Is There a Pigeon in the Room?: My Life in Schools

By Cameron Wyllie

Is There a Pigeon in the Room? is a deeply personal book about Cameron Wyllie’s remarkable four-decade career in teaching. It’s a tapestry of anecdotes and reflections on topics like drugs, parenting and sex education, laced with stories about memorable individuals.

What did he say to the Third Year after drinking too much gin with the Head? Who was Adolf? What happened to the horrible bus driver? While the intention is to make the reader laugh plenty, Cameron also deals with discipline, refugees, tragic events, his own status as a gay man and tells us the story of Tes, an Eritrean boy who inspired hundreds of young people with his love of education.

Cameron taught over 8,000 students in his career. Having been once described as ‘the place where Jean Brodie meets Kenneth Williams’ the book also charts the surprising trajectory of a career which culminated in his appointment as Principal of George Heriot’s, one of Edinburgh’s most prestigious schools.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Birlinn
• Release date: Jul 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781788854993

Cameron Wyllie

Cameron Wyllie started teaching English at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College in Edinburgh in 1980 and ended his career nearly forty years later as Principal of George Heriot’s School, the Sunday Times ‘Scottish Independent School of the decade’ (2021). He is now a writer and journalist and lives in Edinburgh with his partner, Kevin.