Scholarships

Scholarships can be awarded to pupils from S1

Scholarships are non-means tested awards made to children by the school and held in trust for them until they leave school.

Scholarships

Scholarships can be awarded to children entering S1 upwards. They are awarded as a result of a competitive scholarship selection process. Scholarships are not means tested or used to subsidise fees, but rather are awarded and then held in trust for pupils until they complete their sixth year. This creates a sum of money that can then be used to provide benefit in the future, such as contributing towards the costs of higher education.

Academic Scholarships

Academic Scholarships worth up to £1,250 a year are offered to boys and girls applying to enter S1 of our Senior Schools. They may be either from our own Junior School or other primary schools. They are awarded as the result of a competitive scholarship selection process, which takes place at the start of each calendar year.

  • Merchant Company Scholarships - £300 a year. Available to boys and girls applying to enter S1 in either of our senior schools.
  • ​The Cunningham Scholarship - £1,250 a year. The top scholarship awarded to a boy entering S1 of Stewart's Melville College
  • ​The Mackay Scholarship - £1,250 a year. The top scholarship awarded to a girl entering S1 of The Mary Erskine School

How academic scholarships are awarded

Parents and pupils do not apply for a scholarship. If your child demonstrates academic excellence in their entrance exam, we will invite them to sit a scholarship exam, held very shortly afterwards. Scholarships are awarded to candidates who perform especially well in the scholarship examination.

Music Scholarships

Music Scholarships of £300 a year are offered together with free music tuition. They are made to girls and boys from S1 onwards, whether they are already in our schools or have been offered a place. They are awarded on the same basis as academic scholarships.

Music Tuition Awards

Music tuition awards may also be offered to pupils from Primary 6 onwards, to cover the cost of instrumental tuition fees. They are made on the basis of assessments conducted by our Music Department.

Financial assistance can also be sought through the Pupils' Fund 

The schools are able to support a number of children through the resources of the Pupils’ Fund which provides grants to help pupils participate in extra-curricular trips and excursions at home or abroad. 

For more information on bursaries, scholarships and the Pupils' Fund, please contact the School Bursar on 0131 347 5750.