Barry Clegg
House and Years at Fettes:
College East, from September 1956 to April 1961 approximately (I left before the summer term).
Qualifications and career:
BA Cambridge (Mechanical Sciences), MSc Aston (Sold Mechanics), Professional Engineer Ontario, Society for Technical Communication (senior member).
What is your most cherished memory from your time at Fettes?
Probably playing the organ, which I did often, in chapel and in the concert hall. I also played horn in the orchestra and sang in the choir. My greatest musical achievement was playing the Brahms Horn Trio with Mr Simmons (violin teacher) and Mr Lester-Cribb (piano teacher).
My 2 terms in the 3rd year 6th were good fun, working towards scholarship & qualifying exams, being a School Prefect, doing lots of music, auditioning for the National Youth Orchestra (I was one of the top 12 horn players, of whom they took 8 - but not me). I was actually sorry to leave school, but there was no reason to stay on, and I went to Birmingham to work for GKN who had given me a valuable industrial scholarship
I enjoyed Maths (with Mr Brewer) and Physics (Mr Naiff). In I think an unprecedented move, three of us in the 3rd year 6th (Douglas Cook, Donald Mason, & I, who all went on to Cambridge) invited Messrs Brewer, Naiff, & Lester-Cribb out for dinner. We felt warmly towards these mathematical / scientific/musical teachers, admiring particularly their enthusiasm for their subjects.
I had three close friends at Fettes, and remain in touch with two of them (despite having lived in Canada for the last 40 years).
And your least?
The compulsory sports (but see below). I hated having to play rugger, and the disproportionate importance attached to the game. It was a school of jocks. Bigside was far more prestigious than Oxford or Cambridge. The sports I liked best, hockey & fives, were also of low prestige.
If relevant, what did being a scholar at Fettes mean to you?
One of the best things you can do for a smart kid is stick him or her in with other smart kids, for the stimulus and general level of mental activity. Being in the top, accelerated stream gave me this advantage, and allowed me most of a 3rd year in the 6th form (for sitting scholarship and qualifying exams).
What event or personality left a lasting impression on you?
Three main things come to mind:
- Unquestionably I got a fine academic education. Thank you, the three teachers mentioned above, and thank you, Fettes.
- The absence of female friendships for 9 months of the year was drastic. I attribute to this my awkwardness with women that lasted a long time (but did not prevent me marrying in my 20s and again in my 50s).
- The compulsory sports. When you couldn't do anything outside because of snow, they organized a snowball fight! But here's the thing: I went on to play hockey at Cambridge (for my college), then for my company in Birmingham, and then for many years for the Toronto Field Hockey Club here in Canada. In all I played hockey regularly for 40 years. In my late 20s I discovered the pleasure of running, long before jogging became fashionable (though along with almost everyone else I had disliked it at Fettes). In my late 30s I twice ran Marathons, and am still something of a runner. I attribute this continued willingness to exert myself physically (such as stair running two at a time) to my time at Fettes. Thanks again!
Oh, and of course I remain rabidly interested in music, mostly choral singing, some piano, and occasionally the French horn.
Were you a conscientious student?
Yes. I never had much trouble keeping up with my studies and homework.
Outside the classroom, how did you spend your free time at Fettes?
As indicated, music was my great passion, and I was involved in pretty well everything that was going on.
Of course I spent a lot of time just talking with a couple of very good friends, with whom I shared a study for a two years.
I was (and remain) an enthusiastic book-reader. In fact, I had started a list of books read when I was 12, and have kept it up ever since - so I can tell you exactly what books I read in my Fettes years.
