Number 2 Spring 2007 EThe magazinetc for formeretera pupils and friends of Glasgow Academy and Westbourne School MAKING YOUR MARK What sort of impression did you make at school? Editorial Contents We all leave a mark. Whether 3 The Rector's view we like it or not, whether we mean to or not – it’s part of 4 Marks on the woodwork the human condition. You can’t do so much as pick 5 From the archives... up a wineglass without making a unique and intricately- 6 Re-unions and things sculpted fingerprint. And, as 7-10 News from the Accies devotees of CSI know and some criminals find out too 11 Wullie Tait and friends late, we recklessly leave bits of our DNA lying about all over 12 Interesting people the place… Rev Alan D McDonald, the Moderator of the And so it is with schools. 13-14 Donald MacLean General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, made his mark at the Commemoration Service Everyone who has ever in October entered the hallowed portals of 15-16 People in the news Glasgow Academy/ Westbourne from the day the doors opened in 1846 until two minutes 17-18 Births, marriages and deaths ago – be they the longest-lived teacher or the youngest pupil – has made a subtle but important contribution to its history. 19-20 More news of former pupils Peter Brodie, our Rector, is four-and-a-half terms into making his mark on The Academy. In his first column in this magazine, he shares his view Do we have your e-mail address? of some of the important changes he has seen in that brief time. Donald It’s how we communicate best! MacLean, who left in 1943, certainly left his mark on the BBC and EMI. On pages 13 and 14, he tells us what he has done in the 64 years since leaving school. The work of Westbourne FP Professor Elizabeth Treasure Keeping in touch (see page 15) has made its mark on the world of dentistry and benefited The External Relations office is situated all of us as a result. Jim Jope, who is remembered on page 17, taught next to the school library in the basement Maths at The Academy for 27 years. His recent death brought a flood of of The Academy’s main building. Former pupils are always welcome to pop in and e-mails from grateful pupils who remembered his happy eccentricities. have a chat. Our address is Colebrooke Street, Glasgow G12 8HE and you can And, of course,A.A. the boy who carved his initials on the wall of room contact us on 0141 342 5494 or at K in 1948 – sixty years ago – was making his mark too… [email protected] And that’s what this magazine is about. We want Etcetera to celebrate the The Glasgow Academical Club,21 uniqueness that is you. We want to see your fingerprints all over it. So Helensburgh Drive, Glasgow G13 1RR President – George McLaren E-mail: get reading – and get writing! [email protected] Secretary – Kenneth Shand Tel: 0141 248 5011 E-mail: [email protected] The Academical Club is available for functions. Please contact the steward Ken Barron at [email protected] for details. Malcolm McNaught Director of External Relations Academical Club’s London Section [email protected] Secretary – David Hall, 20 Cadogan Place London SW1X 9SA Tel:020 7235 9012 E-mail: [email protected] 2 Etcetera The view from the top he Academy is moving forward in T very exciting ways. Those donning hard hats have already enjoyed the magnificent views from our new Prep School on the bank of the Kelvin. We believe our new school will provide the best 21st-century learning environment for young children in Scotland. We will have it up and running in 2008 and are looking forward to it giving us larger classrooms with bright natural light. There will be open activity areas outside classrooms where children can enjoy a wide range of creative and enterprising experiences. The school is naturally ventilated and very energy efficient. State-of-the-art IT facilities will be built-in and the building’s construction will make it fully adaptable to the changes that the 21st century will bring. It will free up space in Colebrooke terrace for us to improve the facilities of the Senior School. Looking to the future: Peter Brodie, the with them through their time at The Mr Tony Brooke has been appointed Rector and Gordon Jack (right), Chairman of Academy. Both pupil and tutor belong to be Head of the Prep School, Governors with George Mackie (centre) of to one of our four Houses, whose following the retirement of Helen Robertson’s Construction. activities have expanded enormously to Fortune this coming summer. It will include debating, singing and the be Tony’s third headship: he is Women’s under-20 hockey at the possibility of winning House points for currently Head of Sutton Valence Prep Australian Youth Olympics,and John virtually any good activity. The teachers School in Kent, where he has overseen Beattie scoring for Scotland. But who are Heads of House and their pupil impressive improvement and music, drama and the intellectual and House Captains now play a major role expansion. A trained and practising cultural life of the school are in the pastoral life of The Academy, Independent School Inspector as well developing apace too. Nearly 70 of developing a much greater sense of as a Council member of the our musicians have just returned from belonging and shared enterprise. Incorporated Association of Prep a highly successful tour of Belgium, These are dynamic times for The Schools and a member of Kent including our burgeoning Pipe Band, Academy. We are experiencing great County Cricket Club, he and his wife whilst in addition to the normal school demand for places at all levels and the Harriet have four children, the plays, musicals and pantos, we have had future looks very bright. We face it younger of which will be attending pupils directing outstanding produc- with confidence. In building for the The Glasgow Academy. tions of Animal Farm, The Sound of future, we seek also to keep faith with Music and The Odd Couple, with more I am passionate about developing the our past. It has been a delight to meet to come next term. initiative, responsibility and potential of so many Academicals over the last year our young people. We have enjoyed Helping young people believe that and I look forward very much to major sporting successes over the last they can achieve good and great things opportunities to hear more of our year, and are very proud to be has been at the heart of our new shared past and tell you more of our associated with our Academicals, Personal Support system. Every child present and future. You will always be including Laura Bartlett, who left us in the Senior School now has a tutor, a most welcome at The Academy. only last summer, playing a key role in dedicated member of staff with whom Great Britain’s Gold medal for they meet daily and who should stay Peter Brodie Etcetera 3 Little boys have been making marks in wood since time immemorial – or, in the case of Glasgow Academy, 1690. Retrospective Detentions omebody glancing at the cover of this magazine must know who SA.A. is (or was) who in 1948 carved his initials for posterity (or whoever else was interested) in room K. What about J+K+ in 1956, and who was the mysterious Third Man (or boy) who failed to show up? Coming ever closer to the present day, do we know the identity of GE who was so bold as to gouge his initials in room G on the ground floor? To claim your retrospective detention – or to ‘grass’ on one of your friends, write to [email protected] or phone 0141 342 5494. Confession is good for the soul, boys! They’ll thank you for it in the end… Marks of a different kind Visitors to last June’s Summer Evening on the Terrace will be in no doubt that The Academy has produced some seriously talented young artists. To celebrate that talent, we’re planning a Glasgow Academy Art Calendar for 2008. Our promise is that it will be lavishly illustrated, professionally produced and reasonably priced. We can even produce a special edition to advertise your business, should you want it. More details next time… We hope to hold another event for former pupils this summer and are finalising details as we go to press. Sophie with flowers by Naomi Archibald (2006) 4 Etcetera THE ACCIE WHO BURNED UP STAMFORD BRIDGE ven Jose Mourinho would have the London Athletic Club as an arena for won the Scottish title every year up to 1907 been impressed by the athletics meetings and not at all for and he also won the International event Eperformance of one of Glasgow football. In 1904, the ground was acquired against Ireland on each occasion. He Accies’ finest when a certain Robert by Gus Mears and his brother, J T Mears, improved the Championship record to 16.0 Summers Stronach (born in Partick in who had previously acquired additional seconds in 1905. To get some measure of 1882) won the British 120 yards Hurdles adjacent land. The Mears family remained these performances, this time was identical to Championship at Stamford Bridge in 1905. the owners of the ground (and the winning time in the Olympic 110 subsequently the Club) until the 1970s.