List of independent schools in Scotland

The following is a partial list of currently operating independent 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, although there is more of a trend to attend as a day pupil compared to in England.^[3]

There are 102 independent schools across Scotland^[4] of which 72 are members of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS). According to the SCIS, its members educate around 29–30,000 pupils in Scotland representing around 4.1% 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]

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.^[7]

List of schools

North

Albyn School, City of Aberdeen Gordonstoun, Elgin, Moray International School of Aberdeen, Milltimber, Aberdeenshire Lathallan School, Johnshaven, Kincardineshire Drumduan School, Forres Robert Gordon's College, City of Aberdeen St Margaret's School for Girls, City of Aberdeen

The "Auld Hoose" of Robert Gordon's College

Central

 

Playfair Building, Dollar Academy

 

The High School of Dundee

• Ardvreck School, Crieff
• Balnacraig School, Perth
• Belhaven Hill School, Dunbar
• Cedars School of Excellence, Greenock (Pentecostal Christian school)
• The Compass School, Haddington, East Lothian
• Craigclowan Preparatory School, Perth
• The Craighalbert Centre, Cumbernauld
• Dollar Academy
• Donaldson's College
• Fairview International School, Bridge of Allan
• Falkland House School, Falkland, Fife
• Glenalmond College, Glenalmond
• Good Shepherd Centre, Bishopton, Renfrewshire
• Hamilton College
• The High School of Dundee
• Hillside School, Aberdour
• Kibble Education & Care Centre, Paisley
• Kilgraston School, Bridge of Earn
• Lomond School, Helensburgh
• Loretto School, Musselburgh
• Moore House School, Bathgate
• Morrison's Academy, Crieff
• The New School, Dunkeld
• New Struan School, Alloa
• Oakwood School, Laurieston, Falkirk
• Ochil Tower School, Auchterarder
• Osborne House School, Dysart
• Queen Victoria School, Dunblane
• St. Columba's School, Kilmacolm
• St Leonards School, St. Andrews
• Starley Hall School, Burntisland
• Strathallan School, Forgandenny
• Sycamore School, Dunfermline

Edinburgh

 

Fettes College

 

George Heriot's School

• Cargilfield Preparatory School
• Clifton Hall School
• The Edinburgh Academy
• Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools
  • The Mary Erskine School
  • Erskine Stewart's Melville Junior School
  • Stewart's Melville College
• Fettes College
• George Heriot's School
• George Watson's College
• Mannafields Christian School
• Merchiston Castle School
• The Royal Blind School
• Edinburgh Steiner School
• St. George's School for Girls
• St. Mary's Music School

Glasgow

• Belmont House School, Newton Mearns
• Fernhill School, Rutherglen
• Hutchesons' Grammar School, Pollokshields
• Craigholme School, Pollokshields
• Kelvinside Academy, Kelvinside
• The Glasgow Academy, Kelvinbridge
• The High School of Glasgow, Anniesland
• St. Aloysius' College Garnethill

South

• Daldorch House School (Autism), Catrine
• St. Mary's School, Melrose
• Wellington School, Ayr

Figures

Fees

The schools are ranked here by day school pupil fees for 2022/23 and boarding fees are given where applicable. In cases where the 2022/23 fees are not yet available, this is indicated next to the figures. For 2022/23, the mean average day fee was £16,530 (median average was £14,968) and the average boarding fee was £33,033.^[8] 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]
Gordonstoun School^[11]	£33,900	£46,650	English	Yes
Fettes College^[12]	£33,600	£39,990	English/IB	Yes
Merchiston Castle School^[13]	£27,090	£37,320	English	Yes
Strathallan School^[14]	£25,452	£38,199	English	Yes
Glenalmond College^[15]	£25,275	£41,145	English	Yes
Loretto School^[16]	£25,155	£36,945	English	Yes
Kilgraston School^[17]	£22,785	£38,910	Scottish	No
Lathallan School^[18]	£20,643 (21/22)	£28,299 (21/22)	Scottish	No
St. Mary's School, Melrose^[19]	£17,940	£20,640	Scottish	No
St Leonards School, St Andrews^[20]	£17,374	£40,954	IB	Yes
St. George's School, Edinburgh^[21]	£16,359	£33,546	English/Scottish	No
Edinburgh Academy^[22]	£16,242	n/a	English/Scottish	Yes
Morrison's Academy, Crieff^[23]	£16,200	n/a	Scottish	Yes
International School Aberdeen^[24]	£15,555	n/a	IB	No
Dollar Academy^[25]	£15,516	£35,910	Scottish	Yes
St Margaret's School for Girls, Aberdeen^[26]	£15,120	n/a	Scottish	No
Albyn School, Aberdeen^[27]	£14,995	n/a	Scottish	No
St. Aloysius' College^[28]	£14,976	n/a	Scottish	Yes
Robert Gordon's College, Aberdeen^[29]	£14,960	n/a	Scottish	Yes
George Heriot's^[30]	£14,878	n/a	Scottish	Yes
Belmont House School^[31]	£14,754	n/a	Scottish	No
George Watson's College, Edinburgh^[32]	£14,634	n/a	Scottish/IB	Yes
Wellington School, Ayr^[33]	£14,490	n/a	Scottish	No
St. Columba's, Kilmacolm^[34]	£14,385 (21/22)	n/a	Scottish	Yes
The High School of Dundee^[35]	£14,331	n/a	Scottish	Yes
The High School of Glasgow^[36]	£14,211	n/a	Scottish	Yes
Lomond School^[37]	£13,950	£32,350	Scottish	Yes
Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh^[38]	£13,950	£27,993	Scottish	No
Stewart's Melville College, Edinburgh				Yes
Kelvinside Academy^[39]	£13,860	n/a	Scottish	Yes
Hutchesons' Grammar School, Pollokshields^[40]	£13,806	n/a	Scottish	Yes
The Glasgow Academy^[41]	£13,687	n/a	Scottish	Yes
Clifton Hall School, Edinburgh^[42]	£13,350	n/a	Scottish	No
Hamilton College^[43]	£13,092	n/a	Scottish	No
Edinburgh Steiner School^[44]	£11,208	n/a	Scottish	No
Drumduan School^[45]	£10,347	n/a	Scottish	No
Cedars School of Excellence, Greenock ^[46]	£7,950	n/a	Scottish	No

Exam results

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.^[47] 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.^[48][49]

	School	A/A* A-level (%)	A/A* GCSE (%)	HMC
1	George Watson's College	55.4	(No data)	Yes
2	The Edinburgh Academy^[50]	46.1	40.6	Yes
3	Fettes College^[51]	45.0	68.0	Yes
4	St Leonards School^[52]	43.2	41.2	Yes
5	Merchiston Castle School^[53]	38.6	69.3	Yes
6	Loretto School^[54]	37.5	49.7	Yes
7	St George's School, Edinburgh^[55]	34.8	48.9	No
8	Glenalmond College^[56]	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^[57]	36.9	34	Yes
2	George Watson's College^[58]	34.0	(No data)	Yes
3	St Leonards School^[59]	33.0	13.0	Yes

See also

• List of schools in Scotland
• Education in Scotland
• List of UK Independent Schools
• List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
• Education Scotland

References

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. . Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
6. Scott, Kirsty (22 September 2009). "Parents launch campaign to promote local schools in Edinburgh". The Guardian.
7. Johnson, Simon (27 May 2016). "Poor Scots 'squeezed out of university by SNP cap on places'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
8. Denholm, Andrew. "Revealed: The rising cost of a Scottish private school education". The Herald. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
9. . Hmc.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
10. "HMC: Schools Directory". Retrieved 2 December 2022.
11. "Gordonstoun School: Fees". Gordonstoun.org.uk.
12. "Admissions". www.fettes.com.
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. "Kilgraston: School Fees". www.kilgraston.com.
18. "Lathallan School: Fees" (PDF). Lathallan.org.uk.
19. "Fees and Charges". www.stmarysmelrose.org.uk.
20. "Fees ~ 2022-23".
21. "St. George's School, Edinburgh: Fees".
22. "Edinburgh Academy: Fees". Edinburgh Academy.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
23. "Tuition Fees and Capital Levy - Session 2022-2023". Morrisonsacademy.org.
24. "International School Aberdeen: Fees".
25. "Dollar Academy - School Fees".
26. "St. Margaret's School for Girls Aberdeen - School Fees for Session 2022-23". www.st-margaret.aberdeen.sch.uk.
27. "Upper School Admissions and Fees".
28. "St. Aloysius - Fees". Staloysius.org.
29. "Robert Gordon's, Aberdeen: Fees". Rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk.
30. "George Heriot's: Fees for session 2022/23". George-heriots.com.
31. "Fees - Belmont House School". www.belmontschool.co.uk.
32. "George Watson's: Fees". Gwc.org.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
33. "Wellington School - Fees".
34. "St Columba's, Kilmacolm Fees". St. Columba's.
35. "High School of Dundee - Fees". High School of Dundee.
36. "The High School of Glasgow - Fees".
37. "Fees & Payment Terms". Lomond School.
38. "Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools: Fees". Esms.edin.sch.uk.
39. "Fees". Kelvinside Academy.
40. "Fees & Bursaries - Hutchesons' Grammar Private School Glasgow".
41. "School Fees". Glasgow Academy.
42. "Clifton Hall School: Fees". Cliftonhall.com.
43. "Hamilton College: Fees".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
44. "Fees and finance".
45. "Fees & Finances".
46. "Fees Information".
47. "The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.co.uk.
48. "A-level results 2015: Independent schools results table". The Telegraph. 22 August 2015.
49. "GCSE results 2015: Independent schools table". The Telegraph. 29 August 2015.
50. . Archived from the original on 26 July 2015.
51. "Fettes Results 2014".
52. . Archived from the original on 3 September 2015.
53. "Merchiston Academic Results 2014".
54. "Public examination results". www.loretto.com.
55. "Examination Results - St George's School, Edinburgh". www.stge.org.uk.
56. . Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
57. "Fettes: Excellent IB Results".
58. . Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
59. . Archived from the original on 27 September 2015.

External links

• The website UK Schools & Colleges Database lists currently operating state (and some independent) schools by Local Education Authority and also links to websites of individual schools where available.
• Information on Private Schools in Scotland Key information and independent ratings on private Secondary Schools across Scotland.
• Scottish Schools Online Contact information and attainment data for independent Scottish schools.