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'George Watson's College' is a leading co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Scotland's capital city Edinburgh.

Contents

History

Amalgamation

Houses

Sports and affiliations

Notable teaching staff

Notable alumni

Links

History

The school was founded by George Watson (1654-1723) who bequeathed the bulk of his fortune, £12,000 (a vast sum in 1723), to found a hospital school for the provision of post-primary boarding education to orphan boys. The school was, and remains, managed by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, which also manages Stewarts Melville College and the Mary Erskine School.
The school was originally called 'George Watson's Hospital' and was located close to the Meadows, opposite George Heriot's School, which had also been a beneficiary of one of George Watson's bequests (though not founded by him). At the time, there was concern that this site was too far from the city, but today it would be regarded as close to the city centre.
''Watson's'' (as it is commonly known) moved a short distance west when the city's Royal Infirmary moved to the site from its cramped original home in Infirmary Street. The original Watson's building was incorporated as the hospital chapel, and remains today, although now at the centre of a redevelopment to turn the recently vacated infirmary complex into housing. The school was re-established in the former Merchant Maiden Hospital (another school) in nearby Archibald Place.
This arrangement lasted until an expansion of the infirmary, which demolished the building and constructed a maternity wing on the site, itself recently demolished as part of the redevelopment mentioned above. Watson's moved to its current sandstone-faced neo-classical building on Colinton Road in 1932, by which time it was admitting day pupils. It had been intended to reconstruct the portico of the Archibald Place building at Colinton Road, but this plan was not carried out.

Amalgamation

In 1974 the school amalgamated with 'George Watson's Ladies' College' (of George Square, Edinburgh). The Ladies' College had been founded in 1871, following a re-organisation of Merchant Company schools which had seen George Watson's Hospital renamed as George Watson's College during the previous year.
Since then the conjoined school has remained co-educational, and has primarily served day pupils, although various boarding houses have been maintained in the Tipperlin Road area, and on the school's campus at New Myreside House.
George Watson's College also incorporates the once entirely separate John Watson's School, the former premises of which now house the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Houses

Pupils at the school are separated into four groups, known as "houses", a practice common in many British independent schools. These houses are:

★ Cockburn/Greyfriars

★ Preston/Falconhall

★ Melville/Ogilvie

★ Lauriston
There is a house competition in the school where members can earn house points through participation in various sporting and other events including dance, choir and drama. The last event in the year where house points can be earned is the annual Sports Day. Prizes are awarded at the school's annual prize-giving ceremony.

Sports and affiliations

Sport plays a significant part in the life of the school, with a rebuilding of the physical education block planned. The main sports of the school are rugby and hockey for boys, and hockey and netball for girls. The school regularly competes in many athletic and skiing events throughout the year. There is an alumni rugby club known as Watsonians, who regularly play in the Scottish BT Premiership.
The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

Notable teaching staff

★ Neil McCallum, international cricketer; currently teaches PE.

★ George Salmond, former international cricketer (Scotland Caps); currently Deputy Head Teacher of Watson's Junior School.

★ Lin Anderson, author; taught maths and computing.

★ Christopher Rush, author; taught English

Notable alumni

★ Sir William Eric Kinloch Anderson, KT, provost of Eton College

★ Martin Bell, skier, and four times participant of the Winter Olympics

★ Douglas Percy Bliss, painter

★ Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby, PC, QC, Lord Advocate, life peer in the British House of Lords

★ John Corrie, politician, MP, MEP (Conservative Party)

★ Finlay Currie, actor

★ Gordon Kennedy, actor

★ David Daiches, literary historian

★ Jonny Dixon, footballer

★ Jack Docherty, comedian

★ Jamie Drummond, sommelier

★ Sir John Charles Fenton, Scottish lawyer, Solicitor General for Scotland

★ Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish-American actor

★ David Maxwell Fyfe, Viscount Kilmuir, Barrister, Home Secretary and Lord Chancellor

★ Gavin Hastings, OBE, rugby player

★ Scott Hastings, rugby player

★ Robert Horne, 1st Viscount Horne, Chancellor of the Exchequer

★ Chris Hoy, track cyclist

★ Martha Kearney, BBC broadcaster and journalist

★ Malcolm Martineau, pianist and recital accompanist

★ Bernie McConnell, marine biologist

★ Keith Moffatt, physicist

★ Ronald King Murray, PC, politician and judge, (Labour Party)

★ Myles MacInnes (known as Mylo), singer-songwriter, music producer, and DJ

★ Malcolm Rifkind, KCMG, QC, politician (Conservative Party)

★ Henry Peel Ritchie, First World War Victoria Cross recipient

★ Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, PC, former British MP and Cabinet minister (Labour Party)

★ Robin Smith, mountaineer

★ Sir Basil Spence, architect

★ David Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC, politician (Liberal Democrats), MP, former leader of the Liberal Party

★ Rebecca West, writer and campaigner

★ Jason White, rugby player

★ Christopher Wood, Scottish painter

''See also the category ''

Links

★ George Watson's College

★ Virtual tour of the school

★ Watsonians Rugby

★ Watsonian Squash