List of private schools in Scotland

The following is a partial list of currently operating private schools in Scotland.

Many of the schools are perceived to be heavily influenced by the culture, practices and ethos of English independent, or "public", schools. Author James Robertson described Glenalmond College as "a Scottish boarding school modelled on the English public school system".[1] The perceived English influence in many of these schools was such that in 1887 one author referred to them as "English schools".[2] 43% of Scottish independent secondary schools offer boarding as an option, (especially for pupils from the western isles attending mainland schools) although there is more of a trend to attend as a day pupil compared to in England.[3]

There are 91 independent schools across Scotland[4] of which 71 are members of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS). According to the SCIS, its members educate around 29,000 pupils in Scotland representing around 4.2% of the school age population in Scotland.[5] The figure is significantly higher in Edinburgh, with around 1 in 4 pupils educated at an independent school, the highest proportion in the UK.[6] This figure has risen to 30 per cent in recent years.[7]

Scottish students from independent schools are over-represented at the four ancient universities of Scotland. They represented 26% of the student body at the four institutions in 2014/15 with 71% in total receiving an offer of admission at one of the four ancient universities compared to only 29% of state-school entrants.[8]

List of schools

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North

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The "Auld Hoose" of Robert Gordon's College

Central & Tayside

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Playfair Building, Dollar Academy
 
The High School of Dundee

Fife

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Edinburgh City Region

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Fettes College
 
George Heriot's School

Glasgow City Region

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Ayrshire

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Borders

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Additional Support Needs / Complex Additional Needs Schools

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Figures

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Fees

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The schools are ranked here by day school pupil fees for 2023/24 and boarding fees are given where applicable. In cases where the 2023/24 fees are not yet available, this is indicated next to the figures. Membership of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is indicated,[9] as well as the curriculum followed by the school: English (i.e. GCSEs, A-levels), Scottish (i.e. Standard Grades/Intermediates, Highers, Advanced Highers), Mixed English and Scottish, or International Baccalaureate (IB).

School Day fees Boarder fees Curriculum HMC[10]
Fettes College[11] £37,050 £44,100 English/IB Yes
Gordonstoun School[12] £35,601 £48,990 English Yes
Merchiston Castle School[13] £29,250 £40,320 English Yes
Strathallan School[14] £27,360 £41,829 English/Scottish Yes
Glenalmond College[15] £25,275 (22/23) £41,145 (22/23) English Yes
Loretto School[16] £25,155 (22/23) £36,945 (22/23) English Yes
Lathallan School[17] £23,304 £31,950 Scottish No
St Leonards School, St Andrews[18] £18,765 £44,232 IB Yes
St. George's School, Edinburgh[19] £18,324 £37,575 English/Scottish No
St. Mary's School, Melrose[20] £17,940 (22/23) £20,640 (22/23) Scottish No
Morrison's Academy, Crieff[21] £17,575 n/a Scottish Yes
Edinburgh Academy[22] £17,541 n/a English/Scottish Yes
The High School of Glasgow[23] £16,959 n/a Scottish Yes
Dollar Academy[24] £16,677 £38,601 Scottish Yes
St Margaret's School for Girls, Aberdeen[25] £16,632 n/a Scottish No
International School Aberdeen[26] £16,535 n/a IB No
George Heriot's[27] £16,440 n/a Scottish Yes
Clifton Hall School, Edinburgh[28] £16,380 n/a Scottish No
Hutchesons' Grammar School[29] £16,177 n/a Scottish Yes
The High School of Dundee[30] £16,050 n/a Scottish Yes
Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh[31] £16,041 £32,190 Scottish No
Stewart's Melville College, Edinburgh Yes
Albyn School, Aberdeen[32] £15,995 n/a Scottish Yes
George Watson's College, Edinburgh[33] £15,951 n/a Scottish/IB Yes
Kelvinside Academy[34] £15,951 n/a Scottish Yes
Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen[35] £15,845 n/a Scottish Yes
Wellington School, Ayr[36] £15,645 n/a Scottish No
St. Columba's, Kilmacolm[37] £15,610 n/a Scottish Yes
Belmont House School[38] £15,492 n/a Scottish No
St. Aloysius' College[39] £14,976 n/a Scottish Yes
Lomond School[40] £14,925 £36,200 Scottish Yes
The Glasgow Academy[41] £14,850 n/a Scottish Yes
Hamilton College[42] £13,875 n/a Scottish No
Edinburgh Steiner School[43] £11,208 (22/23) n/a Scottish No
Drumduan School[44] £10,347 n/a Scottish No

Exam results

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Scottish Exams
The following table ranks the schools by performance in the 2008 round of Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations according to the percentage of A/B grades achieved at Higher level according to The Times newspaper. The percentage of 1 grades at Standard Grade and A grades at Intermediate 2 are also provided.[45] As indicated above, some independent schools in Scotland follow the English curriculum or offer the International Baccalaureate.

Higher and Standard Grade/Intermediate 2 Results
Here, schools following the Scottish exam curriculum are ranked according to the percentage of Highers achieved in 2009 at A/B, as recorded in The Times.

School A/B Higher (%) 1/A Standard Grade/Int 2 (%)
1 George Heriot's School 79.7 71.3
2 St George's School, Edinburgh 77.9 62.6
3 Dollar Academy 76.5 66.2
4 Hutchesons' Grammar School 76.1 73.7
5 St Columba's School 76.1 72.2
6 The High School of Glasgow 75.7 80.4
7 Albyn School 73.9 58.9
8 The Glasgow Academy 73.6 66.2
9 Stewart's Melville College 73.3 68.9
10 The Mary Erskine School 73.1 75.2
11 High School of Dundee 72.6 73.3
12 St Margaret's School for Girls, Aberdeen 71.7 62.8
13 St. Aloysius' College 71.2 65.5
14 George Watson's College 70.9 68.1
15 Morrison's Academy 68.6 66.5
16 Wellington School 68.6 61.1
17 Robert Gordon's College 68 65.9
18 Kilgraston School 67.7 47.5
19 Lomond School 65.9 51.5
20 Kelvinside Academy 65 55
21 Hamilton College 64.5 54.1
22 Fernhill School 61.5 77.9
23 The Edinburgh Rudolf Steiner School 60.5 40
24 Belmont House School 46.2 23.1
25 Queen Victoria School 37.1 41.4

Results of English Qualifications
The below schools follow the English exam curriculum, and are ranked according to the percentage of A-levels achieved at A*/A, as recorded in The Telegraph in 2015.[46][47]

School A/A* A-level (%) A/A* GCSE (%) HMC
1 George Watson's College 55.4 (No data) Yes
2 The Edinburgh Academy[48] 46.1 40.6 Yes
3 Fettes College[49] 45.0 68.0 Yes
4 St Leonards School[50] 43.2 41.2 Yes
5 Merchiston Castle School[51] 38.6 69.3 Yes
6 Loretto School[52] 37.5 49.7 Yes
7 St George's School, Edinburgh[53] 34.8 48.9 No
8 Glenalmond College[54] 31.5 52.8 Yes

Results of International Baccalaureate
The below schools offer the International Baccalaureate as a qualification, and are ranked according to the average score achieved out of a maximum 45 points.

School Average Score (/45) >40 points (%) HMC
1 Fettes College[55] 36.9 34 Yes
2 George Watson's College[56] 34.0 (No data) Yes
3 St Leonards School[57] 33.0 13.0 Yes

See also

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References

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  1. ^ James Campbell, A life in writing: James Robertson, The Guardian, 14 August 2010 [1]
  2. ^ Christina Blackie, Geographical Etymology: A Dictionary of Place-names Giving Their Derivations (1887), John Murray, 1887, at page vi [2]
  3. ^ "Private Schools in Scotland | Educators.co.uk". www.educators.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Schools - gov.scot". www.gov.scot.
  5. ^ "SCIS Facts & Figures". Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  6. ^ Scott, Kirsty (22 September 2009). "Parents launch campaign to promote local schools in Edinburgh". The Guardian.
  7. ^ "Scotland's private schools eye international expansion as market booms". The Scotsman. 7 June 2018.
  8. ^ Johnson, Simon (27 May 2016). "Poor Scots 'squeezed out of university by SNP cap on places'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  9. ^ "HMC Independent Schools in Scotland". Hmc.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  10. ^ "HMC: Schools Directory". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Admissions". www.fettes.com.
  12. ^ "Gordonstoun School: Fees". Gordonstoun.org.uk.
  13. ^ "Merchiston Castle School: Fees". Merchiston.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Strathallan School: Fees". Strathallan.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Glenalmond College: Fees". Glenalmondcollege.co.uk.
  16. ^ "Loretto School: Fees". Loretto.com.
  17. ^ "Lathallan School: Fees" (PDF). Lathallan.org.uk.
  18. ^ "Fees ~ 2022-23".
  19. ^ "St. George's School, Edinburgh: Fees".
  20. ^ "Fees and Charges". www.stmarysmelrose.org.uk.
  21. ^ "Tuition Fees and Capital Levy - Session 2022-2023". Morrisonsacademy.org.
  22. ^ "Edinburgh Academy: Fees". Edinburgh Academy.[dead link]
  23. ^ "The High School of Glasgow - Fees".
  24. ^ "Dollar Academy - School Fees".
  25. ^ "St. Margaret's School for Girls Aberdeen - School Fees for Session 2022-23". www.st-margaret.aberdeen.sch.uk.
  26. ^ "International School Aberdeen: Fees".
  27. ^ "George Heriot's: Fees for session 2022/23". George-heriots.com.
  28. ^ "Clifton Hall School: Fees". Cliftonhall.com.
  29. ^ "Fees & Bursaries - Hutchesons' Grammar Private School Glasgow".
  30. ^ "High School of Dundee - Fees". High School of Dundee.
  31. ^ "Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools: Fees". Esms.edin.sch.uk.
  32. ^ "Upper School Admissions and Fees".
  33. ^ "George Watson's: Fees". Gwc.org.uk.
  34. ^ "Fees". Kelvinside Academy.
  35. ^ "Robert Gordon's, Aberdeen: Fees". Rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk.
  36. ^ "Wellington School - Fees".
  37. ^ "St Columba's, Kilmacolm Fees". St. Columba's.
  38. ^ "Fees - Belmont House School". www.belmontschool.co.uk.
  39. ^ "St. Aloysius - Fees". Staloysius.org.
  40. ^ "Fees & Payment Terms". Lomond School.
  41. ^ "School Fees". Glasgow Academy.
  42. ^ "Hamilton College: Fees".
  43. ^ "Fees and finance".
  44. ^ "Fees & Finances".
  45. ^ "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
  46. ^ "A-level results 2015: Independent schools results table". The Telegraph. 22 August 2015.
  47. ^ "GCSE results 2015: Independent schools table". The Telegraph. 29 August 2015.
  48. ^ "Edinburgh Academy: Exam Results". Archived from the original on 26 July 2015.
  49. ^ "Fettes Results 2014".
  50. ^ "St Leonard's: Academic Results". Archived from the original on 3 September 2015.
  51. ^ "Merchiston Academic Results 2014".
  52. ^ "Public examination results". www.loretto.com.
  53. ^ "Examination Results - St George's School, Edinburgh". www.stge.org.uk.
  54. ^ "Glenalmond College: Academic Results". Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  55. ^ "Fettes: Excellent IB Results".
  56. ^ "George Watson's College: Exam Results". Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  57. ^ "St Leonards: Academic Results". Archived from the original on 27 September 2015.
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