2024 is shaping up to be quite the year at The High School of Glasgow as we celebrate 900 years of our school! Hear from Marketing and Communications Lead, Naomi Clark, as she describes a momentous nine days for HSOG…

With a new session underway, September supercharged fundraising efforts for the 900 Campaign with a 900km sponsored cycle in aid of the Bursary Fund and our very first Giving Day!

A nine day, 900km cycling challenge organised by Mr Kenneth Robertson, Head of Senior School, and tackled by a team of teachers, was the ultimate test of endurance. Mrs Jane Armstrong (Teacher of Maths) and Mr Tom Lyons (Teacher of English and Duke of Edinburgh Manager) completed the full 900km cycle, with members of staff joining the peloton at different stages. This included Miss Nicola Cowan (Head of Geography and Modern Studies), Mrs Alison Cox (Head of Girls’ PE), Mrs Jenny Dougall (Head of Support for Learning), Mr Martin Dougall (Head of Biology), Dr Danny Hamilton (Teacher of Maths), Mr John O’Neill (Rector), Mr Kenneth Robertson as well as Dr Daniel Went (Head of Physics).

Not to be forgotten, was the all-important Arnold Clark support vehicle driver, Mr Barry FitzGerald, (Teacher of Physical Education & Geography and SQA Coordinator) with the help of Mr Robertson, who ensured cyclists had the supplies and sustenance they required to make it cross country. In addition to the support vehicle provided by Arnold Clark, cycling shop Cyclelane donated inner tubes and energy bars, with a donation from Professor Sir Michael Bond, former Chair of the Board of Governors (2001-2006), covering some of the costs of the cycle, including the snazzy branded cycling shirts. We are incredibly grateful to these companies and individuals for their generous support.

Starting in Drewsteignton, Devon on the 17th of September (in a nod to Drewsteignton School on Ledcameroch Road which now houses our Junior School), the cyclists headed off on day one’s 109km cycle which took them through the Devon and Somerset countryside. At the same time, a group of Senior 5 and 6 pupils alongside Dr Hamilton, Miss Cowan, Mrs Cox and Mrs Dougall set off on National Cycle Route 7, following the canal path all the way from Anniesland to Balloch and back again in an act of camaraderie for the peloton south of the border.

Day two saw the cyclists pedalling 100km through Somerset, past Wells Cathedral and over the Mendips to the Severn Bridge beyond Bristol. Day three featured 114km clocked up with the cyclists passing through four counties (Gloucestershire, Gwent, Herefordshire and Shropshire) and two countries (thanks to a brief visit to Wales from England), finishing at Ludlow. Day four featured flatter terrain, with 110km under their belts taking the peloton to just north of Crewe. The end of day five from the Midlands to Wigan (92km) marked the halfway point!

Day six took the peloton 107km from the Midlands to the Lake District, with day seven featuring an 85km cycle through the Lake District, over Shap Summit to Carlisle. This leg proved a particularly grueling one with rain, punctures and new bicycle chains required, but the team dug deep and found new reserves of strength. Day eight marked a big moment: the crossing of the Scotland-England border which saw cyclists pedalling the 115km from Carlisle in England to Abington, South Lanarkshire in Scotland.

Day nine, the final leg of the challenge, and arguably the most meaningful leg, saw the peloton making a pilgrimage back to the site of the School’s founding, Glasgow Cathedral. From here, they headed for their final destination: the Senior School in Old Anniesland. They were greeted by a welcome party of pupil Pipers and a pupil and staff Guard of Honour who cheered our champions home! It was a joyous and emotional moment marking a truly remarkable achievement for all involved, but particularly Mr Lyons and Mrs Armstrong, who had completed the entire route.

Running in tandem with the 900km sponsored cycle was the High School’s very first Giving Day! This 36-hour online celebration of giving shone a spotlight on the 900 Campaign, and the importance of the Bursary Fund in particular. Starting at 8am on Tuesday 24th September and running until 8pm on Wednesday 25th September, stories and testimonials from Bursary recipients and donors alike were shared, bringing to life the transformational impact of a High School education.

Throughout this period, members of the HSOG community were encouraged to support the 900 Campaign if they wished. Challenges were set to introduce a friendly, competitive spirit to the Giving Day and included donor participation milestones, House challenges, international challenges and a Girls’ School specific challenge. Each time a new challenge was completed, additional funds were unlocked thanks to a special donation pledged by former pupil Peter Pinkerton (Class of 1952).

As participation levels increased and kind messages of support were left on the Donor Wall, the true ethos and heart of the HSOG Community shone through. With day one of Giving Day drawing to a close, fundraising efforts were given a tremendous boost thanks to an anonymous donor matching £ for £ the first £25k raised. This was a truly remarkable milestone, whereby all giving was worth double thanks to this incredibly kind pledge from a member of our community, supercharging fundraising efforts.

With the UK and Europe heading to sleep the Giving Day continued, with members of the global HSOG Community picking up the baton overnight to keep the challenge count rising and the donations ticking over.

Day two was equally as exciting as the Donor Wall continued to fill up with messages of support, donor participation numbers increased and challenges were surpassed! By the time Giving Day ended at 8pm on Wednesday 25th September, 234 donors had contributed to the 900 Campaign, raising over £82,000 including Gift Aid (at the time of writing), a remarkable figure.

We are truly humbled by the generosity of the HSOG Community in helping to raise this amount for the Bursary Fund and other areas of the 900 Campaign and it highlights the power of cumulative giving. It’s not too late to make a donation to the Giving Day, you can do so here if you wish to, with the site remaining open for a couple of weeks. Once our Giving Day website closes you can still make a donation to the Campaign here.

Being a place where striving ‘Ever Upwards’ is at our heart, a Giving Day and a 900km cycle simply weren’t enough, so our pupils played their part with their own cycling-themed challenges to raise awareness and funds for the 900 Campaign. Senior School pupils pedalled it out on exercise bikes during PE, attempting to clock up as many kilometres as they could. Meanwhile, Junior School pupils took part in a ‘Whizzy Wheels Week’ challenge, where in place of homework, they were encouraged to get outside and zoom around on any form of wheels that they desired: be that bikes, trikes, rollerblades and scooters. Seeing pupils of all ages, from the very youngest members of our community to the very oldest, was quite something and speaks to the heart of HSOG.

We cannot thank the HSOG Community enough for getting behind our very first Giving Day and supporting the 900km sponsored cycle, you helped to make it the tremendous success it was and it has been a fitting way to mark 900 years of our School.