On Saturday 2 October at 2pm, a small group of our pupils sang the school hymn, Ex Corde Caritas, to celebrate 150 years since the opening of George Watson’s Ladies’ College (GWLC).
The girls drew a crowd at the former site of the school, based in George Square, which is now part of the University of Edinburgh.
The event was streamed via the Watsonian Facebook page and it was clear to see from the comments that the School Hymn and George Watson’s Ladies’ brought back fond memories for a lot of people.
Cara Buttery, George Watson’s College School Captain, said: “We had to come here, because this is the place that is so important to so many girls who like us, wore a maroon blazer and sang this song.”
“My favourite line is ‘The common tie that makes us one’, as it reminds me of the link we have with thousands of women who went before us.”
Melvyn Roffe, Principal of George Watson’s College, said: “Singing the School Hymn has always brought girls and young women together around the world and across time.
“It is so moving that many of our girls wanted to celebrate the part GWLC played in establishing the high-quality education for girls that we now take for granted.”
For over 100 years, thousands of girls were educated at the college until 1974 when the ladies’ and boys’ colleges merged to form our modern co-educational school, now located at Colinton Road.
Many notable pupils were educated at GWLC Dr Agnes Yewande Savage who was the first woman of West African Heritage to qualify as a doctor and is recognised as the first female Nigerian doctor.
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