Hutchesons’ Grammar School The Sandy Strang Bursary Fund “Much is expected of those to whom much is given.” ~ Strang, December 2016
Alexander (Sandy) Liddell Strang, 9th May 1951 – 2nd May 2017
The Sandy Strang Bursary Project launched in his memory Sandy’s connection with Hutchesons’ began in 1963 when he won a bursary
joining from Mosspark Primary. He excelled at the school and in 1969 he was awarded the Dux medal.
His dedication and appreciation of Hutchesons’ began when he joined as a pupil and after winning a scholarship to study English and Classics at Churchill College, Cambridge he returned to Hutchie to take up a teaching post in the English department. In his 30 years with the school he rose through the ranks to Head of Department and Depute Rector. He was strict, uncompromising and highly organised – a gifted teacher who was passionate about the school. Sandy cared deeply for his pupils and expected nothing but the best. It was evident from the hundreds of former pupils that attended his funeral, or got in touch with the school following the sad news of his death, just what an impact Sandy had made on their lives. One of his mentors at Cambridge was the renowned academic and thinker, Professor George Steiner, who said: “My father loved poetry and music. But deep in himself he thought teaching the finest thing a person could do.” Sandy most definitely agreed with the sentiment and thousands of Hutchesons’ pupils have certainly benefitted from his teaching and guidance.
Passion Sandy was a keen sportsman. During his university years he showed skill on the pitch achieving a “Blue” for football but he excelled most notably in cricket. After leaving Hutchie in 2003 he pursued his passion for words, becoming a newspaper columnist and one of the most highly regarded after-dinner speakers in the business, cultivating a new persona as the “Strang Experience”. Many will recall the fine speech he gave to the FPs in December 2016, extolling the virtues of a Hutchie education. Sandy’s passing in 2017 shocked many in the Hutchie community, but we are delighted to say that we have received a donation of £100,000 in his memory, to be used to help able young people have the opportunity to join Hutchie. We wish to add to this and need your support.
Please go to www.hutchesons.org/online-giving or phone the development office
Please consider supporting the project and help us raise £400,000 The influence Sandy had on his many charges over the years is perhaps impossible to quantify but one of his pupils paid this tribute.
“Sandy Strang was one of a kind. Both praise and criticism from him meant everything. The standards he set were high, but that made us work harder and I believe the school was all the better for his discipline. He was funny, interesting, intelligent, and (importantly) always fair (...even if it didn’t always feel so at the time!). As years have passed, I along with so many others have been able to see with great clarity what an incredible, positive influence he had on my school career, my development as a young adult, and therefore ultimately my life. I can only hope he was aware of even half the number of people who attribute some of their success to him, who respected him enormously, who feel grateful to have known him, and who perhaps never got the chance to thank him.” Sandy’s bursary to attend Hutchesons’ helped shape the man he became and in turn enabled him to pass on his values to the thousands of pupils who passed through his care during his teaching career. In recognition of Sandy’s commitment as a teacher and his generosity, we are asking you to consider contributing to the Sandy Strang Bursary Project, the aim of which is to create a Bursary in perpetuity. To fund such a bursary requires ethical investment income from £400,000. If interest rates increase, this sum will support more children. We are a quarter of the way there, but we would like to fund the Sandy Strang Bursary indefinitely so numerous children can access the Hutchie education of which Sandy was immensely proud. Every donation will help realise our goal of extending our bursary provision, and making Hutchie a place of learning for all young people, regardless of income. A lofty goal, but with your help, we can achieve it. “Much is expected of those to whom much is given”
on 0141 433 4474 to donate to the Sandy Strang Bursary Project. ThankYou.
The Sandy Strang Bursary Project launched in his memory “I met Sandy for the first time when he spoke at the Former Pupil Dinner in December 2016. We were all struck by the passion and eloquence with which his final theme cleverly emerged: starting from his roots as a bursary boy and extending his belief that he had a mission to extend the development of bursaries at the school so that children like him could have the opportunity to develop. Sandy had a huge impact on the lives of thousands of children during his time at Hutchie: there was an amazing attendance at his funeral and the very high regard in which he was held was perhaps never more clearly in evidence.” ~ Rector Colin Gambles Indeed, Sandy eloquently shared his passion for Hutchesons’ with FPs at the December 2016 dinner. Here, in his own words he described, what he believed to be the very heart of Hutchie.
“A Hutchie education is a huge privilege and with privilege comes obligation. Another character trait which, initially as a pupil and later a privileged teacher, I’ve always found indicative of the Hutchie ethos was resilience. A certain, indefinable perhaps but palpably present, dogged determination to deliver regardless of the field of endeavour or the obstacles presented. Robert Service’s The Quitter is a wonderfully evocative poem epitomising this trait of the dogged, ‘never say die’, resilience which I’ve always identified with the Hutchie tradition. Enabling youngsters to find their inner voice, to encourage excellence without arrogance, to promote a strong sense of social obligation, to foster resilience and show a proper respect for the best of the past is a valid background to a better future, all in a highly cosmopolitan environment. That’s how I define the essence of the Hutchie ethos during my lifetime as pupil and teacher.” Througout his life Sandy was influenced by his mentor Professor Steiner and at the FP dinner in 2016 he spoke about his concept of ‘guest-hood’. A philosophy which clearly resonated with him and one he was keen to share far and wide.
Please go to www.hutchesons.org/online-giving or phone the development office
Please consider supporting the project and help us raise £400,000 “We are all guests of life. We have to learn to be guests, to treat each other as guests and to make each other welcome. That was the Steiner mantra - a categorical, unequivocal belief that we have an absolute moral duty to be kind to each other, to look after and to love each other and to leave the world a better place than we found it. We are not on this earth to see through each other but rather to see each other through and a Hutchie education has provided many with the requisite tools to embrace a life of service to others and to live fullfilling lives The television actor Derek Riddell, (C1985) gave the commemoration address at Founders’ Day 2018 and paid tribute to Sandy in his speech. He told the guests: “I had been offered a place at LAMDA and the admissions lady asked me how I was going to fund the place. “I didn’t know at the time that Hutchesons’ gave out further education bursaries but one of the teachers heard about my situation and encouraged me to apply. That teacher was the late Sandy Strang who taught me English for a couple of years. He made a big impression on me and introduced me to Shakespeare and other great writers like Thomas Hardy and Arthur Miller. “I’d like to thank Sandy, my parents and Hutchie, because without them I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
If you would like to show your gratitude for the influence Sandy had on your education, please consider donating to the Sandy Strang Bursary Project in his memory and help realise his ambition of providing a bursary to an able student who couldn’t otherwise access a Hutchie education. To donate please go to www.hutchesons.org/online-giving Alternatively, you can phone the Development Office on 0141 433 4474 or complete the form at the back of this booklet and post to the school Development Office at 21 Beaton Road, Glasgow, G41 4NW. If appropriate, please remember to gift aid your donation to boost it by 25%.
on 0141 433 4474 to donate to the Sandy Strang Bursary Project. ThankYou.
The Sandy Strang Bursary Project
Hutchesons’ Grammar School “Enable younsters to find their inner voice” - Strang, December 2016
Hutchesons’ Grammar School is governed by Hutchesons’ Educational Trust, Registered Charity no SC002922
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Hutchesons’ Grammar School is governed by Hutchesons’ Educational Trust, Registered Charity no SC002922