Dollar Academy

Founded in 1818, Dollar Academy is the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world, and widely regarded as one of the top performing independent schools in the country. Dollar benefits from a picturesque setting in wide green spaces at the foot of the Ochil Hills, yet lies within easy reach of the major cities in Central Scotland.

The school has always passionately believed in the transformative power of education and aims to support as many young people as possible in their development. To this end, it has just launched Dollar Discovers, an online learning platform which will be openly shared with pupils from across Scotland. Dollar Academy offers the widest range of SQA subjects in Scotland, and some courses, which may not be available in other schools such as Higher Politics, will now be offered free of charge through the Dollar Discovers initiative.

In addition to this, shorter “Enrichment Courses” will also be offered to pupils. These are multidisciplinary courses (so not specific to one academic subject), framed around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. They bring together leading figures from industry, NGOs and academia to create exciting content exploring relevant, real-world topics. The courses, which were created in partnership with the pioneering NuVu Studio in the USA, are designed to allow students to develop their curiosity and critical thinking, in order to better understand the world around them and be an active force for good.

At Dollar, the focus is on positive encouragement of individual talents, interests and ambitions, both in and out of the classroom. There are over 70 co-curricular clubs at Dollar; the ever-popular rugby and hockey, 14 different choirs and orchestras and the multi-award winning CCF and Pipe Band, through to activities as diverse as bee keeping, guitar building and ultimate frisbee. It’s this well-rounded culture that drives the ever-impressive performance of Dollar pupils.