Kimmerghame House

Kimmerghame House is the youngest boys' house in Fettes, being a mere 125 years old! It started life in a private house, off the school campus, before the present boarding house was opened in 1928. It is now home to 53 young gentlemen (both boarding and day pupils), between the ages of 13 and 17.

It is an enormously friendly place where the boys quickly develop a fierce sense of loyalty towards each other and the House's name and this is probably in part because Kimmerghame is sited in the south west corner of the grounds, making it the house furthest from the main school. Without setting ourselves at odds with the rest of the College, the relative distance does create a sense of independence in the boys. That said, it is less than a five minute walk up to the school!

Over recent years, Kimmerghame has established an enviable sporting reputation for itself and in recent years the boys won a raft of inter house competitions, in both the major and minor sports. However, it is not a case of all play and no work and Kimmerghame continues to dominate the, as yet, unofficial Overall House Effort Competition for academic endeavour. In addition, a huge number of boys scooped academic prizes on Founder's Day. A large number of boys also play in the College's Pipe Band, sing in the Chapel Choir and play in the Orchestra, so we see ourselves very much as a group of all-rounders.

Assistance with much of the running of the house comes from the Lower 6th Prefect Team, which is led by the Head of House, William Milne, and his Deputy, Max Martin. Patrick Skinner, William Spens, Jai Srivastava, and Jack Yang complete the House Prefect team and as well as helping with day-to-day duties, such as supervising prep, all four boys have very specific roles within the House, taking responsibility for the Third Form, Activities, House Prayers and In-house Competitions respectively. Kimmerghame is also represented on a school-wide basis by Hamish Hay, last year’s Head of House, who has recently been appointed as a School Prefect.

The Housemaster, Mr Richard Smith, is about to begin his third year running Kimmerghame and is ably supported by his wife, Dr Sharon Lewis, who is Head of Science. They have a four year old German Wirehaired Pointer called Wilf, who is a well-established member of the house too. Mr James Pillinger, Head of Physical Education, and his wife, Kate, and their baby son, Oliver, have moved in to the house so that Mr Pillinger can take up the role of Resident Tutor. We are all very excited about this appointment and look forward to welcoming them in to the Kimmerghame Family. The final member of the resident team is our indispensable Matron, Mrs Kathleen Smeaton.

Should you like to learn more about the House and Fettes College please contact the Housemaster at rf.smith@fettes.com.