of Spain organised by the school's Concert Band as well as numerous school hosted events and an annual Christmas concert in Saint Mary's Cathedral.
Of particular note this year has been the ESMGC Big Band which camefirst place in it's 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 is currently one of the most successful school pipe bands in Scotland, with the Juvenile Band consistently scoring highly in national competitions. [citation needed]
The school recently converted the Principal's former residence into an extension of the music school. The new building is very well equipped, and is more spacious with many more teaching rooms. Private music tuition is offered to pupils and takes place during the school day. These lessons allow pupils to work towards an Associated Board exam 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 a 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.
Drama
The school also places a strong focus on drama, most recently The Crucible was performed in the Mary Erskine School's Marr Hall, drawing an estimated crowd of 300 by its final night. In the past, works such as Macbeth and Journey's End 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 2007 was West Side Story. This once again proved a hugely enjoyable experience and managed to sell out its initial run of tickets. Students have taken part in many recent professional performances in Edinburgh including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Whistle Down the Wind and Swan Lake.
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.
Performing Arts Centre
It is worth making note of the recent upgrading of the school's Victorian assembly hall to a "Performing Arts Centre". This was a multi-million pound effort paid for in part by the generosity of the school's parents and former pupils. The Centre itself boasts 800 seats that fold back into the wall, providing a variety of possible configurations. The centre is expected to be made available from the start of the 2007/2008 school session for usage by the public.
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 (Royal Regiment of Scotland) 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. The Collegian 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.
Carbisdale
Since the early 1960s, 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 for areas of Scotland):
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.
The 'House Challenge' is an annual event twinned with girls from the Mary Erskine School. It contains a large variety of 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.
Sixth form
The sixth form at Stewart's Melville College consists of 220 male and female students. Classes take place at both the Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville College sites, with buses operating regularly to transfer students between the two sites.
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 UCAS applications. Dr Ian Scott, an assistant Head Teacher, is responsible for the sixth form.
Every member of the sixth form is a prefect and is 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, who all have the honour of wearing red blazers. The red blazer was part of the uniform of the former 'Melville College'.
Notable Former Pupils
The school maintains good relations with former pupils via its Former Pupils Club, which organises social events throughout the year.
Notable former pupils include:
- Finlay Calder, international rugby player and British and Irish Lions captain.
- Graeme Dyce, young tennis star.
- Dario Franchitti, professional racing-car driver.
- Kheredine Idessane, sports broadcaster.
- Finlay Mickel, Olympic skier.
- Doddie Weir, international rugby player.
- David Wilkie, Olympic swimming gold medallist.