STOP PRESS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the FP Association AGM will take place at 7 pm on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 7 pm in the Howe of Fife RFC facility at Duffus Park, Cupar.
The meeting will also be accessible over Zoom.
Please take this message as your invitation to attend.
A copy of the agenda will be sent to all those indicating their intention to be present.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will also be sent.
Please confirm your attendance or tender apologies by email to [email protected].
The AGM is open to all former pupils and members of staff whether or not they are members of the Association.
Those members who do not pay subscriptions by direct debit are respectfully reminded that annual subscriptions (£5 (Student), £10 (Ordinary) or £15 (Family)) are now due.
That the FP Association AGM will take place at 7 pm on Wednesday 20 March 2024 at 7 pm in the Howe of Fife RFC facility at Duffus Park, Cupar.
The meeting will also be accessible over Zoom.
Please take this message as your invitation to attend.
A copy of the agenda will be sent to all those indicating their intention to be present.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will also be sent.
Please confirm your attendance or tender apologies by email to [email protected].
The AGM is open to all former pupils and members of staff whether or not they are members of the Association.
Those members who do not pay subscriptions by direct debit are respectfully reminded that annual subscriptions (£5 (Student), £10 (Ordinary) or £15 (Family)) are now due.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the FP Association AGM will take place at 7 pm on Wednesday 23 March 2022 at 7 pm in the Howe of Fife RFC facility at Duffus Park, Cupar.
The meeting will also be accessible over Zoom.
Please take this message as your invitation to attend.
The agenda will be finalised by the Committee on 17 March. It will be sent to all those indicating their intention to be present.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will also be sent.
Please confirm your attendance or tender apologies by email to [email protected].
The AGM is open to all former pupils and members of staff whether or not they are members of the Association.
Those members who do not pay subscriptions by direct debit are respectfully reminded that annual subscriptions (£5 (Student), £10 (Ordinary) or £15 (Family)) are now due.
That the FP Association AGM will take place at 7 pm on Wednesday 23 March 2022 at 7 pm in the Howe of Fife RFC facility at Duffus Park, Cupar.
The meeting will also be accessible over Zoom.
Please take this message as your invitation to attend.
The agenda will be finalised by the Committee on 17 March. It will be sent to all those indicating their intention to be present.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will also be sent.
Please confirm your attendance or tender apologies by email to [email protected].
The AGM is open to all former pupils and members of staff whether or not they are members of the Association.
Those members who do not pay subscriptions by direct debit are respectfully reminded that annual subscriptions (£5 (Student), £10 (Ordinary) or £15 (Family)) are now due.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place over Zoom on Wednesday 31 March 2021 at 7 pm.
All FPs and members of staff, whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will be sent to all those who, indicate interest.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place over Zoom on Wednesday 31 March 2021 at 7 pm.
All FPs and members of staff, whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
A Meeting ID and password together with a link to enable you to join direct will be sent to all those who, indicate interest.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
REUNION - CLASS OF '58
SEPTEMBER 2018
The Class of 1958 announce their intention to hold a 60 Year anniversary party. It will take place towards the end of September this year - exact date and venue still to be decided. Interested FPs - and former members of staff - should get in touch with Miggy Lyall or Sylvia Kyle to get further details. Miggy is at [email protected] and Sylvia at [email protected].
REUNION - CLASS OF '98
19 MAY 2018
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place in the staff room at Bell Baxter High School on Wednesday 7 March 2018 at 7.30 pm.
All FPs and members of staff,. whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place in the staff room at Bell Baxter High School on Wednesday 7 March 2018 at 7.30 pm.
All FPs and members of staff,. whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place in the staff room at Bell Baxter High School on Wednesday 8 March 2017 at 7.15 pm.
All FPs and members of staff,. whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
That the Annual General Meeting of Bell Baxter Former Pupils' Association is scheduled to take place in the staff room at Bell Baxter High School on Wednesday 8 March 2017 at 7.15 pm.
All FPs and members of staff,. whether or not they are members of the Association, are cordially invited to attend.
Should you wish to record apologies, please do so by email to [email protected].
Those FPA members who do not pay by Bankers Order are respectfully reminded that subscriptions (£5, £10 or £15, according to category) are due on 1 March. Cheques should be made payable to Bell Baxter FP Association and sent to the Membership Secretary at the address below.
Averon Bank
North Union Street
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4DU
MINUTE OF SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
MINUTE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MINUTE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
MINUTE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
BELL BAXTER FORMER PUPILS ASSOCIATION
Minute of the AGM of the above Association held at Bell Baxter High School on 5th March 2014.
Sederunt : 16 members were present: Derek Barrie, Ron Caird, Isobel Macgregor, Jan McIntosh, Lachlan McIntosh, George McQuitty, Robert McWilliam, Joe Manson, Pat Mitchell, Jim Ramsay, Posie Ridley, Pat Rollo, Betty Scott, Jim Thomson, Iain White and Margaret Whitson.
Item 1 Apologies were received from: Iain Andrews, William S Arbuckle, Graeme Bain, Ian Beattie, Mike Black, Beth Brunton (Mrs Steel), Gavin Cairns, Doug Campbell, Margaret Carswell, Sandy Davis, Callum Duncan, Muriel Dymock, Elizabeth Farmer (Mrs Craik), Veda Fairley (Mrs Franz), Dakers Fleming, Jess Halford (Mrs Kerek), Eileen Hall (Mrs Wood), Christine Henderson (Mrs Taylor), Michelle Hill, John Horne, Ed Jarron, Rae Jarvis (Mrs Humphrey), Elaine Johnston (Mrs Miller), Janice Johnston (Mrs Hyland), Ron King, Sybil Kirkcaldy (Mrs Summers), Jean Leslie (Mrs Watt), Jennifer MacFadyen (Mrs Frensham), Stuart MacFarlane, Ian McGregor, Margaret McNab (Mrs Rippin), Jane McQuitty, Kate McQuitty, Kirsty McQuitty, Luke McQuitty, Sara McQuitty, Anne Manson, Brownie Melville (Mrs Wright), Helen Mercer (Mrs Napier), Hélène Middleton (Mrs Thomas), Alasdair Morton, Margie Neill (Mrs Kerr), David Niblett, Jean Paterson (Mrs MacGregor), Virginia Reekie (Mrs Nelson), Tom Russell, Brian Samson, Sandy Scott, Evelyn Sime (Mrs Whitfield), Eric Sinclair, Michael G Smith, Ron Smith, Sandy Taylor, Marjorie Urquhart (Mrs Dean), Ron Walker and Alex Weir.
Item 2 Minute of 2011 AGM. The minute of the meeting held in Bell Baxter High School on 6th March 2012, published in full in issue 44 of the Newsletter and on the website, was approved.
Item 3 Matters arising therefrom. There were none.
Item4 Membership Secretary’s Report. Joe Manson reported membership standing at 265 paid up, of whom 118 paid by bankers’ order. This was an increase of 47 from the previous year, all in the ordinary category and probably attracted by the forthcoming 125th anniversary reunion. Just under 60% of members who had been reminded their subscriptions were due had responded to reminders. Twelve members had died and three members had resigned, Mrs A Redpath, Mrs A Simpson and Iain Black. The total nominal membership was 377. He had received a number of interesting notes with subscriptions and passed some of these to Muriel Dymock for the newsletter.
Item 5 Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer, Jim Thomson, spoke briefly to the audited financial statement which was distributed. There was a deficit for the year of £109.84, giving total funds in the bank of £4890.44. The accounts were approved. The deficit was largely caused by escalating printing costs of the newsletter. The fact that subscription income was almost the same as expenditure on the newspaper showed the wisdom of increasing the subscription from £5 to £10 per annum.
It was agreed to minute thanks to Steven Carters who had audited our accounts at no charge.
Item 6 Chairman’s Report: Derek Barrie said “It gives me pleasure to present my third report as Association Chairman. Unfortunately I have the usual inevitable duty of expressing sadness at the death of a number of FPs, details of which were recorded by Muriel Dymock in recent copies of the newsletter.
For the first few months after the last AGM the business of the Association was largely routine. However latterly we have been turning our attention to preparations for celebrating the 125th anniversary of the school, which will be marked particularly on Saturday June 14th.
Again I would express the thanks of all members to the Association’s Honorary President, Muriel Dymock, for her continuing editing of the twice a year newsletter, which is the main reason for many members supporting the Association. Muriel is tonight missing an AGM for the first time since the founding of the Association. However she has asked me to say that the next newsletter is well underway but she would welcome further contributions.
Another unusual absentee this evening, Sandy Davis, carries out multifarious roles for the Association, the main one being his position as webmaster. Our website is easy to negotiate and always up to date. Sandy also continues to update both Bell Baxter Lives and Bell Baxter Essays. Special bumper editions of both are promised for this special anniversary year. He is also taking on a new role, namely that of reunion secretary.
I would also like to thank the other office bearers and members of the committee for their support and assistance over the year. Joe Manson continues to keep punctilious records as Membership Secretary and Jim Thomson keeps impeccable accounts as Treasurer. George McQuitty is increasingly active as Vice-Chairman. We are pleased to have been joined on the committee by Pat Rollo as the liaison between us and the school. The Committee has survived operating without a Secretary as I have dealt with calling notices, agendas and minutes but a volunteer would still be most welcome.
Muriel Dymock and I both attended the Year of 63 reunion which was very well organized by Helen Salcher (Frau Venters), Mary-Ellen Herdman (Mrs Robertson) and Murray Duncan. This reunion was well attended and greatly enjoyed by those present. There has so far been no one taking up the challenge of running a Class of 64 reunion. Potential participants may just wish to be part of the 125th celebrations. Time will tell.
We are now turning our attention to the 125th reunion on 14th June. It is now very much becoming a cooperative effort involving both the school and the FP Association. The basic outline of the event(s) is an art exhibition, tour, coffees then lunch in the school followed by a social event with strawberries, cream and prosecco at Dalgairn, by permission of George McQuitty. Indications are that we will have large numbers attending and I will say more under AOCB.
This should be my last stint in the chair but more when we come to Agenda item 10. Thanks for your support, your attendance and your friendly reception.
Item 7 Appointment of Auditor: the meeting approved the re-appointment of Carters CA
Item 8 Webmaster’s Report: The Chairman read the report to the meeting: Website
I believe our website does a good job for us and presents us to our audience in a favourable light. Recent changes to the layout have made it easier for visitors to navigate the site and to find what they are looking for. While new responses about Reunion 125 have slowed down considerably of late, it is clear that people are visiting the Reunion 125 page and are able to interact with it easily. Those attending the AGM are encouraged to take advantage of the absence of the webmaster to raise any concerns they have about the website. We can’t fix what we don’t know to be broken!
BB Lives
This biographical archive continues to increase, albeit slowly. I am thinking about producing a printed volume to include with the archive material at Reunion 125, as it may encourage others to contribute.
I know that a lot of people are reluctant to send us something, possibly because they view it as a form of boasting to tell others what they have done in their lives. This is false modesty – and selfish! Phil Black is trying to get pupils to engage with the School’s 125 years, and one of the things he is doing to generate interest is to get pupils to look at how generations have been involved with the School. He is challenging them to find the longest family connection. Is this just peripheral, or is it of fundamental importance? You may know that your wife/husband/parents/cousins/grandparents/great grandparents attended BBS, but should not this be shared? Everyone has a story to tell, even though it is confined to the seemingly mundane ‘I left School at 16 and went to work in Tescos. I married a girl from the year below me and we now have two teenagers who are at the school. They are the first sixth-generation Bell Baxterians.’ It may seem a bit like writing your own obituary, but better that you have some editorial control than that Sandy Davis makes something up after you’re gone!
I produced a list recently of some 400 Prominent Bell Baxterians in fields ranging from The Arts through Business, Education, Engineering, Politics and Science to Sport. They range in time from the 1885 winner of the Balgonie Gold Medal through to our most recent Rugby Union cap. This list has been passed to Lindsey Alexander of the Fife Herald in the hope that she can make something of it in the lead up to the Anniversary.
BB Essays
These are not exactly flying off the shelves, even though people like the look of them when they see one. At the same time, the FPA doesn’t need to lay out for them, so we’re not out of pocket.
Work is progressing on the Anniversary Edition, which will contain a fair amount of hitherto unpublished material. Phil Black seems keen on the idea of a competition for pupil entries, so it will be interesting to see whether the pupils respond. I shall send a flyer out to FPA members to encourage them to send something in. Details of the Anniversary Edition will be included with the request for deposit/payment from those attending Reunion 125 to enable them to pre-order a copy.
Item 9 Newsletter report: the Chairman read a brief report from Muriel Dymock : “"The preparation of next edition is under way. At the moment I have very little in the way of contributions from others. I had hoped that the flurry of interesting reminiscences which came in last time might inspire others to contribute their thoughts and recollections of their schooldays. It is not too late, as mid- April would be the target for finalising contributions. The diary in the Fife Herald continues to supply the week by week information about school activities. The concerns I felt about the very poor presentation of the diary in recent months have been removed by a greatly improved effort in the paper. This followed a discussion with the relevant English teacher who was similarly concerned and contacted the paper. This saved her having to add me to her mailing list.
Item 10 Election of Committee members: The Chairman stated that he, the Treasurer and the Subscriptions Secretary had all served the three years allowed by the constitution and were not eligible to seek re-election. However the last meeting of the committee had unanimously agreed to recommend to the AGM that it should set aside the relevant part of the constitution as was allowed if no alternative nominations were made at the AGM. Consequently it was agreed that Derek Barrie be reappointed for a further year as Chairman and that Jim Thomson be re-elected Treasurer and Joe Manson Subscriptions Secretary. Likewise it was agreed to re-elect Posie Ridley who was due to stand down from the committee as no other nomination was made to fill the vacancy caused by her retiral from the committee The composition of the Committee in full is:
Chairman Derek Barrie; Vice-Chairman George McQuitty; Treasurer Jim Thomson; Subscriptions Secretary Joe Manson; Secretary vacant, Committee members Ron Caird, Jan McIntosh and Posie Ridley. Ex Officio members are: Sandy Davis (Webmaster) Muriel Dymock (newsletter editor), Co-opted members are Pat Mitchell and Pat Rollo.
Item 10 Any Other Business: Derek Barrie outlined to the meeting the plans that the FP Association Committee had for celebrating, along with the school, the 125th anniversary reunion to be held on 14th June 2014. He advised that further details would be on the website and mailed out to members who were not on e-mail.
The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
WANTED
We have received a request from an FP for a photograph of the 1st XI Football Team season 1970/71. Should anyone have one, please email a copy (.jpeg) to us at [email protected] and we shall post it with the sports teams photographs.
Tayside Symphony Orchestra
The Tayside Symphony Orchestra was set up by BBHS FP Ron Walker (1953) in 1992 and gave its first concert in May 1993. The original intention was a one-off concert to raise funds for the Chest Heart and Stroke Association Scotland, and a total of £4,500 was donated to the charity after the concert. Following this success, however, it was decided to continue and the orchestra now gives 3 concerts a year in various venues in Dundee and Angus. The Honorary President is Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore.
There was an article recently about their concert in Forfar which was entitled "February Festival for Youth." The aim of the concert was to introduce children to light classical music. Two items were given special mention- Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf and The Theatre Ghost. They were described as having "the charm to attract children with enough content to engage the adults in the audience." Both these items had a narrator. The orchestra, without narrator, played the Overture from Hansel and Gretel and a greatly praised performance of Ravel's Bolero.
There was an article recently about their concert in Forfar which was entitled "February Festival for Youth." The aim of the concert was to introduce children to light classical music. Two items were given special mention- Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf and The Theatre Ghost. They were described as having "the charm to attract children with enough content to engage the adults in the audience." Both these items had a narrator. The orchestra, without narrator, played the Overture from Hansel and Gretel and a greatly praised performance of Ravel's Bolero.