As the term draws to a close, we must shortly bid a sad farewell to Principal Kieran McLaughlin, who has ably steered Durham School and the DCSF since 2014. He will be replaced on a short-term basis by current Deputy Head (Academic) Andrew Pearson, before Michael Alderson assumes the position in September. Alderson worked for the school from 2003 to 2020, being Deputy Head for many of those years, and so will be greatly familiar with the Durham School lifestyle. The fact that both of these individuals will be making the leap from deputy head to full headmaster is somewhat unusual, as in the 600-year history of Durham School only three individuals have taken the same career path: Thomas Randall (1765), Harry McKenzie (1905) and Derek Best (2008). It is the rise of H.W. McKenzie which I would like to focus on here, as it bears certain parallels with modern events. 

McKenzie's predecessor was Albert Hillard, the headmaster of Durham School from 1899 to 1905. He was described by his students as "a kindly man and a true scholar", although his nickname was 'the Egg' due to the unusual shape of his head. He was most famous for publishing Prose Composition Books for Latin and Greek alongside co-author M.A. North. When noted author Ian Hay (who taught at Durham School from 1902 to 1905) published his book Housemaster in 1936, it was partially based on the transfer of Headmastership from Hillard to McKenzie. In Housemaster, the character of the Reverend Edmund Ovington is transparently based on Hillard, even having the same nickname of 'the Egg' ("It suited its owner in more ways than one, for he was prematurely bald and cranially of the ovoid type.") The climax sees Charles Donkin, the McKenzie analogue, become headmaster. 

In 1905 Hillard left Durham to become Headmaster at St. Paul's School in London, and was replaced by Harry McKenzie who had been Second Master since 1895. This shift was best exemplified by that year's Speech Day, which (as was then the tradition) included a poetical 'Epilogue' recited by the students that summarised the year's events. The passage relating to Hillard is one I find relevant with the departure of our current Headmaster: 

"And next. 'Good-bye's a word that must be said,

Partings will come; we constantly incur 'em: 

For every school, it seems, that wants a head, 

Has just one motto:-- "When in doubt, try Durham!" 

And so we lose our Chief. On him, and her 

Who goes with him, our benediction falls. 

We all take pride in this reflection, Sir, 

hat Durham's loss is profit to St. Paul's. 

Who takes the helm? Who else, but one who knows 

And loves the place already, joyful frenzy 

On every tongue I'll raise if I disclose

His name; it sounds familiar—'tis McKenzie!" 

McKenzie himself was an interesting figure. His student Major Malcolm Forbes would reminisce about him in the 1975 issue of the Dunelmian. "You had only to say 'Cave, Mac!' and, in a second, there would not be a soul in sight. I could write a book about 'Mac. 'I am NOT a soothsayer, BOY: I cannot DIVINE whether you are ILL or whether you are WELL! You must bring a NOTE signed by BOTH your parents.' His face was a study in geometry – straight lines radiating from the centre, and an isosceles triangle for a mouth. A very keen cricketer, he would roar 'No Ball!' from the School House terrace and at the same time point to the Little Clubs who were playing at the opposite end of the field. Even the rooks in the elms stopped cawing when Mac roared!" 

He would later become Headmaster of Uppingham School; it is in this capacity that he appears during a key moment in Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth (1933). 

Albert Hillard and Harry McKenzie, of course, do not align exactly with their modern day equivalents. They were, however, prominent links in the chain of Durham School Headmasters that extend back to the foundation of the School in 1414. We will be introducing another name in this chain next term with Andrew Pearson and, in September, with Michael Alderson. It remains to be seen how this next chapter of Durham School's history will be written.