No stranger to London art galleries (although usually it’s Tate Britain for its collection of Turner paintings) but in a first for Gordon’s, A Level Art student Ruby Parsons will visit the Royal Academy to view her own piece hanging in their Summer Collection! For her portrait, of her sister lying in bed scrolling through TikTok videos, has been selected to feature in this iconic annual celebration of art and artists, co-ordinated by British painter David Remfry RA.

“It’s really cool”, enthused Ruby adding: “As soon as I found out I was calling all my family and my nan was saying ‘my granddaughter is famous!’ – not quite nan.” 

The piece forms part of her A Level personal study project looking at teenage girls. “My project explores the experiences of teen girls specifically. I was thinking about how they have been represented in art historically, including often being over-sexualised. My sister is my muse for a lot of my paintings, which I am very grateful for.” 

“I went into her room and she was lying in bed, on TikTok, and she had this pink LED sign above it and I asked if I could take a picture of her. Then I just stood on the end of her bed, holding the camera above my head hoping that I was taking a cool shot. It’s her way of shutting off, just lying in bed passively scrolling. It could be for hours. They talk about addiction but not why we are addicted in the first place. It’s ritualistic, a form of escapism.” 

Ruby’s picture will be exhibited for a month at the Royal Academy and she and her family will travel up for the private viewing. She said: “I’ve never been to the Royal Academy before. It's weird that the first time I’m going is to see a piece of my own.” 

As anyone who has ever learned the bagpipes (or the parents of children who have) knows, it’s a notoriously difficult instrument to master. Not just a case of playing a tune but ultimately adding in the airbag and in the case of Gordon’s pipers, marching as well! In addition, it requires good co-ordination as well as hand-eye and a formidable memory for the music! It is also a notoriously loud instrument so understanding neighbours are a must! So for her final swansong, Gordon’s Bursar Susan Meikle, who retires this Summer after 11 years, has decided to take on her biggest challenge, that of learning the pipes! Since last November, she has been discreetly learning to play the chanter (the part of the bagpipe used to create a melody), under the expert eye of Senior Pipe Major Iona Scotson. Now Mrs Meikle is producing recognisable tunes!  The reason for learning the pipes is she wants to leave a lasting legacy in the form of a set of them (or two!) for the iconic school Pipes and Drums Band. So, she has set herself the challenge of passing the Piping and Drumming Qualifications Board Level 2 examination (there is no Level 1). Mrs Meikle explained: “Throughout my 11 years working at Gordon’s School, I have admired and supported our student Pipe Band. Its main focus is to lead the eight School Parades each year, one along Whitehall,  but they are involved in so much more, playing at many Surrey civic, community and private events, at Wembley, Windsor Castle, with Army Pipe Bands, this year competing in ‘the Worlds’, Glasgow.  This takes commitment, teamwork and determination. While I am unlikely to progress to bagpipes, let alone manage to both play and march at the same time, I can appreciate some of the challenge of starting to learn and along the way, raise sufficient funds to purchase another set of bagpipes, maybe two.”

Sponsoring Mrs Meikle would encourage her to practise and hopefully pass the examination and who knows could lead to a new hobby in her retirement? Please follow this link to sponsor her https://www.justgiving.com/page/smeiklechanter

Honoured to be invited to the Royal Hospital Chelsea’s Founder’s Day Parade, Year 8 students, dressed in their ceremonial Blues uniforms. Each year representatives from Gordon’s are invited to attend this special event, which remembers King Charles II who issued a Royal Warrant for the foundation of the hospital and commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to design it on the 66 acre site. This year the Parade was held in the presence of His Majesty the King of the Belgians and his wife Queen Mathilde.

Command tasks, survival skills and observation skills, topped off with raft building and a raft race to finish off. The school’s Army Cadets are having a field day! The group of 27 are with the Royal Engineers at Gibraltar Barracks in Minley. Thank you Royal Engineers!

Back to Dorney Lake for the rowers at the weekend, for the largest junior rowing race in the calendar – the National Schools Regatta. Stand out performances from Mimi and the two Jameses, competing against some of the top clubs and crews in the country. Mimi, battling a strong cross wind in the Women's Championship singles, managed a creditable fifth place. James and James, competing in the Open Championship Double Sculls, came third in their B final producing the best performance in the school’s rowing history! Congratulations all!