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Fettes College

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Fettes College

Fettes College is a leading independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is sometimes referred to as a public school.

History

Fettes was founded in 1870 as the result of a large bequest by Sir William Fettes, a wealthy Edinburgh merchant, in memoriam of his son, also called William Fettes, who died in 1815. The bequest was for the education of poor children and orphans, during the years after his death the money (approximately £166,000) was very successfully invested. This sum was then used to create the current school which still operates as a charity – it offers generous foundations (scholarships) to a small number of pupils; there is substantial competition for these.

The school is sometimes described as the "Eton of the North" ,as Eton was also originally set up as a charity school (some may say that this is perhaps because Edinburgh is sometimes described as "The Athens of the North") and is sometimes thought of as being an offshoot of England's Rugby School. It has tended to follow the English public school system, rather than Scottish educational traditions. 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 or the new International Baccalaureate Diploma. This has hardly dispelled the image of Fettes being an English school in Scotland, as stated by George Campbell Hay many decades ago.

The school was all male until 1970 when girls were first allowed for the final year. Since 1983 it has been fully co-educational, earlier than its rival Loretto nearby. The school admits both daytime-only and boarding pupils, but boarders are the majority.

Prospective pupils must pass entrance exams in order to be considered for admission and that fees are charged (around 13 500 GBP per year for a daytime-only senior-school-age pupil). The school offers scholarships to exceptionally talented applicants. These scholarships may in turn be topped up with bursaries if the applicant's financial standing so warrants. The current headmaster is Michael Spens, who has held this position since 1998.

The boarding houses

There are seven boarding houses in Fettes, four boys' and three girls'. The four boys' boarding houses are situated in large period buildings, arranged so as to form a loose "street" of boarding houses along Carrington Road. The girl's houses are in the main building's upper floors ("College") and in a modern building in the Eastern grounds.

Male

Female

Other

  • Dalmeny House – Was renamed Carrington one year after opening in the 1890s.
  • Inverleith House – The Junior House for those between the ages of 10 and 13. It ceased to exist in 2000 when it became "The Fettes Preparatory School". The roll was increased to encompass more years. It now educates children from the age of 7-13. The "Prep School" houses are now named Arran House and Iona House, after the Scottish Islands.

A new Upper Sixth Form Boarding House is currently being built for those in the final year at Fettes (boys and girls). The house will be completed for September 2007 intake.

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 style. The combination, and the siting of the building in the midst of its own spacious grounds, makes Fettes an important landmark.

It is sometimes claimed that Edinburgh author JK Rowling based Hogwarts on Fettes, although Rowling herself denies this.[citation needed]

James Bond and Fettes

Whilst expanding on James Bond's backstory, Ian Fleming wrote in You Only Live Twice that the spy had attended Fettes College after having been removed from Eton College due to an incident with a school maid.

While Fleming has never claimed there was any other source for the name of Bond besides James Bond the ornithologist, there was another real life James Bond who actually attended Fettes College. The Fettes alumnus, James Bond, was a frogman with the Special Boat Service, much as the fictional character Bond also has a naval background. The school actually has his Who's Who entry copied and framed in one of its main corridors.

Sean Connery, who was the original actor to portray James Bond in the cinema, worked as a milkman's delivery boy in his youth. One of the places on his route is said to have been Fettes College.[citation needed]

Famous alumni

  • John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, KT, CBE
  • The Rt Hon. Tony Blair, MP PC Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
  • W. C. Sellar, co-author of 1066 and All That, was Head Boy in 1917 and later taught at the school.
  • Tilda Swinton, actress also attended in sixth year.
  • George Campbell Hay, poet in English and Scottish Gaelic, who wryly called Fettes College a little piece of "Forever England".
  • Ruthven Todd Scottish poet and novelist, known also as an editor of William Blake, and as an artist.
  • Bill Gammell, Scottish rugby international and oil magnate
  • John de Chastelain, Canadian general and diplomat
  • William Eric Kinloch Anderson, provost of Eton College
  • Norman Cameron, Scottish poet
  • Hugh Crichton-Miller, psychiatrist, founder of the Tavistock Clinic
  • Rt. Hon. Ian MacLeod, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • David Ogilvy, advertising pioneer
  • Tommy Armour, Scottish golfer
  • Sir John Ward CBE CA, Chairman of Scottish Enterprise
  • David Reid, Chairman of Tesco
  • Lord Woolf, lawyer, Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice
  • John Macnaughten Whittaker, Mathematician
  • Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton, electrical engineer and television pioneer
  • Michael Tippett, composer
  • John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, politician in Churchill's government, Home Sec, Foreign Sec, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor
  • Lord Normand, Scottish politician and judge.
  • Sir Robin Young, Permanent Sec., Dept of Trade & Industry
  • Andy Rutherford. Scottish Rugby Internationalist
  • Dominic Busby. Star of TV and radio
  • John Wilkes Booth. Famous American stage actor
  • Jorge Beninza, Regional Commander of Bogota branch of the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) rebels
  • Fereydoon Batamanghelidj, Persian/Iranian doctor
  • Robert Lawrence, Scots Guards officer and subject of film 'Tumbledown'
  • Shaun Ryder out of the Happy Mondays
  • Adam Buchanan-Smith. Scottish Rugby Internationalist
  • Joseph Maddock. Olympic Silver Medal Winner for swimming
  • Sir Robin Young. Permanent Secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry
  • Laurence White. Chairman of The Christian Peabody Trust for Impoverished Youth
  • David Murray. Chairman of Murray International Holdings; Chairman of Rangers Football Club
  • W. Mark Felt. Former Associate Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Sir Thomas Macpherson CBE, MC DL Commando; resistance organiser; athlete; former President of Council of European Chambers of Commerce
  • King Cuauhtemoc. King of the Aztecs 1520-1525
  • Ernesto Guevara. Chairman, Bank of Cuba 1961-62
  • Fraser ‘Ozzy ‘ Osbourne. Singer with the popular beat combo Black Sabbath
  • Sir Alexander Glen KBE, DSC. Explorer, writer, Company Director, Chairman Export Council for Europe (1964-66), Chairman British Tourist Authority (1969-77)
  • Myleen Klass. Classical Musician and Jungle Celebrity
  • John Wayne Gacy Jr. Notable Childrens Entertainer
  • Nolan Romero, Wittgenstein Scholar at the University of Belgrade
  • Rt. Hon. Lord Coulsfield. Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland; Lockerbie trial judge; Privy Counsellor
  • Tommy Sheridan MSP
  • Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart. Author; British rep. to provisional Czech Govt.(1940-41); Dir.-Gen. Political Warfare Executive (1941-45)
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