COLL COURIER
17th March 2016
Goodacre’s Gone?
In contrary another boy stated
that some pupils perhaps over
reacted and looked at the
negatives when they should
have been focusing on the
positive angle.
pupil spaces.
Recently we learned that as
part of the redevelopment by
the Warden and the Senior
Management Team there will
be massive changes for the
College.
The Warden however stated
“these changes need to hapGoodacre’s is to be turned
into a girl’s house.
Everyone has a strong opinion as this does affect most of
the school, however, here at
the Coll Courier we believe in
the Warden and are confident
in her plans.
pen” and Goodacre’s “was the
right house to be changed”
due to being situated in quad
but having independence from
the other houses. With the
changes there will be an addiThe older boys are very pas- tional twenty beds for female
sionate about the house hav- pupils which will help the
ing been at the school for five problem of overcrowding in
girls’ houses and create new
years.
In This Issue
The first year of boys was
1917. We interviewed some
U6th Goodacre’s boys, who
said that they were “gutted
and frustrated” about this.
 “Bloody Bard” hits the stage
of Coll.
 A St Patrick’s day exclusive.
 A spooky story from the Archives
 Cairnies chaos
 Mr Smith’s amazing drawing
machine
 New development plans
 A look at recent sport
“Bloody Bard” Hits the Glenalmond Stage
One of the venues for the promenade play.
Over the course of this term, our
juniors have been working very hard
to put together a play using promenade theatre. The actors and actresses have been split up into five
groups and have each been given a
play written by William Shakespeare
to symbolise the anniversary of his
death. The mini- plays are :
· A Midsummer Night’s Dream
· Hamlet
· Macbeth
· Henry VIII
· Romeo and Juliet
The play will take place on Thurs
17th March-Saturday 19th March.
They have worked with the Drama
teachers Miss Kirk and Mr Youlten
to provide an enchanting evening
with extra help from some Sixth Formers doing drama A-level.
In an interview with Mr Youlten, he stated that he’s expecting “a nice, and varied
theatrical experience for the
audience as they move
around different scenes.”
Some of the younger members of the case also gave us
their opinions:
“Speaking on behalf of most, if
not all the cast, I personally
think it was a pleasure working with them!” -Heather
Heath, 13, Lady Montague,
Romeo and Juliet.
“It’s going to be a fantastic experience.” -James Grant, 13,
Friar Lawrence, Romeo and
Juliet.
The Costume Rack
Drastic New Development Plans
At the press conference held today, Director
of Development, Dr Fleming, revealed that
multiple plans are in the works for Glenalmond with those on the sporting front
nearing completion. The plans centre around
having Woodburn Cottage, popularly nicknamed Mad Wifey’s, refurbished as well as
the Neish’s pitch being upgraded.
The Neish’s pitch will have wheelchair access and a seating stand. When it is opened
at Commem 2016 we hope to invite some ex
-Scotland international players, and OGs, to
be in attendance.
Hopefully the first rugby match played will be
more exciting than the first ever rugby match
on Neish’s: a 0—0 tie!
The new Woodburn Cottage will be powered
by solar panels and stationary exercise bikes
will also be able to charge up a battery. At the
easterly end of the building there will be a
team changing room and the rest of the building will be given over to a refreshments area.
The plans sound exciting and we can’t wait to
see the first matches played there!
‘There are only two kinds of people in
the world, the Irish and those who wish
they were.’
On March 17th Saint Patrick’s Day arrived at the
busy school, Glenalmond College.
We interviewed Mr. Swaile, one of Glenalmond’s
local Irishmen (and voted Irishman of the year by
the Coll Courier).
What is your favourite part of St. Patricks
Day?
My favourite part is how happy everyone is, and
full of love for Ireland.
Do you get a sense of national pride at Saint
Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated a lot in other countries such as America and Australia. For example,
they do parades in New York.
How do you usually celebrate St. Patrick’s
Day?
It depends whether I’m working or not. If I’m not I
usually celebrate with a pint of Guinness in my
hand!
Other than teachers, students have also been
overcome by the Irish cheer as many, namely
Sixth Form Girls, have cheerfully entered into the
spirit by dressing up, despite not being Irish.
An Irishman’s most faithful
Companion
- Sorry Mrs. Swaile!
Amazing Drawing
Machine
The Drawing Machine was
built by the Glenalmond
College Engineering Club.
It was a project suggested
by the school but it was
built by the pupils themselves with help from the
friendliest teacher in the
school, Mr Dave Smith.
This machine has a motor,
and two arms (which hold
the pen). They are many
possible designs to draw
and some pictures are included of the excellent patterns that have been produced. This machine can
paint circles and many other shapes. Theo Fraser,
aged 14, from Reid’s was
involved with the project in
his Physics lessons and
feels that “it was something
unlike anything I had seen
before. It and similar projects has helped many develop a growing interest in
science and especially
Physics.”
Mr Smith has created this in the physics department.
“They are many
possible designs to
draw and some pictures are included
of the excellent patterns that have
been produced.”
“something unlike
anything I had
seen before”
The Great Fire of 1894 and the Legend
of the Glenalmond Curse
The legendary curse of Glenalmond and
the Great fire of 1894
something awful was going to happen as the
College clock reportedly went “mad” and
struck 78 times. We know for certain because
most of the school counted; the rule was that
you had to be in class exactly on the last
stroke!
In 1841 the site of Glenalmond was chosen by
William Gladstone and his father who plunged
his walking stick into the ground in the middle
of Quad and declared this was where the
school would be erected. However, this happened to be just outside the house of a mysterious old woman who stubbornly refused to
allow this. “Over my dead body” she is said to
have howled! Unfortunately for her there were
no rights for tenants and so, raging, she was
forced to leave but not before she had placed
a deadly curse on the school:
“There will be three Great fires, and after the
third the College will slide into the River Almond and be destroyed!”
There have been two fires so far in 1876
and 1894…
The Great Fire of 1894 was memorable event.
The students afterwards said they knew
At three o’clock on the morning of 15th October 1849 two separate but simultaneous fires
were discovered in the block between Front
Arch and the Patchell’s corkscrew staircase.
Roused by the smoke and the crackling burning wood, the Manciple raised the alarm by
ferociously ringing a bell. There was a mad
scramble as boys, masters and staff snatched
up whatever they could and hurried into front
Quad. Within minutes, the boys had valiantly
manned the college fire-engine — a sort of
large
wheelbarrow with a pump — but it was soon So we seem to be awaiting the third most faobvious that the fire had too strong a hold.
tal fire and the destruction of the whole
school; make sure you concentrate at the
The fire brigade in Perth was of course alertnext fire practice!
ed and, after several technical difficulties, the
Fire-Brigade finally harnessed their horses Glenamond’s history is rich with legends such
and galloped to the rescue at 10 miles an as this which can all be discovered in our
hour (very fast in those days) arriving at the bursting archives. If you would like to find out
more about these please contact the extremeschool at 7.00am and putting it out by
ly helpful, though busy, Mrs Mundill.
9.00am. The roof fell in but the danger was
over.
The College was punctually re-built. The Warden later proudly boasted that not one person
was harmed and more importantly not one
lesson was missed that day!
Glenalmond Today
It was then time to look for the cause and it
was soon discovered that a traumatised sixteen-year-old boy had deliberately lit both
fires, a further set a few days later, which was
quickly put out. He was depressed and desperate. He had heard Warden Skrine preach
in Chapel about Hell, saying that the fires of
Hell destroyed sin. In his poor confused state,
this had seemed to him the perfect solution to
his problem. He was tried for arson in Perth,
and the Judge, sympathetic to his desperate
mental state, gave him a “light” sentence: a
year in Perth prison.
Pupils undertaking field work in the
River Almond—let’s hope that the
school doesn't fall in!
Lacrosse Mad
After many years with Sue McLean at the helm,
Glenalmond has recently welcomed a new lacrosse
coach to head up the 1st XII. David Best moved
from Manchester, after working as a teaching assistant in the primary school where he was a pupil,
to rural Glenalmond where he now coaches the 1st
lacrosse girls and the Junior B hockey team. He
and his team have recently played in a tournament
hosted by Glenalmond called the Rathbones cup
where the 1sts came 2nd .When we asked him if he
was happy with their performance Mr Best commented ,‘yes and no. In the first two matches they
played outstandingly well, however, in the last they
didn’t play as well as they could have. It’s a shame
really’.
Mr Best has really enjoyed his first year at Coll
however there have been ups and downs. Mostly
these have involved the weather forcing lacrosse
practices indoors but when we asked him if he had
to explain the sport at this school in one word he
said ‘inspiring’.
Mr Best would like to now introduce men’s lacrosse
to Glenalmond and give the boys a chance to try a
new sport. Tristan Kinge agrees and said that when
the boys play lacrosse every Wednesday in their
PE lessons it is ‘great’
The winning 2nd XII holding the Ryden
Rosebowl
The U15s won their annual tournament
The valiant 1st XII