News Headlines
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POINTS OF INTEREST 2011 - 12
We have recently been given a copy of a cine film taken during the Queens visit to Loretto in 1958. To view this please click here. Many thanks to Ernie Franklin (1958) for allowing us to use this on the website.
POINTS OF INTEREST 2010-11
Jonathan Smith's new book, The Following Game, has been published by Peridot Press. Jonathan, who taught at Loretto in the 1960s, returned in 2008 to speak to the Common Room and to address the school. Indeed, you may know of Jonathan's earlier book, The Learning Game, which features his time at Loretto. The Learning Game made a lasting impact in the world of schools and became a best seller. Jonathan is the father of the writer Ed Smith, who played cricket for Kent, Middlesex and England. If you are interested in finding out more about this new book, which has much to say about fathers and sons and sport, not to mention families and schools, please click here.
Alistair G Guthrie (1990) won the Carlsberg Classic at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, the biggest amateur event in Malaysia, by two strokes. Some 4,000 participants from across the country took part in the tournament with 80 players taking part in the national final. (14 Nov)
Alastair G Morrison (1991) has been appointed Headmaster of Feltonfleet School in Cobham, Surrey. He, his wife Lizzie (nee Pike) (1992), and three daughters move there in September 2012. (14 Nov)
Colin S McGregor (1986) was named UK arable farmer of the year at the Farmers Weekly Awards Ceremony in London, for combining good farming practices and successful business and community involvement. Colin has steadily built up the family business since taking over aged 21 and, as the biggest single user of precision farming techniques in Scotland, now crops 2,830 ha (nearly 7,000 acres) growing wheat, oilseed rape, spring beans, vining peas, barley and potatoes.
See: http://www.berwickshirenews.co.uk/news/local-headlines/colin_is_top_of_the_crops_1_1904817
Simon JS Smith (1998) won his 30th Cricket Cap for Scotland this season
Will F Edwards (1987) won a BAFTA award in the Photography Factual section for his work on the Human Planet series (Arctic episode). (16 May)
William Alexander Kerr VC (1840-45) : Restoration of gravestone in Folkestone.
Captain Alexander Kerr was awarded the Victoria Cross in India in 1857, the only OL to receive this honour.
The citation reads: "He rode with fifty troopers to the relief of Kolapoor, where the mutinous 27th Native Infantry had entrenched themselves. The only gate of the fortified 'pagah', which the rebels were holding, was small and very strong. A narrow aperture having been made in it with crowbars, Lt Kerr squeezed himself through, facing the volley of twenty Sepoys, whom he held at bay until his troops had entered. This exploit he repeated at an inner citadel, and every rebel was killed or captured in consequence. He was wounded, and awarded the Victoria Cross."
The School and Society contributed towards the restoration of the headstone of his grave in Folkestone cemetery. The President of the Society, Alec Watt (1955), Dr George Findlay (1970) a GP in Folkestone and John Oscroft (1948) represented the Society at the rededication service with several members of the Kerr family and representatives of service organisations.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-13077221
Professor Mark S Currie (1980) has been appointed Professor of Contemporary Literature at Queen Mary College, University of London. Before joining the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary in 2010, Mark was Professor of Contemporary Writing at the University of East Anglia and Professor of English at Anglia Ruskin University.
Ian Nicholson (1996) is organising the charity event "Ready, Steady, Jewel!" Twelve of Scotland's best, established jewellers alongside some of the finest up and coming new graduates are participating in this event. They will choose from four briefs, consisting of a range of precious metals and stones and will have 8 hours to produce a piece of work in The Precious Metals Workshop. The finished items will be hallmarked before going on display in Edinburgh's prestigious Hamilton & Inches windows for ten days prior to the charity auction at the Out Of The Blue Drill Hall on October 23rd. The beneficiaries of the auction will be The British Heart Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care and BLISS. Tickets are priced at £25. If you are interested in further details, please contact Ian at Ian@preciousmetalsworkshop.com
Hazel's Footprints Trust was set up in memory of an Old Lorettonian, Hazel Scott Aiton by her family in 2004. The charity is based at the family home in the Scottish Borders with an arm down in London. Details of the charity can be found here.
The flagship event is the HFT Highland Fling which takes place on Saturday 13th November 2010. Now in its third year, the Fling a fabulous evening held at the beautiful Hurlingham Club in Fulham with a champagne reception, three course supper, raffle & auction and Scottish reels into the wee small hours. Please find the link to the event here. The Fling has two key objectives, firstly to raise money for the trust and continue the amazing work Bill and Joan Scott Aiton do in Hazel's name and secondly to keep the Scottish revelry very much alive and accessible for Scots and crucially Old Lorettonians.
If you are unable to attend the fling but wish to donate, please do so by visiting the Charity's donation page by clicking here.
Celebrity Piano Recital by Jonathan Plowright and awarding of All-Steinway status. Friday 1 October Loretto Chapel 7.30pm
As part of Loretto's strategy to become a centre of excellence in the expressive arts, the Music Department took delivery of 13 brand new Steinway pianos last December. Loretto is now a formally designated All-Steinway School in recognition of the fact that we rely solely on their instruments. We are the first independent school in Europe to achieve this status.
We are delighted to announce that the official awarding of our All-Steinway status will be on Friday 1 October, when the internationally renowned concert artist Jonathan Plowright will be performing on one of the new Model B Concert Grands in Loretto Chapel. The evening will be sponsored by Clydesdale bank.
Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as "one of the finest living pianists", Jonathan Plowright performs as a solo recitalist and with leading orchestras all over the world. He records exclusively for Hyperion and most recently his 'Hommage à Chopin' CD attracted unanimous praise, including the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Gramophone Editor's Choice and CD of the Week on ClassicFM.
We are privileged to host this recital, at which Glenn Gough, Managing Director of Steinway & Sons UK will formally award Loretto's All-Steinway status.
Please reserve free tickets in advance by contacting Jill Smith, the School Secretary T 0131 653 4433 . jsmith@loretto.com
THE PRYDE OF EAST LOTHIAN PIPES AND DRUMS (named after Pipe Major James Pryde MBE)
would like to welcome all past OL bagpipers and drummers or family members to come and play with the Band. The band practices at Loretto on Friday Evenings at 7pm. If you or a family member would like to come along, or have access to the band's sheet music, please contact the Band Secretary at bandsecretary(at)pelpb.com. The band is made up of OLs, Lorettonians and the general public from East Lothian and is named after Pipe Major James Pryde MBE who was an instructor at Loretto and sadly passed away last year. Colin Pryde, his son, is the current piping Instructor at Loretto and Pipe Major of the Pryde of East Lothian Pipes and Drums. You can read more about the band at http://www.pelpb.com/. The band is of course available to play for any events that Old Lorettonians are involved in!
The Scottish Broadcasting Commission (10 members) includes The Revd. Professor Norman W Drummond (Headmaster: 1984-95), Lord (Peter L) Fraser of Carmyllie (1963) and WA Murray Grigor (1957).
The Reverend Professor Norman W Drummond received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University from Glasgow Caledonian University in July 2010.
Keith Chalmers-Watson (1963) is the World Pheasant Association's Vice-Chairman. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Presented by HRH The Princess Royal, Patron of RZSS, the honour commemorates Keith's substantial contribution to the Society's Wildlife conservation, education and research. RZSS was established in 1909 and owns both Edinburgh Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park.
Professor Fergus G.B. Millar (1953), Emeritus Camden Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University was Knighted in the Birthday Honours,for services to scholarship. (16 June)
William PD McCarthy (2002) has been awarded the coveted Sword of Honour, the highest award at thenRoyal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He commissioned into The Parachute Regiment on the Sovereign's Parade on 11th December, 2009. (3 Jan)
Jordan L Mitchell (2004) was awarded First Class Honours in his MA in International Business by the University of Edinburgh in July 2009. (17 Dec)
Adam B Richardson (2006) has been awarded First Class Honours in Physics at the University of Cambridge. (17 Sept)
POINTS OF INTEREST 2009
Reverend Professor Douglas William David Shaw (Loretto Nippers, 1937-40) was awarded an O.B.E. in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009, for charitable services in Scotland. (16 June)
Dr Robert R Steedman OBE, RSA, (1946) founder of the respected Scottish architectural practice, Morris & Steedman, has been awarded the Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Architecture by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). (23 May)
Loretto's Estates Development Plan,
which is a preliminary masterplan for the 85 acres and 48 buildings comprising the School estate, is available for viewing on the website: clck here (Feb 09)
Director of Music Edward Coleman was interviewed on Australian radio about the Pipe Band's recording of Highland Cathedral
The School's Highland Cathedral recording has been downloaded from the School's website over 2400 times recently by Australians.
On Sunday, 25th January, Ed Coleman was interviewed live on Australia's ABC Radio, where he spoke about the history of the piece and Loretto's version of it. Even though it was recorded on a tight budget with four mics, performed in one take and released only on cassette tape, it has become many people's favourite arrangement.
The School is now looking into the possibility of touring Australia with the choir and pipe band and anybody with any useful contacts in Australia that might be able to help us is asked to contact Edward Coleman at the school.
Click here to download Highland Cathedral on the School website. (29th Jan 09)
Professor Charles A Fairfield (1986) has been appointed to the Chair of Civil Engineering at Napier University. (Jan 09)
POINTS OF INTEREST 2008
William Durran and Gavin McDowall have been appointed Honorary Life Vice Presidents in recognition of their contribution to the Society. WHD has been Editor of the Lorettonian (1967-89), President (1976-77), Editor of the Loretto Register 2000 and looks after the database and associated web-based activity, and GMcD has been Honorary Secretary and OL Editor of the Lorettonian from 1989-2008. (Nov 08)
Hamish MJ Ritchie (1960) is Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for 2008-09, having played himself in on 18 September, 2008. He follows 10 other OL Captains of the R&A : WP Adam (1874-5); JGB Hay (1896-7); WJ Mure (1898-9); JL Mitchell (1965-66); GW Mackie (1970-71); Sir Iain M Stewart (1972-73); WR Alexander (1980-81); JG Salvesen (1983-84); GM Simmers (2001-02) and AR Cole-Hamilton (2004-05). (Sept 08)
Andrew WS Marr (1977) won a BAFTA award in the Specialsist Factual category for his BBC TV series History of Modern Britain. (May 08)
Jamie Pendergrass (2005) has been awarded his Half Blue for Fives at Oxford University: he played No. 1 in the match against Cambridge in 2007. (May 08)
Iain C Conn (1980) is Managing Director of BP. (Feb 08)
POINTS OF INTEREST 2006-07
Craig D Morrison (2003) graduated with First Class Honours from his Masters degree in Law at Cambridge University in June 2007, having graduated first in his year from his undergraduate degree at Cambridge in 2006. (31 Oct)
W Michael B Brown (1963) has been appointed Chairman of the R & A Championship Committee.
Jennifer C Costello (née Wilson) (2000) graduated with first class honours in psychology from Queen's University Belfast.
Alistair M Darling (1971) has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Robert S Dewar (1967), has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria wef December 2007. From 2004 - 2007 he has been in Addis Ababa as Her Majesty's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Her Majesty's Non-Resident Ambassador to Djibouti and Permanent Representative to the African Union.
Professor Mark S Currie (1980), following teaching appointments at the Universities of Dundee, Westminster and Anglia Ruskin, has been appointed to the Chair of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia at Norwich
W Ruthven Gemmell (1975) is President of the Law Society of Scotland.
David R McCreath (1960) was awarded the OBE for Services to malting industry in the 2006 New Year's Honours
Professor Rory W McTurk (1960) has been appointed to the Chair of Icelandic Studies at the University of Leeds .
Alex J McNeil (1985) has been appointmented Maxwell Professor of Mathematics at Heriot-Watt University.
Roseanne Niven (2005) gained her full Scottish Golf Cap in 2006 and has joined the University of California, Berkeley, in January 20007 on a golf scholarship, to study English.
Keith Miller (1967), Group Chief Executive for the Miller Group, has received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Napier University in July 2005.
JA (Sandy) MacC Orr (1957), Executive Chairman of City Inn Hotels has been awarded the OBE in the 2006 Birthday Honours for Services to Hospitality.
Alex M Poots (1985) is Director of the Manchester International Arts Festival.
Revd Professor DWD Shaw (1940) has been awarded a Doctorate of Divinity by the University of St Andrews
Martin RF Shuker (1980) is Managing Director of KFC UK.
Robert R Steedman (1946) has been awarded an Honorary Degree (DLitt) by the University of St Andrews for Services to Architecture - the first architect to be so honoured in the university's history.
David JR Strang (1976), having been the Chief Constable of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary since 2001, has taken up a new appointment as the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police.