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Many readers will let drop a tear at the news that this is the last Victorian - in its present form. As the Commandant will outline the reasons for the change we will confine ourselves to giving the editorial staff's views. Under the present system during the two weeks before the printer's deadline for the summer issue the editors break sweat and attempt to coerce small boys into writing reports on events which happened long ago and are long forgotten. For the winter issue the events are well remembered, but so few that the remembrances hardly fill the magazine and the staff are forced to "pad-out" what there are. Faced with one publication a year the editorial staff will have no difficulty in finding enough material and will also be able to spread the work of collecting and editing contributions over the whole year. If the editorial staff must remember to work all the time then so must the School: events must be reported as they happen and literature must be produced and handed in as inspiration strikes. Although there are many disadvantages, and there will be many grumbles, the advantages of having only one magazine a year will far outweigh the disadvantages, and the grumblers will be stunned into silence by the sheer quality and quantity of the first Year Book.
This is being written during the post-exam period : a stretch of about four weeks during which half the School flog themselves into an early grave while the other half lounge around the playing fields picking up daisies and suntans. This year, however, a lot of planning has gone into finding the happy medium.
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The boys who are coming back next year returned to normal school work. As the majority of the leavers, especially those from Form IV, are going on to places of further education they are being given the opportunity to continue their studies, while at the same time being given the chance of doing some very valuable community service. We have work parties scattered around engaged on a variety of projects ranging from washing the Dunblane Priest's plates to gardening at Stirling Royal Infirmary. Besides these a party from Form IV spent a Sunday at a caravan site on the outskirts of Callander. They cleared the site up and bringing their CCF training into the conservation scene were set to dig a pond, this must be the first ever latrine shaped pond !
In the last month there have been three expeditions; a canoeing expedition organised by Captain Woodhouse and two hiking expeditions arranged by the boys. Captain Woodhouse, Mr MacPhee and twelve boys canoed down the River Tay from Aberfeldy to Perth during what must have been the wettest weekend of the summer. Another party of three boys spent three days walking from Bridge of Earn back to the School. We of the editorial staff were most fortunate to be able to go with Monsieur Garces on a five day hill-walking expedition which took us up Ben Vorlich and would have taken us up Ben Led! had the weather not prevented us.
Since this is our last Victor/an we would like to thank all the people who help us to produce this magazine, and who are too modest to take any of the credit for the work that they do.
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