Leavers' Destinations

97% of our Sixth Form students gain admission to their firm choice university

Of those who went on to university last year, 24% are attending English universities, while 70% are attending Scottish universities. In addition, we have Former Pupils studying in the USA and Ireland, as well as at Further Education colleges, and doing apprenticeships. Significant numbers attend Russell Group universities, including Oxbridge.

These numbers compare favourably with the 67% of school leavers going on to Higher or Further Education from all Scottish schools. Some of our students also take a Gap Year before applying to university.

The courses our students have opted for are wide-ranging, including Politics and International Relations, Art, Law, Archaeology, Medicine, Theatre Performance, Engineering, Product Design, Business, Zoology and Theoretical Physics. 

A full list of Leaver Destinations and Subject Choices for our 2020/21 Sixth Form can be found below:

"I felt so lucky when going through the application process at MES as I was supported by members from all parts of the school community in so many ways. It truly feels like a second family as everyone genuinely wants to help you succeed. Then when I started the drafting process during term time, my teachers (from all different subject areas) and my sixth form tutor very generously shared their experiences with me and helped me reach the best draft of my personal statement possible. Once I had sent off my statement, the school went above and beyond to help me prepare for interviews. I had two initial interviews – one with members of the Edinburgh Business community and another with a specialist careers agency – and these greatly improved my confidence during interviews. Looking back on the interviews, I realise that these tricky questions allowed me to practice the ‘thinking on my feet’ and lateral thinking patterns interview tutors looked for in the actual interviews. I’m really grateful for getting to practice such crucial skills at school. I also requested an additional few interviews through the school, which my UCAS coordinator helped me arrange. The first one was with one of the school’s legal contacts, which I found to be hugely helpful as he gave new angles on some of the legal academia I had mentioned in my personal statement. The discussion was fascinating and incredibly useful and ensured that I had a more sophisticated answer if asked about some of the more controversial human rights cases I had mentioned. All in all, I felt the school had my back throughout the whole process, and I am so glad that it all paid off!"

 Asirini P was a 2021/22 leaver who is currently studying Law at Oxford. 

The success of our pupils also continued further down the school with excellent results for both Higher and National 5 exams too.  

2023 Exam Results 

We are very proud of our exam results across the ESMS family of schools and believe they demonstrate the commitment and hard work of both our teachers and our students.

The Mary Erskine School

Stewart's Melville College