Scotch College

The flame goes out but life goes on

Ed Tudor

School Vice-Captain Ben Kaye and School captain Ed Tudor at The Torch Ceremony

The final week of school for Year 12 boys was filled with the traditions associated with moving from student to Old Boy of Scotch College. The Torch Ceremony, Year 12 Presentation Evening and APS Athletics heats sufficiently distracted us from the realisation that our exams were only days away.

Among all of these wonderful traditions, one event that many Year 12s said they enjoyed most for the week was the Year 12 Valedictory Dinner. Held at the Grand Hyatt, it was an evening to celebrate our time at school with our parents and teachers, with speeches from members of the Scotch Family as well as entertainment from comedian Dave Grant and the newly formed Old Scotch Show Band. Thanks to the tireless work of a committee of boys and parents, headed by Tim Shearer, the evening was a huge success: it seems we may have witnessed the birth of a new tradition for Year 12 leavers.

It is humbling to return to school in the days and weeks after the Torch Ceremony to discover that Scotch does not slacken its pace after the departure of its Year 12s. The boys from all year levels have now completed end-of-year exams and can now enjoy a well-earned break. Even over summer Scotch does not rest – this summer boys will be involved in camps for Pipes and Drums, Rowing, the Scuba Club, Cadet Promotion Courses and of course Scotch at Cowes. This summer will also be an exciting time for our Symphony Orchestra, who will tour Europe in January 2005 before returning to open Stage Two of the James Forbes Academy.

The Class of 2004 takes its place as part of the Old Scotch Collegians Association – a group of some 13, 000 men. And it is now our responsibility to follow the example of many Old Boys before us and put all that we have learned during our years at Scotch to good use in the wider community. Already through developments like the Valedictory Dinner we have shown that we are capable of implementing great change; it is often difficult to maintain traditions, but to think to the future as well as the past, and create new traditions, is a brave step indeed.

In years to come I am certain that the Class of 2004 will remember its time at Scotch fondly. However, our involvement with the School does not end now that we are no longer students. Through the Old Scotch Collegians Association – and initiatives like this ‘great’ production – we will be able to maintain our ties with our schoolmates, and keep in touch with the changes occurring at the School. Scotch College is a wonderfully diverse and fluid institution. As the newest Old Boys of the School, we will watch with excitement as it continues to develop into the future.

Ed Tudor

School Captain