St Leonards is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school situated in the heart of the historic university town of St Andrews.
It offers a world of opportunities for pupils from ages five to 18 to excel academically and develop interests outside the classroom, ultimately ensuring that they leave as rounded, courteous, and confident individuals, fully equipped to tackle the challenges of today’s rapidly changing world.
St Leonards was the first school to be accredited as an all-through IB school in Scotland, and is one of only two schools in the UK to actively offer all four IB programmes. The youngest pupils follow the Primary Years Programme (PYP), followed by the Middle Years Programme and IGCSEs.
In the Sixth Form, pupils choose between the Career-related Programme (CP) and the Diploma Programme (DP). This provides a seamless and coherent learner journey for pupils.
Pupils in Years 1-6 have a dedicated teaching and learning area within the school campus, whilst also benefiting from facilities in Senior areas of the school. From Year 1 upwards, pupils are taught by subject specialists for PE, Games, Music, Drama, and French, and from Year 3 upwards, children also receive specialist teaching for Art.
In line with the IB Learner Profile, pupils at St Leonards are encouraged to be principled, caring, open-minded, knowledgeable, reflective, internationally-minded and balanced inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers.
All of these values align with the school’s ethos of outdoor learning as part of a rounded education, delivered both within the green and historic grounds, and beyond, on the beach, in the woods and on the water.
Beach School is a highlight of the weekly timetable. Pupils enjoy lessons, sports and activities on the nearby East Sands, which is just a two-minute walk from the school campus. Beach School lessons are vibrant and varied, and include everything from honing subtraction skills by creating and solving problems in the sand, to building bridges using natural materials as part of an inquiry into transport networks.
Class reading books are taken down to the pier on bright days, to the fire pit in twilight hours, and into our newly-built cosy yurt, complete with a wood-burning stove, in wet weather. In addition, pupils enjoy developing their beekeeping, gardening, and bush-craft skills, both in curriculum lessons and as after-school activities. St Leonards aims to bring learning to life, for life.
A diverse programme of co-curricular activities opens doors to music, drama, dance, languages, film, arts and crafts, and a whole host of team and individual sports including hockey, rugby, football, lacrosse, swimming, running, and golf. St Leonards’ leading five-tier Golf Programme, in partnership with the St Andrews Links Trust, caters for pupils from age eight upwards, with a dedicated tier for our Junior pupils.
Pupils enrolled on the programme have unrivalled access to the world-famous Links courses in the ‘home of golf’, as well as expert coaching and state-of-the-art sporting technology.
A bus service for day pupils runs from Cupar, Dundee, the East Neuk, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars train station, and Perth. Full, flexi, and weekly boarding is available from age 10. Thanks to an ambitious £4 million refurbishment programme, delivered over the past five years, boarding pupils reside in houses with stylish open-plan kitchens and spacious communal areas. Our younger boarding house, St Rule, is very much a ‘home from home’ with plenty of comfy bean bags for movie nights, as well as a table tennis and pool table for evening games.
At St Leonards, the healthy balance of outstanding sporting and co-curricular programmes alongside excellent academic studies and outdoor learning opportunities ensures that pupils leave equipped with the skills to succeed. Truly an education ‘Ad Vitam’.
Any day is an Open Day at St Leonards; however, due to the current circumstances, they are not able to welcome visitors on to the school campus. On Monday 3 May, however, the school campus will be hosting an Online Open Day event for Years 1-7.
This will be a fantastic opportunity for prospective families to get a flavour of school life at St Leonards. A dedicated website will launch on the day, specially for registered families, filled with content covering every aspect of school life, as well as recorded Q&A sessions with key staff. There will also be the opportunity to book an individual appointment with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
To register for the event, click here, or alternatively, if you would like to speak with a member of the Admissions team, call 01334 472126, or email registrar@stleonards-fife.org.
