We only do what's best for the boys

Merchiston is unique in Scotland (and, indeed, north of the Home Counties) as a boys' boarding school with day pupils within it. The School takes pride in specializing in the education of boys, with the goal to help every boy reach his full potential and leave Merchiston ready for the world, as we have for over 175 years. Our mantra is 'Boys first' because, in everything we do, we first ask ourselves the question "What's best for the boys?"

"It is my common experience in life that when I buy something new, after the original excitement of the purchase dies down, I often start finding small faults with it.  With our children's education at Merchiston, however, it has been exactly the opposite. In every respect - academic, sporting and pastoral - the School has exceeded our expectations, and continues to do so. In particular, the staff have an almost magical ability to maximise the potential of every boy, irrespective of their natural talents. But above all, it is the Merchiston 'end product' that impresses us year after year; the young men that leave the School for university each year are polite, confident gentlemen, that any parent would be proud to call their sons." Current Parent

We have strong and effective approaches to develop each boy's personal achievements and boast an impressive record of helping boys excel far beyond their expected results at GCSE and A level. Our academic record is excellent and we are consistently in the top flight of independent schools in the UK. Pupils' applications to the most prestigious colleges, within the UK and abroad, continue to meet with success. Last year, three students were accepted by Imperial College, London, three by UCL, and four boys progressed to Cambridge.

Merchiston's sporting programme plays an extremely important role in School life and the team of staff works hard to achieve excellence within a 'sport for all' philosophy, offering training and competition in over 20 sports. At present, the School has internationalists in rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, shooting, table tennis and modern pentathlon.

Our main objective is to motivate pupils to try their hardest and to strive to achieve the highest levels possible in all areas - firstly academic, then cultural, sporting, leadership and simply living together as part of a community. The modern way of life at Merchiston is therefore busy and exacting and we seek to maintain the delicate balance of priorities within and outwith the classroom. However, whilst revelling in the excellence of the sporting, musical and numerous other activities, we continue to emphasize the primacy of academic work, which is at the heart of the total curriculum.

Pastoral care underpins all aspects of Merchiston, for if the boys are not looked after, they cannot perform. In the latest report by The Care Inspectorate, the School achieved a flush of four 'Excellent' ratings.

Essentially, whilst we are concentrating on the academic platform of each boy alongside the importance of co-curricular activities, we also try to focus on developing boys who have a sense of values. We are wholly committed to nurturing each boy's talents and believe passionately in recognizing the importance of the learning and teaching of boys.

Our results show what we do works. We were recently recognized as "Top Scottish Independent School GCSE/A level 2012" - Sunday Times Parent Power 2012. This follows our top placing at A level in 2011. It is also interesting to note that Merchiston is one of the top ten boys' boarding schools in the whole of the UK.   Needless to say the School is delighted that the hard work of the boys and the staff has been recognized in this way. However, the excellence extends beyond exam results. In recent news:

• Both the U16 and the U18 teams reached the 2012 finals of the Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Cup; the U16s came out on top in their final winning 10-5 against Strathallan;
• The U13 Tennis Team reached the UK 2012 Finals of the AEGON Schools Team Tennis competition, finishing third overall;
• The School has achieved a flush of four 'Excellent' ratings in the recent Care Inspectorate Inspection;
• 12 boys took part in the British Physics Olympiad competition.  Two boys achieved Gold, two achieved Silver, two more gained Bronze awards and six pupils received Commendations;
• There has been great success in the UK Senior Mathematics Challenge, with pupils gaining: 13 Gold, 11 Silver and 9 Bronze Awards.  Pupil William achieved a near perfect 120 points, placing him in the top 50 in the UK!

Please take a look around the rest of this section of the site for information on the 'Merchiston Journey', Independent Endorsements of the School, the Galleries and Videos, as well as evidence of our Academic Results. Our 'wordle' below presents a visual image of the key words in this 'Why Merchiston?' section.