Scotch College

The torch burns brightly – the baton changes hands

‘The traditions of Scotch run deep, and provide strong pillars that support our day-to-day life.’

Words: Tim Shearer Photography: Andrew Murdoch

The symbol of the torch and its flame is special to anyone associated with Scotch.

The torch, part of the School’s crest, represents many things, including learning, enlightenment and renewal.

The Centenary Torch, originally used in the School’s centenary relay in 1951, has passed through the hands of generations of students and staff during the annual torch ceremony in October.

The torch ceremony is always an emotional experience for anyone participating in it. The ceremony represents a special phase of the Scotch boy’s passage from student to Old Boy. Here the torch is a symbol of transition, the flame a symbol of the eternal Scotch spirit that resides in all students and staff members when they leave; like a baton changing hands between generations of students and staff alike.

It represents change, but it also symbolises the values instilled at Scotch and retained forever by the departing boy or staff member.

I listened with interest to the School’s new Principal, Mr Tom Batty, as he recounted his meeting with Dr Gordon Donaldson in the Principal’s office at Scotch. The two men discussed a number of issues, and at some point the discussion came round to the sense of a passing of the baton.

‘I found it a powerful image – I think we both did – and an image that brings together better than any other what today is really about,’ Tom Batty said after his installation in the Scotch Chapel on Monday 14 July.

At the installation ceremony, school Vice-Captain Alex Williamson lit the Centenary Torch and handed it to Junior School Vice-Captain James Scott, who passed it to the Junior School Captain Howard Webb. Howard then passed the torch to Mr Batty, who proudly held it aloft to the applause of the assembled. Mr Batty then passed the torch to the senior School Captain Daniel Wolfe, who extinguished the flame. The new Principal then shook hands with each student.

The Principal, addressing the School’s staff after the ceremony, talked about the flame of learning, and the role that education plays for individuals and generations, as they endeavour to influence each other.

‘School mission statements speak boldly of aims and values, and much that is written has a common ring,’ Mr Batty said.

‘So what is it that makes our schools different, because different they certainly are? It is the people: boys and staff; it is in the blend of tradition and innovation, how we feed the fire without dying in its flames; it is where we place emphasis in the curriculum and the expectations we pass on to the boys.

‘And more than anything else, it is in the quality of the relationships which exist between all members of our School communities. If we get the relationships right, we enable boys to gain flexibility and diversity in their interactions; we create the intimacy and trust that enables them to question, initiate and lead; we show them they are valued and how this is inextricably linked to valuing others; and we allow them to grow in self-awareness …

’The torch represents many things, including learning, enlightenment and renewal.’

‘This need to blend long-term goals with individual need is at the heart of my belief in education as the building block of our societies.

‘It provides the means by which individuals can take control of their lives. It enables generations to pass on what they have learnt, and encourages the confidence for this to be questioned. It makes for curious young minds; it nurtures leaders of integrity and tolerance; it promotes a culture of service; and, perhaps most importantly, it ensures the long-term viability of all our School stands for …

‘The values that define Scotch College have been honed over generations; they must be carried with great care, but also with purpose and energy, to be passed on again one day.

‘The traditions of Scotch run deep, and provide strong pillars that support our day-to-day life and allow us to step confidently into the future. They are the pillars that make for a great school: the academic, the spiritual, the social and the physical and creative, and they support a family abuzz with energy and optimism.’ GS