List of private schools in Scotland

The following is a partial list of currently operating private schools in Scotland.

Many of the schools are perceived to be heavily influenced by the culture, practices and ethos of English independent, or "public", schools. Author James Robertson described Glenalmond College as "a Scottish boarding school modelled on the English public school system".^[1] The perceived English influence in many of these schools was such that in 1887 one author referred to them as "English schools".^[2] 43% of Scottish independent secondary schools offer boarding as an option, (especially for pupils from the western isles attending mainland schools) although there is more of a trend to attend as a day pupil compared to in England.^[3]

There are 91 independent schools across Scotland^[4] of which 71 are members of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS). According to the SCIS, its members educate around 29,000 pupils in Scotland representing around 4.2% of the school age population in Scotland.^[5] The figure is significantly higher in Edinburgh, with around 1 in 4 pupils educated at an independent school, the highest proportion in the UK.^[6] This figure has risen to 30 per cent in recent years.^[7]

Scottish students from independent schools are over-represented at the four ancient universities of Scotland. They represented 26% of the student body at the four institutions in 2014/15 with 71% in total receiving an offer of admission at one of the four ancient universities compared to only 29% of state-school entrants.^[8]