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The Schools Championship began again quickly after the war with a meeting at Westerlands in Glasgow, on Saturday, 12th June starting at 11:00 in the forenoon and, after a break for lunch, at 2:15 in the afternoon.   The report with results was published in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ on the following Monday.

There was a broad range of schools represented in the results.   Alva Academy, Ardrossan Academy, Ayr Academy, Buckhaven Academy,  Daniel Stewart’s, Falkirk High School, George Heriot’s, George Watson’s, Glasgow High School, Gordonstoun,  Hillhead High School, Jordanhill College, Kelso Academy, Paisley Grammar School, Shawlands Academy, St Aloysius, Strathallan were all there and winning medals.   If there was any doubt after the first world war about the top fee paying schools not taking part, Stewart’s, Heriot’s, Watson’s, Glasgow High and Gordonstoun removed any doubt this time round.

The championships moved to Edinburgh, to Inverleith, for the meeting on 14th June 1947.   The ‘Scotsman’ report has counted the competing schools and tells us that there were 70 taking part.   The report and results were published in the 16th June issue.

More new names on the medallists roster after last year – Bellahouston Secondary, Broughton Secondary, Govan Secondary,  Hawick High, Hamilton Academy, Kelvinside Academy, Lanark Grammar, Morgan Academy, North Berwick High,  Stirling High, Trinity Academy, Peebles High, Preston Lodge and Queen’s Park Secondary.    Note too the reference to the Scottish Schools Athletic Association – a different association to the original ruling clique from the fee-paying schools in Edinburgh.

They were back in Glasgow at Westerlands on 26th June in 1948.   Unfortunately there was no report to be found in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ or in ‘The Scotsman’.   There was however an interesting letter in ‘The Midlothian  Advertiser –

As a definition of amateurism it is faultless (!) but the perennial argument about whether they should apply to school children in the local sports gala day is highlighted.   No national coverage, but there was local reporting such as the following from the ‘Press & Journal’ in Aberdeen on 28th June which pointed up the local interest.   

There are other short local reports for Madras College or from Motherwell but no complete report was found.

In 1949 the ‘Glasgow Herald’ reported on 20th June on the championships, held at Inverleith again.

There were new schools on the prize list this year, names such as Irvine Royal Academy, Kirkcudbright Academy and Stevenston Junior Secondary, the latter being the first time after the War that a Junior Secondary, whose name proclaimed it, was on the awards list.   Govan Secondary might well have been another state junior secondary and although the high schools were never slow to give their full designation – which could cover the fee-paying as well as the state and granted some ambiguity  to the interpretation – the same was not quite true of the junior secondary.

Back at Westerlands on 17th June in 1950, the ‘Sunday Post’ had this short report with minimal results printed on the following day.

There was a bigger report with results for all three age groups in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ of 19th June and it is reported below.

John Blane was a wonderful athlete who won many trophies as a football player, as a long distance cyclist and then as a miler of considerable ability.   Blane came from Irvine and had three very good seasons between 1887 and 1890.   He only ran in two Scottish Championships: in 1888 he was second in the 880 and first in the One Mile in 4:35.6; he missed the Championships in 1889 but in 1890 he was second in both 880 yards and One Mile.   1888 was his best season when he was one of three men trying to be the first Scot under 4:30 for the Mile.   DS Duncan (Edinburgh) started the rush with 4:32.2 early in the season; Blane chopped this to 4:30.2 seconds and the Duncan finally reached the target with 4:28.0 in September 1888.   The record stood for several years.

Championships apart he raced a lot and won a lot.   In his first season (1887/88) as a comparative novice he had two firsts, four seconds and two thirds but he learned quickly and by 1888 he was as good as anyone in the country.   He won the Shield for the Mile at Abercorn Sports in Paisley three times in succession and was given the shield; he won the Empire Exhibition One Mile winning a superb trophy and medal, he won the Mile at St Mirren Sports winning a magnificent silver trophy, he won races all over Ayrshire and his collection of trophies is unique in my experience and testament to a superb career.

The list of items is as follows and is almost complete as far as championships are concerned:

Abercorn Mile Challenge Shield: 16” in diameter, inscribed Abercorn FC Sports 1885   Abercorn Mile Challenge Shield.   The former winners named on the shield are J Logan 1885, RC McWalter 1886, WM Thomson 1887, J Blane 1888, J Blane 1889.   Although he won it again in 1890 he did not have it engraved.   All winners were members of Clydesdale Harriers and the shield is a magnificent object set with several silver medallions illustrating parts of a race..

Abercorn FC Sports 1887: pewter tankard approx 16” tall, inscribed 880 Yards Flat Race H/cap Prize.   No winner’s name engraved.

Glasgow International Exhibition Trophy: approximately 15” tall inscribed One Mile Race H’cap, First Prize, John Blane, 1888

Scottish Amateur Athletic Association Medal: inscribed Championship Meeting 1888, 1 Mile Flat Race won by John Blane, time 4 minutes and 35 and 2/5^th seconds.

Scottish Amateur Athletics Association Medal: inscribed Championship Meeting 1890, 1 Mile Flat Race.

Clydesdale Harriers Medal: inscribed 1 Mile Record, 4 minutes 30 and 1/5^th s, won by John Blane, Maybole Sports, 14^th July 1888.

St Mirren FC AA Sports 1887: Teapot inscribed Second Prize 1 mile race, handicap, open.   Unfortunately no photograph is available.

All his cycling trophies, one below, and medals, gold and silver are also in the collection. Note the sponsor’s name at the top of this one for a road championship race.

The inter scholastics were held in the first week in April in 1871 at Raeburn Place as usual with a handful of Edinburgh private schools taking part.   What follows is the ‘Scotsman’ report.

It will be noted that the heading on the report is of the Edinburgh Inter-Scholastic Games – there was no notion of of a national or even county Inter Scholastic competition and only four establishments were involved.  

Unfortunately for 1872 there was no ‘Scotsman’ available for April but we can go on to 1873 when we were more fortunate.   The report that year was in the  ‘Scotsman’ of 21st April and is a much longer account than the 1871 Games was in evidence.   It tells us that five schools took part and that Trinity College, Glenalmond was competing for the first time.   Note too that the reporter refers to the participants as ‘public schools’ which is now thought of as a reference to the English private school system. 

For 1874, there was a dearth of ‘Scotsman’s to consult online, similarly in 1875 but 1876 was a different matter.   There is a whole correspondence, maybe verging on the acrimonious, on the event which is on the next post which can be reached at   this link .

We will end the coverage of the event for now with the correspondence in ‘The Scotsman’ about it which was started in the paper of 13th April, 1876 with this letter by M.I. which casts doubt on whether the event ought to be continued.

There was an almost instant response from various interested parties.

Of course there had to be a response from M.I.  (or was it M.J.?) – 

In the course of all this, the Head at Loretto had to correct a few mis-statements –

Given that he referred to the ‘late’ inter scholastic games, it would seem that they had ceased to exist!  Loretto off their own bat appeared to be trying to do something about the situation.   But it would seem that there would be a hiatus and that is where we will leave the Games – for now at least. 

Despite talk in 1869 of the sports being held at Merchiston Castle, they were again held at Raeburn Place and went off well.Although it reported that all the best athletes from all the public schools in Edinburgh were taking part, there were still only four establishments in action.  For the second time in five meetings the qualifying dates for the various age groups was given in the report, and the jumps for height participants were graded by their height.   The speech at the end of the afternoon was abbreviated to the point of almost non-existence.

Crowd size was better than satisfactory, the standard of athletics was high and the report was by far the best of those printed so far in the series.

The Games of 1968 were the third in the series which were limited to several fee-paying schools in Edinburgh.  The opening paragraph of the report below comments on this and repeats the fact that the Games were a copy of the Oxford/Cambridge meetings.   The spirit of the age comes through the report with talk of “more for the honour of the school than personal aggrandisement”.   Well, maybe that was the outward appearance but it is fair to think that it did confer some status on the performer.

A good day’s sport with some interesting comments and conclusions: eg that the venue be changed to Merchiston Castle after four years at the same venue.  The fact that the number of competing schools was now down to four should maybe have caused some stirring in the cloisters of the establishments concerned too.

In an interesting introduction to the coverage of the report, the writer says that they were set up in imitation of the Oxbridge inter-university sports.  That’s the first time that has been mentioned.   What, if anything, does that tell us of the self perception of the schools’ management at the time?   As in the first two meetings, there were the five schools taking part and the event took place at Raeburn Place.  The report is from the ‘Scotsman’   .

Apart from Lord Ardmillan’s rousing speech with its “one word” of advice which runs to ten lines, that the meeting went on until 7:00 pm is a testament to the hardiness of the spectators, or maybe to the determination of mothers and fathers to see their progeny in action.   The programme had flat racing, hurdles racing, high jump, long jump, pole vault and throwing the cricket ball.   

The Merchiston Castle school sports day was on 18th April in 1866.   It was a good day alkthough there was reportedly a wind blowing but it was the only school to games to have a figure for the attendance – approximately 2000 were there for the occasion.   The report from the ‘Scotsman’ is below.

Among all the schools, it was the list of events that was most like the actual upcoming  inter-schools. Pole vault, high jump,long jump, putting the cannon ball, throwing the cricket ball and hurdles were all there.   The only lack was the number of events in each group – eg only one mile race with the nearest distance event being the 440 yards.   Then there is the last event of a flat race for fencing pupils: was there a separate fencing class that was taken at the time when the other pupils were doing their athletics?   A bit of a puzzle.   But like the others, it was a great social occasion with the grounds properly marked out, lots of flags and decorations around the ground.

The picture above is the only one I can find of the school.   It was a private school at the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries with a good record of education and of sporting competition.   In 1866 it held its sports on 11th April in grand style with bannerets and so on, guests arriving in coaches and more of that type of celebration.   The report below is from the ‘Scotsman’.

With 29 events it was a fuller programme than that of the Royal High school and the events were more suited to the inter-school competition looming at the end of the month.   There was throwing the cricket ball, putting the cannonball, high leap. long leap and a variety of flat races.   Note too the name Mein in the running and jumping events.

Royal High School

We start with the report on the procedings which, although held on a rather unpleasant day which turned to rain later on, was well attended and even after some of the fashionable ladies and their escorts left when the rain came on there were ‘several hundreds’ of spectators.   The ground had been decorated for the occasion and details are included in the ‘Scotsman’ report.

Despite the weather and the ‘treacherous springing ground’, the sports went off well:

25 events distributed between Past pupils, present pupils and jumping for height with a category for pupils under 5 feet tall.   The Lord Provost was present with a Baillie there too.   The boys should have been well prepared for the inter-schools competition at the end of the month – but not all the events for the latter were on the programme for the Royal High School’s confined sports.