Top Field Goes Tartan
The roll of snare drums and a mighty skirl are enough to make any Scot stand to attention. A Pipe Band of young Sons of Kentigern did their ancestry proud, facing inward to welcome the small crowd of guests gathering for the start of Celtic Day.
Boys of every year group streamed out of their classrooms in Houses and clans, adorned with tartan sashes, and some in family kilts. “Your house gives you your colours, but your clan is your team,” said Deputy Principal Richard Kirk. The whole school then moved into the opening parade, with boys and staff marching through the school grounds, down Shore Road and back onto the Top Field with a chant to mark their arrival.
The formal assembly followed. Richard Kirk welcomed the boys and wider community to Celtic Day, and his mandate to the boys was to “be brave, look after your clan, and give everything a go.” The boys took it to heart at morning tea, when they excitedly tried haggis, many for the first time. Not your usual home-baking at coffee time, although shortbread was also on offer.
Mustering all the courage he possessed, Head Boy Edward Moon delivered his rendition of ‘Ode to the Haggis’ in a flawless Scottish accent. His call of “Gie her a Haggis!” was met with cheers of ‘whisky’ between the head prefects, Head of Chaplaincy Rev Reuben Hardie and Richard Kirk.
The rest of the day was packed with heritage-flavoured activities. A relentless tug-of-war between Houses peaked the excitement, along with the Roselle Lawn Castle Siege water battle. Inflatable obstacle courses, shortbread making, Highland drumming, archery, soap making and various Scottish games kept clans well occupied late into the afternoon. Richard Kirk promised the boys would be spent by the end, and the sleepy-but-satisfied after-school pick-ups proved him right.
Celtic Day keeps Saint Kentigern’s heritage within reach of every boy. They wear it, chant it, taste it and throw themselves into it. Ultimately, this is exactly the point, to honour the past and have a lot of fun doing it.
