Message from the Head

Helen Harrison (Staff 1996–present)

I am writing to you all at the end of the Summer Term after what has been another challenging year leading Fettes through extraordinary times. No one envisaged at the outset of the pandemic that we would be celebrating our 150th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of girls joining the school virtually and that our students would be learning from home again for the whole of the Spring Term. This term, as was the case in the Autumn Term, we lived our school life in ‘bubbles’ with strict guidelines on quarantine, facecoverings, hand-washing and various restrictions on what we could and couldn’t do. Fettes does not stand still, so we embraced everything, adapting and giving our students as authentic a Fettes experience as we could. Fire pits and outdoor socialising on House punt-abouts replaced indoor social events, as did outdoor cinema evenings and musical performances. We played lots of sport and the School Play, Much Ado About Nothing, evolved into an inspiring film shot here on campus. I do hope that you have had a chance to see this marvellous production featuring a hugely talented cast and many familiar settings.

How proud I am of every member of staff and every student. We may not have been able to come together as a whole school in Chapel (an occasion particularly close to my heart), or sit external exams but, nevertheless, owing to the creativity, resilience and determination of the staff and students we have been able to achieve so much. I would particularly like to thank the Senior Leadership Team for their unwavering support during this challenging time. Andy Shackleton, who joined Fettes as a Classics teacher in 1985 and has been Director of Studies/Deputy Head Academic since 2002, was a key member of this team until he retired on Founder’s Day. I am sure I speak on behalf of many Old Fettesians when I thank him for all that he has done for life at Fettes in his time here. My husband, Rob Harrison also retired from the classroom at the end of term, having joined Fettes in 1991 as an English teacher and running Carrington from 1999 to 2005. Although Rob has retired from teaching, he will continue to be a valued member of the Fettes team and I remain deeply grateful to him for his unending support. As I told the school, he will still be correcting my apostrophes in messages such as this one for years to come.

All OFs matter to the school of today and I am grateful to those of you who have come forward to share your experiences, positive and negative, of Fettes in the past. Having been at Fettes for 25 years, latterly as Deputy Head, before becoming Head, I know that a Fettes education matters to our students, parents, staff and alumni, and the quality of that experience most certainly matters to me. We all care about each other and we need to notice the little things as well as the big things. The pastoral care at Fettes today is of an exceptionally high quality and is sectorleading; however, we can never afford to be complacent. It remains my focus to ensure that Fettesians have a happy and enriching time at the school. It was therefore absolutely correct for me to appear in front of Lady Smith, Chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, and to apologise unreservedly for those occasions on which Fettes has fallen short in the past. This Inquiry into historic abuse in boarding schools in Scotland over the last 75 years is ongoing and is due to conclude towards the end of the year.

For our special anniversaries to fall in a global pandemic was a disappointment but it did not stop us from celebrating in as many ways as we could. I was very fortunate to have been on the roof on 5th October 2020 and to see the College flag raised to the sound of the pipes, and then to come down to the Callover Hall to join the School Prefects and Heads of House before reading out the names of the first students, just as Dr Potts had done exactly 150 years before.

Whilst I would have loved to have had the opportunity to have met many of you in person this year, I am thrilled that over 4,000 OFs from across the globe joined in the celebrations.

The global recovery from the pandemic is unchartered territory. Our efforts to celebrate Founder’s Day with our leavers were sadly thwarted by a Covid outbreak days beforehand. We missed enormously having our leavers and their parents present for Founder’s Day and I’m grateful to those who helped present an online alternative. I am very proud of these students, who depart Fettes as individuals ready for their next steps, well-rounded and with a good dose of humility. They will make excellent role models and wonderful Old Fettesians. I am grateful for the support that the OF network will give them as they progress on their journey ahead through the Fettes Career Partnership programme and through the spirit of friendship and support being a member of the OFA affords them.

Leading your wonderful school into the future gives me so much to be hopeful about. As things stand, we have our highest school roll ever for next term. We will welcome close to 800 students across the College and the Prep School, including around 150 new families from across the world. We are a truly inclusive co-educational global boarding school and the work of the Fettes Equality Group is an important strand of our plans for the future.

I am looking forward to embarking on a positive school year in September, when we confidently expect to get back to enjoying a more recognisable Fettes term, including a much fuller range of co- curricular activities. For me though, above all, I am looking forward to getting the school back into Chapel and for us to once again enjoy that communal activity. Similarly, I look forward to being able to welcome Old Fettesians back to campus in your numbers again as soon as we can.

Floreas Fettesia!

Helen Harrison Head, Fettes College