Mr. Andrew MacTavish

Mr. Andrew MacTavish is the headmaster of Kings School in Season 1.

Personality
Despite being the headmaster of Kings School and being stern when laying out the rules, Mr. MacTavish is relaxed and cares deeply about his students, as shown in the first episode when he didn’t want to make Nichola Greenhalgh cry while she was being taken to task for bad table manners. This is also shown when he has Mr. Daplyn test the club punishment on him before imposing it on Joe McCready, not wanting to put his students through anything he couldn’t handle.

However, despite the fact that he rarely raises his voice, he has no tolerance for disrespect, and is understandably infuriated when Joe McCready talks back to him in the first episode, and throughout the series becomes increasingly tired of his antics.

Episode 1

 * MacTavish: Dr. Pidoux, you drew my attention to Nichola Greenhalgh. Could you just explain why?
 * Dr. Pidoux: Negative attitude, a willingness to draw attention to yourself at every available moment, to make a big circus and a song and dance about everything which is required of you, which does not come naturally, and I use a strong word here; contaminating those around you.
 * MacTavish: Nichola, I noticed your behaviour at the table, as you were eating, and I noticed your behaviour; I noticed the way you were fiddling with your food. It is unfortunate that you are the first girl whose name I know. At the same time, I thought you looked a reasonably intelligent and sensible person. I am not going to have this attitude. The fact I know your name can be either a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. It can be a bad thing if you carry on that way. It can be a good thing, I suppose, if you actually start being sensible. Think about it. Off you go.


 * MacTavish: (after dealing with Nichola Greenhalgh) I didn't want to destroy her. When I spoke to her, I was conscious that it was going home, because I could see that her eyes were beginning to water. I didn't want to break her down any further than that once I saw that; the message had got home.


 * MacTavish: (reprimanding McCready after being disrespected) Come in, young man. Right, McCready. I was observing from the back, the music lesson. Alright, at least two of your class—I am talking to you do not look anywhere else. At least two of your class saw me. But you, who were bending down and doing one or two other things and certainly were not singing all the lines, did not. And then I came in, and as you hadn't sang two of the lines, I said, 'you ought to give a rendering for the rest of them', didn't I?
 * Joe McCready: Yes, Sir.
 * MacTavish: And then you started arguing...And then, when I said "Are you arguing with me?", YOU HAD THE EFFRONTERY...You had the effrontery to answer me back, didn't you?!
 * Joe McCready: Yes, Sir.
 * MacTavish: Yes, you did! You DO NOT answer me back, young man! Do you understand?
 * Joe McCready: Yes, Sir.
 * MacTavish: If I say stand on your head, you’d STAND ON YOUR HEAD!! I want something short and sharp for you, young man. You're obviously too full of yourself. (to Mr. Daplyn) Where's his P.E. towel?
 * Mr. Daplyn: In the changing rooms, Headmaster.
 * MacTavish: I don't want to hold up the lesson. I want him to have a cold shower. (to McCready) Go outside. Wait for Mr. Daplyn to join you.
 * (McCready leaves the room)
 * MacTavish: (to Mr. Daplyn) I want him to have a cold shower, I want him to be made thoroughly uncomfortable, but I don't want you to freeze him, alright? Don't overdo it.

Episode 2

 * Now it would be very easy for me. Very easy for me to shove you back under the showers again, and it will be very easy for me to shove you back, and back, and back, and back under those showers. You do realise - don't you? - that you are in a boarding school, you are here 24 hours a day, and if I wish to br-r-reak you, I can break you. I can render your life a total misery from the time you wake up which might be 5:00 in the morning to the time you go to bed, I can do that. I want you to think very hard about that.
 * I think one of the problems of teaching in today's schools is that one has not got clean lines of discipline. Clean simple discipline. Here, we have got clean simple discipline. When someone misbehaves, they're out of the class and they're punished.

Episode 3

 * She has told me, that last night, she went into the corridor, there were a crowd of boys there, you had her back to her. She said that she wanted to come through and she said "Words to the effect of, do you expect me to climb over you?", and you, with your back to her, and facing the rest of the boys said "Words to the effect of, I wouldn't mind that". She was shocked, she after all is a lady, as well as being a member of the teaching staff of this school. So I have a member of staff, who is insulted, as I said; a lady, in a sexual way, YOU at 16, almost tried to impose yourself on her. You are isolated until after supper this evening. You will do your lessons in a different room, you will have your meal by yourself, you will be escorted if you wish to go to the toilet. If I am not satisfied, you will be sleeping by yourself in a dormitory tonight in an empty dormitory. Do you understand all that? (McCready: "Yes, sir") (to Simon Warr) Mr. Warr, I don't think he should wear the Kings School blazer while he is under punishment.
 * (motivational speech to McCready while he was being punished) I would never give a punishment to any child; that I couldn’t do or be prepared to undergo myself. I spent some time in the gym this morning, with Mr. Daplyn, in the position you’re in with those two. He tells me I went red in the face. I have more body weight than you, but I went to a breaking point with them. Because I wouldn’t want to see anybody doing something that I wasn’t prepared to suffer ultimately myself. Get a bit of courage.
 * Would you ask the young lady to come in, please? Come here, young lady. Why is this young lady here, Mr. Heath? You can just face me. You gave a fair warning... Your neighbour, I wonder who that will be, Harriet Reichens by any chance? I came past when you were singing. You, plural, were singing, and it sounded incredibly good! I've never heard in 30, whatever-it-is, 8 or 9 years I've been teaching, I have never heard a school (corrects himself) a form sing like that, and then suddenly I've got you in front of me for giggling.