Frequently Asked Questions about Admissions

Applications can be made throughout the year, however, to guarantee a place for the next academic year, an application should be made in the Autumn term.

Applicants can join a year group at any time of the year subject to spaces being available.

Our main intake is for P1 and S1 (Lower 4) and applications are welcomed in the Autumn term prior to entry.

Places are offered to those applying for our main intake years on a date in February agreed with other Edinburgh Independent schools. For those applying to other year groups, an offer of a place will be sent out to successful applicants after entrance assessments and completion of our admissions process.

We encourage applicants to fill out our application form to ensure a place on our list of registered applicants. This is particularly important when a Year group has limited capacity.

Yes. Visits outside the Open Days can be arranged through our Admissions Department. Please contact admissions@stge.org.uk or call 0131 311 8008.

Yes, International students form an important part of the St George's community, and we welcome girls from all over the world in all year groups. They bring with them a diverse range of cultures, which greatly enhances the overall culture of the school.

Yes, we offer a variety of boarding options, from 3 or 4 night boarding, Ad-hoc boarding aswell as full time boarding depending on family requirements.

Yes, we can offer sponsored child student visas for full time boarding students. We require all visa applications to be made with Newland Chase Education, a firm of immigration specialists. An additional cost will be incurred for this service.

Yes. All international students with parents who live overseas require a UK resident guardian who lives in the local area. The guardian acts on behalf of parents in the UK, looking after students during half term and weekend holidays. We must be able to contact the guardian in an emergency.

Entrance Assessments

Entrance assessments for all year groups usually take place at St George's during a normal school day.

What if I have applied to more than one school?

Edinburgh independent schools have an agreed date for issuing offers for P1 and S1 entry and operate a common deadline for the acceptance of all applications. This means that you should not feel under pressure to accept or decline any offer before the deadline, even if your child has been made an offer from more than one school. The schools understand that you may want to take time to make a final decision about which is the right school for your child and respect your right to do so. 

For prospective P1 applicants this is a play session where staff observe the children in a play situation. Prospective S1 applicants will have assessments papers in Mathematics, English and Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. All other year groups will be invited in for an age appropriate Entrance Assessment at a pre-arranged time during a normal school day.

No special preparation is needed for our assessments.

Yes an assessment can take place remotely. We can send out entrance papers to be administered in the applicant's current school or at home or a virtual call can be arranged for applicants to our younger year groups when no formal assessment is required.

What if I have applied to more than one school?

Edinburgh independent schools have an agreed date for issuing offers for P1 and S1 entry and operate a common deadline for the acceptance of all applications. This means that you should not feel under pressure to accept or decline any offer before the deadline, even if your child has been made an offer from more than one school. The schools understand that you may want to take time to make a final decision about which is the right school for your child and respect your right to do so. 

Fees

The School provides means-tested bursary support towards the cost of tuition fees and not scholarships.

St George’s seeks to be accessible to students from a wide range of social, economic and cultural backgrounds. A limited number of means-tested bursaries are available for up to 100% of school fees.

Yes. Where three or more sisters are pupils at the same time, the third and subsequent sisters will receive a discount of one-third of tuition fees.

A discount scheme is also available with brothers at Merchiston.

Please note that the third child discount does not apply to Nursery.

Yes. We can accept payment for nursery fees, afterschool care and holiday club by childcare vouchers.

Yes. St George’s seeks to be accessible to students from a wide range of social, economic and cultural backgrounds. A limited number of means-tested bursaries are available for up to 100% of school fees.

Applications for bursaries need to be submitted early January for the following academic year of entry. Applications at other times of year will be considered if funds allow.

School

Nursery hours

8:30am until 12noon for morning half day session

8:30am until 3:00pm for full day session

Junior School hours

Primary 1 and Primary 2 - 8.30am until 3.00pm

Primary 3, Primary 4 and Primary 5 - 8.30am until 3.10pm

Lower School & Upper School hours

8:40am until 3:50pm

St George’s School provides a coherent all-through academic curriculum from Nursery to Sixth Form. The curriculum is broad and balanced, incorporating language, mathematical, scientific, technological, physical, social, religious and moral, and expressive education. It is based upon a ‘Best of British’ approach with the Curriculum for Excellence, Key Stage 3, GCSE and SQA (Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers) qualifications forming elements of the outlined curriculum structure.

Class sizes can vary throughout the school, but we aim to maintain small class sizes and there would never be more than 20 students per class.

Liaison between class teachers and parents is of paramount importance in creating a coherent and planned approach for children who may require additional support and challenge. Our Faculty of Support for Learning is a whole school resource responsible for the support of students from nursery to Upper Six (S6) in five key areas: additional support needs, English as a second language (ESOL), academic mentoring, gifted & talented and access arrangements in examinations. This broad role allows us to support students with specific learning difficulties, general academic difficulties and those who require general academic guidance. 

Our ESOL department supports pupils who speak English as an additional language. They support the work students do in their various subjects, and prepare students for international ESOL examinations such as PET, FCE and IELTS. Classes take place on a one-to-one basis or in small groups. The department operates a flexible timetable that fits around the students’ timetable and other subjects.

In Junior School, the use of mobile phones and smart watches is not permitted.

In Lower School, students are not allowed to use mobile phones or smart watches during school. They must be switched off when they arrive in school, put in their lockable locker (or given to Primary 6 teacher if they are in Primary 6) and they must not be switched on again until 3.50pm.

In Upper School mobile phones are accessible during the school day to access timetable details and on occasion to support learning, but their use must fall within the school IT policies.

Yes. We offer wraparound care before and after school for children from nursery upwards.

  • Breakfast Club is open daily to all children from 7.45am – 8.30am.
  • After School Care is available for ante preschool and preschool children at Nursery+.
  • After School Care for children is available from Primary 1 to Lower 4 (S1) by the St George’s + staff.
  • Children may stay until 6.00pm. Tea is also available daily from 4.30pm at an additional cost.

Yes, we run our Holiday Club for all nursery children and opens at 8.00am and closes at 5.00pm, Monday – Friday. This runs during all school holiday periods apart from Christmas, Good Friday, Easter Monday and staff in-services days (the last three days of the summer holidays and one day at May half-term.

There are a huge variety of clubs and activities on offer for our students. Before each term starts, a schedule of all the clubs and activities is published to families. Families and students are required to sign up to clubs using SOCS.

Yes. We currently have five morning bus routes, and three in the afternoon. We also provide a free shuttle bus service to and from Haymarket Train Station.

We look at our bus routes each year and subject to demand we are happy to investigate new routes. 

Yes. Lunch is provided each day, in the St George’s Centre, with a wide range of fresh and healthy foods to choose from.

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