After John Hunter (17 years) the second longest serving Headmaster of The Scots School was Alan Mitchell who served for 12 years. He was appointed in 1953 to replace Alan McLucas. His previous appointment had been as French Master at The Shore School in Sydney. Mitchell’s Speech Day report for 1953 is missing, but the story of the school is picked up again in 1954. He is remembered by Old Boys as a fairly stern disciplinarian.
Enrolments had plateaued in 1953-1954 at around 125 students. This was a pattern replicated over the years at Scots when there has been a change of Headmaster in the School, that enrolments tended to drop off until his successor was appointed and established. The new Headmaster was determined to build on the work of his predecessors, and his first year saw a number of decisions, the results of which are still with us today. The first of these was the foundation of The Model Farm in 1954. The purpose of this was to appeal to potential rural enrolments, to supplement the teaching of Agriculture that Mitchell introduced, and to create a farm that would be the most up-to-date and a place to be visited by rural industry people. In 1954, he also oversaw the introduction of kilts to the Cadet Unit. The appearance of kilts also inspired the idea of a Scots School Pipe Band, and in 1957, this became a reality.
Alan Mitchell did much to promote the arts. One of his notable achievements was nurturing the talents of Brett Whiteley and Vernon Treweeke, both of whom were to have international visual art careers. A fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, there were productions of “The Pirates of Penzance” (Alan Mitchell himself played the Pirate King) and “HMS Pinafore”.
Building work around the school continued, with hobbies rooms for the boys, a woodwork room, and the “Aluminium Block” that was largely funded by a parent and housed a large assembly room and classrooms. In 1961, the Swimming Pool was inaugurated, and the Dougan Wing opened (now staff offices, a classroom and the Year 11 Locker area). Enrolments began to climb again. In 1957, they reached 142. In 1961, 160.
One notable decision that Alan Mitchell took occurred in 1964. His secretary had resigned, and in her place he appointed Betty Ives. This was the beginning of a relationship that lasted an astonishing 54 years. Earlier, in 1961, he appointed Howard Davoll as the first permanent Woodwork Teacher, who also went on to have a long career at the school.
Alan Mitchell’s last years at Scots were marred by serious setbacks outside of his control. When he resigned in May of 1965, enrolments were down to 136. Michael Aikman reported that at the start of 1966, there were 96 boys at Scots. There is no one reason for the problems that the school faced from 1963 to 1965; it was more a combination of circumstances. There was a nationwide recession in 1961, and enrolments went down at the beginning of 1962, although the situation had improved by the end of the year. They trended down again after 1963. The introduction of the Wyndham Scheme, which added an extra year to the secondary curriculum, meant that parents of independent school children were faced with the financial commitment of an extra year of school fees. Many responded by withdrawing their sons at the end of the Fourth Year (Year 10). Then, 1965 was a year of severe drought, which affected a very wide area of New South Wales. In 1964, the Junior School closed. Fees were reduced to encourage more enrolments, but that meant less money for maintenance, and on his arrival in 1966, Michael Aikman reported that the school was physically very run down, discipline had slipped, and the word of mouth recommendations that had always been the major source of recruitment to the school were not there.
After leaving Scots, Alan Mitchell took up a position at Adelaide University. John Bulkeley was appointed for the Third time as Acting Headmaster until Michael Aikman took over at the beginning of 1966. Although his last years were difficult, Alan Mitchell did leave a legacy of buildings in the school, the swimming pool, an increased role for the visual and performing arts, the farm, the Pipe Band and Betty Ives!
Mr Andrew Maher
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