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| 19th December 2022 |
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Dear <<First Name>>,
View from the Study
This newsletter goes to current and prospective parents as well as Old Belhavians and I hope that it finds you well as Christmas approaches. The school now sits empty at the end of the Autumn term, the Front Hall cleared of prize-giving paraphernalia and our enormous Christmas tree on its way to stand proudly outside The Craw Inn in Auchencrow.
As I reflected on the achievements of the term yesterday and congratulated the children on their progress with prizes and commendations for each Form and year group, it was notable just how much has been initiated this term by staff, parents and children: from the children, a huge amount of work, countless exciting and progressive matches, wonderful concerts and amazing plays; the fully-fledged Belhaven Pre-Prep; the new Belhaven Award; the Belhaven Highland Games; the planting of Eagle Wood; events with Ampleforth, Eton, Fettes, Glenalmond, Merchiston, Oundle, Rugby, Strathallan and Sedbergh; interview practice with James Womersley for next term’s scholarship and ISEB Pre-test candidates; OB events in Edinburgh, at Belhaven and in Paris; and Centenary Gifts – please do use this link to order yours from our limited stock!
Today’s peace and quiet is a stark contrast to the normal buzz of happy children who are revelling in the breadth of their education and the opportunities to perform (please click here to view Form 5s performance of ‘The Grinch’): we will number 128 in January as 2023 and a year of Centenary celebrations of the school’s foundation begin.
I hope that you all have a very happy Christmas and that we will see you at Belhaven in the New Year!
Olly Langton
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| Charity Begins at Home |
| For The Belhaven Awards |
I have said to the children that I would love to hear about who they have helped in their local community over the course of the Christmas holiday.
Please click below to see what we have done this term. I also encouraged the children to start by being helpful at home – any cooking of meals, laying of tables, peeling of potatoes or work in the community will, of course, help them towards their Bronze, Silver or Gold Belhaven Awards so please use this link to The Belhaven Awards as a framework, if helpful.
I am hoping to give out the first awards in the early part of 2023 – who will be the first recipient, I wonder? |
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| ‘It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play’ |
It was very pleasing to review the term’s sporting results during Prize-giving and to see the strength and depth across the school.
The Under 9 year group lost just one match this term and the girls’ hockey team was unbeaten in their six matches.
The Under 11 boys lost just once in school matches in a very successful season in which Rollo F and Charlie T both scored in excess of 30 tries! The Under 11 girls made amazing progress with Sophie Illingworth and the Under 13s enjoyed challenging themselves at both school and representative level, with 10 of the year group representing the Thistles.
Centenary sports kit, kindly sponsored by Martin Currie, will arrive in time for the start of term, so look out for 1st team sartorial splendour and performances to match in 2023! |
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| Belhaven Centenary Events: |
| The Centenary Concert, Haddington, Saturday 25th February |
Please save the date! Belhaven will be holding a Centenary Concert in St. Mary’s Church in Haddington on Saturday 25th February to which all current, former and future Belhaven families are warmly invited.
If you would like to join the Choir in the concert, there will be rehearsals in St. Mary’s from 3-6pm that afternoon, with the concert starting at 7.30pm and finishing by 9pm.
Further details and your opportunity to sign up to join the Choir or the audience will follow in the new year. |
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| The Centenary Ball: Belhaven, Saturday 27th May, 2023 |
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There appears to be huge interest in tickets for the Ball, which is fantastic!
We will be back in touch with you in the New Year with ticketing information. There will be the option to book a table of 10, if this is of interest, or to buy individual tickets. In the case of the former, we can help put you together with people from a similar year or era.
We are hoping to gather together as many pipers as possible at the Ball to play together, so please continue to spread the word to all OBs! |
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| Hark the Belhaven Choristers! |
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The Choristers have been hard at work this month and have performed at the Lammermuir Care Home, St. Anne’s Church and Dunbar Parish Church.
The full Carol service was a spectacular affair, with a Brass Quartet from St. David’s, Gorebridge adding fanfares to the descants arranged by Mr. Ellison. The more intimate setting of St. Anne’s Church saw the school represented alongside the other established charities of the town and a packed congregation.
The children have done themselves and the school proud with their stunning performances. For a link to a recording of highlights of the Carol service on the last day of term, please click below. |
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| Christmas Thinking Caps On! |
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Along with your child’s report, you will find a copy of the Belhaven Christmas Quiz here, as well as in the envelope that came home.
The return of a popular Belhaven tradition, the Christmas Quiz, gives your family a chance to get together and challenge yourselves on a variety of topics. Please do give it a go – on the first day of next term, all of the children will have the chance to show how much they can remember. The Pre-Prep will not be tested!
There will be prizes for the top three in each year group as we have a bit of a drive on improving the children’s general knowledge.
Thank you for your support – OBs can send in any completed scripts for marking by me. Enjoy the Quiz! |
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| Pre-Prep: Deck the Halls....! |
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What a term it has been! We started in warm sunshine and finished in winter with freezing weather, and a dusting of snow. We have packed a lot into this term, and the children have worked incredibly hard.
On Friday we had not one but three Nativities – the first was the staff performance, which was great fun.
Don't miss the full round up of our Christmas festivities on our website! |
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| OB News |
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OB Jamie Douglas-Hamilton has had a roller-coaster of a year – he discovered that he needed a life-saving heart operation in May, had open heart surgery in August, and, having recovered, is now planning his next hair-raising adventure!
Click here to read more about Jamie’s extraordinary story from the BBC. Please send us news of your adventures so that we can keep our OB page up to date – please email alumni@belhavenhill.com. |
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| Diary Dates & Events |
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Wednesday 4th January – Boarders return for the start of term (3pm)
Thursday 5th January – Day children (including new starters) return for the start of term (by 8.15am)
Saturday 4th February – 7.30pm – The Belhaven Reels Party - Form 1 and 2 and their parents
Friday 10th February – Form 3 and 4 Parents’ meetings (9-10.45am – Music school); The Mansfield Cup (11am – Sports Hall), followed by half term
Saturday 25th February – Belhaven Centenary Concert, St. Mary’s Church, Haddington
Friday 3rd March – Forms 2 and 5 Parents’ meetings (11am-12.45pm – Sports Hall)
Saturday 11th March – Belhaven Open Morning (9.30am-12pm)
Saturday 27th May – Belhaven Centenary Ball |
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