The School. Morrison’s Academy is a vibrant co-educational day school located in Crieff, Scotland. Founded in 1860 and an integral part of the community in Crieff, the school comprises a 10-acre main campus supplemented by 45 acres of sports fields and main hall. Morrison’s Academy provides a quality education for over 530 boys and girls from 2 to 18 years, delivering a contemporary Scottish curriculum.
The school’s strong academic foundations are supplemented by numerous skills based educational programmes including our Outdoor Adventures and Activities programme, our Learning for Life programme and the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, the first in Scotland. Each programme has been carefully developed to provide pupils with life skills: resilience, perseverance, problem solving and social skills – preparing Morrisonians for big futures.
Morrison’s Academy’s Nursery is housed in a purpose-built facility with an extensive garden on the main campus. The Nursery benefits from access to the school’s wider campus, facilities and specialist teaching staff. There is a well established transition programme for pupils leaving Nursery and entering into Primary School, preparing them for Primary One.
The Primary School, housed in a separate building on the main campus, educates pupils in small classes. Pupils also benefit from access to the wider school facilities and specialist subject teaching. Transfer between primary and secondary is helped by the Transitional Year (P7), which provides literacy and numeracy teaching in the Primary School by a class teacher with all other lessons being provided in the Secondary School taught by subject specialists.
The Secondary School supports pupils to fulfil their academic potential, gain Scottish qualifications and entry to universities in both the UK and abroad. Academic expectations and achievements are high and small groups encourage individual learning and development. On average 95% of S6 go on to University.
Situation. Situated in Crieff, surrounded by stunning Perthshire countryside, Morrison’s Academy has one of the most beautiful locations of any school in Britain. The stunning mountain scenery provides the backdrop for the school and offers outstanding locations for outdoor learning. Pupils attend from the local area and travel from Perth, Pitlochry, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, Auchterarder, Stirling, Dunblane and Falkirk.
Curriculum. Morrison’s Academy follows a modern, Scottish curriculum; its dynamic and varied teaching methods support pupils to fulfil their academic potential and encourage every individual to strive for their highest. Pupils in Primary and lower Secondary follow the Scottish 5–14 programme of study, leading in upper Secondary to National 5 and then to Higher and Advanced Higher National Qualifications.
Emphasis is placed upon academic achievement, but is coupled with numerous enriching educational skills-based programmes including the Outdoor Adventures and Activities programme, the School’s unique Learning for Life programme and, more recently, the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, the first in Scotland which develops entrepreneurial skills. The School has a range of subjects that they call their Golden Thread subjects, which feature heavily from Nursery through to Secondary school, supplementing the core academic subjects - Music, Art, Sport, STEM, Enterprise, Learning for Life and Outdoor Adventures and Activities which ensure a well rounded education and allow and encourage every child to flourish and grow in their areas of interest and develop their talents.
Pupils are encouraged to develop broad skills and interests outside the classroom. Co-curricular activities (available to primary and secondary pupils) are extensive and Morrison’s Academy makes good use of its glorious location. The Morrison’s Academy education is further enhanced through local, national and international educational visits.
Houses. All pupils are placed in one of the four houses named after local families: Campbells, Drummonds, Grahams and Murrays. There is healthy, competitive rivalry between the houses and senior pupils are encouraged to take charge of teams for sporting, music, debating and other events. The house system also forms the basis for the pastoral care system in the Secondary school; giving pupils and families one point of contact for all pastoral matters throughout their secondary educational journey.
Games and Activities. Morrison’s Academy encourages pupils to participate in a wide range of co-curricular opportunities, offering over 90 different sports, activities and clubs to its Primary and Secondary pupils.
All pupils use the playing fields and facilities on the main campus or walk to the 45 acres of playing fields, including an artificial pitch and cricket wicket for all-weather playing, and pavilions at Dallerie. There is also a Strength and Conditioning Suite, a Climbing Wall, a Bouldering Room and a good number of Tennis Courts. Main sports are rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis and athletics. From upper primary fixtures against other schools take place, generally on Saturday mornings.
Other sporting activities include mountain biking, golf, football, basketball, netball, swimming, golf, weight training, skiing, climbing, orienteering, hill walking, kayaking, karate and more. To complement the sporting activities, pupils are active in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, the Combined Cadet Force, drama, music – with a variety of choral, ensemble, band and orchestral opportunities available, debating, chess, Pipe Band, Eco club, Enterprise club, charity fundraising, art, photography and more. Pupils are challenged to make the most of their time and all within the wonderful environment of Perthshire.
Fees per term (2023-2024). Day: Primary £3,900–£5,533, Secondary £5,858.
The fees include tuition, textbooks, stationery, external examination fees, sports and curriculum-related travel.
Where 3 or more children are enrolled coterminously, families will be awarded the following sibling discounts: 3rd child at school – 25% discount & 4th and subsequent children – 50% discount.
Admission Procedure. Admission to the school is by entrance assessment and school report and/or exam results and entrance interview. Entrance assessments can take place throughout the year as required.
Scholarships and Financial Assistance. At Morrison’s Academy we would like as many children as possible to benefit from the opportunities that a Morrison’s Academy education provides. Consequently, a number of means-tested bursaries are awarded each year.
Bursaries are awarded using a combination of academic merit (as tested in the Entrance Assessment) and financial need. Awards take the form of a discount on tuition fees and will be subject to annual testing of parental means, with changes to financial circumstances required to be notified in between. In exceptional cases, full fee awards may be available, but the majority of awards fall in the range of 20% to 60% of the tuition fee.
There are also a number of Sixth Form Scholarships which are awarded after examination and interview in May. The awards, which carry a nominal financial value, recognise both achievement and potential.
Charitable status. Morrison’s Academy is a Registered Charity, number SC000458. The school is a recognised charity providing education.