62PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDY THOMAS AT CALCOT PHOTOGRAPHY62 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.comFETTES COLLEGE
Carrington Road, Edinburgh
EH4 1QX
Website fettes.com Head Helen
Harrison, MA, since June 2019;
previously Deputy Head Pupils 558.
Day: 96 boys, 81 girls; boarding: 192
boys, 189 girls Ages 13–18 Te r m
Fees Day: £9,400; boarding:
£11,600 Oxbridge Occasional
Registration Early registration
recommended; £100 fee Admission
CE or school’s own exam, interview
and previous school’s report Alumni
Tony Blair, economist Angus
Deaton, author Elizabeth Macneal
PREP Head Adam Edwards
Pupils 210 day and boarding: 101
boys, 109 girls Ages 7–13 Term Fees
Day: £5,500; boarding £8,070It may be in the heart of Edinburgh
but, with its baronial building
rising from a 90-acre wooded cam-
pus, Fettes feels very rural. Milly
the spaniel and other four-legged
friends add to the illusion, as does
a roster of outdoor activities from
skiing to horse riding. Fettes’
strong community thrives on good
will and solid connections – onestellar example being its ‘Lifting
the Lid’ events, where parents and
alumni offer Oxbridge interview
advice, internship opportunities
and informal ‘let’s-grab-a-coffee’
career chats. New Head Helen
Harrison, who is the first female
Head in the school’s 150-year his-
tory, has the thumbs up from
parents and pupils and she willpersonally review every upper sixth
pupil’s UCAS form. A considerable
number of students go on to
Oxbridge; 49 per cent went to
Russell Group institutions in 2018;
and an increasing number are
choosing US universities thanks to
Fettes’ broad curriculum and global
outlook. Drama opportunities here
would make RADA blush (Cabaret
was one of four productions last
year), but you’ll find the true essence
of Fettes on the sports field, where
camaraderie reigns supreme. With
cricket nets and a shooting range
among the sports facilities, no one
wants to skip games here. Adding
another string to the school’s bow,
Fettes Guangzhou is set to open in
China in 2020.GIGGLESWICK
SCHOOL
Settle, North Yorkshire
BD24 0DE
Website giggleswick.org.uk
Head Mark Turnbull, MA, since
2014; previously Deputy Head of
Eastbourne College Pupils 350.
Day: 73 boys, 62 girls; boarding
116 boys, 99 girls Ages 11–18
Term Fees Day: £7,200; boarding:
£11,500 Oxbridge 2%
Registration No deadline; £150 fee
Admission School’s own exam,
interview and previous school’s
report Alumni John Flint, soprano
Sarah Fox, presenter Richard Whiteley
PREP Head James Mundell
Pupils 96 day and boarding: 47
boys, 49 girls Ages 2–11
Term Fees £7,400
Whether it’s the ‘down to earth
feel of the place’, its bucolic village
setting with sweeping views over
the Yorkshire Dales, or the 80 extra
activities on offer every week, it
doesn’t take long to fall in love
with Giggleswick. Both parents
and students hold authoritative yet
approachable Head Mark Turnbull
in high esteem: he has dedicated
himself to taking academic results
to the next level (this non-selective
school is already punching well
above its weight). There’s something
for everyone in the sixth form with
students given the choice between
the A-level programme (alongsideFETTES COLLEGEPUBLICNo r t h &Scotland10-19-Schools-Guide-PublicNorthScotland.indd 62 14/08/2019 23:58