Independent school (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, independent schools are fee-paying private schools, governed by an elected board of governors and independent of many of the regulations and conditions that apply to state-funded schools. For example, pupils do not have to follow the National Curriculum. Many of the older and more exclusive schools catering for the 13–18 age-range in England and Wales are known as public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, the term "public" being derived from the fact that they were open to pupils regardless of where they lived or their religion. Prep schools educate younger children up to the age of 13 to "prepare" them for entry to the public schools and other independent schools; some former grammar schools converted to an independent fee-paying model following the 1965 Circular 10/65 which marked the end of their state funding. There are around 2,500 independent schools in the UK, which educate around 615,000 children, some 7 per cent of all British children and 18 per cent of pupils over the age of 16.
In addition to charging tuition fees, many benefit from gifts, charitable endowments and charitable status. Many of these schools are members of the Independent Schools Council. In 2017, the average cost for private schooling was £14,102 for day school and £32,259 for boarding school; some independent schools are old, such as The King's School, The King's School, Rochester, St Peter's School, Sherborne School, Warwick School, The King's School, Ely and St Albans School. These schools were under their complete dominion. However, it was during the late 14th & early 15th centuries that the first schools, independent of the church, were founded. Winchester & Oswestry were the first of their kind and paved the way for the establishment of the modern "Public school"; these were established for male scholars from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds. For instance, the Queen's Scholarships founded at Westminster in 1560, are for "the sons of decay'd gentlemen"; the transformation of free charitable foundations into institutions which sometimes charge fees came about readily: the foundation would only afford minimal facilities, so that further fees might be charged to lodge and otherwise maintain the scholars, to the private profit of the trustees or headmaster.
Facilities provided by the charitable foundation for a few scholars could profitably be extended to further paying pupils. After a time, such fees would eclipse the original charitable income, the original endowment would become a minor part of the capital benefactions enjoyed by the school. In 2009 senior boarding schools were charging fees of nearly £ 30,000 per annum. However, a majority of the independent schools today are still registered as a charity, bursary is available to students on a means test basis. Christ's Hospital in Horsham is an example. A large proportion of its students are funded by its charitable foundation or by various benefactors; the educational reforms of the 19th century were important under first Thomas Arnold at Rugby, Butler and Kennedy at Shrewsbury, the former emphasising team spirit and muscular Christianity and the latter the importance of scholarship and competitive examinations. Edward Thring of Uppingham School introduced major reforms, focusing on the importance of the individual and competition, as well as the need for a "total curriculum" with academia, music and drama being central to education.
Most public schools developed during the 18th and 19th centuries, came to play an important role in the development of the Victorian social elite. Under a number of forward-looking headmasters leading public schools created a curriculum based on classics and physical activity for boys and young men of the upper and upper middle classes, they were schools for the gentlemanly elite of Victorian politics, armed forces and colonial government. Successful businessmen would send their sons to a public school as a mark of participation in the elite. Much of the discipline was in the hands of senior pupils, not just a means to reduce staffing costs, but was seen as vital preparation for those pupils' roles in public or military service. More heads of public schools have been emphasising that senior pupils now play a much reduced role in disciplining. To an extent, the public school system influenced the school systems of the British Empire, recognisably "public" schools can be found in many Commonwealth countries.
Until 1975 there had been a group of 179 academically selective schools drawing on both private and state funding, the direct grant grammar schools. The Direct Grant Grammar Schools Regulations 1975 required these schools to choose between full state funding as comprehensive schools and full independence; as a result, 119 of these schools became independent. Pupil numbers at independent schools fell during the mid-1970s recession. At the same time participation at all secondary schools grew so that the share of the independent sector fell from a little under 8 per cent in 1964 to reach a low of 5.7 per cent in 1978. Both these trends were reversed during the 1980s, the share of the indepe
Marr College
Marr College is a state–funded secondary school in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is owned by the Marr Trust and is operated by South Ayrshire Council, transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council in 1975, with South Ayrshire Council being responsible for providing the educational provisional provided by the school; the school was gifted to the town of Troon by Charles Kerr Marr. Throughout 2016-2017, it underwent extensive restoration works including a new build extending on from the original school building; as of 2017, 903 pupils attend Marr College. Marr College was built and established using the money left from Charles Kerr Marr, a native of Troon who believed that people should be educated together, no matter their background and levels of wealth; the creation of Marr College has long been regarded as the model that paved the way for state comprehensive schools as this was created long before the establishment of state comprehensive schools became a political ambition. Whilst at first the school was run by a board of governors, it still provided free education in a traditional Scottish manner.
Pupils from all areas of Troon attended the school despite their backgrounds. Marr College lost its anomalous direct-grant status in 1978 and became a Strathclyde Region run school; when Strathclyde was abolished in 1996, the newly formed South Ayrshire Council took over the responsibility of the school, delegating much responsibility to the school's Head Teacher. Whilst much of the original building remains standing and intact, much of the building had fallen into a state to disrepair. Throughout 2016-2017, the school underwent a substantial period of renovation and new building blocks undertaken by South Ayrshire Council to improve the educational facilities and learning environments to bring the build up to date with other newly built schools in the area and to improve educational outcomes for the pupils; the improved updates, estimated at a cost of £37 million, has seen new facilities added to the existing Marr College estate such as a new sports hall, new teaching wing and improved landscaping around the school estate.
At present, the current roll of Marr College is 920 pupils as of July 2017, expected to rise to 1350. The condition of the Marr College building has been well known and a matter of concern to South Ayrshire Council. In 2001, Marr College was included on a list of schools within South Ayrshire for consideration to be included on the Public Private Partnership bid to South Ayrshire Council – a bid which would have seen an new state of the art school estate constructed. Due to community issues such as disagreements on which proposal would represent best value to the community, the bid could not proceed. In 2008, Turner Townsend commissioned a report entitled Fit for Purpose which highlighted a serious number of concerns in terms of the condition of the current buildings which make up the Marr College campus. Many members of the Troon community believed that the issues relating to the condition of the Marr College estate was due to negligence and neglect on South Ayrshire Council's part. In response, a council representative issued a statement that South Ayrshire Council, for as far as their budget has allowed, has maintained the original Marr College building which has seen a number of improvements including upgraded roofing and new and more energy efficient window replacements.
Whilst a new Marr College campus has not been constructed, there have long been concerns from members of the Troon community and parents with children attending the school that the current school building is overcrowded. South Ayrshire Council acknowledge and agree on this point, but highlighted that when South Ayrshire took over Marr College in 1975, the increase in pupil roll was addressed by implementing hut classrooms and extending parts of the school to meet the needs of the local community. On November 29, 2017, the £37 million new extension of Marr College was opened by John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills; the work was completed as part of a £94 million pipeline of works being delivered across South Ayrshire school estates. As of 2017, the management team at Marr College consists of one head teacher, four depute head teachers and several principal teachers of individual subjects and principal teachers of guidance; the management team as of November 2017 is as follows:Head Teacher Mr. George DochertyDepute Head Teachers R Anderson G Hobson N McLean G McCallum Ronni Ancona, actress Tom Brighton, footballer Gordon Brown, rugby player Gordon Burns, footballer Andrew Cotter, sports prestenter Alan Hutton, footballer Donald Jack, writer Marysia Kay, actress Tom Morton and broadcaster Neil Murray, footballer Jamie Ness, footballer Steve Nicol, footballer Michael Russell, politician Brian Whittle, athlete Susannah York, actress Marr College RFC Marr College official website Marr College Marr College's page on Scottish Schools Online
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in the heart of Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6, it opened in 1750 as the result of a bequest by Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant who made his fortune from trading with Baltic ports, was known at foundation as Robert Gordon's Hospital. This was 19 years after Gordon had died and left his estate in a'Deed of Mortification' to fund the foundation of the Hospital; the fine William Adam-designed building was in fact completed in 1732, but lay empty until 1745 until Gordon's foundation had sufficient funds to complete the interior. During the Jacobite rising, in 1746 the buildings were commandeered by Hanoverian troops and named Fort Cumberland. Gordon's aim was to give the poor boys of Aberdeen a firm education, or as he put it to "found a Hospital for the Maintenance, Aliment and Education of young boys from the city whose parents were poor and destitute". At this point all pupils at the school were boarders, but in 1881, the Hospital became a day school known as Robert Gordon's College.
In 1903, the vocational education component of the college was designated a Central Institution. Boarding returned in 1937 with the establishment of Sillerton House. In 1989 RGC became a co-educational school. In 2009 the school opened the new junior school and six years the Wood centre for science and technology opened along side the Craig centre for performing arts by HRH Princess Anne; the modern school is divided into a Nursery, Junior School and Senior School, caters for boys and girls from 3 to 18 years. Robert Gordon's College follows the Scottish curriculum; the Head of College, Simon Mills, is Headmistresses' Conference. The coat of arms shows the boar of the Gordon family, a fort or keep on a red background; the latter is an allusion to the similar coat of arms of the city of Hamburg, a founding member of the Hanseatic league of Baltic trading cities. The Latin motto of the college,'Omni nunc arte magistra' translates to'Now is the time for all your masterly skill'; the school operates four houses, to one.
The houses compete in various activities throughout the year and gain points which contribute to the annual John Reid Trophy award. The four houses are: Blackfriars - named for the Dominican friars, that once had a convent adjacent to the school grounds. Collyhill - named for Alexander Simpson of Collyhill who bequeathed a large sum of money to the school, which allowed for more boys to join the school. Sillerton - The origin of the Sillerton house name is not clear, but it is believed that, in Robert Gordon's lifetime, he was known as Gordon of Silverton, on a 1746 map, the school is identified as Sillerton Hospital. Straloch - named for Robert Gordon of Straloch, one of the first graduates of Marischal College, studying humanities and philosophy. Former pupils include: Ian Black was a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1958 at the age of only seventeen, he returned to RGC as Headmaster of the Junior School. Martin Buchan, former footballer and captain with Manchester United and Scotland Alan Pattillo, Film editor / Director / Producer worked on Gandhi 1982 and Thunderbirds amongst other work David Carry, Commonwealth gold medal winner John Macqueen Cowan FRSE, botanist Ernest Cruickshank and his twin brother Martin Melvin Cruickshank, surgeons Chris Cusiter, Ruaridh Jackson and Stuart Grimes, Scottish rugby player Dave Flett, guitarist with Manfred Mann and Thin Lizzy Martin Gilbert, founder and CEO, Aberdeen Asset Management Michael Gove, former journalist for The Times, MP for Surrey Heath, Secretary of State for Education, Government Chief Whip, Lord Chancellor.
William "Buff" Hardie, of Scottish comedy act Scotland the What? William Dickie Niven, theologian BBC Radio Scotland presenter Robbie Shepherd Archibald Bisset Smith VC Nicol Stephen, politician Alastair Storey, chairman and CEO of Westbury Street Holdings Stewart Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of Houndwood and public servant John Alexander Third, mathematician Robert A. Thom, steam locomotive engineer Sandi Thom, singer John West, Depute Provost of Aberdeen. Sir Ian Wood, Scottish businessman and Chancellor of the Robert Gordon University Ian Frazer, Key developer of the HPV vaccine Michael Benton FRS, vertebrate palaeontologist J. Michael Kosterlitz, awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics Murray Macleod, Lead Singer and Guitarist for the Rock band The Xcerts Jordan Smith, Bass Guitarist for the Rock band The Xcerts Prof Andrew Topping CMG FRSE public health expert and major figure in the revival of European hospitals after WW2 Homepage of Robert Gordon's College HMIE Inspection Reports
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity is 67,144 which makes it the largest stadium in Scotland and the fifth largest in the United Kingdom; the stadium is the home of the Scottish Rugby Union, is used as a venue for rugby union and hosts most of Scotland's home test matches, the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup final, as well as Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup matches. Although a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football, rugby league and association football matches and music concerts. Murrayfield is located near to Murrayfield Ice Rink, Murrayfield Curling Rink, close to Edinburgh Zoo, it is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in. Despite the line running adjacent to the stadium, the closest railway station to the stadium is Haymarket, which lies a mile to the East. Interchange with the Edinburgh Trams is available at Edinburgh Park. Edinburgh Waverley station is a short walk from the St Andrew Square tram stop.
Murrayfield Stadium tram stop is located close to the turnstiles on Roseburn Street. Access to the platform is by a flight of stairs; as part of crowd-management measures, ticketing machines are situated at the bottom of the staircase and not the platform. The stadium is served by Lothian Bus services 12, 22, 26, 31 and the Airlink along Corstorphine Road. Post-match traffic congestion is common along this route; the SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club at Murrayfield, having raised money through debentures. A stand and three embankments were constructed. Previous internationals had been played at Inverleith. On 21 March 1925 England were the first team to visit Murrayfield, with 70,000 people watching Scotland beat them to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam. During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to the nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps and used as a supply depot. During the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis.
Scotland's home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that ground's derequisition. Murrayfield's record attendance of 104,000 was set on 1 March 1975 when Scotland defeated Wales 12–10 during the 1975 Five Nations Championship; this attendance stood as a world record until 1999. The East stand was built in 1983. In October 1991 another debenture scheme was launched, to finance a more comprehensive redevelopment of the West Stand; the new West Stand was designed with a 48-metre cantilever roof. The old West Stand housed a museum, but this was not replaced and plans for a new visitor centre were shelved when the game turned professional; the first phase was completed in January 1993 with the new south stands opening. In February 1994 the centre section of the new West Stand opened. In 1994, Murrayfield completed a £50-million renovation where floodlights were installed for the first time. In October 2012, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson told the BBC that it was seeking a name sponsor for Murrayfield:The single biggest piece of our inventory is our national stadium.
We would like to see. It would be crazy for us not to look at using our single biggest piece of inventory to drive revenue. We want to get the right price for it. In addition, Dodson indicated that the SRU was seeking a site for a new stadium with a capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 as a future home for Edinburgh Rugby; the pitch was damaged by nematodes in the lead up to the 2013 autumn internationals. This led the SRU to replace the grass with a Desso surface from the start of the 2014 season. A naming rights deal with BT was agreed in May 2014, resulting in the stadium being named as the BT Murrayfield Stadium. Murrayfield is used for most Scottish international rugby union matches, with all Scotland's Six Nations home games being played in the stadium; the stadium hosted all of Edinburgh's matches between 1996 and January 2017. Since January 2017 only selected Edinburgh matches. From 2007 to 2011, Murrayfield hosted the Edinburgh 7s the final event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens, but that tournament was moved to Glasgow starting in 2012 due to low attendance.
Murrayfield hosted select matches from the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The stadium hosted the Heineken Cup Final in 2005, when Toulouse beat Stade Français 18–12, again in 2009, with Leinster defeating Leicester 19–16. Murrayfield hosted matches of the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. Although a union stadium, Murrayfield hosted the Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals of 2000 and 2002; the stadium hosted rugby league's Super League Magic Weekend in 2009, taking over from the Millennium Stadium. The record for a rugby league attendance at the stadium is 67,247 for the 2000 Challenge Cup Murrayfield has hosted Association football matches. In December 2003, the SRU board agreed to let local Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian F. C. lease the stadium for match days. That month, UEFA confirmed that Hearts' own ground, Tynecastle did not meet the minimum criteria for European matches from the 2004–05 season. Hearts used Murrayfield as their home venue for European matches for three years until Hearts made adjustments to Tynecastle that made it compliant with UEFA regulations.
Additionally, both Hearts and Edinburgh neighbours
Dollar Academy
Dollar Academy, founded in 1818 by benefaction of trader John McNabb, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Scotland. The open campus occupies a 70-acre site in the centre of the town of Dollar in Central Scotland; the school is surrounded by Clackmannanshire countryside. There are over 1250 pupils at Dollar Academy, making it the sixth largest independent school in Scotland. On a single campus, it is divided into three separate schools: the Prep School, the Junior School and the Senior School. Around 80 of the pupils are boarders. Just 20% of the boarding pupils are from overseas, representing less than 4% of the total school roll. Foreign pupils come from a range of countries, including France, Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Moldova, Czech Republic, Slovakia as well as the United States and China; the remaining 80% of boarding students are British nationals. Dollar Academy has over 70 sports and recreational activities on offer to pupils after the school day and over the weekend.
Dollar Academy has produced international competitors across many disciplines, most notably in rugby and shooting. Dollar Academy follows the Scottish education system, with pupils sitting a mixture of Intermediate 2 and National 5 examinations at the end of Form IV and Highers at the end of Form V/VI. Most courses in Form VI are at Advanced Higher level and a number of pupils study the Scottish Baccalaureate. All standard subjects are on offer at Dollar Academy; the school teaches Classical Studies, Latin and Mandarin. IT training is provided to all, music and drama are compulsory for Forms 1 and 2. Dollar Academy's CCF have won the Scottish Schools' CCF skills competition several times and most in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Dollar Academy's CCF was the first Scottish CCF to win the Welbeck DSFC Cadet Leadership Challenge in 2013 and repeated this in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019; the CCF First Aid team is extremely successful winning the Scottish National every year since 2003 and winning the CCF UK Nationals seven times in nine times in the last eleven years.
The school is the only Scottish school in the last fifty years to win the Ashburton Shield at Bisley, winning in 2005 and 2013. The school has two main pipe bands, both of which have been successful in competition; the "A" band won the Scottish Schools CCF Pipes and Drums competition every year from 2000 to 2012 and 2014 and 2015, as well as winning the RSPBA World Pipe Band Championships in 2010, 2014 and 2015. In 2013, the band was placed first at the last "Major of the season, the prestigious Cowal Gathering; the band continues to achieve an extraordinary catalogue of successes and had a successful year in 2015, winning the Scottish, United Kingdom and World Championships, leading to them being awarded the title "Champion of Champions". Additionally, the Novice, or "B" band continues to achieve success, winning the British and European Championships in 2015, being crowned "Champion of "Champions" as a result of their success throughout the season. Dollar was founded in 1818 after Captain John McNab or McNabb, a shipowner and merchant, bequeathed part of his fortune – £65,000 – to provide "a charity or school for the poor of the parish of Dollar where I was born".
McNabb died in 1802 but it took another sixteen years before the school opened it doors after much debate about how to use the bequest. The lands were granted by Craufurd Tait of Harviestoun, it was in 1815 that the Rev. Andrew Mylne, Minister of Dollar, along with fellow Trustees conceived of a great academy to educate the boys and girls of the parish, pupils from outside Dollar, who would board with teachers. Full fees would be charged to ‘non-residenters’, while parish pupils would pay fees on a sliding scale, with some receiving free education. To attract pupils from outside the parish, excellent teachers would be appointed. Mylne engaged the eminent architect, William Henry Playfair, who designed a fitting structure with a splendid Doric façade. John McNabb’s School or Dollar Institution was completed in 1821. In 1818, teaching started, with Rev Andrew Mylne as the first school Rector; the original campus was landscaped into several gardens including two ponds. In the 19th century the school had a strong emphasis on horticulture, all pupils were allocated plots in the extensive school grounds.
Several curious rarities exist in the school grounds in arboricultural terms, including several sequoias. In the 19th century, Dollar pupils sat the Cambridge Examinations or the Indian Civil Service Examinations, it was pioneering in its teaching of science at a time when most private schools followed an classical education. John McNabb’s coffin was discovered in the early 1930s in the crypt under Old Gravel Lane Meeting House in London. Former pupils had his remains cremated, the ashes of Captain John McNabb now rest above the Bronze Doors of the school founded in his name; the principal school building was designed by Edinburgh architect William Henry Playfair. The interior included stepped seating as might be found in university lecture theatres of the day; the interior of the Playfair building was gutted by a fire in 1961, but Playfair's Greek-style outer facades remained intact. The interior was rebuilt on a plan based on central corridors with equal sized classrooms on both
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the fifth-oldest surviving bank in the United Kingdom, is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to remain in existence, it was one of the first banks in Europe to print its own banknotes, it continues to print its own sterling banknotes under legal arrangements that allow Scottish banks to issue currency. In June 2006, the HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, allowing the bank's structure to be simplified; as a result, The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland became Bank of Scotland plc on 17 September 2007. Bank of Scotland has been a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group since 19 January 2009, when HBOS was acquired by Lloyds TSB; the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland was established by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland on 17 July 1695, the Act for erecting a Bank in Scotland, opening for business in February 1696.
Although established soon after the Bank of England, the Bank of Scotland was a different institution. Where the Bank of England was established to finance defence spending by the English government, the Bank of Scotland was established by the Scottish government to support Scottish business, was prohibited from lending to the government without parliamentary approval; the founding Act granted the bank a monopoly on public banking in Scotland for 21 years, permitted the bank's directors to raise a nominal capital of £1,200,000 pound Scots, gave the proprietors limited liability, in the final clause made all foreign-born proprietors naturalised Scotsmen "to all Intents and Purposes whatsoever". John Holland, an Englishman, was one of the bank's founders, its first chief accountant was George Watson. The Bank of Scotland was suspected of Jacobite sympathies, its first rival, The Royal Bank of Scotland was formed by royal charter in 1727. This led to a period of great competition between the two banks as they tried to drive each other out of business.
Although the "Bank Wars" ended in around 1751, competition soon arose from other sources, as other Scottish banks were founded throughout the country. In response, the Bank of Scotland itself began to open branches throughout Scotland; the first branch in London opened in 1865. The bank took the lead in establishing the security and stability of the entire Scottish banking system, which became more important after the collapse of the Ayr Bank in 1772, in the crisis following the collapse of the London house of Neal, James and Down; the Western Bank collapsed in 1857, the Bank of Scotland stepped in with the other Scottish banks to ensure that all the Western Bank's notes were paid. See Credit crisis of 1772. In the 1950s, the Bank of Scotland was involved in several mergers and acquisitions with different banks. In 1955, the Bank merged with the Union Bank of Scotland; the Bank expanded into consumer credit with the purchase of Chester based, North West Securities. In 1971, the Bank agreed to merge with the British Linen Bank, owned by Barclays Bank.
The merger saw Barclays Bank acquire a 35% stake in the Bank of Scotland, a stake it retained until the 1990s. The merchant banking division of the Bank of Scotland was relaunched as British Linen Bank. In 1959 Bank of Scotland became the first bank in the UK to install a computer to process accounts centrally. At 11 am on 25 January 1985 the Bank introduced HOBS, an early application of remote access technology being made available to banking customers; this followed a small-scale service operated jointly with the Nottingham Building Society for two years but developed by Bank of Scotland. The new HOBS service enabled customers to access their accounts directly on a television screen, using the Prestel telephone network; the arrival of North Sea oil to Scotland in the 1970s allowed the Bank of Scotland to expand into the energy sector. The Bank used this expertise in energy finance to expand internationally; the first international office opened in Houston, followed by more in the United States and Singapore.
In 1987, the Bank acquired Countrywide Bank of New Zealand. The Bank expanded into the Australian market by acquiring the Perth-based Bank of Western Australia. A controversial period in the Bank's history was the attempt in 1999 to enter the United States retail banking market via a joint venture with evangelist Pat Robertson; the move was met with criticism from civil rights groups in the UK, owing to Robertson's controversial views on homosexuality. The Bank was forced to cancel the deal when Robertson described Scotland as a "dark land overrun by homosexuals". In the late 1990s, the UK financial sector market underwent a period of consolidation on a large scale. Many of the large building societies were demutualising and becoming banks in their own right or merging with existing banks. For instance Lloyds Bank and TSB Bank merged in 1995 to create Lloyds TSB. In 1999, the Bank of Scotland made a takeover bid for National Westminster Bank. Since the Bank of Scotland was smaller than the English-based NatWest, the move was seen as an audacious and risky move.
However, The Royal Bank of Scotland tabled a rival offer, a bitter takeover battle ensued, with the Royal Bank the victor. The Bank of Scotland was now the centre of other merger opportunities. A proposal to merge with the Abbey National was explored, but rejected. In 2
Bell Baxter High School
Bell Baxter High School is a non-denominational comprehensive state school for 11- to 18-year-olds in Cupar, Scotland. Bell Baxter High School the Cupar Grammar School, was founded in 1889 when the Madras Academy combined with Sir David Baxter's Institute for Young Ladies. From 1962 to 2010, the accommodation for the school was on two main sites; the two sites were three-quarters of a mile apart. The oldest part of the Westport building was first used in 1890 with the rest of the building being built in 1929; because of the large number of pupils using this site a great number of wooden huts were built to accommodate them. The Carslogie Road building was opened in 1962 and over the years there have been on-going refurbishments here which have resulted in the school being able to operate from one site; the Westport Road building has been demolished with the facade retained and affordable housing constructed on the site. The former rector of the school was Philip Black, who embarked on a secondment to Fife Council which became a full-time job: thus the acting rector became Elizabeth Smart, a former depute rector of Waid Academy - appointed by Fife Council.
The Proclaimers, Scottish folk-rock musicians Nina Myskow, journalist and TV celebrity, a regular contributor on Grumpy Old Women. Rab Noakes, a Scottish singer-songwriter. Dale Reid OBE, one of the most successful golfers in the history of the Ladies European Tour. Willie Rennie MSP and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Sir Robert Robertson, renowned chemist Former Scotland rugby player David Rollo attended Bell Baxter. Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast and Minister for Environment and Climate Change in the Scottish Government. Allan Stewart, former Conservative MP for Eastwood. Artie Trezise MBE, joint founder of The Singing Kettle. Sir Garnet Wilson and Lord Provost of Dundee Scotland rugby international Peter Horne, winner of the 2007 Schools Cup for Bell Baxter Scotland rugby international Chris Fusaro, winner of the 2007 Schools Cup for Bell Baxter Stevie May, Scottish football international,SFWA Young Player of the Year 2013/14 while at St Johnstone FC at Aberdeen FC.
HMIE inspection Bell Baxter High School Bell Baxter's page on Scottish Schools Online
