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Original poster

Edinburgh Private schools

10 replies

user1496093149 · 12/01/2018 14:17

Considering a move into private school system for my two boys, 7 & 8. Currently in Stirling but looking more towards schools in Edinburgh. Leaning towards Merchiston Castle School but we have yet to visit. I have one boys who loves sports, super competitive, very academic - my thoughts are that Merchiston would be a good fit for him. My other son, is not particularly 'sporty', he's a reader and a writer, loves gaming, plays the violin, loves to draw - quieter type. I have read on a thread about Merchiston that all boys must play rugby - is this still the case? I'm concerned that the school may not be a good fit for son 2. In which case, could someone point me in the direction of a school that will provide a good all round education for them both? boarding option not required Thank you!

OP posts:
Windyone · 12/01/2018 14:22

The boys all play rugby but not all of them take it seriously! My ds trains but never really plays matches - not sure how often he actually touches the ball Smile
I'd urge you to go and take a look.

InMySpareTime · 12/01/2018 14:24

George Heriot's is good all round, and very central.

Original poster
user1496093149 · 12/01/2018 14:40

Thank you, that's nice to hear. :)
We are going along to the open morning in February.

OP posts:
motherstongue · 12/01/2018 20:03

I would urge you to go and look at Cargilfield. It is a traditional prep school so will cater for both boys up until age 13/14. They will then guide you towards the best school for each individual boy for senior school. I can't recommend it enough. Fabulous school.

We looked at Merchiston for our DS a few years ago and the negatives for us were at age 9 doing Saturday school and the emphasis on so much rugby. It also felt (rightly or wrongly) to us a bit like a military academy! We know boys who have gone at senior level and thrived but they all seem to have been fairly robust characters. In the end we chose Cargilfield to allow our DS time to develop and we eventually found the right school to fit him at age 14.

GinGarden · 15/01/2018 17:43

Another massive vote for Merchiston. The best headmaster in Scotland with fabulous pastoral care. Why oh why did we not choose it I ask myself every day.
Looked around it and loved it. My only thing was that the house system is not the traditional mixed years and we really wanted that, plus at the time my boys were in a co-ed prep and didn’t like the single sex idea but now they are older they say that wouldn’t bother them.
Plenty of friends with gentle non-sporty boys at Merchi who all love it too. Something for everybody. A real family feel.
If you want a prep in Edinburgh then yes Cargilfield is superb but you will move at 13yrs.
Hope that helps.

Justquery · 16/01/2018 20:58

Have you thought of Heriot's? We absolutely it!

In edinburgh it's hard to go wrong, we have so many amazing choices.
We have friends spread out at all of them and they each like them for their own personal reasons. You should visit them all and then you will have a better idea about what feels right.

3nationsfamily · 20/01/2018 23:40

Another vote for Merchiston. It is not at all like a military academy!! My DS has been there since age 11 ( now 16)and plays rugby but also football hockey and badminton, there is a real sports for all approach with a huge variety on offer. He also is in the choir, wind band, school play and does various extracurricular academics like maths challenges, eningeering competitions etc. There is a great variety of boys who are sporty, musical, academic, creative, and every combination! The pastoral care is fantastic for boarders and day boys.
I would really encourage you to visit and make up your own mind. Yes the days are long but you have to realise they do all their extracurricular and their homework in the school then come home and relax. We had previously been full on after school every day for clubs, sports, music lessons etc to it makes family life a lot more relaxed. Yes they have
Saturday school but much longer holidays so it evens out over the year.

Thissameearth · 20/01/2018 23:41

Have you looked at Watson’s?

RunRivers · 20/01/2018 23:45

Go and visit Cargilfield. It gets a good mix of sporty, musical, academic, bookish / non sporty etc children. Family orientated.

Cargundian · 21/01/2018 17:15

Go and see Cargilfield, because not only is it a great school in its own right, they have the best expertise in Edinburgh for working out which senior schools will suit which children. Plenty do go to Merchiston from Cargilfield, so if that does turn out to be the best option it'll be an easy move, but as you say, though it's a good school it might not turn out to be the best for yours.

FWIW, while we liked Merchiston a lot, we had similar concerns to yours. It's trying to move more in an academic direction, but it's not yet all that academic, and though there are boys there who don't love rugby, rugby's big there. Also, although you can nominally be a day boy, there are basically no concessions for them - Saturday school all through, and in the senior school they won't usually be leaving before 9pm on weekdays and they will often be expected to be there part of both days at the weekend (according to boys we talked to: the official line is a little softer than that, but it's the expectations on the ground that really matter...)

In the end we felt that for us, it would be a bit "worst of both worlds" between a real day school and real boarding, and we chose a real boarding school - which is not at all what we would have guessed would suit, when ours was 7 or 8, but it turned out to be exactly the right thing. (I also know children who went on to Merchiston and love it. It really is horses for courses.)

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