The Mary Erskine School

Independent Day and Boarding School for girls aged 12 - 18 in Edinburgh

The Mary Erskine School is one of the oldest all girls' schools in the UK, formed in 1694 and based in Edinburgh, Scotland, with outstanding academic results and the opportunities for every girl to reach her full potential and become the best she can be.

Our school offers the Scottish curriculum and first class teaching and we strongly believe in our nine school values which lie at the heart of everything we do at The Mary Erskine School. The nine values - kindness, respect, commitment, enthusiasm, responsibility, grace, appreciation, confidence and integrity - are recognised and followed by all members of the school community and, as a result, we are confident that our girls will grow up to be, in simple terms, good people who will make a positive difference to the world in which they will live and work.

An outstanding school: happy pupils, happy staff - focused on self-development with impressive results.

Good Schools Guide
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Life at The Mary Erskine School

Sport for Everyone

There are 68 teams in 19 different sports and last year nearly 90% of girls represented the school in one or more sports

Room to Grow

Incredible grounds and facilities including a dedicated performing arts centre, an 1100 square metre sports hall, floodlit astroturfs, a running track and 6 tennis courts

Fun Outside the Classroom

A wide-ranging programme of both curricular and extra-curricular day trips, overnight visits, camps, tours, cultural exchanges and expeditions, including this Physics trip to Florida

Part of the ESMS Family of Schools

All of the benefits of single sex education but closely twinned with Stewart's Melville College for boys through our shared House system and co-educational trips, shows and more

Outdoor Education

Children are offered a range of opportunities to be challenged and learn new skills through outdoor education

Single-sex but closely twinned with Stewart's Melville College

Your daughter will benefit from all of the advantages of single-sex education but, as part of the ESMS family of schools, the school is closely twinned with Stewart's Melville College through:

a shared House system
co-education for many activities, including trips, shows, concerts, orchestras, bands, societies and a wide variety of clubs

We also offer a co-educational Sixth Form which provides a genuine pre-University experience to prepare your daughter for University and for life.

School Coach Service and Boarding

For those girls who live further away from school, we offer a daily coach service across Edinburgh, the Lothians, and Fife and also offer Boarding facilities in our family-style boarding house. With a total capacity of 30, Dean Park House provides a comfortable, close-knit and happy home from home for children from Primary 6 to Sixth Form. Our co-educational boarding arrangements create better opportunities for social interaction, strong academic support and a consistent and supportive ethos for all our boarders. Find out more about Boarding at ESMS here.

Opportunities at The Mary Erskine School

At The Mary Erskine School we can offer your daughter extraordinary opportunities. Girls from the school have formed The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo choir, represented the United Kingdom in the European Youth Parliament on four occasions, performed in professional West End touring shows, gone on incredible trips to diverse locations including Malawi, Vietnam, New Zealand and China and represented their school and country in sports from hockey to fencing and from cricket to equestrianism.

Find out more about life at school below or click here for Admissions information.

Take a Tour of our School

Click here to enjoy our 360° Virtual Tour of The Mary Erskine School which will give you a feel for the classrooms, state-of-the-art facilities and extensive playing fields at our leafy Ravelston site.

" I think that learning in a girls school made a real difference for me. Crucially, the environment helped to build my confidence."

Heather Barr, Former MES Pupil