The ISOTY Regional category celebrates schools that make exceptional use of their location to shape and enhance the student experience. We’re proud to represent Edinburgh and the wider Scottish landscape in this new category.
Our education is deeply shaped by our surroundings. Our students don’t just study geography, they walk up Arthurs’ Seat to learn about the geology of volcanoes and in S1 they walk up the Pentland Hills every week to build confidence, resilience and a love of the outdoors. They walk the Royal Mile to learn about medieval architecture and visit Holyrood Palace to see where Mary Queen of Scots lived. Our 8-day residential in the Scottish Highlands teaches leadership and our night-time winter walk up Corstorphine Hill, building dens and listening out for bats, reminds students of the mental health benefits of getting outside in the winter months.
Underlying these extraordinary immersive opportunities is a commitment to excellence which helps to set us apart from other schools in the area. This can be seen by our academic results, our award-winning wellbeing programme, our extensive opportunities for personal development and the national cups we took home this year for rugby, football, hockey and swimming.
Our Performance Arts programme also benefits from opportunities that simply couldn’t happen elsewhere. In April our choristers filled the Usher Hall performing three songs by the acclaimed Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith, commissioned to celebrate 900 years of the city’s rich history. In May, our pipe band, drummers and highland dancers joined the Beating The Retreat ceremony at Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood and in the summer the school choir will return to perform at the internationally renowned Edinburgh Tattoo.
This shortlisting builds on our recent successes with the Independent Schools of the Year Awards, including being named the winner in the Performing Arts category in 2023, and celebrating our FP Lewis Swire’s Rising Star Award in 2024.
We’re honoured to be in the running once again, and eagerly await the finalist announcement in September.
Keep your fingers crossed!
