Reid's News

Things you thought you would never see …

When Stirling applied to run the House tuck shop, he said in his letter of application that he would like to see more variety in the goods sold, including more healthy items and perhaps some home baking.

Keen to take him at his word, Mrs Jeffers kindly made her kitchen and a selection of ingredients available to the Stirling, and sous chef Jock to show what they could do.

The boys showed a surprising aptitude for home baking and at the end of the afternoon, two very respectable Victoria sponges were the end result and I'm pleased to report they disappeared pretty quickly when the tuck shop opened later that afternoon.

Junior House Cricket 

The Reid's team after their win

Although not over staffed with potential International stars of the future, there is absolutely no shortage of passion for cricket amongst the juniors and there are some very keen devotees of the game. The House cricket competition is very popular with the boys as it is not as serious as playing at College level and the spirit of the game can be enjoyed, along with the banter! It also provides an opportunity for boys to take a starring role who may not get the same opportunities to do so with the Colts teams.

So, despite having lost our first three games, the boys were fired up with a steely determination to win our final match. This was against Skrine's, who batted first. They put up a respectable total of 101 off their 20 overs, setting the stage for a Reid's run chase to win the game.

Reid's got off to a slow start, but solid innings from Robert Russell and Matthew Oliver, who both retired "not out" having scored their 25, brought the final runs within our grasp. It was a fitting finale that Captain Robbie Swift hit the winning runs, accompanied at the crease by wicket keeper Alex Clayhills-Henderson, who also scored some runs in the final overs.

Thanks to the III and IV Form boys for playing the game in such a great spirit. The House matches this year have provided some of the most enjoyable cricket I've watched and provide an opportunity for almost everyone to contribute.

Blues and Browns Photo Shoot

Junior House Tennis

Reid's House Shoot 2010

Sunday the 16th of May was the day of the Reid's House Charity Clay Pigeon shoot. Despite gloomy forecasts earlier in the week it proved to be a glorious day of sunshine.

The format of the shoot requires each Reid's boy to shoot with an adult partner, usually their father or mother, but quite often a friend or former pupil.

This has always been a popular event and this year's event was no different. For the third year running we have been able to use the Gleneagles Shooting School which has increased its' popularity still further.

The event was again organised by the impressively efficient Colin Wilson who also works as an instructor at Gleneagles.

The shoot consists of five stands where each pair shoot (or miss!) ten clays each, giving a total score out of 100 for the team of two.

The selected highlights are as follows:

Overall winning pair: Marcus Wilson and Dave Wood

Best III Form score: Ed Brooksbank 30/50

Best IV Form Score: Alex Clayhills Henderson 34/50

Best V Form Score: George Fleming33/50

Best L6 Score: George Proctor38/50

Best U6 Score: Marcus Wilson41/50

Best Parent's Scores:

1st Bruce Russell42/50

2nd Chris Clayhills-Henderson40/50

3rd Michael Findlay38/50

There were some seriously competitive Dads out there!

Marcus and Dave 

The winners' prize of a bottle of Laphroaig whiskey was awarded to Marcus Wilson and Dave Wood. Marcus also nominated the Sandpiper Trust to be his nominated charity and they received a cheque for £250.

Many thanks to all those who supported this event and made this donation possible.

Thanks again to Colin Wilson; without his help this event would not have happened. Thanks also to Rachel Mackenzie Smith and Elaine Reynolds whose refreshments helped to maintain the shooters' morale and (in my case) battered egos.

After shooting we retired to Reid's for the post shoot buffet, proving yet again that not planning a barbecue ensures the best weather.

Thanks to Glenalmond's catering team for laying on such a sumptuous spread (pictured above). The photograph shows the Reid's pupils and parents enjoying the buffet outside in glorious sunshine.

The post-shoot buffet

Wooden-spoon winners Tibault and MTJ. They win a free shooting lesson at Gleneagles.

Tibault had never fired a shotgun before and still managed to hit 2 out of 5 clays. MTJ has fired lots of times before and still managed to miss over half!

Glenalmond Father and Son Teams

It was very good to see so many father and son teams at the House Shoot representing two or more generations of Glenalmond pupils.

Head of House, Ewan, with father Alex

Current Captain of College adds background interest!

Ewan is 4th generation Glenalmond.

Alex was in Mathesons 74-79 with Simon Glen. Ewan's Grandfather (Alex's father), Patrick,  was in Matheson's 38-42 which was also at the same time as Simon Glen's father.

Ewan's great grandfather (Alex's maternal grandfather) Nigel  was at the school just before the first war in Skrine's. In addition, Ewan had an uncle Diarmid in Mathesons 80 - 85, and a great uncle (Kenneth) in Skrine's just after the 2nd war. He also had another Great uncle, Tony (CA) in Matheson's 39 - 44.

Angus (Matheson's 1971-75)
and Jock (V Form).

Whilst at Glenalmond Angus represented the College in rugby and athletics and was also in the Scottish Schools Athletics team and still holds the College high jump record (1.95m).

Jock is actually third generation Glenalmond since Angus' father was also at Glenalmond from 1941 to 1944, leaving early in order to go to war. He was also a very talented sportsman, playing 1st XV rugby and winning the Victor Ludorum. His talents on the sports field ensured that he spent much of his military career playing rugby for the Navy and the Combined Services. He also won the "heavy events" in the Scottish Highland Games Championships several times. He joined up with his great friend Peter Adam, who was awarded a DSC for his wartime exploits, and then returned to Glenalmond as a member of staff and went on to be Housemaster of Reid's from 1968 to 1977. Peter Adam sadly passed away recently and his obituary appeared in the Scotsman.

Alex (aka "Cookie") with father Chris

Chris was in Reid's at the same time as Matthew Brooksbank and went on to be Head of House in 1982, another year in which Reid's also provided the Captain of College.

Peter, Simon and Jack

Sadly the boys could not be at the House Shoot as the VIII, captained by Jack,was competing in the Scottish Schools Full Bore Match.

Peter and Jack are the fifth successive

generation of the family to go to Glenalmond. Their great, great grandfather Charles first started at Glenalmond in 1882 when there were no houses. He was followed by his son Kielder (Skrine's, 1907-12), then John (Warden's, 1938-43) and then their father Simon and uncle Jonathan who were in Matheson's from 1974-79 and 1967-72, respectively.

John's (now 85) most vivid school memory was when he, as part of the Glenalmond Corps Home Guard, strategically buried a tank incendiary bomb just South of Buchanty Spout which, when detonated, blew a huge crater out of the hill, knocking out an electricity pole, so ridding School and locality of supply. He was possibly aided by fellow contemporaries Patrick Mackenzie Smith and Ewen Cameron!

In the spotlight…

Fergus

New kid on the block Fergus joined Reid's this term from Blairgowrie High School. Famously quiet Fergus normally likes to let his Hockey and his Golf do his talking for him but MTJ pinned him to the sofa and got him to open up for the Newsletter.

MTJ: How did you first find out about Glenalmond?

FS: I was put in touch with Glenalmond by Alan Law, who coaches the Glenalmond squad and also the Scotland U16. He mentioned to me that Glenalmond offers scholarships for sporting excellence and that I should consider applying.

MTJ: Did you take much persuading to visit the school?

FS: To be honest I did! I was quite shocked to begin with since I had never even considered coming to a school like Glenalmond but my parents encouraged me to come and at least to have a look.

MTJ: How did you feel after your visit?

FS: I was really impressed. I didn't find the decision to move schools easy, but it did help that I knew Robbie and Freddie Swift and Stirling Fenton through the Midlands hockey squad.

MTJ: How have you found Glenalmond so far?

FS: Really good. In my first full week here I got to play in three golf matches. That was pretty amazing!

MTJ: Alan Law speaks very highly of your hockey skills. He said you were "always in the right place and you just can't teach that" and that you were "always a danger in the D". Is it true he calls you "Dead Eye Dick" because you never miss?

FS: It's true he might have called me that once—but it's certainly not true that I never miss!

MTJ: How many times have you played for Scotland?

FS: I've put the shirt on for three games, which is a really nice feeling, but only one of these games was a proper international, against Wales.

MTJ: Now we're into the Trinity term, people are quite surprised to find that you're arguably an even better golfer than you are a hockey player. Which is your favourite game?

FS: I probably prefer golf, although I would say that I was better at hockey.

MTJ: You're still only 14, with a handicap of 4.1. Are you aware of any other players of the same age locally that are better than you?

FS: I find that as I improve I get more and more aware of the number of players who are still better than me! That's what drives me to keep working on my game. In the County there's one boy who's the Scottish U14 Champion and his handicap is 3. Now I've moved to Glenalmond I'm getting to play more golf and so I've definitely got my sights on him.

MTJ: I understand that your father introduced you to golf when you were 8. How long did it take you to beat him?

FS: I think the first time was when I was 12 or 13. We're both pretty competitive!

MTJ: It's pretty impressive that you've achieved so much, not just in one sport but in two different ones. What do you think is the secret of your success?

FS: I think I was lucky to be playing a lot of sports from an early age, starting with football and hockey and then moving on to golf when I was a bit older. I used to play rugby too with Blairgowrie rugby club when I was younger and I'm looking forward to giving that a go next term, although I'm not very good. My parents have always encouraged me too. They've spent literally thousands of hours over the years driving me to and from matches and training sessions and I would never have achieved what I have without their support.

MTJ: What message have you got for anyone else out there considering coming to Glenalmond or into Reid's?

FS: I would say just come and have a look and take it from there. That's what I did, but that first visit was the hardest step. Reid's has certainly worked out very well for me. I really like the fact that we have our own dining hall and lots of space downstairs for golf clubs and hockey kit. Even though I'm a day pupil at the moment I really like the fact that I can have my own room from the IV Form onwards which probably would not be possible elsewhere.

Scottish Island's Peaks Race

The weekend after the House Shoot saw three Reid's boys departing to compete in this year's Race. This is probably Scotland's premier "adventure racing" event and involves a 10 km road race at the start and then sailing from Oban to Mull, Jura and Arran, running round a mountain course on each Island and then sailing to the finish at Troon. Full details can be found at www.scottishislandspeaksrace.com

Freddie, Eddie and Jack were the Reid's boys who made up 50% of Glenalmond's A Team this year. Our victory in the Senior Steeplechase demonstrated the depth of talent in Reid's when it comes to distance running. Jock and Ed would undoubtedly have made a big impact in this event but were unable to compete this year due to their exam commitments.

Glenalmond College again proved victorious in the Youth Competition this year. Cameron and Stuart Smith, OG's and ex Reid's boys, now run "Coastal Connections" whose fast RIBs provided the logistics support to enable us to swap over runners on each island and get people back in time for their exams. The Smith boys know the West Coast inside out and their passion for their work is obvious. Check them out at:

Cameron and Stuart Smith, with the Jura runners

Freddie, MTJ and Jack after running the 14 mile mountain course on Jura in 3 hrs 49:06 min. This was slightly over the target time of 3 hrs 30 min, but still a good time in the hot and punishing conditions. The Fettes team started an hour ahead of us, but we overtook them after 1hr 40mins of running.

Eddie went on to run the 18 mile course on Arran, but a 2am start in the dark saw them lose 1hr 40min to a "navigational issue".

The boys' team was very well looked after on the beautiful "Lark" and we would like to say a very big thank you to Stephen Leckie, Lawrence Ross and John Denholm for making their boat available to the Glenalmond team again this year although sadly the lack of wind meant that the sailing part of the competition was cancelled as the boats had to motor between the islands rather than sailing.

Stephen Leckie rows Freddie ashore from "Lark" to start the run on Jura. The weather was beautiful, but a bit too hot for running!

Although I can't claim to be much of a sailor myself, my grandfather built wooden boats his whole working life and he did pass some of his appreciation of them on to me before he died. Nobody could fail to be impressed by her elegant lines and beautiful wooden interior. Stephen, John and Lawrence take extremely good care of her!

"Lark" anchored off Jura

Sceptre is a wooden boat built for the 1958 Americas Cup Race. Although unsuccessful in this event, a redesign on her return, involving moving the mast by 3 feet, produced a massive improvement in performance. Sceptre went on to dominate every race in her class in the early 1960s.

Like Freddie and Jack, her very slender shape means that she is very much built for speed rather than comfort but it's still a great experience to be sailing in a gem from yachting history.

The girls' team boat, "Sceptre"

This picture shows clearly the rucksacks that the runners must carry around the course. Each rucksack is checked at the start of each leg and must contain a hat or balaclava, 3 tops, gloves or mitts, long trousers, waterproofs, head torch, sleeping bag, survival bag, compass & whistle, maps, emergency rations, pencil & paper, First Aid Kit and Race Numbers. Although specialised lightweight equipment is used, up to two litres of water is then added on top of this and so it does make a significant difference compared to running unencumbered.