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Reviewed

St George's School (Edinburgh)

Independent school · Edinburgh, EH12 6BG
  • All through
  • Girls
  • Ages 3-18
  • From £13,839 pa
  • 600 pupils
  • Boarding
We've reviewed this school • Unlock to access

If you want to gift your daughter unfettered ambition, you couldn’t do better than St George’s. Beautiful calming campus, committed staff and charming and confident students. You go girls!

Why read our school review?

Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.

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Overview & data

Pupil numbers
600 ·
Sixth form numbers
170 ·
Offers boarding
Yes ·
Religion
Non-denom
Fees
Day £13,839 - £22,692; Boarding £37,926 - £46,533 pa
Local authority
The City of Edinburgh Council

Headteacher

Head

Mrs Carol Chandler-Thompson

Since 2022, Carol Chandler-Thompson, previously head of Blackheath High School (GDST) for eight years. Studied history, followed by a PGCE at University of Exeter. An experienced head, particularly in girls’ education, with 25 years working in


Entrance

Entrance into the mixed nursery (age 3 to 5) via 'a play and meet the family’ session. Boys can stay up to end of P3 (usually younger brothers or teachers’ children). Junior school, up to P4, via a taster day, activities in class and ‘meet the

Open days
September and October

Exit

About 70 per cent move up from nursery to junior school; 95 per cent from junior to senior school. Vast majority stay on for Highers and Advanced Highers. Over 95 per cent of sixth formers go to university – Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow, Durham,


Latest results

In 2024, 39 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 84 per cent A/B for Highers; 75 per cent A/B for Advanced Highers.


Teaching & learning

Learning through play is the motto in the charming nursery. Early literacy and numeracy gently introduced, with oodles of outside opportunities in leafy spaces around the school grounds including the ‘Fantastical Forest’. We loved that the teachers

17:1
Pupil to teacher ratio
12-16
Average class sizes

Learning support & SEN

There are six part-time Support for Learning teachers (equating to four full-timers), with a specialist in each section of the school: junior, lower (10-13) and upper. Includes two dedicated ESOL specialists. School is well-known for the quality of


Arts & extracurricular

Music begins in nursery with a dedicated teacher, and there are 27 peris across the school teaching individual lessons in both singing and instruments ranging from tuba to piano. Loads of orchestras, choirs and masses of concerts from informal


Sport

‘During the winter we order over 200 bacon rolls on a Saturday, so we know that’s how many girls are taking part in weekend fixtures,’ said the head of PE. We like the cut of your jib, St George’s and being famous for your bacon butties is no mean


Boarders

Think of a classic boarding school and St George’s wouldn’t be the first spring to mind. ‘A day school with boarding’ is how the school describes it – and with just 30-50 boarders, it’s certainly not a huge part of their offering. Full, termly,

40
Total boarders
30
Full time boarders
5
Weekly boarders
5
Flexi boarders

Ethos & heritage

St George’s High School for Girls was founded in 1888 by a group of women led by the redoubtable Scottish campaigner and champion of women’s rights, Dame Sarah Mair. Their aim was to provide education to women previously denied the opportunity,


Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline

One of the big pastoral pluses of St George’s is its size. ‘Every child is known’ really applies, parents told us. Heads of year track personal, social and academic progress of students. Team of tutors meet weekly to discuss concerns. Six school


Mobile phone policy

A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

Currently no phones in junior and lower school (up to 13 years). Senior school under review and likely to be no phones from next session. Sixth form may be able to use in their sixth form common room only.

Updated May 2024

Pupils & parents

Pupils and parents are a diverse mix of Scottish middle-class. Plenty of doctors, lawyers, farmers, museum heritage and creatives, plus international families. A whopping 28 different ‘home’ languages are spoken including Russian, French, Ukrainian

600
Number of pupils

Money matters

Limited number of means tested bursaries up to 100 per cent. Third child gets a third off fees (not applicable for nursery). Discount scheme for brothers at Merchiston. Textbooks, stationery, junior school day trips included in fees.

Fee information
Day £13,839 - £22,692; Boarding £37,926 - £46,533 pa

The last word

If you want to gift your daughter unfettered ambition, you couldn’t do better than St George’s. Beautiful calming campus, committed staff and charming and confident students. You go girls!


Inspection reports

What the school says

St George’s School is a highly regarded girls’ day and boarding school set in tranquil parkland in a popular residential area of Edinburgh. Established in 1888 by the pioneers of women’s education, the school is the only all-through independent school in Edinburgh for girls from 3 to 18 years. Our 'A Voice for Ambition' approach, embodied in the abundance of strong female role models, helps inspire every girl to find the right path. Exceptional STEM opportunities, personalised pathways and enrichment activities are all part of an empowering environment. Over 95 per cent of leavers regularly achieve first-choice university.

Contact the school

Address

Garscube Terrace
Murrayfield
Edinburgh
EH12 6BG
Get directions

Have you considered?

Reviewed

Fettes College

Independent school · Edinburgh, EH4 1QX ( miles)
  • All through
  • Co-ed
  • 7-18
  • From £23,850 pa
  • 751 pupils
  • Boarding
Photo of Fettes College
School data & information St George's School (Edinburgh) Garscube Terrace, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, EH12 6BG
600 Pupil numbers
170 Sixth form numbers
40 Total boarders
30 Full time boarders
5 Weekly boarders
5 Flexi boarders
12-16 Average class sizes
17:1 Pupil to teacher ratio

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

Currently no phones in junior and lower school (up to 13 years). Senior school under review and likely to be no phones from next session. Sixth form may be able to use in their sixth form common room only.

Updated May 2024
Our review contains additional results data reported to us by St George's School (Edinburgh) and is updated annually. See the review

We do not receive results data for this school. Find out more.

GCSE-level results data is not reliably reported on for independent schools. We have chosen to show only the results achieved in individual subjects. Find out more

Entry and exit data

Here we report figures on pupils moving between schools at the usual entry and exit points, as well as student destinations into higher education. We publish publically available data for state schools. For independent schools, The Good Schools Guide collects data from its prep schools as to where their pupils go on to. Find out more

Our review contains additional entry and exit data reported to us and is updated annually. See the review

Recent feeder schools

SEN overview

St George's School (Edinburgh) is a mainstream school. The school may provide support for students with special educational needs as detailed below. If you require more information on conditions the school can support, we encourage you to contact the school directly.

SEN statement

Provided by the school and not part of our review

Provision for additional support needs at St George's School for Girls is overseen by the Faculty of Support for Learning, which encompasses Additional Support Needs (Learning Support), ESOL, gifted and talented and student tracking. The Faculty of Support for Learning is a whole school resource which works with students from three years old to university entrance, upon the basis of their individual difficulties and requirements. The Learning Support department works with all areas of Support for Learning, but has a particular regard to individuals with special educational needs. The ESOL department works closely with students who have English as their second language and prepares students for appropriate examinations through Cambridge English Language Assessments and IELTS.

Identification of additional support needs is undertaken through the school's screening programme, combined with parental/student referral and contact with the teaching staff. Provision for students with identified needs, ranging from specific learning difficulties to ESOL, is undertaken through individual tuition, small group work and co-operative teaching in whole class situations. A drop-in service is also provided for students who do not require the provision outlined above, but who at times may require assistance with a specific area of work. The Learning Support department has experience of working with a range of specific learning difficulties, behavioural disorders, learning difficulties and difficulties on the autistic spectrum.

Updated Feb 2017

SEN conditons supported

Schools report the conditions they might be able to support. Please note, this may not be a complete list. Find out more.

Conditions (Might cover/be referred to as) Provision
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Social skills Yes
HI - Hearing Impairment
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty Learning needs
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment Sensory processing
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic, Tics, Tourettes
PD - Physical Disability
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Anxiety, Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication Selective mutism
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty Complex needs
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Auditory processing, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting Yes
VI - Visual Impairment Special facilities for Visually Impaired
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