The Edinburgh Academy is a co-educational day school for pupils aged 2 to 18 with a proud history and outward vision. Founded in 1824 with the aspiration to create a school where excellence could always be achieved, the School motto translates as ‘Always Excel’. The Edinburgh Academy is built on strong traditions but is always seeking to innovate.
The Edinburgh Academy consists of a Nursery of 110 children, a Junior School of 400 children and a Senior School of 660. The School’s size allows it to cater for the individual needs and ambitions of each child while high staff ratios mean that at each stage it can tailor the teaching and pastoral care to the needs of each pupil, giving them the best possible chance to develop their unique talents. Through a rounded education, Academy pupils enhance their social, emotional and spiritual capacities; equipping them for citizenship in a challenging and changing world. The attributes of an Academy Learner are that they are curious, creative, independent, collaborative and resilient.
Campus. A strength of the Academy is the split campus. This allows for purpose-built facilities and high-quality teaching at each age and stage through which all children can flourish.
Situated in Edinburgh’s New Town since 1824, the Senior School is a stunning architectural blend of traditional and modern buildings. The most recent additions have been the Hockey Pavilion, indoor climbing wall, Henry Marsh Golf Centre and the Learning Commons, which provides multipurpose lecture and STEM learning spaces.
The Junior School, Nursery and Playing Fields occupy 26 acres on Arboretum Road: next to the world-renowned Royal Botanic Gardens. Outdoor learning and learning through play are central factors for educating children on our spacious campus while the purpose-built Nursery provides a bright, functional and fun environment ensuring the best of opportunities for learning both inside and out.
Academic. The Academy supports each child on their preferred education path and gets to know each individual extremely well in helping them to reach their personal goals and achieve to the best of their ability. The pre-14 curriculum offers flexibility; giving a very good grounding in basic skills while allowing pupils to progress through developing the critical higher order skills inherent in the best parts of ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’. Older Senior School pupils present for exams in a wide range of subjects at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
In keeping with the stated vision of producing children who are ‘Grounded in Scotland, Ready for the World’, the school takes pride in the fact that there are Academicals (alumni) around the globe who look back on their Academy education as their first crucial step on the ladder to success.
Class sizes. Class sizes are kept relatively small to allow teachers to identify and nurture each child’s strengths. In the Junior School, the aim is to keep class sizes of around 22 children. In the Senior School, no teaching group is larger than 20 pupils, and most are substantially smaller.
Courses of study. A very wide general curriculum is taught at the Edinburgh Academy between the ages of 2 and 14. Away from the valuable lessons taught by their class teacher, Nursery pupils receive specialist teaching in Science, PE, Modern European Languages and Music. In Junior School, this is further complimented by Art and Mandarin (from Primary 5) while in Senior School, specialist Latin, Drama and Design Technology are introduced. Maths is set from Primary 3 and all subjects are taught by Secondary School specialist teachers from Primary 7 (Geits).
Eight subjects are taken for National 5 (GCSE equivalent): English, Maths, a foreign language and a science must be taken and it is recommended that pupils complete the balance by adding either History or Geography, and one of Art, Music, Drama, PE or a technical subject.
In the final years of the Senior School, the emphasis increasingly moves towards preparing young people for higher education and beyond. The penultimate year sees the breadth inherent in Scottish Highers followed by the greater depth of Advanced Highers. In Art and Music, a two-year A Level course is offered in the belief that this is better suited to the needs of pupils looking to progress in those specialisms.
Physical Education. All Academy pupils are encouraged to stay active and healthy. Over 25 acres of sports pitches, including four all-weather surfaces, squash, tennis and fives courts and a sports centre, are coupled with top-class coaching to help them enjoy their chosen sports. Pupils can choose from a full range of winter and summer sports and teams represent the School in rugby, hockey, football, cricket, tennis, squash, badminton, fives, athletics, skiing, golf, swimming, cross country running, netball and dance.
The Academy also has a state-of-the-art Climbing and Bouldering Facility that is without doubt the best school arena of this type in the country.
Outdoor education. The Edinburgh Academy has invested significantly in its ‘Spirit of Adventure Fund’. As well as the Climbing Wall, this has allowed for the recruitment of both a Director of Adventure and Character Education and an Early Years Outdoor Learning specialist. This example of ‘EA Innovation’ means that all Academy children from the youngest in the Nursery to those completing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award benefit from the resilience and character most easily developed in the outdoors.
Music, Drama, Art. The Creative Arts are an important part of Edinburgh Academy life and pupils are encouraged to take part from Junior School and beyond. Most pupils learn a musical instrument and are members of the various choirs, orchestras, bands and ensembles. All Junior School pupils take part in an annual drama production while the Senior School produces extremely high-quality performances at regular intervals throughout the year.
In Art, a large number of pupils take the A Level and the success rate for being accepted into Art College is very high. A number of students join the Academy each year with their primary objective being to study Fine Art. This is complemented in Design and Technology where there is a fully furnished Jewellery Studio. At the end of each year there is a major exhibition in these subjects where pupils’ work is displayed and sold.
Extracurricular. The Academy recognises that significant learning takes place outside the formal classroom and believes in a balance between academic and co-curricular activities; offering a wide range of opportunities to participate and represent the Academy in sport, music and a variety of expressive and creative arts.
There is an extremely broad range of co-curricular activities available including Debating, Photography, Computing, Model United Nations, Modern Languages, Jazz, Politics, Scripture Union, Film Club, Chess, Pipes and Drums, Public Speaking, Eco Group, Diversity Group, Gender Equality Group, Media Group, Sailing, Cross Country, Climbing, Football and many, many more.
Combined Cadet Force and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. All pupils over the age of 14 must participate in either the CCF (Army, RAF or Pipe Band sections) or The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme for a period of three terms after which further participation is voluntary. The CCF sections offer training in field craft, flying, weapons handling, orienteering, drill and first aid and affords young people the opportunity to develop their leadership potential.
Fees per annum (2024-2025). Nursery: £3,385–£14,680. Junior School (P1–P6): £10,870–£13,284, Senior School (P7–7ths/S6): £14,321–£17,541. For further details about the financial package available please contact Accounts on 0131 624 4916.
Scholarships and bursaries. Means-tested bursaries of up to 100% of fees are offered to pupils who are most able to benefit from an Edinburgh Academy education; irrespective of financial means. These are generally available to Senior School pupils.
A number of scholarships (age 11+) are offered to candidates of very high ability either academically or in Art, Music or Sport. Examinations and assessments are held in January.
Admissions. The majority of new pupils join at the beginning of the autumn term in late August though some also join during the session. Other than for Nursery, all candidates for admission to the Edinburgh Academy must be assessed by the School and assessment days are held in November (Junior School P2–6) and January (P1 and Senior School). The Academy is always delighted to welcome families outwith this time. Initial enquiries should be made to the Admissions Registrar: Tel: 0131 624 4987; email: admissions@edinburghacademy.org.uk. Edinburgh Academical Club. There is a strong alumni community and the Club works hard to remain in contact with former pupils all over the world. They host events each year, both from a social and career perspective, and have established a career mentoring and internship service to help former pupils. Contact: Tel: 0131 624 4958, email: accies@edinburghacademy.org.uk. Charitable status. The Edinburgh Academy is a Registered Charity, number SC016999. It exists for the advancement of education and the contribution to the educational life of Scotland in its widest sense.