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Sheila Clayton MTGS 1945 – 1952 In Memoriam

Sheila was born in Scarborough with extended family living near her. Her father, who had been in the Merchant Navy, gained employment with a firm who became part of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. The family moved to Crosby, and Sheila became a pupil at Merchant Taylors’ School in 1945. The School had a massive impact on her life, not just for her education, but in forming lifelong friendships. She has always been particularly close to the Leigh family (Joyce Ewbank).

Academically she excelled; she also loved singing in the school choir, and was keen on sports – especially cricket. MTGS with its wonderful ethos meant much to Sheila, and her schooldays were always remembered with pleasure, gratitude and affection. Whilst at school, her heart remained in Yorkshire, and each summer she returned to Scarborough.

In 1952 she went to Gypsy Hill College. After training, she taught for a short time in Liverpool, but then relocated to London. She had met Pat at college, and whilst living together in Streatham, they worked in a variety of schools in the area. Sheila’s qualities as a natural leader soon became apparent, and she eventually became headteacher of a large school in Brixton which had huge social issues. She dealt with them confidently and with great skill.

After many years of working in London, Sheila and Pat decided to relocate to Yorkshire in 1974. Pat became headteacher of a school in Bridlington and Sheila headteacher of the Flamborough School. Their journeys to school were a vast contrast to those in London. They bought the beautiful St Mary’s Cottage, which was in need of much renovation. Sheila lived there for the rest of her life.

Very sadly, in 1979 Pat died unexpectedly. This was a difficult time, but Sheila was supported by new friends in Ebberston. Some years later Sheila was forced to take early retirement on health grounds. She then began (on a small scale) to breed cattle, at first Friesians and then Limousins. This became a big part of her life for many years. Fortunately, she sold her last cows before the devastating foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.

There were so many aspects to Sheila’s life. She was devoted to St Mary’s Church, where she served for many years as Churchwarden. Recently, she was responsible for liaising with surveyors and craftsmen when developments and renovations took place at the church. The result is a fitting memorial to her vision and devotion. She served as lay chair for the deanery and was a member of the diocesan synod for many years. Her involvement with the local Conservative party included more committee work, electioneering and fundraising with friends. She loved theatre and music (Opera North and Ryedale Festival), lectures and tours with NADFAS, RSPB, John Lewis, gardening and growing many fruits and vegetables. The Archers and Any Questions were among her favourite radio programmes, listened to probably with a glass of malt whiskey in her hand.

Her mother lived in her own home near Scarborough until she was 99 years old. She died only shortly before her 100th birthday. One or two years later Sheila’s brother Stuart died from cancer. It was with great sadness that she realised she had no living relatives.

Sheila was always fully committed to all she did. She could be forthright and independent but was also passionate, thoughtful, very caring and generous. Her faith was resolute and trusting – she bravely faced the devastating news of her cancer. Her demeanour was a shining Christian example to us all. Sheila was hugely loyal to all her friends who have been privileged to have known and loved her. We are left with so many happy memories.

Barbara Guest (Shoesmith)

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🚨Reminder🚨 If you’d like to come and brow 🚨Reminder🚨

If you’d like to come and browse from our huge pre-loved uniform collection the Old Gym located at the boys’ site will be open from 9am-3pm today. 

Anyone who wishes to take advantage of this service is welcome to do so without prior appointment or charge.
Our exciting, specialist two-day Cricket Camp is t Our exciting, specialist two-day Cricket Camp is taking place on the 24 and 25 August and is open for boys and girls aged 9-14. 🏏

The sessions will take place in our outdoor cricket nets and focus on seam and spin bowling followed by all aspects of fielding and batting.

Children will benefit from working with with former Lancashire Academy Director Gary Yates, improving on all aspects of their game.

Click the link in our bio to find out more or to book.
We currently have a number of positions available We currently have a number of positions available to join our team at Merchant Taylors' School including:

Teaching Assistant (Level 3)
Development & Alumni Relations Assistant
Senior IT Technician
IT Technician

To find out more about any of these roles, or to apply please click the link in our bio.
A #ThrowbackThursday to our Year 10 boys' final Sp A #ThrowbackThursday to our Year 10 boys' final Spanish lesson of the year. 

Pupils joined Dr Goodwin and Sr Rubia to cook a 'tortilla española' during the lesson following the traditional recipe and all turned out well!

¡Qué rico!
We have had more than 1,000 items of pre-loved uni We have had more than 1,000 items of pre-loved uniform kindly donated by parents across the school covering boys and girls of all ages.

From Monday these will be available from the Old Gym located at the Boys' School daily from 9am to 3pm. Any families who may wish to take advantage of this service are welcome to do so without prior appointment or charge. 

If you have any uniform that you no longer require and would like to donate, they too can be dropped off at the Old Gym.

Tomorrow we would welcome support from any pupils or parents as we organise all stock and prepare for Monday. If you would like to assist please contact Mrs Byrne via c.byrne@merchanttaylors.com.
We are seeking to appoint a Development & Alumni R We are seeking to appoint a Development & Alumni Relations Assistant. This role offers the opportunity to support the delivery of exciting and dynamic events and activities, with the primary aim of engaging alumni from across the world.

A key component of the role is to build relationships across the Merchant Taylors’ and wider school community, encouraging alumni, former staff and former parents to maintain contact with the school and each other.

Find out more or apply by clicking the link in our bio.
A team of recent leavers are working hard in prepa A team of recent leavers are working hard in preparation for the school's first ever Telethon, taking place in August to raise money for bursaries.

Many lives are transformed each year by regular gifts from alumni and members of the wider Merchant Taylors' community; there are currently 51 pupils at school on transformational bursaries (those 85-110% funded) thanks to these donations. 

We are looking forward to welcoming two new Year 7 pupils in September on the newly created Merchants Gives bursaries, funded by your donations last summer. The Telethon will build on that success as we aim to continue to increase bursary provision at school.
We are delighted that Old Crosbeian Bill Birchall will be providing matched funding to incentivise new regular donors.

To support the our bursary fund or find out more, please click the link in our bio.
This summer holiday we are pleased to be hosting a This summer holiday we are pleased to be hosting a Sale Sharks Rugby Development Camp at Merchant Taylors’ School for under 7s to Under 12s on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 August.

The Rugby Development Camps are delivered by the award-winning @sharkscommunity team and offer young players the opportunity to develop alongside RFU qualified coaches with a wealth of experience in the community and academy game. 

The experience of Sale Sharks’ coaches means that Rugby Development Camps provide the perfect balance of insight and intensity in a fun environment.

Find out more or book a place via the link in our bio.
The tour choir finally landed back in Manchester o The tour choir finally landed back in Manchester on Thursday after a safe flight with @jet2pics and here is Sophie's round up:

Thank you to the staff at @jet2pics for asking us to sing to one of the passengers on our plane who was celebrating their birthday. It was wonderful to finish off our tour with one final song in yet another unique and memorable venue! #Jet2View 

Our airplane performance was inspired by our impromptu singing in the streets of Venice, where we sang to a lady in a restaurant who was celebrating her 80th birthday. After the way in which our performance was received by the public in Venice, we decided to continue this with another grand happy birthday wish from the choir when we found out there was someone with a birthday on board our flight.

We have also included recordings of some of our other performances in Italy, including ‘City Called Heaven’ (featuring soloist Mary) and ‘May It Be’ in the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo as well as the very special ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, performed in the Villa Ducale.

We are all so thankful for the opportunities that this tour has brought to us and every single member of the choir has brought home memories to last a lifetime. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with reading our blog whilst we have been away; we are so glad that we could share this experience with you.
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