article

Fettes College is a leading independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is sometimes referred to as a public school, although strictly this is an English term, and not used in this sense in Scotland.

History

It was founded in 1870 as the result of a large bequest by Sir William Fettes, a wealthy Edinburgh merchant, in memoriam of his son, also called William Fettes, who died in 1815. The bequest was for the education of poor children and orphans, during the years after his death the money was very successfully invested approx. This sum was then used to create the current school which still operates as a charity - it offers a very small percentage of pupils foundations *, these are highly competitive. Although the scholarships on offer are often generous, it can certainly be said that Fettes College has failed in her prescribed remit to educate the poor and disadvantaged.

The school is sometimes described as the 'Eton of the North' and is sometimes thought of as being an offshoot of Rugby School in England. It has tended to follow the English public school system, rather than Scottish educational traditions. Pupils take GCSEs rather than Standard Grades, and due to the recent removal of the Scottish Highers examination, students now have the choice between the A Level exam system or the new International Baccalaureate. This has hardly dispelled the image of Fettes being an English school in Scotland, as stated by George Campbell Hay many decades ago.

The school was all male until 1970 when girls were first allowed in the final year. Since 1983 it has been fully co-educational, much earlier than its arch-rival Loretto nearby. The school admits both daytime-only and boarding pupils, but boarders are the majority.

The school is exclusive in that prospective pupils must pass entrance exams in order to be considered for admission and that fees are charged (around 13 500 GBP per year for a daytime-only senior-school-age pupil). The school offers scholarships to exceptionally talented applicants. These scholarships may in turn be topped up with bursaries if the applicant's financial standing so warrants. The current headmaster is Michael Spens Esq. , who has held this position since 1998.

Culture and Atmosphere

Broughton High School, is next door, which is a local authority school, and there is some friction with it.

Fettes has been accused of maintaining class snobbery, as well as homophobia. However, much of the snobbery is light-hearted and should not be taken as the prevailing attitude of the majority. MCB Spens claimed in an recent article in a Scottish national daily paper that the outside perception of the school as snobbish and superior is down to 'the politics of envy,' and that people who hold such views are unlikely to have had much first hand experience of the school's ethos.

Whilst the expectation by the powers that be that teachers be held in an aura of respect by the students can come across as rather stuffy at times, it is clear that the students often enjoy a far more informal relationship with the staff than the official school rules imply.

Substance abuse is fairly frequent, as with most schools. Pupils are expelled for drunkenness, sexual misconduct and soft drug use on an all too frequent basis.

The school's scandals reach the papers quite often, due to its "posh" status, and also because of Tony Blair's own fame.

The Boarding Houses

There are seven boarding houses in Fettes, four boys’ and three girls’. The four boys’ boarding houses are situated in large period buildings, arranged so as to form a loose ‘street’ of boarding houses along Carrington Road. The girl's houses are in the main building's upper floors ("College") and in a modern building in the Eastern grounds.

Male

The current housemaster for each house is listed beside the name of the house.

  • Glencorse House (Sky Blue) Mr. Simon Herbert

  • Moredun House (British Racing Green) Mr. Jonatho Gillespie

  • Kimmerghame House (Mustard Yellow), (pronounced "Kimmerjim".) Mr. Jeremy McCullough

Female

  • Arniston House (Dark green) - Tony Blair's old house, now female. Mrs Claire Harrison

  • College East (Dark red) Mrs Pam Houston

  • College West (Blue and pink)Mrs Margeret Goude

Other

  • Dalmeny House - Existed until early 1990s

  • Inverleith House - The Junior House for those between the ages of 10 and 13. It ceased to exist in 2000 when it became "The Fettes Preparatory School", or Prep. School. The roll was increased to encompass more years. It now educates children from the age of 7-13.

Architecture

The college's main building by David Bryce (built 1863-9) blends the design of a Loire château with elements of the 19th century Scottish Baronial style. The combination, and the siting of the building in the midst of its own spacious grounds, makes Fettes an important landmark.

It is sometimes claimed that JK Rowling based Hogwarts on Fettes, although Rowling herself denies this.

James Bond and Fettes

Whilst expanding on James Bond's backstory, Ian Fleming wrote in You Only Live Twice that the spy had attended Fettes College after having been removed from Eton College due to an incident with a school maid.

While Fleming has never claimed there was any other source for the name of Bond besides James Bond the ornithologist, there was another real life James Bond who actually attended Fettes College. The Fettes alumnus, James Bond, was a frogman with the Special Boat Service, much as the fictional character Bond also has a naval background. The school actually has his Who's Who entry copied and framed in one of its main corridors.

Sean Connery, who was the original actor to portray James Bond in the cinema, worked as a milkman's delivery boy in his youth. One of the places on his route is said to have been Fettes College.

Famous alumni

External links

Boarding schools | James Bond | Private schools in Scotland | Schools in Edinburgh | Schools with Combined Cadet Forces | Charities based in Scotland | Educational institutions established in 1870

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Fettes College".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world