Scotch College

From Dr Syd Boydell at Eton

It is the start of the Michaelmas term, 1997. I am a beak, sitting in my study preparing schools for my divisions tomorrow, having just completed correcting the Extra Works handed in today.

No Division has yet taken a runner, and, no boy has yet produced work to be Sent Up for Good, though several have Commendeds for Good Effort, not to mention Show Ups and Rips. Discipline has been straightforward, though the Tardy Book has been used on several occasions (mainly for late EWs).

Eton is a complex school - and would be even without its own vocabulary (the previous paragraph gives the flavour!). Unlike other kinds of school in England, there are no Australian equivalents to large English Boarding Schools (like this one). Every boy - all 1284 of them - is a boarder; there are 25 Houses. The school is busy from the start of every day until around 10 pm with formal and informal activities.

The masters meet every day (except Sunday) in Chambers, where applause is by foot-tapping (we are all standing around with too many things to carry to clap, you see), and a desire to speak to another Master already so engaged is signified by holding part of that persons academic gown.

All this is the surface, the trivia of a school - the substance must be sought elsewhere. Eton runs so well and so smoothly that it is not always obvious where to look. Nevertheless, some things strike one forcibly, even after a few months.

A Seriousness of Purpose

There is a seriousness of purpose about most things that happen. A general expectation that lessons, coaching of games, organisation of other activities will always be of high quality.

Hand in hand with this is the assumption that boys will play their part: homework is almost always done (and done on time!). Classes are smaller than at home (between 7 and 20) and I teach in the same room all the time. All homework is corrected, marked and handed back at the next lesson.

There is a breadth of activity that at first is quite perplexing. Many of these are traditional 'high culture' activities - plays and concerts, plus 40 academic societies. I could go on at length about the quality of the music. Classical, jazz and rock streams, and the remarkable chapel choirs tradition. It is absolutely possible to entertain oneself very well indeed in the evenings without stirring from the school environs.

Games are characteristically Etonian. Major sports are Rowing, Cricket, Soccer, Rugby, Athletics and the Field Game (played nowhere else in the world). Minor sports include the expected (such as Lawn Tennis, Golf, Squash, Shooting, Gymnasium, Swimming, Sailing, Badminton, Cross-country, Basketball, Hockey etc.) but also Eton Fives, Rackets, Beagling (yes, there is a very up to date set of kennels), and no doubt others I have not unearthed as yet. Add to this, of course, the most famous 'Eton-only' game - the Wall Game (in which the rules seem to restrict violence very little).

The boys do seem to work out their own individual paths through the maze of opportunities. Responsibility and self-management are emphasised throughout. Boys have their own room from their first day and the organisation of their time is up to them.

Important Factors

Other factors are of course important in the life of a school of this kind - the ever-present tourists who tour the school and its museums. The presence of Prince William has heightened the public gaze, of course, and the quiet but genuine sympathy displayed for him during the weeks following his mother's tragic death were a measure of the regard in which he is held here.

The experience of living and working at Eton for a year has been both challenging and satisfying. Friends from Australia ask what could be 'brought back' - to which the simple answer is 'very little' (certainly not the masters' uniform) So many aspects of the culture in which Eton is set is different to the culture in which Scotch is set. Eton reflects, as it must, attention to the needs of its clientele - the distinguishing mark being the quality of this attention.

The experience and perspective of living and working in England has reinforced, however, my own belief in the quality of a Scotch education for Australian boys and young men. Like Eton, a Scotch education offers its students broad and challenging opportunities - academic, cultural and sporting. What is distinctive is that, like many Australians, the Scotch community as a whole is more prepared to debate the purposes of education, and to act to change things when there is a clear need to do so. The past decade at Scotch has seen big changes. The areas of Information Technology, pastoral care and the transition process into secondary education are examples, but not the only ones. For example, the curriculum in both primary and secondary areas has never been allowed to 'rest'; Scotch is fortunate to have a staff team that has been able to initiate and carry through these changes.

I know that 1998 at Scotch will continue to be characterised by this desire for a better education for its students; I do not expect the lively debate about the purposes of education to diminish. Nor do I expect the sense of teamwork in the school in charting its future to flag. I am looking forward to it!