The School Today In this section we keep you up to date with life at the School today, featuring news and reports by and about our current pupils.
Nurturing Extraordinary People One of the highlights of the school year is the opportunity to welcome Former Pupils back to their ‘old school’ for our annual FP Reunion event. As the Old Girls and Old Boys gather, polite conversations are had and a gentle buzz is audible over coffee. Fast forward an hour and in the ‘large gym’ the noise is deafening! Everyone animated as they comment on the unchanged smell and ambience of this space that instantly transports them back 10, 20 or even 50 years. In this environment, and as the tour continues, the sophisticated professionals, entrepreneurs, responsible parents and grandparents return to type. In-jokes are told, there are affectionate recollections and vivid memories shared of teachers who have had huge impact, both for good and ill. As a member of staff who has spent all my professional career as a teacher at HSD, this is always a reminder of the responsibility that I have every day to build relationships that foster positivity and self-belief. It is interesting that I have never heard FPs reminiscing about their grades, however important (or not) this was in allowing them to follow their career aspirations. Instead as they walk around their school, they remember the people; their teachers, Miss Knight, Mrs. Sheena Leadbitter, the ladies in the tuck shop, the janitorial staff, the Lady Superintendent, and occasionally the Deputy Rector or Rector (I may add that not all recollections are positive ones!). They, and we, as adults remember the small encouragement spoken in private, the individual who, against the negative stream, believed in them. The firm word, plain talking and clear sanction that turned us around and the empathetic understanding that was crucial when things beneath the surface were difficult. This throws into sharp relief the awesome responsibility and wonderful opportunity that we have to nurture, support, guide and inspire the young people in our care.
More than ever we need our school to be a place where we can learn in the widest sense. Crucially our young people need us, their teachers, to help them to learn about themselves, understand their emotions, manage the uncertainty and risks all around them and emerge resilient, compassionate and and well-grounded for the future. We as staff, through the Integrated Curriculum, aspire to meet these standards every day. There are pressures, there are disappointments and failures. But we recognise that from the failure comes the magic of a situation reviewed, real lessons learnt and the prospect of even greater successes ahead. As I embark on the awesome and humbling responsibility of leading our unique school through its next chapter, this is at the core of my vision. As an historian I am keenly aware of the importance of the past in understanding the present and shaping the future. Last year in this column, I wrote about the Deputy Rector who inspired me in the role that I have held for the last seven years. As I step up into the role of Rector after Christmas, I face the exciting prospect of taking the shared vision of the Integrated Curriculum to the next level and to leading my own vision forward. Under the leadership of Dr. John Halliday, the School has been put on the map, both within the community of Dundee and much further afield. Always challenging us to think bigger and more creatively and not to be content to stand still; he has given his heart and soul to the School. He moves into retirement leaving it with a more vibrant, creative and aspirational outlook. The chance to add my heart and soul to the role of the first female Rector in this school that I love is the greatest of opportunities, and one to which I am very much looking forward. The strength of the staff team at HSD, our wonderful pupils and the support of an engaged parent and FP body are the ties that makes us passionate and vocal in its defence. The hopes and fears of all the High School family are also the fuel that can take us confidently forward and allow us to continue to challenge ourselves to provide the best environment in which we can all thrive. This can only be achieved together, with clear goals and a healthy balance of competitiveness and compassion. The impact of this approach is evident in the extraordinary people that this school can call their FPs and in the pages of this publication. Mrs. Lise Hudson, Deputy Rector
