It’s been another busy and fun year at ESMS! Boys and girls at the school can look back on the year with pride and satisfaction: they have demonstrated diligence and resilience in all their endeavours – academic, cultural, sporting and social.
Sport
Throughout the school year, we are fortunate enough to see our pupils succeed in a whole host of sports, whether this is trying a new sport, making a team or lifting a trophy. Our boys and girls play and compete in a huge variety of sports and the emphasis is on good sportsmanship and enjoying the experience.
In March, ESMS swimming relay teams competed in the prestigious British Independent Relay Championships in London, where over 150 Independent Schools from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales contested The Bath Cup and John Nalson (previously Otter Medley) Cup. Not only did the SMC boys retain the Bath Cup and John Nalson Cup titles for a second year, but they also set new records for both events. Our MES team placed 4th in the girls’ freestyle before swimming a PB time in the medley relay, earning well-deserved silver medals.
At The Mary Erskine School, the 1st XI Hockey team have enjoyed a number of successes, winning the final of the East District Under-18 Knockout Cup, winning the Under-18 Scottish Bowl Competition and winning the Watson’s 7s Tournament. Our MES S3 Hockey team have also had a fantastic season, winning both the East Cup against Fettes College as well as the S3 East District Tournament but the highlight of the year for the S3 team was winning the Junior Scottish Cup against Heriots at The Scottish Hockey Centre at Glasgow Green.
At Stewart’s Melville College, our 1st XI Football team lifted the SISFA Cup trophy for the fourth time in eight years with a 3-1 win against a spirited George Watson’s College team in the final held at Falkirk Stadium. The U16A Rugby team won the Schools’ U16 Shield at BT Murrayfield, defeating Earlston High School and our S1 Boys’ Football team were East of Scotland Champions.
Our Primary 7 team also took home the gold medal at the Junior Highland Games, held at Gordonstoun School. The children were fortunate enough to celebrate their win with the Chieftain of the Games, Karen Darke. The P7 Girls’ Football team won The Sciennes Spring Tournament and, in June, our Primary 6/7 Girls’ Football Team became Edinburgh Champions, beating Sciennes Primary School 5-3. This year was the first time that an ESMS Girls’ Football team have completed the double of the Edinburgh Spring and EPSSA Edinburgh Cups.
There has also been significant success in Cricket, Skiing, Tennis, Dance, Cross Country and Badminton.
Music, Drama and Dance
Most of our senior music, drama and dance productions are performed by boys and girls from across the two senior schools and this year’s standout performances included Bugsy Malone, A Doll’s House, A Christmas Carol and West Side Story. All productions had actors, sound and lighting support, costume, make up and backstage support from a variety of different year groups.
This year we also held a tremendous concert of choral and orchestral music in the Usher Hall, where 400 ESMS pupils performed with ages ranging from P7 to S6. Groups from S1 to S6 delivered a fantastic evening of music at our annual Jazz and Blues night in April.
The girls at Mary Erskine performed dances in a variety of styles in their Kaleidoscope show and captivated the audience with their excellent choreography and storytelling skills.
In the Junior School, there were a myriad of performances including Mary Poppins and Madagascar as well as Nativity Shows, carol parties, the Junior School Spring Concert and the Junior Kaleidoscope Dance Show.
Pupils from P6, P7 and S1 were also proud to represent the schools as the official The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Choir for the sixth time in August 2018.
Trips
In the course of the year, our boys and girls had the chance to explore other parts of the world, some closer to home than others. Earlier this year S3 went north for their highly anticipated Carbisdale experience whilst other groups headed to the Alps, Spain, Amsterdam, Germany, France, New York, London!
This summer, the annual CCF and Bisley trip will take place, the MES Biology department will take girls to Thailand, and an MES hockey tour to New York and Philadelphia is also scheduled. Our boys' cricket team are looking forward to an International Hockey tournament in South Africa and our annual trip to Malawi is also underway. In the Junior school, the children experienced their residential camps around the UK as well as trips to Greece and Italy and also a Junior School Ski Trip to Italy. Four pupils from P6 also had the opportunity to take part in an exchange with children in Colorado.
Community Involvement
There is always an emphasis in school on supporting charities and this year saw the schools’ host ‘Dinner for Doddie,’ a fundraising dinner at the National Museum of Scotland in honour of Stewart’s Melville College alumnus, Doddie Weir OBE, to raise money to be shared between by the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Access to Excellence. An incredible £87,000 was raised.
In the Junior School, The West Highland Way Challenge saw 23 Junior School children trek an amazing 60 miles from Bridge of Orchy to Milngavie, raising £13,500 for charities Future Hope and Access to Excellence.
It’s certainly been another jam-packed, fantastic year! We wish everyone a happy and relaxing summer.
