Tatler UK - 10.2019

6464 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.com

Visitors enjoy meeting these confi-

dent and accomplished girls who,

despite their abilities, are no show-

offs. Eco-consciousness has become

a way of life here with the recent

introduction of ‘Wear it again day’

in an effort to combat fast fashion

and a ban on single-use plastic.

Well done, Kilgraston.

THE KING’S SCHOOL

CHESTER 

Wrexham Road, Chester

CH4 7QL

Website kingschester.co.uk

Head George Hartley, MSc, since

2017; previously Head of Elizabeth

College, Guernsey

Pupils 731 day: 468 boys, 263 girls

Faith C of E Ages 11–18

Term Fees £4,590 Oxbridge 3%

Registration By January of year of

entry; £50 fee Admission School’s

own exam Alumni Founder of

moneysavingexpert.com Martin

Lewis, rower Tom James, journalist

Ben McLannahan

PREP Head Margaret Ainsworth

Pupils 366 day: 231 boys, 124 girls

Ages 4–11 Term Fees £3,520

Founded in 1541 by Henry VIII,

the King’s School is a ‘wow-factor’

top-performing co-ed where pupils

are ‘not embarrassed to want to try

hard’. The selection process (it’s

oversubscribed by around 25 per

cent) may play a role in the school’s

first-class reputation, but it’s mainly

down to ‘the children and staff

who work incredibly hard’, as one

parent stresses. Standards are chal-

lenging but fair, and there is an

arsenal of support because, in the

words of Head George Hartley,

‘a happy student is a successful

one’. To give a flavour of the

school’s academic muscle, it

topped the A-level results table for

northwest co-eds and 12 students

recently received Oxbridge offers.

The Cheshire, Shropshire and

North Wales catchment area serves

up a local community spirit and

regular sports fixtures, theatre pro-

ductions and 130 clubs (from Film

to Dot to Dot Com) encourage stu-

dents to stretch themselves. A

plush new sports centre recently

opened its doors, revealing yoga

studios, a fitness suite and ergo ma-

chines for the rowers. When asked

about King’s inspirational staff

members, numerous students cited

Chemistry teacher Dr Jones, who is

affectionately known as ‘Batman’.

LORETTO SCHOOL 

Linkfield Road, Musselburgh,

East Lothian EH21 7RE

Website loretto.com

Head Graham Hawley, PhD, since

2014; previously Head of Kelly

College, Devon Pupils 396. Day:

104 boys, 84 girls; boarding: 115

boys, 93 girls Faith C of S / Scottish

Episcopal Church Ages 12–18

Term Fees Day: £8,100; boarding:

£11,900 Oxbridge 7%

Registration No deadline; £100 fee

Admission CE or school’s own

exam Alumni Andrew Marr, Lord

Darling, journalist Hugo Rifkind

PREP Head Andrew Dickenson

Pupils 158 day and boarding: 95

boys, 63 girls Ages 3–12 Term Fees

Day: £5,525; boarding: £7,750

Under the roof of 16th-century

Pinkie House, Loretto students

enjoy sea and country air just a

short train ride from Edinburgh.

Holistic education is paramount at

this small co-ed, which is renowned

for producing confident, ambitious

young people, with ever improving

academics to match. Charming

Head Graham Hawley is equally

proud of a previously struggling

student passing all of his GCSEs as

he is of the five students who

secured Oxbridge places last year.

Loretto was Europe’s first Steinway

School (lucky piano players), and

sport is headed up by former

Scotland International rugby player

Jason White. All the facilities are

top-notch: there’s a theatre, a

dance studio, and the indoor golf

centre is state of the art – Loretto is

the original Golf Academy school.

According to a trusted reviewer,

the food is ‘really good’, made from

locally sourced ingredients and

served with fresh bread made on-

site. Loretto remains proud of its

Scottish heritage with all pupils

donning a chapel uniform of long

tartan skirts for the girls and kilts,

sporrans and tweed for the boys.

MERCHISTON 

Colinton Road, Edinburgh

EH13 0PU

Website merchiston.co.uk

Head Jonathan Anderson, PGCE,

since 2018; previously Deputy Head

at Worksop College Pupils 350 boys:

80 day, 270 boarding Ages 13–18

Term Fees Day: £8,070; boarding:

£10,970 Oxbridge 10%

Registration Early registration

advised; £100 fee Admission CE or

school’s own exam, interview and

previous school’s report Alumni

Physician Sir Donald Acheson,

businessman Sir Peter Burt

PREP Head Niamh Waldron

Pupils 90 day and boarding boys

Ages 7–12 Term Fees Day £5,660;

boarding £8,170

New Head Jonathan Anderson ‘is

extremely perceptive with the boys

and quickly understands what

makes each of them tick,’ says one

parent. It is impossible to write

about Merchiston without men-

tioning sport. Recent accolades

have included being named the

No. 1 LTA UK tennis school (a

new tennis air dome is in the

works), No. 2 ISGA UK ranking

golf school and U18 Scottish

Schools Rugby Cup champions.

Success doesn’t stop here: an aver-

age of 141 UCAS points (AAA be-

ing 144) bears testimony to high

teaching standards. The majority,

unsurprisingly, end up at the best

universities in the UK, with a

small number venturing across the

Pond. Underpinning the sporting

and academic achievement is an

ethos of altruism: the outreach

programme sees sixth formers

volunteering in local primary

schools, and one father spoke of a

Merchiston boy who, dressed in

home clothes, held a shop door

open for a lady in Edinburgh; she

thanked him saying, ‘I guess you’re

from Merchiston then.’

QUEEN MARGARET’S

SCHOOL 

Escrick Park, York YO19 6EU

Website queenmargarets.com

Head Sue Baillie, MEd, from

September; previously Pastoral

Director at Royal Grammar School,

Newcastle Pupils 270 girls: 80 day,

190 boarding Faith C of E Ages

11–18 Term Fees Day: £7,375;

boarding: £11,230 Oxbridge

Occasional Registration Two years

before entry; £100 fee Admission

Assessment day, school’s own exam and

interview Alumnae Novelist

Winifred Holtby, judge Dame

Eleanor Warwick King

It is a transitional time at Queen

Margaret’s with the arrival of new

Head Sue Baillie. 2018’s A-level

results saw an impressive 79 per

cent of students gaining A*–B

grades, but QM is keen to empha-

sise that it is ‘a greenhouse, and not

a hothouse’, which prides itself on

being an independent school for

independent girls. Parents are

thrilled: ‘It is a family – a place filled

with love and laughter and brimming

LORETTO SCHOOL

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