Stewart's Melville College A GSG School
- Stewart's Melville College
Queensferry Road
Edinburgh
EH4 3EZ - Head: Mrs Frances McCrudden
- T 0131 311 1000
- F 01313 111099
- E [email protected]
- W www.esms.org.uk
- An independent school for boys aged from 12 to 18.
- Boarding: No
- Local authority: Edinburgh
- Pupils: 787; sixth formers: 123 (co-ed sixth form with the Mary Erskine School)
- Religion: Non-denominational
- Fees: £19,478 pa (last updated on 17/01/2025)
- Open days: September
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Linked schools: ESMS Junior School, The Mary Erskine School
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Stewart’s Melville don’t just do sport, they live it. There are 61 coaches producing strong performances in rugby (our tour guide was about to represent the school in the Scottish school finals), hockey, swimming, basketball, football, badminton, cricket, rowing… you name it. Even the head takes a table tennis session. ‘Our academic child is pushed, our non-academic child is given loads of support and help,’ one parent told us – always a good sign. We too saw all abilities thriving, with lively teaching throughout and good relationships with staff. A group of sparky S2’s responded with a dramatic groan to a math’s teacher’s self-proclaimed ‘bobbydazzler’ of a worksheet – but they soon got stuck in. Another class were...
What the school says...
Stewart’s Melville College, located in the heart of Edinburgh, is more than just a top private school. Our students are inspired to dream big, set ambitious goals, and surpass their own expectations, no matter which path they choose. The education we offer is transformative, equipping students with the skills, confidence and mindset they need to thrive in today’s fast-paced world. From August 2026, we will become one co-educational school for 3–18-year-olds, called Erskine Stewart Melville. ...Read more
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What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2022, Frances McCrudden BA PGCE. Studied economics at Strathclyde, followed by a year volunteering in Thailand ‘way before it was a tourist destination’. After a brief spell working as an analyst, she realised her calling and completed a PGCE at Glasgow to teach business and economics. She rose quickly through the ranks at two schools in Surrey, returning to Scotland in 2006, where she married her childhood sweetheart and got the job as head of business studies, then head of careers (‘I’m a natural networker’) and, finally, director of sixth form at Mary Erskine before moving here.
The first female head of the all-male Stewart’s Melville, but regards this as a ‘non-issue’: ‘I don’t really think gender comes into it, the important thing is to take everybody with...
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Special Education Needs
We offer support for learning, both in class and in small extracted groups. In the first year some pupils are given the option to do one modern language instead of two, allowing support to be delivered instead. Further up the school, some pupils will continue to follow a reduced timetable depending on their needs.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Might cover/be referred to as;
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), PDA , Social skills, Sensory processing disorder |
Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Hearing Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment |
Y |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Learning needs, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty |
|
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, Sensory processing |
|
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic , OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, Tics, Tourettes |
Y |
| PD - Physical Disability
Might cover/be referred to as;
PD - Physical Disability |
Y |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty |
|
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Might cover/be referred to as;
Anxiety , Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, Trauma |
Y |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication
Might cover/be referred to as;
DLD - Developmental Language Disorder, Selective mutism, SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication |
|
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
Complex needs, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, Cerebral Palsy (CP) |
|
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty
Might cover/be referred to as;
ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Auditory Processing, DCD, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting, Other specific learning difficulty, SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) |
Y |
| VI - Visual Impairment
Might cover/be referred to as;
Special facilities for Visually Impaired, VI - Visual Impairment |
Y |
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Compass School | 2024 | 2 |
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