Talk:George Watson's College

Boarding

The statement about the various boarding houses maintained on Tipperlinn Road is a bit wooly. Does anybody know how many there were? And is New Myreside House still functioning as a boarding house? Kierant 17:54, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

I was a "bug hut" boy in the late 1970s, at which time there were three boarding houses; Jimmy Cowan ran Ettrick Road (which I boarded at), James "Chopper" Scott ran the house in Spylaw Road, and Malcolm Hunter ran one in Gillsland Road. None were on Tipperlinn Road. Alex 21:43, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, love the detail of the nicknames! I'm fairly sure there was one on Tipperlinn during the 1980s. Perhaps it'd be fruitful to email the school and ask them... I'll try to get around to that. – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 00:28, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

I'll see what I can find out as well. I think you're right; the bug huts were all merged into a single house, but I thought it was on the grounds of the school. Otherwise the article is pretty good. I was interested in the famous Watsonians; I knew a few of them, but we all went our seperate ways. Alex 19:40, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

A purpose-built (and 1970s or 1980s style) boarding house, New Myreside House was indeed on campus during the 1980s, but I understood that it didn't take over all at once, and overlapped with Tipperlinn. – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 20:35, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know, there are no more boarders, and the one boarding house on campus will soon become part of the Junior School, if I recall it right. But the pupils are still divided into houses. [[User:Likedeeler|Likedeeler^{[[User talk:Likedeeler|(?!)]]}]] 15:45, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

When I was there in October 2006, New Myreside House (or at least the ground floor thereof) had recently been turned into the nursery department. - crazyscot 23:47, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

House system

Somebody has recently made the "houses" section indicate that this system has been abolished. I've just edited this to make it consistently use past tense, but I'm concerned that the change carries no source information. Is it accurate that houses have gone? – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 00:47, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Glad to see this has been returned to the present tense, since I recently saw a pupil with a red Cockburn/Greyfriars badge on, so presumed they must still exist. Can we presume that any further removal or "past-tensing" of this section is vandalism? – Kieran T ^{(talk | contribs)} 22:03, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Edit war

Dear anonymous user at 82.41.224.44, it's very nice that you are working on the article, but please take note of what other users are saying to you. The school campus is in Merchiston and not Morningside, but you have "reverted" the Morningside error this evening. If you are in any doubt about this, please see Merchiston Community Council website which clearly shows the boundary of the area, and the entire school campus within it. Morningside is immediately to the south and east, and to be fair the Music School entrance opens out into Morningside, but that's all. As for the photos you have added - perhaps you took them, if so thanks very much - but they are already linked to, by the "Wikimedia commons" template, so are available to anyone who wants to browse them. A shot of the doorway doesn't really do much for the article though. 212.74.8.249 03:03, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't really mind whether it's in Merchiston or Morningside or either parts of town. The headmaster writes in letters "in the Merchiston/Morningside area of Edinburgh". If, as you say, the "music school entrance opens out to Morningside" - and that entrance is used by a sizeable number of pupils - then why not mention it. The picture of the entrance to the Senior School adds "a picture of the entrance of the Senior School". I don't really see your point here. Aren't two pics better than one? It is only a thumb, and if some people still use 56K modems, you can't take half of the wikipedia pictures away for that reason. And, how many people browse through the Wikimedia Commons once they've looked at the article? I don't know how many. Also, Watson's is "one of the largest independent schools in Europe", as stated in the recently published "George Watson's College: An Illustrated History" by Les Howie, ISBN 0-9501838-2-2. User:Likedeeler 15:34, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Notable alumni vs Category

Do we really need to have both the Notable alumni section and Category:People associated with George Watson's College ? They're an incomplete duplication of each other. - crazyscot 22:51, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Assess

A good start article. More content and references needed for a B. High importance because of the impressive alumni list which includes several leading politicians. Dahliarose 09:15, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Suggestions for improvement

Having just expanded the history section thanks to my copy of Howie, it strikes me that the rest of the article could use a shakedown too.

• Ethos and values of the school - Ex Corde Caritas - Howie probably a useful reference (e.g. p.270)
• Why else is the school notable? The Cabin (and Dr Catriona Collins with it) and Third Year Projects come to mind as particular specialisations.
• (Aside) The Merchant Company of Edinburgh article really needs to be written, given the number of times it is linked now... The Merchant Company website may help.

I've been thinking this for a long time, but have very little in the way of reference material. For what it's worth though, I'd be happy to volunteer to help out if extra hands/eyes/etc. are needed in the compiling of the article. – Kieran T ^(talk) 00:08, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

I've now taken a good stab at writing the MCoE article, though it's a bit light on the non-historical aspects. More input welcome! - crazyscot 18:09, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

• More detail about post-Hospital boarding houses may be useful (see talk above, and Howie p141)
• Initiative is waiting to be taken about Notable alumni vs Category (above)
• Add Sir Roger Young (Headmaster, later Principal, 1958-85) to the list of notable staff? He possibly merits his own article; Howie (p132) describes him as "one of the best known in the country".

Definitely — surely notable if only for his longevity of office, not to mention overseeing the amalgamation of the boys' and ladies' colleges. – Kieran T ^(talk) 00:08, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

• Sports, clubs and societies - maybe worth expanding the current section - though remember this is Wikipedia, we don't want just an encylopaedic list.
• Better picture(s) - possibly some historical.

- crazyscot 23:47, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

I note with dismay that the picture of a gatepost has been resurrected ;-) In order to lay it finally to rest, I'll endeavour to get a better one of the frontage, rather than just delete it. If anyone else can beat me to that task, please do so! – Kieran T ^(talk) 00:06, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Fair enough. Well, I thought the article was becoming a bit text-heavy and really needed something, so I looked on the Commons and there it was - instant band-aid ;-) I'd be really happy to see different pictures. GWC itself has a stock of material, some of it historical, some of which might go well. If I get some tuits I'll see about contacting them... - crazyscot 10:20, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

• Add Morag Wise, Lady Wise (born 1963) - QC to notable alumni (dbeaumont)

List of people educated at George Watson's College

I propose to delete the alumni section as there is a separate List of people educated at George Watson's College. This reflects the format at Fettes College, Edinburgh Academy etc. Please let me know if you have any concerns with this. Thanks. Dormskirk (talk) 14:35, 13 January 2024 (UTC)