Re-opening of Melvill

Lady Runcie, widow of Robert Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and former Chairman of Haileybury's governing body, officially opened Melvill House on Wednesday 3rd October. The new state-of-the-art building is the second new girls' house to be opened in the space of two years at a cost of £6.5 million. Ann Spavin is the new housemistress of Melvill. Ann has been at Haileybury since 1987. She was Head of girls' games until July 2001 and teaches PE and Sports Science. Lady Runcie applauded the arrival of co-education and recalled the motives behind her own daughter's co-educational schooling. "We wanted her to study with boys so that she wouldn't lose her head and go off the rails later", she confessed. She also proclaimed the merits of the International Baccalaureate diploma, recently introduced at Haileybury, with its emphasis on breadth and its accreditation at universities throughout the globe.