Get Involved
There are a wide range of ways you can get involved with Erskine Stewart Melville, our pupils and our former pupils. From archives submissions and volunteering to contributing to our careers programme and curricular objectives to supporting bursaries or specific school projects or even volunteering to support one of our many extracurricular clubs, there is something for everyone.
Alumni Associations
We have thriving alumni groups both at home and further afield and they are always looking for keen volunteers to help facilitate further connections and opportunities to meet. The Stewart’s Melville College Former Pupil Club, The Mary Erskine School Former Pupil Guild and the Melville College Trust are always looking for extra pairs of hands to help with the wide range of social activities they run. We work closely with these alumni associations and often provide support to their events.
In addition, we are often seeking support for the wide-range of social gatherings run by the Development Office, including our annual Summer Social (twinned with The Mary Erskine School Former Pupil Guild Summer Reunion) and the evening year group gatherings on the same day. Contact us on development@esms.org.uk if you would like to help with these events.
Archives
Do you have any school photographs or other memorabilia that you would like to donate or loan to school? Would you like to spend some time helping our Heritage Officer with cataloguing the archives from when you were at school and support with filling in the gaps in knowledge and information? Please contact Jon Cooper on archives@esms.org.uk.
Careers
As a school community, we have a fantastic resource base of caring and committed adults and it is the Development Office’s responsibility to ensure that all of us, and particularly our young people, can benefit from it.
We provide support to the Careers Department which brings parents and alumni into school to talk to pupils about the changing world of work, provide industry insight and general career information.
We also run an online networking platform called ESM Connect where you can register to offer or seek support with developing your career from the wider Erskine Stewart Melville community. Please contact Suzi Squires, Development Manager on development@esms.org.uk for your sign-up link.
Curricular Objectives
Our amazing teachers are often looking for people working in industry who can come in and talk to pupils about real-life examples of the academic work they are learning. If this is of interest to you, we would ask you to register on ESM Connect as this helps us to centralise our contacts and reduce duplication. Please contact Suzi or Tania on development@esms.org.uk for your sign-up link.
Join or Run an Alumni Chapter
We have Chapters in Aberdeen, Glasgow, London, New York and San Fransisco, and are in the process of setting up chapters in Vancouver, Washington DC and Melbourne. We work with other Edinburgh schools in areas such as Sydney to make the most of numbers in the area and have larger gatherings, such as ceilidhs and competitive inter-school quiz nights. To find out more, please contact Keryn Henderson or Lauren Opstad on development@esms.org.uk or call 0131 311 1131.
Philanthropic Support
Our schools are founded in philanthropy, and this remains central to Erskine Stewart Melville today. We are indebted to the many kind and generous members of our community who have chosen to support our school with a gift.
The donations that we receive are fundamental to ensuring that we can continue to follow in our founders’ footsteps, changing children’s lives by providing access to an Erskine Stewart Melville education through our Bursary Fund.
Your philanthropy also helps us transform what we can offer to our students through sport, performing arts and academics, as well as strengthen our community and partnership beyond our school gates, ensuring that we can continue to have a positive, social impact in the wider community.
Through your support, at all levels, whether that is a regular or single gift or a gift in your will, you are helping to provide transformational opportunities for children, which will have a life-long impact.
Please get in touch with Angela Alexander, Director of Development, if you would like to find out more.
Tell Your Story & Share Your News
We are always on the lookout for alumni news and career stories which we feature in our regular newsletters and share with relevant departments around the school. It is a great way to give current pupils an insight into the world of work and the ways careers can change. Please contact Suzi Squires, Development Manager on development@esms.org.uk to discuss this further.
Visit Erskine Stewart Melville
Our doors are always open for you to come and visit, see the school as it is today as well as take a walk down memory lane.
