To celebrate International Women’s Day, which takes place this Saturday 8 March, we are unveiling a new monthly feature where we will spotlight former female pupils from The Glasgow Academy & Westbourne School for Girls.
We want to shine a light on women from the Academical community who are leaders in their fields, have forged unusual or exciting careers, or simply former pupils who have an interesting story to tell or want to share fond memories of their time at the Academy.
First up in the series is Emily Whyte (Class of 2015). Emily played an active role in the school community and during her time at school became the first female head of the CCF, a position she still talks fondly of today.
Ten years after her school graduation we had the pleasure of catching up with Emily and hearing all about her school experience and why her involvement in the CCF formed such an integral part of her development.
You’ve stayed connected to the school and the Academical community, can you share why this has been important to you as a former pupil?
My great grandfather (Ralph Rolland) and great greatuncles (Fredrick and Charles) were Academicals who served in the Great War, with only my great grandfather surviving. His son Alastair, my grandfather, then attended The Academy, followed by my two uncles (Douglas and Stuart) and two older brothers (Ralph and Oliver), so the school has been a huge part of my family. I have extremely fond memories from my time at school. I knew when I graduated that I would make an effort to maintain those connections and nurture the lifelong friendships I made during my time there.
You were extremely active in the schools’ CCF programme, and became the first female head of the CCF. Can you tell us a bit more about this ?
The CCF was one of the highlights of my school career and truly shaped me as a person and my career since leaving school. It’s an amazing programme that I believe has so many benefits and it’s given me a huge variety ofopportunities.
Both of my brothers were actively involved in the CCF during their time at school so they really inspired me to join. We are a very active family and I love the outdoors, so it felt a very natural progression to sign up. I joined the CCF in my third year and took part until I graduated in 2015.
There were lots of students from different years taking part, so it was a really fun way to socialise and it immediately gave me a really strong sense of purpose and belonging. I was lucky enough to be taught by Mr Duff who was head of the CCF at school back then and he was a brilliant source of mentoring and inspiration. He was enthusiastic,extremely patient and kind and I’ll always be grateful to have been taught by him.
The CCF is obviously still such an important part of the Glasgow academy to this day, what were some of your best memories of being involved in it ?
There are so many, but a real highlight was a successful platoon attack we took part in at Barry Buddon. The regular military teaching staff were impressed with our skills, and it left the whole platoon feeling immensely proud. I also recall teaching basic lessons such as finding an appropriate harbour location. All these experiences gave me a huge amount of confidence and resilience and taught me muchabout leadership, responsibility and discipline, all of which were hugely important throughout my school career and beyond. But it was also just great fun. We often had an assault course at the end of our residential camp which was always very competitive and entertaining!
You left the Academy 10 years ago, can you tell us what you’re up to now ?
While studying Immunology at The University of Edinburgh, I signed up to the Officer Training Corps and these were some of the best days of my life. I then joined the Army Reserves, and am proudly still serving today. It has given me endless opportunities such as working in an Ops room (during COVID), playing in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and even climbing and skiing abroad. .
More recently, I have moved to Dorset to manage an organic beef farm with my husband. It is hard work both physically and mentally, with all sorts of unexpected hurdles, but we are really thriving and loving the challenges the farm throws our way.
What would you say to any current pupils thinking about getting involved in the CCF?
Absolutely get involved! The benefits are endless and it will open up a huge number of opportunities, and importantly it will be a challenge! You will join a fantasticcommunity and will develop important life skills which will stay with you even after you leave school. I made many friends during my CCF days that I know I will have for life and I look forward to attending Academical Club events to reconnect with those I have lost touch with.
