Jump to content

Fettes College

Coordinates: 55°57′49″N 03°13′34″W / 55.96361°N 3.22611°W / 55.96361; -3.22611
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Western Province (talk | contribs) at 16:26, 17 April 2009 (→‎Famous Old Fettesians). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fettes College
File:Fettes.png
Address
Map
Carrington Road

Edinburgh

Scotland
Information
TypeIndependent school (UK)
MottoIndustria
Established1871
FounderSir William Fettes
OversightHer Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
HeadmasterMichael Spens
Number of students670
Colour(s)Chocolate & Magenta   
Mascota Bee (also crest)
National ranking13th[1]
NewspaperThe Buzz
MagazineThe Fettesian
Websitewww.fettes.com
File:Fetteslogo.png

Fettes College is an independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is often referred to as a public school in common with the traditional independent schools in England and Wales, although in Scotland, as in most of the English-speaking world, "public school" usually refers to a state school.[2]

History

To perpetuate the memory of his only son William, who had predeceased him in 1815, Sir William Fettes (1750-1836), a former Lord Provost of Edinburgh and wealthy city merchant, bequeathed the then very large sum of £166,000 to be set aside for the education of poor children and orphans.

After his death the bequest was effected and invested and the accumulated sum was then used to acquire the land, to build the main building and found the school in 1870. Fettes College thus opened with 53 pupils (40 were Foundation Scholars with 11 others boarding & 2 day pupils).

The Headmaster who provoked most controversy was Anthony Chenevix-Trench (1971-79), formerly of Eton. The investigative journalist Paul Foot wrote an expose in Private Eye detailing his excessive use of corporal punishment while he was a Housemaster at Shrewsbury School. Tim Card, a former Vice-provost of Eton College, said Chenevix-Trench's resignation from that school was caused by his heavy drinking and his overuse of the cane. [3]

An all-boys school until 1970, when female pupils were first admitted for the final year - Fettes has been co-educational since 1983. In recent years, some journalists have described Fettes as "the Eton of the North"[4][5][6].

  • In 1998 Fettes was placed 4th in the Daily Telegraph league table of Schools.[7]
  • In 1999 Fettes was placed 5th in the Sunday Times list of top mixed independent schools in the UK.[8]
  • In 2001 Fettes was declared "Scottish School of the year" by the Sunday Times.[9]
Fettes College

In 2002, three incidents, two involving drugs, occurred and were dealt with by the school. Three sixth-form boys were excluded from the school over drugs: two were caught with cannabis at a school event, while the other failed a drugs test while on a school trip. For revealing details of these exclusions to the press a female sixth-former was expelled - writing a letter to parents, the Headmaster described her actions as "despicable", "reprehensible" and "well beyond the pale".[10] In April of that year, a pupil was shot at with an air pistol by another pupil - the incident was dealt with by school authorities.[11]

In early 2007, videos made at the school- which were apparently based on the television programme Jackass were posted to the video-sharing website YouTube. These videos featured stunts such as pupils smashing branches over their heads and walking on banisters, as well as nudity and the consumption of alcohol.[12]

Fettes' pupils wear distinctive chocolate and magenta coloured blazers. It is said that Fettes "used to have a hearty, rugger-bugger, Caledonian image".[13]

In 2009 Fettes won the Bell Lawrie Scottish School's Cup, at Murrayfield Stadium, for the first time.[14]

Curriculum

Fettes College has follows the English rather than Scottish education system. Pupils take GCSEs rather than Scottish Standard Grades and, due to the recent removal of the Scottish Highers examination, students now have the choice between the A Level exam system and the new International Baccalaureate Diploma, but cannot take Scottish exams.[15]

Fettes is an IB World School, one of only three schools in Scotland to have attained this status.[16]

Fettes College main building.

The Boarding Houses

There are currently eight houses; four for boys, three for girls and one for boys and girls. The houses are named after the estates of the first Trustees. The male houses are large period buildings which stretch from East Fettes Avenue to Carrington Road; two of the female houses are in the upper floors of the main College Building and the third is in a modern building in the eastern part of the grounds. An innovation, reflecting the changes in responsibilities of teenagers in the school and society, is the Upper Sixth Boarding House, for both boys and girls in their last year at Fettes, which opened in September 2007.

Boys

  • Carrington
  • Glencorse
  • Kimmerghame
  • Moredun

Girls

  • Arniston
  • College East
  • College West

Boys and Girls

  • Craigleith, Mixed Upper Sixth Form House

also

  • Dalmeny was renamed to Carrington in 1873 due to a post office confusion.
  • Inverleith was the previous name for the Preparatory School, now an entity in its own right.
  • School House split into College East and College West.

Architecture

The college's main building by David Bryce (built 1863-9) blends the design of a Loire château with elements of the 19th century Scottish Baronial. According to the school's website, the combination of styles and the site of the building led a modern architectural expert to praise it as "undeniably one of Scotland's greatest buildings"[17].

Coat of Arms

The school crest is a Bee because it appears at the top of Sir William’s Coat of Arms and his Seal (for letters etc) was also a Bee. When the College Arms were granted, they were Sir William’s with the colours reversed. Nowadays a more modern image is used but it is still the same Coat of Arms.

The bee is the origin of the school's motto 'Industria'. Its motif features prominently around the school. Beehives appear over the now-unused East and West doors of the College. A Bee in stone watches over the front of Malcolm House (1880) and the Prep School. A large bee fronts Kimmerghame (1928) and there is an original lead bee in the porch of the Headmaster’s Lodge.[18]

Fettes Tartan

A school tartan was designed in 1996 at the prompting of the Headmaster, Malcom Thyne. It is a fine balance between the traditional kilt colours of green, blue and black and the Fettes colours of chocolate and magenta, with white stripes to add brightness.

The Fettes Tartan is worn as a kilt by boys and as a kilt skirt by girls who do not have a family tartan. The first showing of the kilt was on the hockey/lacrosse tour of Australia and Japan in 1998. [19]

Fettes In Fiction

James Bond

Whilst expanding on James Bond's back story, Ian Fleming wrote in You Only Live Twice that the spy had attended Fettes College, his father's old school, after having been removed from Eton. "Here the atmosphere was somewhat Calvinistic, and both academic and athletic standards were rigorous. Nevertheless, though inclined to be solitary by nature, he established some firm friendships among the traditionally famous athletic circles, at the school. By the time he left, at the early age of seventeen, he had twice fought for the school as a light-weight and had, in addition, founded the first serious judo class at a British public school."[20]

While Fleming never claimed there was any other source for the name of Bond than James Bond an American ornithologist, there was a real life James Bond who did attend Fettes. He was a frogman with the Special Boat Service, much as the fictional character Bond has a naval background. The school has his "Who's Who' entry copied and framed over the 'Second Master's office door in one of its main corridors.

Captain Britain

Captain America "Uh, it's Captain Britain, right? Tony was telling me all about that submarine rescue you guys did a few weeks back. That was pretty amazing."

Captain Britain "Oh, Tony's hilarious, isn't he? Everyone here just absolutely loved him. We've all been very excited about meeting you too, Captain. Did you know I used to have a poster of you on my wall when I was a pupil up at Fettes College in Edinburgh?"

— The first meeting of Captains America and Britain[21]

Later to become Marvel Comics' Captain Britain, the British equivalent of Captain America, Brian Braddock was born to aristocratic parents in the town of Maldon, Essex. After falling upon hard times, Brian's family had lost their place in society, leaving Brian a lonely yet gifted child who immerses himself in the study of Physics.

A prodigious talent, Brian is selected to attend Fettes College where he excels in his studies. Following the death of his parents (Sir James and Lady Elizabeth) in what seemed to be a laboratory accident, Brian accepts a fellowship at Darkmoor nuclear research centre. When the facility is attacked by the Reaver, Brian tries to find help by escaping on his motorcycle. Although he crashes his bike in a nearly fatal accident, Merlyn and his daughter the Omniversal Guardian Roma appear to the badly injured Brian. They give him the chance to be the superhero Captain Britain. He is offered a choice: the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Considering himself to be no warrior and unsuited for the challenge, he rejects the Sword and chooses the Amulet. This choice transforms Brian Braddock into Captain Britain, the champion of the British Isles.[22]

Headmasters

There have only been nine headmasters of the school since it was founded:[23]

  • 1870 - 1889 Alexander Potts
  • 1890 - 1919 William Heard
  • 1919 - 1945 Alec Ashcroft
  • 1945 - 1958 Donald Crichton-Miller
  • 1958 - 1971 Ian McIntosh
  • 1971 - 1979 Anthony Chenevix-Trench
  • 1979 - 1988 Cameron Cochrane
  • 1988 - 1998 Malcolm Thyne
  • 1998 - to date Michael Spens

Famous Old Fettesians

Four Old Fettesians have won the Victoria Cross and one the George Cross, please see the above list for details. Former pupils of the school sometimes refer to themselves as "OF" and can use the post nominal "OF".

See also Category:Old Fettesians.

References

  1. ^ "The Top 100 Co-Educational Senior Boarding Schools by A Levels". best-schools.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed., 1989, s.v. "Public school", available here.
  3. ^ Where to send your children to school if you want them beaten Independent on Sunday, 1 May 1994
  4. ^ Tony Blair's revolting schooldays The Scotsman, 23 July 2004
  5. ^ Under the Green Oak, an old elite takes root in Tories The Guardian, 12 August 2006
  6. ^ House of rivals shares the bond of an educated elite The Times, 12 December 2005
  7. ^ "Daily Telegraph League Table of Top Schools", Daily Telegraph, 29 August 1998
  8. ^ "Top 250 Independent Schools", Parent Power Supplement, Sunday Times, 15 November 1999
  9. ^ Top school expels pupils over drugs BBC News, 5 February 2002
  10. ^ Headmaster's letter oulines catalogueof problems The Scotsman, 18 February 2002
  11. ^ Fettes pupil shoots classmate with airgun The Scotsman, 1 May 2002
  12. ^ Fettes pupils in Jackass row The Scotsman, 5 March 2007
  13. ^ The Tatler Schools Guide 2007
  14. ^ Gammell jnr helps spark Fettes revival The Scotsman, 15 March 2009
  15. ^ Fettes College: Academic Curriculum
  16. ^ Another two schools offer the IB BBC News, 17 August 2006
  17. ^ Fettes College: The Building Retrieved 2009-03-21
  18. ^ Fettes College: The Bee Retrieved 2009-03-21
  19. ^ Fettes College: The Fettes Tartan Retrieved 2009-03-21
  20. ^ Ian Fleming, "You Only Live Twice", Chapter 21, Obit Retrieved 2009-03-21
  21. ^ Ultimates 2, No. 4, May, 2005
  22. ^ Chris Claremont (w), Herb Trimpe, Fred Kida (a). Captain Britain Weekly, no. 1 (Week ending October 13, 1976). Marvel Comics.
  23. ^ Philp, Robert, A Keen Wind Blows, James & James, 1998 ISBN 0907383858
  24. ^ John de Chastelain: arms and the man BBC News, 30 May 1999
  25. ^ George Cross Database

See also

55°57′49″N 03°13′34″W / 55.96361°N 3.22611°W / 55.96361; -3.22611

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fettes_College&oldid=284446591"