Kilgraston School A GSG School

Other features

All-through school (for example 3-18 years). - An all-through school covers junior and senior education. It may start at 3 or 4, or later, and continue through to 16 or 18. Some all-through schools set exams at 11 or 13 that pupils must pass to move on.

Sports

Polo

Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.

What The Good Schools Guide says

Headmistress

Since 2022, Tanya Davie, previously academic deputy head at St Bede’s College where she also held posts as head of maths and PE. She has worked at a number of all-girls schools including St Margaret’s School, Edinburgh, and North Manchester High School for Girls. She is a former head of department at the Royal High School, Edinburgh where she was seconded by Strathclyde University to develop and implement the first PGCE PE course in Scotland. She has also worked closely with Manchester City Football Academy, heading up the club’s education provision for their elite performers aged 11 to 16. Married to Deno, with whom she has a daughter in her second year at university in Scotland and a son in secondary education.

Entrance

No entrance exam but head meets every girl and her parents to make sure that they’re offering the right style of education. There’s also a taster day, and a report and reference are requested from the previous school before an offer is made.

Exit

Nearly half of sixth formers head off to Russell Group. Most to Scottish universities – a quarter to St Andrews, with Glasgow also very sought after. Others to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. STEM subjects most popular. Occasional students overseas (most recently to Hong Kong) and to Oxbridge.

Latest results

In 2023, 94 per cent A-C at National 5; 92 per cent A-C at Higher, and 88 per cent A-C at Advanced Higher.

Teaching and learning

‘Best results in over 10 years,’ said school (though this was true for many schools in 2021). ‘Hugely accessible teachers. Teaching staff have been incredibly good, really do know them,’ a parent told us. Subjects typical of the Scottish system, plus environmental science at National level, and psychology at Higher. One parent was a bit disappointed about subject choices: ‘It’s a small school so limited number of subjects for Higher and Advanced Higher.’ She continued: ‘On the other hand, they move heaven and earth to let the girls do what they want to do, adjusting the timetable to suit.’

Sciences are the most popular subject choices, double the national average, followed by languages and English. Impressively, one of the girls on our tour told us she was heading off to study aeronautical engineering at Glasgow. A parent told us, ‘A big push for STEM – girl power, emancipation and all that!’ The science department has its own separate snazzy centre, a new(ish) build from 2014. Utilised by the junior school too, which also runs the extracurricular science club here.

French and Spanish both on offer, with all choosing a minimum of one language to Nat 5 and 65 per cent at Higher when Latin is also available. German got dropped recently – sadly, we are seeing this more often as the subject seems to have fallen from grace among pupils. A few parental grumbles about this, but the head of languages, a native French-speaker, told us that she aspires to a dedicated language lab and to introduce Italian to the curriculum (watch this space). ‘The girls’ accents are phenomenal,’ says a parent. Long-standing exchange programme through the Sacred Heart network, but this is on pause for the moment.

In a Nat 5 English class, the bubbly teacher in pink, with fairy lights adorning her desk, embraces interactive teaching and initiates Of Mice and Men bingo. With the winner set to win the coveted prize of a packet of Percy Pig sweets, you could hear a pin drop. Meanwhile in Nat 4 maths (an option for those struggling at Nat 5 level), we saw lots of individual, personal support by the head of department (rated highly by parents) to a group of four girls. ‘She is absolutely brilliant – honestly think they would never have done as well at another school,’ said a parent. Maths surgeries also run on Tuesdays and Thursdays for after-school support. Small class sizes of 10 to 15 average for English and maths. Juniors have specialist teachers in art, music, science, modern languages and sport.

School keen ‘to instil greater ambition in the girls, to think of themselves as entrepreneurs’. As recent winners in the regional final of the Young Enterprise Programme, these girls are not resting on their laurels. Their Women in Business initiative also sees a series of successful businesswomen come in to share their experiences.

Learning support and SEN

Around one-third of pupils on SEN register, above the national average, following a bespoke timetable. Support for learning head is a full-time primary specialist, part-time senior specialist for English, part-time maths and science specialist and a dyslexia specialist.

A parent told us of her child, ‘It has been a joy to see her come out of her shell. She blew the teachers out of the water with her progress.’ She continued, ‘There’s no stigma in the department. If a kid misses English, they’ll do English at learning support. They don’t miss out.’

The arts and extracurricular

We drew a breath when entering the art department, with its stunning corniced ceiling, Doric columns and circular balustrade, with views to school life below. The department was bustling with Nat 5 students working on their inspirational photos and other busy sewing bees in the textiles room, who were creating colourful head-and-shoulder pieces. A piece of wearable art inspired by Covid also caught our eye. A level art has been recently dropped in favour of the Scottish Advanced Higher.

Music for everyone, with a clear ambition for every girl to play two instruments. Everyone in junior school is in junior choir, who were the proud winners at a recent Performing Perth Arts Festival. With no live performances at the school due to restrictions, we watched one of the magical annual pre-Covid Christmas concerts at Perth Concert Hall. Determined not to drop the Christmas concert baton during the pandemic, the head of music worked his socks off to put on a digital performance in the school car park as a drive-through for parents and pupils, in three separate sittings. Instrumental and vocal lessons, plus ensembles, orchestras and choirs for all ages and stages, and a jazz group and trad music clubs for fiddle, pipes and drums.

Drama up to Advanced Higher, and a senior drama club, junior musicals club and LAMDA lessons (at an extra charge). Annual show this year is a digital production of The Little Mermaid by the junior school. On our tour, one of the guides was dragged into the recording studio to bravely record her rendition of Kiss the Girl to add audio to the visuals. The senior school is putting on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Pupils not stuck for choice with masses of extracurricular activities, with more unusual offerings including a botanical society, the moral and ethical society and an opera appreciation club.

Sport

The dream of many a horse-loving little girl, this is Scotland’s only school that has an equestrian centre, hosting the Scottish championships for dressage, showjumping and cross-country. They currently house around 20 horses and have space for girls to bring their own. Riding lessons are charged separately.

‘Who Doesn’t Love PE?’ they post on their Twitter feed. Lazy teenagers be warned, there’s no rest for the wicked here. But with over 50 activities a week, there should be something for even the most reluctant. ‘So many things you can do – good all-round, that’s the draw,’ said a parent.

With three Astro pitches, a 25-metre pool and acres of land, girls can compete in inter-house hockey, tennis, netball and athletics. Hockey is a big deal, with some participating in the premiership of the Scottish Hockey ladies’ leagues. PE from National level to Advanced Higher, with options ranging from Zumba to yoga, Scottish country dancing and skiing. Clubs for oodles of sports including climbing, dinghy sailing, ballet (some free, some with an extra charge).

Boarders

‘Boarding mistress took great care of them. The school provided everything they needed – a home away from home,’ a parent told us. Numbers, however, have been hit by the pandemic and travel restrictions – currently around 50 boarders, plus another 10/15 flexis. ‘Normally more international boarders would make up numbers,’ says school – indeed they normally hail from Germany, Spain, Mexico, France, Monaco, Nigeria, Turkey, Sweden, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and more, with a limit of no more than five from one country to encourage English speaking. Offers full-time, weekly and flexi-boarding, with flexi becoming more popular, but majority there on a Saturday night. A parent told us of her daughter, ‘She had a fantastic time in boarding and made excellent friends, so much so that when she came home [to her mother country], she came with two other students from Kilgraston.’

Typical weekend consists of sport (matches) every Saturday morning, followed by a city trip each weekend or smaller activities led by the boarding staff. Chapel on a Sunday and homework in the evening and some chill-out time. During the week, girls are kept busy in the evenings with extracurricular activities and riding. Facetime/Zoom calls home weekly. No mobiles in school policy, but boarders are given phones in evening if need to phone home and they are allowed them at weekends.

Junior boarders (all girls) aged 8–12 have shared dorms, with dividers to give them their own space, from age 8. The majority are senior boarders, aged 13 and above, all of whom have their own rooms with shared bathrooms (though there are lots of them). Sixth formers are in Barat or Swinton and have their own kitchen and common room.

Ethos and heritage

Founded in 1930, Kilgraston is set in idyllic countryside in Perthshire and makes the most of all its benefits through its wide programme of activities. The stunning Palladian-style mansion, with its sweeping stairway and stunning upper entrance hall, may give an impression of grandeur but there’s no evidence of any Scarlett O’Haras here. ‘We’re not soft and fluffy,’ says school. Indeed, the pupils we met were quietly confident and self-assured without the overt outspokenness we sometimes see. Hearty though – the upper 6s recently embraced dawn swimming in the sea at St Andrews – and not a wetsuit in sight! Parents love the family feel of the school and praise the sense of self and self-esteem that the girls have – ‘a balanced approach to being female,’ said one. ‘They feel nurtured and are secure in who they are.’

The junior school now educates a few boys although we felt they looked a little out of place. However, a parent assured us that her son ‘gets on with everybody. Such amazing grounds, they play football at lunch and swing from the trees.’ School says, ‘Kilgraston senior school and sixth form will remain as girls-only but recruitment into the co-ed junior school is strong and an ongoing priority.’ The junior school is situated in a brilliantly converted stable block with a glazed central atrium for assemblies, homework clubs and socials with Merchiston boys. Embracing Forest School principles, younger pupils make the most of the acres of surrounding land.

Part of 200-strong network of Sacred Heart schools and colleges, this is a Catholic school with its own large chapel. But pupils of all or no faiths are also embraced – in fact, a pupil told us, ‘The majority are not Catholic. We think about community rather than religion.’ But as a faith school, naturally myriad charitable endeavours. The latest fundraising event saw the whole school line-dancing to Cotton-Eyed Joe on the lawn.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

You may be surprised to hear that BFGs roam the corridors of Kilgraston. Alas, there are no big, friendly giants, but instead ‘big, friendly girls’, in the form of upper 6s (all child-protection trained) who provide a buddy system and act as big sisters to the younger children. Formal pastoral care support is provided through form tutors and year heads, with boarders receiving extra support from the boarding mistress. Tutor meetings every Tuesday and a counsellor is also available. But it’s the house system that forms the real heart of the pastoral provision, with house meetings or year group meetings every Friday morning. ‘My children live and breathe Kilgraston, the houses are a major thing for them and very proud to be a part of them,’ said a parent. Parents also applaud the school for pulling out all the stops during the pandemic, including ensuring the final year was still special for the uppers 6s. ‘My U6 still managed to have a great time. Her sixth-year teacher was like a surrogate social partner.’ Interaction with the opposite sex through socials with the boys at Merchiston – though they get their pick of the girls from St George’s too.

Regular PHSE sessions and social studies in the sixth form cover age-relevant hot topics such as Everyone’s Invited, drug awareness and how to handle unwanted attention out of school. Another big school concern is the sexualisation of women in social media (the head recently featured in the Spectator on this topic). Hence, girls’ phones must be kept in lockers during the day. Some of the girls are youth ambassadors for the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre in Perth and Kinross.

No-nonsense approach to bullying. Try to nip it in the bud early. A parent confided in us saying, ‘It was picked up immediately and they had an open discussion about other words that could have been used. Delighted to hear it was dealt with calmly and without shame.’

Pupils and parents

High praise from parents for communications between home and school, with all tutors phoning girls individually during lockdown. Teachers and the head are ‘responsive to any concerns’, added a parent, although one felt there could have been more information about the decision to go co-ed in junior school (head says, ‘parents were informed by letter before the boys were introduced’). No PTA but there is a boarding committee. Overall, parents are a mixed cohort from different backgrounds – ‘not all farmers,’ joked one parent; ‘diverse, I never felt out of place,’ reported another.

Money matters

Up to 10 academic, art and music scholarships. Also riding, tennis and sporting scholarships. Almost a quarter receive assistance by bursaries.

The last word

Girls’ boarding school (with a few boys in junior school) adhering to the Scottish education system, as well as the only Scottish school with CReSTeD status and its own equestrian centre. A non-pressurised environment dedicated to promoting the advancement of women, particularly in STEM and science, they turn out confident, self-assured young women with good results, achieved in a relaxed, sporty, happy and not overtly religious atmosphere.

Special Education Needs

SEN provision at Kilgraston concentrates on meeting the needs of pupils with specific learning difficulties and includes individual lessons, class support and parent/teacher consultations. The Learning Support Department is situated within the Learning Resources Centre and is open until 6.30 p.m.

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