Key Contacts
Richard Smith
Head of International University Liaison
Email: RF.Smith@fettes.com
Phone: +44 (0) 131 297 5254
Caroline Davies
Head of HE & Careers
Email: CL.Davies@fettes.com
Anushka Chakravarty
Deputy Head (Academic)
Email: A.Chakravarty@fettes.com
Helen Harrison
Head
Email: Head@fettes.com
Fettes College, Carrington Road, Edinburgh, EH4 1QX
Phone: +44 (0) 131 332 2281
Fax: +44 (0) 131 322 3081
Website: www.fettes.com
CEEB Code: 791290
UCAS Code: 13893
A place to live. A place to learn. A place to grow. Academics at Sixth Form
Equivalent to Grades 11-12
Fettes College is a leading HMC co-educational boarding and day school close to the heart of Edinburgh. It has a strong tradition of academic, sporting and cultural excellence underpinned by outstanding pastoral care. Fettes opened its doors in 1870 and became fully co-educational in 1980: it is now an independent school of some 740 boys and girls, with a high number of international families from over 30 countries. There are 580 pupils in the Senior School (13- 18 years), of whom 70% are boarders. The academic staff in the College consists of the Head and 80 full-time members of the common room.
The college stands on a magnificent site of approximately 100 acres, but still within walking distance of Edinburgh’s city centre. The historic main building holds the Chapel, Library, the English, Classics and History Departments, as well as the Medical Centre and two boarding houses. A large recently-built teaching block (the Spens Building) houses Art, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Economics, Geography, and Music. The Theatre, Science laboratories and Dining Hall are adjacent. The Preparatory School and nine further boarding houses (including a purposebuilt Upper Sixth House) are also on the campus.
Student wellbeing is central to our ethos and based on our principal aim to nurture the individual, while fostering a happy, well-ordered and caring community. To that end, we do our utmost to ensure our students:
feel valued and respected as individuals; receive the highest possible quality of education, engaging them in rigorous and relevant opportunities in a dynamic curriculum to create life-long learners; feel safe, have a sense of personal worth, are thoughtful and considerate of others, while possessing a willingness to take on responsibility; are encouraged to stretch and challenge themselves; develop a sense of self-confidence, integrity, emotional resilience, loyalty, good manners, leadership skills and teamwork; value a sense of community; are surrounded by inspirational caring staff; feel represented and are provided with equal opportunities, regardless of gender, identity, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity or religion.
Fettes is renowned for the quality of education we provide, which naturally includes superb academic results across GCSE, A Level and the IBDP. Students are encouraged to stretch and challenge themselves in everything they undertake and Sixth Form subjects should be chosen because they will be both satisfying and demanding. We offer:
IB Diploma (28%)
Core of three A Level subjects (72%)
Optional fourth A Level or EPQ (Extended Project Qualification)
In line with peer institutions in the UK, we do not rank our students or calculate Grade Point Average
Size of Graduating Class: 125
Examination Results 2024
Sports & Extracurriculars
Whether they are future Olympians or enthusiastic amateurs, we want our pupils to develop a lifelong love of sport, as we believe it contributes significantly to their allround development. Team sports play a central role in the life of the school. The major sports offered at Fettes are field hockey, lacrosse, netball and rounders for the girls and rugby, field hockey and cricket for the boys, with athletics and tennis offered to both in the summer. Our sports facilities (including extensive playing fields, two allweather pitches and a private health club) are first class and widely used by our pupils all year round.
We believe in the education of the whole person and so we offer an expansive activities programme, a wide range of societies, educationally stimulating talks and lectures, as well as horizon-broadening excursions and trips. Music and drama are particularly strong, with four productions staged each year and choirs and orchestras that perform regularly on campus and in city venues. In addition, our pipe band are recent national champions. Other extracurricular activities include subject extension classes, olympiads, debate and discussion societies, creative clubs, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and a busy community service programme. We have also launched a new Middle School Diploma, which recognises students’ achievements outside the classroom.
