Over 20 sports on offer

Merchiston has long had a tradition of sporting excellence and we pride ourselves in fostering the pursuit of excellence in a sport-for-all environment. Today the School supports boys in over 20 sports, details of many of which are in the drop down sport menus on the left; and we are open to new ideas and new options any boys may want to explore.

The three core sports are rugby, cricket and athletics. Rugby is played in the Autumn and Lent Terms, whilst cricket and athletics are active in the Summer Term. The School has a proud record of achievement in all three sports and we believe this is partly due to the quality of our coaching and our facilities, but also because of the School's boarding ethos and the encouragement boys of all abilities are given to participate.

We have produced 61 Rugby Internationalists and 23 Cricket Internationalists and it is very common that we have schoolboy internationalists in their chosen sports. Our most recent rugby internationalists have included Phil Godman, Ian Fullarton, Duncan Hodge and Craig Joiner. More recently, on the cricket field, Oliver Hairs achieved his first of five international caps whilst he was still at school.

Our 1st XV has won the Scottish Cup five times since 1997, the last being in 2008. We have also achieved Scottish honours in tennis, athletics, curling and shooting in the last three years. We strive to achieve similar honours in the British arena and in 2010, our 1st VI reached the semi-final of the National Schools Sevens at Rosslyn Park and the tennis team won the Clark Trophy at the Independent Schools Championships at Eton College, going on to gain 8th place in the Glanvil Cup.

As well as striving to achieve excellence, we also believe in teaching an understanding of the role of sport and physical activity in achieving an active and healthy lifestyle. The school week allows the boys to experience a range of sixteen to twenty sports and the boys are encouraged to be actively involved in many of these to help find their interests and talents.

The Tennis Academy and Golf Academy provide a special curriculum for those boys who have been accepted  for these courses. However, if any boy who was at the School wished to transfer to the Academy programmes then this can be discussed with parents who express an interest.

To view the School's current sports photo galleries click here.

To view the Sport Facilities click here.

To view sports results (in the Current Parents section), please click here.

Merchiston's sporting prowess goes back a long time. The photo is of Merchiston's rugby 1st XX in 1865, outside the original Merchiston Castle. Over 60 Merchistonians have represented their country at rugby.