Skrine's News

Weekend on Loch Tay - see slide show above

On 28^th April, 11 boys from Skrine's travelled by canoe first to an island on Loch Tay. The first job was to set up camp on the side of the loch. Having set up a decent site, we slept under a tarpaulin hung from a rope. After making a camp fire, we ate a delicious chili con carne with jacket potato, supplied by the kitchen staff. Some of us had a go at fishing from the canoes, but we were unsuccessful at catching anything. After a brilliant night's sleep (albeit quite cold) we rose early in the morning to a great view over the loch. We canoed back to the drop-off point on a calm beautiful Sunday morning, and packed up and left to return to Glenalmond. Many thanks to Mr Nicholls for taking us on this brilliant adventure.

By Hector Knight and Harry Metcalfe (photos to follow)

The day of the Inter-house Croquet competition

Putting the pre-tournament disappointment of not playing by Croquet Association rules behind them, Skrine's early tactics of 'one stay, one shoot' worked well, much to the confusion of some of the assembled onlookers. A comprehensive victory was followed by a semi-final tie against a snappily-dressed Goodacre's team. Clever roquet-ing up the field from an experienced Goodacre's team kept the game on a knife-edge, but clever use of the yard line by captain Shearer and usefully obstructive play from Gibson led Skrine's into a decisive two-hoop lead at the final whistle, setting up a final against Matheson's.  

Unfortunately after Matheson's had won the toss, they claimed an unassailable lead and went to claim the prized Pink Flamingo Croquet Trophy. A great day out on the lawn was enjoyed by everybody. and perhaps next year's Skrine's four will claim the ultimate prize. 

House Steeplechase

Another inter-house sporting event, but a new venue this year. The House Steeplechase was moved to the Golf Course as the traditional Internal course was unsafe. Every boy available made their way to the course in high spirits, and every one of them pushed themselves around the various tracks - some rather more swiftly than others, inevitably. Congratulations to Angus Sandison for coming home as first 4^th form boy, and to Dougie Wainwright as 7^th home in the Senior boys. Overall, Skrine's came a very creditable second place overall, which is testament to the all-round contribution from the house as a whole.

House Football

The last inter-house competitions of a very busy Lent Term were the senior and junior house football competitions. In the final analysis, Skrine's came a very respectable second in both of these competitions, with the senior boys recording victories over Patchell's, Matheson's and Reid's before succumbing 0-1 to the eventual tournament winners Goodacre's. The Juniors prevailed over Matheson's and Goodacre's, drawing with Reid's. Well done to all involved with these tournaments, all played in excellent spirit.

Saturday night in the woods…

Junior House Hockey

The first Saturday afternoon of term saw the Junior House hockey competition - a keenly fought tournament with some excellent hockey play, all in very good spirit. Sadly the Skrine's team came second in all of the four matches, but all the boys played with keenness and invention. As can be seen in the photographs, 'much fun was had by all'. Special mention must go to Harry Moat (3^rd Form) who performed heroics in the goal mouth, and the results were certainly less one-sided than they could have been. Well done to all the boys and especially Angus Sandison, Ryan Craig and Ollie Davidson for their organisation and general enthusiasm.

Some of you may have noticed that Skrine's has received something of a make over on the ground floor. Recent addition and changes include a new Head of House board, a mural of the Skrine's logo, (both in the lobby area), a spruced-up trophy cabinet area opposite the Tuck Shop, a large signed photo of the 3^rd and 4^th form boys, as well as various stag's heads and other decorations dotting the ground floor corridors. Many thanks to all the boys - especially Artem Kobeletskyy - and to Mrs. Davidson for their efforts with this.

House Music

This was an event where Skrine's was a heavy favourite to do well. And so it proved to be on the night: the combination of Patrick Baldwin (horn), Alex Thom (bass), Sandy McCleery (drums), Patrick Baldwin (trumpet) and Artem Kobeletskyy ('cello) provided a tuneful and professional rendition of 'Take Five' - see photo below.

Rory capped for Scotland

Skrine's 4^th former Rory Pritchard had a busy Easter break, meeting up with the Scotland Hockey U16 Development squad over the holidays. After training with the squad in Edinburgh, he was called up into the team for a three-match series against Wales in Wrexham. The Scots youngsters won the series with a 4-2 victory in the final game. Although the Welsh had equalised to make the score 1-1 after an early Scotland goal, the Scots reached the interval 3-1 up with a double strike from Rory, and went on to win the match and the series.

Congratulations to Rory, and let's hope there's more to come!

Welcome to the first edition of the Skrine's Newsletter for this academic year. It has certainly been a busy fortnight on all fronts. With seventeen new faces in the house - twenty-two including the Davidson Five - there have been some hectic days for all of us! The first weekend saw three home rugby matches, with Skrine's representation in all of the teams, followed by the long-awaited opening night in the Moncrieff centre. The Sixth Formers showed great ingenuity and no little courage in their choice of fancy dress - sadly no photographic evidence has survived. Not so for the following day's activities, with the first chapel service of the year, and the first wearing of a kilt for some of the boys.

This was followed by the Skrine's House Outing, which continued on the traditional theme of 'shooting each other with paintballs'. This might appear an odd choice for a 'bonding' experience, as all combatants wear identical camouflage jump-suits and full face masks. This made communication, let alone increased mutual understanding and support, rather difficult. But to get to the main point: the boys loved it, despite the array of 10p-sized welts sported by most of the boys on return. Their new housemaster appeared to have been shot only in the small of the back and on the back of his legs, suggesting that either he is a girly coward or that he had been 'fragged' by his own men. I'm not sure which is better.

The second Saturday was Taster Day, with the house and the school on display to potential pupils and their parents. The boys in Skrine's made a great impression on the visitors, with several commenting on the engaging and polite nature of the boys. Well done and my personal thanks to those boys who were involved in this. There was far gentler fare for the evening, with DVDs and home-made cakes in the cinema room for the 2^nd and 3^rd Form, a disco in Cairnies for the 4^th and 5^th Form and the customary daft costumes. The Davidson Jr. Dressing-up box has rarely seen such use. Nine Skrine's boys made use of the Sunday morning Munro Club and Canoe river trips, and we welcomed Vincent di Bella from Queensland who is staying in Skrine's as an exchange pupil. His stay in Skrine's is the return half of the arrangement whereby Herries Anderton (L6) visited Australia over the summer.

With four Skrine's boys in the rugby 1^st XV, eleven in the choir, and plenty of activity and endeavour from the other 53 in the house, it has certainly been a dynamic start to the year.