Acting legend visits Fife school

Sir Ian McKellen, known for his roles as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies and Magneto in the X-Men series, dropped in to Kirkcaldy High School in his role as an ambassador for Stonewall.

He spoke in front of an audience of 300 stunned senior students for over an hour about his life and his campaigning work.

And warning students if they did not study for their upcoming exams, Sir Ian said: “You shall not pass!”

Sir Ian then had lunch with members of the school’s LGBT+ group, which is made up of around 30 students who identify as gay or lesbian, he urged them to stand up for their rights to fair treatment and to challenge homophobia.

Sir Ian received a Kirkcaldy High School tie and told the students he would wear it on his next chat show appearance.

Rector Derek Allan thanked Stonewall for organising the visit.

He added: “Sir Ian was a fantastic guest, very down to earth and with an exceptionally engaging personality.”

Students were shocked by the visit, with Alannah Fergus (S4) saying: “It was an honour to meet Sir Ian and it was quite an emotional time”.

Kirkcaldy High School was selected for a visit because of its work in promoting equality and fairness in regards to LGBT issues.