The surprising secret of success at Edinburgh school named the UK's best prep
Cargilfield School in Edinburgh has been named the best in the UK - despite Scots being less understanding of what prep school is for
It has been named among the UK’s best, but for new headmaster Colin MacIntosh the challenge is explaining exactly what his school is.
Cargilfield School is the only independent prep school in Edinburgh and the oldest private junior school in Scotland.
Recently, the institution was named by upmarket Tatler magazine as the top prep school in the UK.
“I’ve been slightly surprised up here that people don't quite understand what we do and what we are,” said Mr McIntosh.
“Down in Surrey or Berkshire, there would be dozens and dozens of schools a bit like this and everybody knows what a prep school is.”
Cargilfield takes children from nursery up to the age of 13 and many of its alumni go on to famous boarding schools such as Harrow, Rugby and Eton.
One of the markers of Cargilfield’s success is that its pupils also earn scholarships to these prestigious schools.
From primary four onwards, children have long school days, with classes running until 5.30pm or later.
They eat dinner at school and do extracurricular activities and, despite prep school being for primary aged children, they have specialist teachers in music, art, computing and science.
As he’s not long in the door, Mr MacIntosh is trying hard “not to take any glory” for the Tatler award, nor for a recent Education Scotland inspection report that gave Cargilfield a sector-leading three “very good” grades and one “excellent”.
After a 20-year career in various English independent schools, he had the chance to come to Edinburgh - a city he has always wanted to live in.
The idea for the move was sparked when his daughter won a place to study at Edinburgh University and was fortunately unperturbed by her parents copying her move.
Mr MacIntosh says he believes the importance of Cargilfield - and prep schools generally - is the chance to have a breadth of experience for pupils.
After dinner, evening clubs run from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and there are more than 70 extracurricular activities on offer.
“It means that the parents can have a proper working day,” Mr MacIntosh said, “And then they can come up pick their children who, when they come home, have had their food, have done all their homework so those pressures you get as a family are gone.”
All children are local - from Edinburgh, Fife and Perthshire - but all live within 35 minutes of the school.
Pupils who board at the school tend to do so just one or two nights a week, as what Mr MacIntosh describes as a “fun thing to do”.
He added: “It builds up resilience. It builds up independence.”
However, as someone who himself went away to school from the age of seven, the head teacher does not agree with full-time boarding for children.
“I really believe in the family,” he said. “Boarding is great, but not full boarding at this age.
“I just don't think it's right. I want children to be with their families.”
The school also focuses on increased teacher-pupil contact time.
Students eat lunch with their teachers, giving them a chance to chat informally about the school day.
The extra-curricular activities on offer are also woven into the school day and, as the Education Scotland inspection report reflects, pupils spend a lot of time outdoors and away from the classroom, meaning they are energised and refreshed during lesson time.
Mr MacIntosh acknowledges the backdrop against which he is working is a difficult one for fee-paying schools.
The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) recently said a census of members had found there were 25,919 pupils in the present school year, compared with 27,781 at the same point in the previous year.
This means private school rolls have fallen by about 10 per cent since the 2022-23 year.
Mr MacIntosh says the school has not been affected by Labour’s introduction of VAT on school fees.
While parents are “finding it really tough”, the school has not seen a drop in roll numbers.
“We feel it's a real honour that they've decided to spend money on their children's education and we’re not complacent because we know it’s a harder and harder choice for our parents,” he adds.
“It’s important that parents can see that what we’re offering is amazing and is worth paying for. It’s absolutely vital.”
One of the ways in which the school stands out, he says, is through - surprisingly - not innovating, but staying with what is tried and true.
He adds: “We are not the most innovative school you will ever find. And I think that’s kind of deliberate. While some schools in the last ten years have gone crazy about screens and devices, we've slightly held back, and actually you can see the benefit now.”
The headteacher says some schools have “opened Pandora’s Box” and now they are “trying to get everything back in”.
“Young people will have to be brilliant at using AI, but they will also have to be brilliant at not using AI,” he adds, pointing to skills Cargilfield prioritises such as analytical skills, collaboration and communication.
Mr MacIntosh is unequivocal that when it comes to matters of tech, saying “it’s not a difficult decision”.
He claims in his previous school “we got it wrong” by giving children too much access to digital devices.
“We don't want children having their own devices, because we know that they're not safe and some children will find things, sometimes by accident, sometimes deliberately, that they’re not supposed to be seeing,” he says.
“And actually, we don’t want our children on screens all the time.”
Mr MacIntosh acknowledges the tension for schools like his. While Cargilfield is adamant it wants to limit screen time, there is external pressure - from school inspectors, and from parents and pupils themselves.
As the new headteacher, Mr MacIntosh says he believes he is responsible for continuing Cargilfield’s traditions and ensuring it continues to be thought of as the best in the UK.
“It's a massive deal for a Scottish school to win a UK award like that,” he says. “But I've realised that, because we're up in Scotland, the staff here and the parents don't realise quite how good they are.
“There's this assumption that actually all the best practices are down south. It's just not true.”
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