FAQs

Senior School
3 Queensferry Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3EZ
+44 (0)131 311 1000
seniorschool@erskinestewartmelville.com

Junior School
Ravelston Dykes, Edinburgh, EH4 3NT
+44 (0)131 311 1111
juniorschool@erskinestewartmelville.com

Junior School
+44(0)131 311 1115
admissions@erskinestewartmelville.com

Senior School
+44 (0)131 311 1011
admissions@erskinestewartmelville.com

Read about our admissions process.

Anthony Simpson

Our Principal, Mr Anthony Simpson, oversees both the Junior and Senior Schools. Mr Simpson has a background in Mathematics, working as a Maths teacher before progressing into Senior Management roles at several English schools. He was named Senior Deputy Head at Giggleswick School before taking on the role as Principal at ESM.

Read our Principal’s Welcome.

We have brought together two historic Edinburgh institutions into a single, co-educational School, offering the best possible experience to students aged 3 to 18.

The Junior School welcomes girls and boys from ages 3 to 12. It includes our Nursery for ages 3-5, followed by Primary 1 to Primary 7 for ages 5 to 12.

Senior School  continues from ages 12 to 18, and includes our Sixth Form for the final year of school for ages 17 to 18.

Head of Junior School: Mike Kane

Head of Senior School: Frances McCrudden

Meet our Executive Leadership Team.

ESM is steered by an incredible Board of Governors with a range of world class experience. Our Governors set and review our plans, policies and procedures working closely with our Executive Leadership Team to deliver the best possible education to our students.

Meet our Board of Governors.

As one of the most comprehensive schools in Edinburgh, we are home to 2,300 students from ages 3 to 18. Our Junior School hosts around 900 students, with approximately 1,400 in our Senior School.

At ESM we are committed to the individual ambitions of every student by pushing the boundaries of traditional academia.

We’ve achieved this through a commitment to three School Pillars: Ambition, Innovation, and Community.

And five School Values: Kindness, Confidence, Resilience, Integrity, and Curiosity.

Read more about our Vision and Values.

ESM has a long and distinguished history dating back over 300 years. It is the culmination of three Edinburgh institutions, the Mary Erskine School, Melville College, and Daniel Stewart’s College, uniting in the 1970s to form the modern foundations of Erskine Stewart Melville.

Read more about our history.

ESM has two closely linked campuses. Our Junior School is housed at our Ravelston site, which features 40 beautiful acres of green space.

Our Senior students are at our Queensferry campus, which features the iconic Old College, a pool and fitness centre, as well as The Dean – a former church retrofitted into a modern event space.

We also have our Inverleith Playing Fields which have hosted teams from across the UK.

Read more about our facilities.

Our class sizes range from 17-25 students. For some examination subjects the number of students may be lower. In our Junior School, we’ve made it a priority to have at least one support team member present alongside a teacher in each class.

Students are presented for the Scottish National Qualifications which cover:

• National 5s
• Highers
• Advanced Highers

Find out more about our exams.

With a 96% pass rate at Highers, we are exceptionally proud of our students’ outstanding results, scoring well above the national average.

Read more about our Senior School academic results and Junior School academic results.

An incredible 95% of our students gain admission to their firm choice university, attending top institutions across the UK and beyond. This includes first rate Scottish institutions, such as the University of St Andrews and The University of Edinburgh, as well as down south with universities including Cambridge, Oxford, and Kings College London.

Topics studied range from Law to Medicine to Neuroscience, as well as Engineering, Aeronautics, and Product Design.

Read more about our Leavers’ destinations.

We offer one of the most comprehensive lists of extra-curriculars of any school in Edinburgh. With over 300 clubs – from drone club to street dancing to hillwalking – students have the opportunity to find their passion. If they can’t find something they’re interested in, we encourage them to start their own club.

Our Duke of Edinburgh programme is also one of the most impressive in the country. With over 300 students, we have the second highest participation rate of any school in Scotland.

Read more about our Senior School extra-curriculars and Junior School extra-curriculars.

We are a dominant force on the national sports scene with recent national champions in rugby, cricket, swimming, football, and athletics.

In our Senior School, we offer 136 sports teams across 28 different sports. We currently have 66 students playing at a national level.

In our Junior School, we offer 46 sports teams with 350 students participating. We emphasis the opportunity for every student to play competitively and be part of a team.

Read more about our Senior School and Junior School sports offerings.

Our award-winning performance art programme puts on 40  productions each year, supported by our professional production team. This includes everything from jaw-dropping musicals to awe-inspiring orchestral performances.

In the Senior School, we offer 28 choirs, orchestras, ensembles, and bands. While in the Junior School, we put on 5 dramatic productions throughout the year as well as 300 specialist instrumental lessons each week on 23 different instruments.

Read more about our Senior School and Junior School music and arts programmes.

Each year, we offer students 500 outdoor learning adventures and trips. These trips provide students with educational opportunities to explore the UK and beyond. Everything from a day out in the Pentlands to a weekend in the Lake District to weeks exploring Tokyo.

Read more about our Senior School and Junior School trips.

We are quickly becoming one of Scotland’s leading schools in student support and wellbeing. We are the only school in the country to host an annual wellbeing conference, bringing experts from across the education sector together to discuss how to best support students.

As of 2026, we’ve introduced a new wellbeing hub on campus for students, as well as increased our number of Wellbeing Support Assistants, and strengthened our partnership with children’s mental health charity Place2Be.

Read more about our Senior School and Junior School Support for Learning.

For our Junior School students (including Nursery), we offer Wraparound Care from 7:45am to 6pm.

We also offer our Junior School (including Nursery) students an activity-packed Holiday Club from 8.15am until 6pm which covers parents for approximately 49 weeks of the year

Read more about our Wraparound Care and Holiday Club.

At ESM, we break our School year down into the following three terms:

• Autumn Term: August – December
• Spring Term: January – March
• Summer Term: April – June

Read more about our term dates.

Our fees are per academic year and are inclusive of VAT:

• P1 – P3: £13,750
• P4 – P6: £16,130
• P7: £16,203
• S1-S6: £20,666

Additional fees are charged for extras, such as school lunches and trips.

Read more about our academic tuition and additional fees.

Our bursaries and academic awards offer support and recognition to talented Senior School students who demonstrate academic excellence and financial need.

Read more about our bursaries.

We have the largest and most comprehensive coach service of any independent school in Edinburgh. Covering Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, students from P4 upwards can enjoy a comfortable and reliable journey to and from school each day. Tickets can be purchased online where you can see up-to-date availability.

Read more about our coach services.