In conjunction with the opening of the new Borders railway, Merchiston will be offering daily morning transport from Shawfair station. “Think about a boys’ world in which boys can be boys, but also boys, who in time, will be ambitious, aspirational, and sensitive, yet gentle, men! Envisage a wonderfully caring and nurturing family environment. What happens here is that boys learn to like learning more, whilst simultaneously having the time of their lives on our co-curricular programme.” Andrew Hunter, Headmaster For the past two years, Merchiston’s pupils have achieved the highest percentage of A* awards at A level in Scotland, and the School really does turn the ‘C student’ into a ‘B student’ and the ‘B student’ into an ‘A student’. Merchiston bucked this trend with another extremely robust set of results; placing Merchiston at the top of the A level league table in Scotland. These results maintain Merchiston’s exceptional performance at A level over a significant number of years, and demonstrate that our boys, as a cohort, are amongst the highest achieving boys in Scotland.

Merchiston has long had a tradition of sporting excellence and we pride ourselves in fostering the pursuit of excellence in a sport-for-all environment. There are over 20 sports on offer, 30 co-curricular activities as well as specialist tennis and golf academies. The School is currently represented at national and international level in many sports, including athletics, cricket and rugby.

Pupils also benefit from strong links with girls’ schools for drama and musical performances, other cultural events and social gatherings; interestingly, girls from our sister schools say that 'Merchi' boys make the best Scottish country dance partners!

The warmth with which Merchiston parents speak of the School is rather special.

‘In every respect – academic, sporting and pastoral – the School has exceeded our expectations, and continues to do so. In particular, the staff appear to have an almost magical ability to maximise the potential of every boy, irrespective of his natural talents. But above all, it is the Merchiston “end product” that impresses us year after year; the young men who leave the School for university each year are polite, confident gentlemen, whom any parent would be proud to call their son.’ Current Parent ‘A balanced curriculum, excellent pastoral care and a high A level pass rate make Merchiston one of the UK’s leading independent schools’ – www.ukboardingschools.com EVENT: Merchiston at Abbotsford House Ochiltrees, Melrose, TD6 9BQ on Friday 3 October 2014 Drinks Reception and Informal Presentation, 6.30pm rsvp@merchiston.co.uk 0131 312 2236