Merchiston Castle School

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Merchiston Castle School
Motto: Ready aye Ready
Established 1833
Type Independent all-boys Junior & Senior
Founder Charles Chalmers
Headmaster Mr Andrew R Hunter
Faculty 49 full time - 9 part time
Students 430 (approx)
Grades J4-UVI (Year 4 - 13)
Location Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Website http://www.merchiston.co.uk

Merchiston Castle School is a private boarding school located in the village of Colinton just outside Edinburgh in Scotland. It has 430 pupils and is only open to boys between the ages of 8 and 18 as either boarders or day pupils; day pupils make up 30% of the school. It is the only male single-sex school in Scotland. The academic achievements of the school reflect the good teacher:pupil ratio of 1:9.

Academic standards are high and results consistently good. The school has achieved an almost 100% A-Level pass rate over the last five years, with 77% at A and B grades in 2006. The GCSE pass rate is almost as good, with a 98% pass rate in 2006. Also in 2006 90% of pupils achieved entry to their first choice University through UCAS. Music is particularly strong as are art, design, drama, debating and the Sciences. A wide range of sports and games is available and the school has long had a reputation for excellence particularly in rugby union with over 60 Merchistonians having played at full international level. The former 1st XV coach, Frank Hadden, who was at the school from 1983-2000 is now the coach of the Scottish national team. A number of structural additions have been made to the school over the past twenty years including a music school, technology block and library. However, these have come at a cost of selling land.

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[edit] History

In May 1833, Charles Chalmers took a lease of Merchiston Castle, (the former home of John Napier of logarithm fame) - which at that time stood in rural surroundings - and opened his academy, starting with some thirty boys.

Like his brother, Dr Thomas Chalmers, mathematician, physicist and theologian, Charles was also interested in Mathematics and Science so he included these subjects in the curriculum at a time when secondary education in Scotland was focussed more on the study of the classics.

Over time, the pupil number at Merchiston swelled to over 200 and the Merchiston Castle became too small to accommodate the school. In 1930, the governors decided to move the school to Colinton House and the ruins of Colinton Castle, four miles south-west of the Edinburgh in the village of Colinton. The school opened its doors in Colinton that same year.

Three years later, in 1933, Merchiston celebrated its centenary, attended by their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of York. Fifty years on, in 1983, at a time of further expansion and with 350 boys on the roll, their daughter, Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, in turn visited the School and honoured its 150th anniversary with her presence.

[edit] Progression through the School

[edit] Merchiston Juniors (Pringle House)

Children can enter the school as an 8 or 9 year old pupil and will be part of the Junior School until the end of the Third Form (at age 12), which equates to S1 in the state sector. During this time the boy will stay in Pringle House founded by James Rainy Brown, a former pupil who still teaches at the school. Pringle is a single-storey building where the boys live in 6-9 bed personalised dormitories named after animal nests such as The Holt, The Lair and The Drey. Care of the boys is given by the Head of the Junior School and the Housemaster(s) of Pringle during this time. If he is in J4 or J5 he will also have a form teacher who will handle day-to-day matters in the Pringle Centre. Pringle has a resident Housemother and many staff Tutors who help to run a broad range of co-curricular activities.

[edit] Middle School

At the end of the Third Form (S1), boys leave Pringle and move to the Middle School where they are joined by other pupils entering the School for the first time, predominantly from prep schools. The Fourth Form house is called Chalmers West House, which, along with all the other Houses, is located at the heart of the Senior School. Historically, there have always been more boarders in the Senior School than in the Junior School, however, as was the case in Pringle, the day boys continue to be fully integrated with the boarders by having study and recreation areas allocated to them in the residential accommodation. During this time, new subjects are introduced into the curriculum including Spanish, Electronics and Design Technology. At the end of this year a decision is made regarding the subjects taken forward to GCSE.

Unless a pupil joined Merchiston in the Third Form (last year of Pringle), the year in Chalmers West sets the pattern for most of the rest of his school career in that he will stay for one year in this House with the Fourth Form Housemaster before moving on again to the adjacent House, Chalmers East House' for his first year of the GCSE programme, with a new Housemaster. At Merchiston, this is known as his Shell year. The advantages of this system are that the boys get to know each other very well, the Housemaster is able to construct a full social and extra-curricular programme which suits the needs of the year group, and the House itself can have spaces and furnishings which are appropriate for the boys at each stage of their development.

In Chalmers West and Chalmers East, dormitories are sub-divided into semi-private areas for 2-3 beds. After Chalmers East comes Rogerson East House (Fifth Form). This is the year in which the pupils take their first public exams: the GCSEs. Here, the dormitories are again sub-divided into semi-private areas, more so than in the Chalmers facilities.

[edit] Senior School (Sixth Form)

Following Rogerson East, pupils will enter the Sixth Form. A student in the Lower Sixth will spend his time in Rogerson West House, whilst in the Upper Sixth he may find himself residing in the Upper Sixth Evans House, or if appointed a prefect, living in one of the Junior or Middle School Houses, and assisting the Housemaster in running the House. A new Sixth Form Boarding House is planned for construction in the near future. During these two years, pupils will study towards the second tier of public examinations, namely the Scottish Highers or the English A-Levels or AS-Levels.

Lower Sixth Form and Upper Sixth Form non-prefect students will come under the care of the Head of Sixth Form and his assistant, the Deputy Head of Sixth Form. Life in Sixth form is different to that in the rest of the school. School uniform is no longer worn, rather a suit with the Sixth Form tie. Also, responsibility for academic work and the organisation of free time will lie with the student rather than the housemaster. Socially, opportunities for overnight leave, general leave outs, and in the Upper Sixth, late leaves, become part of the package of opportunities and responsibilities.

[edit] Merchiston Life

Housemasters arrange a wide array of activities throughout the term. It is not unusual for a boy, having completed his Saturday programme of lessons, to jump on a bus to play a rugby match, return in time to freshen up for the Reel Club and finish the evening with a pizza party with a group of friends. Sunday is not so busy, although Sunday morning Chapel Service is still an integral part of School life, and with a long afternoon to fill, many boys sign on for supervised activities such as paint balling, hill walking, skiing in the Cairngorms or a more leisurely round of golf on one of Edinburgh’s many courses.

[edit] Links to other schools

Although Merchiston is an all boys school, there is a wide range of curricular, co-curricular and social links with girls’ schools, in particular St George’s School for Girls, St Margaret’s School for Girls, both in Edinburgh, and Kilgraston School, in Perthshire.

From time to time, the Sixth Form students participate with St George’s in inter-departmental initiatives, such as Modern Language events, careers conventions and fun days for the Junior School. Joint drama and music productions are undertaken and there are many social functions, from Burns Suppers and Scottish Country Dancing to discos.

[edit] Notable former pupils (Merchistonians)

[edit] External links

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