Merchiston Castle School

Merchiston is the only boys’ independent boarding school in Scotland, offers the English curriculum, and has a global, outward-looking dimension. For some pupils, the Merchiston journey stretches from the age of seven to 18; others join at later points in their schooling. Education at Merchiston exists to instil confidence and competence, driven forward by the belief that every single young person is talented in some way or another. Everything the school does, whether it is inside or outside the classroom, is defined by the knowledge and experience of educating boys. An aspect of the boys-only philosophy is that time is regularly set aside to meet girls from sister schools, Kilgraston and St George’s. This allows the boys to focus on study in school time, but also to have plenty of opportunities to socialize and make friends through curricular, co-curricular, and social links. ‘Our commitment to the approach of learning and teaching adopted by the pupils and staff is central to our purpose. We endeavour to inspire the pupils to do the best they can possibly do. Indeed, this approach underpins the whole approach to education and our mantra “Boys first”. Within the ethos and approach of the whole School, we concentrate upon the capacity of the partnership between the staff and the pupils within and outwith the classroom to “dig that little deeper”, to ‘find that little bit extra’ and that “cutting edge”. As I frequently say, we are endeavouring to find that “hidden nugget” of ability in each young person. It is my responsibility to try to ensure that every member of staff understands the importance of ‘switching on the light bulbs’ inside the head of every pupil at Merchiston. We may be unique as a boys’ independent boarding school in Scotland, but our results and continuing high school roll prove that what we do works.’ Andrew Hunter, Headmaster

Outstanding off the field…*

• 47 per cent of pupils achieved A*/A grades at A Level. • 82 per cent of pupils gained places at their first or second choice

university. • 64 per cent of pupils went to UK Russell Group Universities,

Bath, St Andrews and other leading international institutions. • 92 per cent A*/A/B pass rate in Further Mathematics at

A Level. • SAT support clinics for applicants for American Universities. Students have gained admission to Ivy League Universities, such as Cornell and Brown. • 62 per cent of pupils achieved A*/A grades at GCSE. • 18 pupils achieved nine or more A*/A GCSE grades. • Best Head of Public School (runner-up), Tatler School Guide

2015 and 2018. • Gradual progression to secondary teaching from Primary 6. • Full boarding with a varied weekend activity programme specif

ically suited to age and stage. * Academic Results 2016/17

And on the field…

• No.1 UK Junior Ranking Golf School (ISGA, 2014/15, 2015/16

& 2016/17). • No.2 UK Senior Golf School (ISGA, as of November 2017). • No.2 World Tennis School (ISF, 2017). • No.4 UK Tennis School (LTA, 2017/18). • Representation in all of the 2017/18 Scottish National Rugby

Teams. • In 2016/17, 89 per cent of all pupils, from 7-18, represented the

School in sport. • In 2016/17, there were 73 different teams, of all abilities, playing

competitive fixtures across 16 sports: a total of 539 fixtures. • Wide range of sports available, such as athletics, cricket and

hockey, suitable for boys of all abilities.