Make your choice child-centred
Scotland’s independent schools come in all shapes and sizes and weighing up what will suit you needs careful thought, finds Sarah Devine
Scotland’s independent schools offer a comprehensive curriculum aimed at creating bright, confident individuals who are keen to take the next step in their education and who are equipped with skills for life.
Ensuring that each pupil achieves a range of qualifications is a key aspect of the sector but offering a diverse selection of activities is just as important.
“There’s an assumption outside of the sector that it’s all about facilities and exam results, but actually we don’t do league tables because we are not interested in one school being above another,” says John Edwards, director of the Scottish Council for Independent Schools (SCIS).
“It is all about achieving the best for the individual pupil.
“In some cases, people [come to the sector] because they want to do a range of different things: they might want to focus on co-curricular activities, they may be seeking longer school days or they may be seeking schools with a wider range of sports and expressive arts.
“Because the pupil-teacher ratio is different you can have a bigger focus on the individual as well, so it is for mixed abilities.”
The schools differ in terms of the curriculum they offer as some provide the Scottish national curriculum of Nationals and Highers, while others provide GCSES and A Levels.
At Edinburgh’s St George’s School, the curriculum is a “hybrid of the best British model,” according to headmistress Alex Hems.
“We think the GCSES are really substantial and we like their level of sophistication as well as the fact that they are content-heavy.
“We really love the flexibility and breadth that Highers offer, so all of our pupils take five Highers.”
At Clifton Hall School in Midlothian, which operates on a first-come-first-serve basis, pupils are encouraged to work hard and be kind in order to achieve success.
“We represent a philosophy that says don’t worry about exam results because you will get good exam results by being properly educated,” says Rod Grant, headmaster at Clifton Hall.
Some schools are more focused on specialisms such as Loretto School in Musselburgh, which is considered to be Europe’s top boarding school for golf, or Kilgraston in Bridge of Earn, home to Scotland’s only school equestrian centre, or Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh with its golf and tennis academies.
Whether it is co-educational or single-sex, choice extends to the type of schools available as some are only day schools, while others offer full boarding.
It is becoming increasingly
We really love the flexibility and breadth that Highers offer, so all of our pupils take five Highers
popular to have options that sit in the middle with schools offering flexi boarding. This is particularly attractive if both parents are in fulltime employment.
“Children can board three nights a week then they have the remaining nights at their home and in the 21st century, that’s becoming an increasingly popular model,” says Graham Hawley at Loretto.
“We don’t insist that they have to be full boarders and at a young age, we think they are not ready for it, so we find that as the children move through the school, they are more likely to board.
“In the senior school, 85 per cent are boarders because teenagers want to spend more time with their friends.”
The demand for boarding is such that St Leonards School in St Andrews has recently invested more than £4 million in refurbishing its boys’ and girls’ boarding houses and St Mary’s School in Melrose has opened its second boarding house.
At Ardvreck School in Crieff, every day child also has a space in a dormitory that they can call their own and they will often board for a single night at a reduced rate.
By the time they leave the school, every child will have spent at least one night at the school.
“Lots of our children go on to boarding schools, so by the time they reach their next school, they are fully prepared and can stand on their own two feet,” says Dan Davey, the school’s headmaster.
Pastoral care is integral to Scotland’s independent boarding schools and house parents ensure that every individual receives the highest level of support.
They are available to help with homework and projects in the evening and weekends.
At the weekends, there is usually a selection of activities to occupy each pupil, whether it is an individual hobby or a team game.
“The younger years are less likely to be boarding unless, for example, their parents are overseas, but the boarding numbers increase by the time they get older,” says Mark Lauder, headmaster of Strathallan School in Perthshire.
“The day and boarding pupils mix together and they have the same head of house and the same tutors as the boarders, so they are completely integrated and when you come into the school, you don’t see any difference.
“People then often look at boarding as a good stepping stone for going off to university and not being around their parents,” he adds.
“Quite often the day pupils become boarders, particularly in sixth form as part of a preuniversity experience,” says Andrew Hunter, headmaster at Merchiston.
“It takes a bit of time to get used to not attending school for the day only.
“We have pastoral staff, which we call house parents. However, every single member of staff helps in every house and they are also teaching and coaching sport.
“We want the pupil to see the staff as a whole member of staff, not just a maths teacher.
“The staff are crucial in terms of pupil support and development.”
People then often look at boarding as a good stepping stone for going off to university