Following his excellent exam results and receiving the prestigious Eric Liddell Memorial Trophy, Rhys has his eyes set on going to a university in America. Our soon-to-be S6 pupil Rhys was pleased with his Higher exam results, receiving A’s in Chemistry, Human Biology, Mathematics, Physics and Physical Education. “Teachers here are very supportive and encouraging,” said Rhys who joined Albyn School in Nursery. “I also really like the many co-curricular activities on offer. When I was younger I was on the football and cricket teams.” Apart from his academic studies, Rhys now also focuses on athletics. He won the under-17 boys’ 800m title at the Scottish Schools Indoor Championships in January. He also represented Scotland in the mixed relay at the 2023 SIAB Schools’ Cross-Country International championships in Liverpool. Rhys – whose team finished first – also clocked the fastest time, completing a lap in four minutes and 29 seconds.
In June, Rhys became the Double Scottish Schools U17 Champion (800m and 1500m).
For his achievements in athletics, particularly for the “most meritorious performance” by a boy at the outdoor Track & Field Championships, Scottish Schools Athletics Association (SSAA) awarded him the Eric Liddell Memorial Trophy.
Eric Liddell was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. He represented Scotland in the 1920s and set national records at shorter sprints. He is known for withdrawing from the 100-metre race at the Paris Olympics because the event was set to take place on a Sunday. Instead, he spent months training for the 400-metre race held on a weekday, a race he ended up winning.
Following his death in 1945, his church and friends set up the national fund, part of which went towards the trophy presented to SSAA. Rhys, who works part-time as a lifeguard, hopes to study in America. “I would like to go to university somewhere in America and develop sports a bit more and the academic side as well,” he said. “I think the sports programmes are a lot better over there and the (university) structure is based a lot on the sports. “I would like to study chemical engineering.”
