On October 1, St Leonards School in St Andrews will welcome families to its whole school Open Day. Parents and prospective pupils will have the opportunity to tour the historic campus, houses within medieval walls in the Fife coastal town. They will hear from the Head, Simon Brian, and meet staff and pupils, who will be on hand to show them round and tell their own St Leonards story.
-
Some Courier online content is funded by outside parties. The revenue from this helps to sustain our independent news gathering. You will always know if you are reading paid-for material as it will be clearly labelled as “Partnership” on the site and on social media channels,
This can take two different forms.
“Presented by”
This means the content has been paid for and produced by the named advertiser.
“In partnership with”
This means the content has been paid for and approved by the named advertiser but written and edited by our own commercial content team.
The Open Day at St Leonards is a chance for the leading co-educational day and boarding school – previously named Scotland’s Independent School of the Year – to showcase its impressive credentials, from its inspiring curriculum to its broad co-curriculum.
St Leonards is proud to be one of just two schools in the UK to actively offer all four International Baccalaureate programmes, from the Primary Years Programme in Years 1-6 up to the Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme in the Sixth Form.
This year’s IB Diploma results in the Sixth Form were record breaking, with pupils achieving an average of 36 points out of a possible 45. Two pupils scored the perfect 45 points, placing them amongst the top 300 candidates worldwide, while a further two achieved 44 points.
Destinations for the class of 2022 included Edinburgh, Dundee, Bristol, Nottingham and University College London, as well as Medicine at Aberdeen, Physics at the University of St Andrews, and a range of international institutions such as Glion in Switzerland and a prestigious golf scholarship at Wingate University, North Carolina.
GCSE results, too, were outstanding, with 54.5% of candidates achieving the top grades of nine, eight and seven.
That academic excellence carries over onto the sporting field with many pupils going on to play at the highest level. With its setting, it’s only natural too that golf is a focus and St Leonards has a leading six-tier programme, in partnership with the St Andrews Links Trust, which caters for pupils from age eight upwards. It gives students unrivalled access to the world-famous Links courses in the “home of golf”.
Prepare your child for “the journey of life”
But there’s much more still to this school. Fundamental to St Leonards’ attraction, which has seen it draw pupils of 35 different nationalities, is its ethos.
Head Simon Brian describes it as “getting pupils ready for the journey of life”.
He adds: “This idea of preparing young people for life is very much part of our ethos and all of our teachers are passionate about developing these lifelong skills and love of learning, wherever life may take our young people.”
Pupils at St Leonards are encouraged to be principled, caring, open-minded, knowledgeable, reflective, internationally-minded and balanced inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers.
The scope of the school’s offering is also a key attraction. The co-curriculum at St Leonards has more than 50 different activities. Beach School is a staple of the weekly timetable in the Junior Years, and all ages can try their hand at beekeeping in the St Leonards apiary – the limited edition St Leonards honey is hit with pupils and parents alike. Other pursuits include an aquathlon in the school pool, a climbing club and Music School where orchestras and choirs mix with the St Leonards Ukulele Group, fondly known as the SLUGS.
St Leonards: a gem in the heart of St Andrews
Of course, the school’s setting is hard to beat. With its stunning grounds located right in the heart of St Andrews, St Leonards is only two minutes from the beach and within easy walking distance of the historic links, as well as the famous cathedral, university and castle.
Pupils can board from age ten and, thanks to an ambitious £4 million refurbishment programme, they stay in houses with stylish open-plan kitchens and spacious communal areas. The younger boarding house, St Rule, is a ‘home from home’ with comfy bean bags for movie nights, as well as a table tennis and pool table for evening games. For day pupils, there is a home-to-school bus service running daily from Cupar, Dundee, Perth, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars train station and across the East Neuk of Fife.
Discover St Leonards at the whole school Open Day on Saturday, 1 October. Register online now by visiting the St Leonards School website.
