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Throughout your admissions journey, you will have a key point of contact within the Admissions Team to guide you and answer your questions. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team and led by our Head of Admissions and Director of External Relations, they will provide you with our prospectus, connect with you on a zoom call, invite you to visit, talk you through the examination and interview process and next steps.
Each member of the team has a wealth of knowledge about what Fettes can offer your family. admissions process
Our website is designed to give you an excellent overview of what we offer our students in both Fettes Prep School and Fettes College. We hope this inspires, informs and enthuses you about what Fettes can offer your children. Take a look at the 'News' webpage to see recent activities and events. We also have a number of social media channels that give you a further glimpse in to what life at Fettes is like.
In order for the Admissions Team to assist you, and to provide you with a prospectus, please completetheenquiry form on our website:www.fettes.com/admissions
Once you have looked through the wealth of information available online, we would suggest that you come and visit us to experience the true atmosphere of Fettes.
You are warmly invited to join us and discover Fettes College and Fettes Prep School at our Open Day which is taking place on the afternoon of Sunday 9th October 2022. Registration is essential. To register please visit www.fettes.com/admisisons/open-day-2022 or contact our Admissions Team.
Individual visits can also be arranged but we strongly suggest they take place during term time so that you can meet with students and staff.
If you visit us during term time, your visit will comprise a meeting with the Head of Fettes College or Headmaster of Fettes Prep School as applicable (or member of the Senior Leadership Team if they are not available), a student-led tour and a meeting with one of our houseparents.
If you would like to go ahead with an application for your child to attend Fettes, please register your child with the Admissions Team. By filling in the Registration Form and providing the £100 non-refundable registration fee, your intention for your child to join us will be noted. This ensures your child will be invited to attend the forthcoming Entrance Examinations.
Only once a child is registered can they sit the Entrance Assessments and Examinations.We would recommend early registration where possible.
Once you have visited, you may wish to arrange a taster day for your son or daughter so that they can meet their peers and get a feel for life at Fettes. A buddy will be assigned and your son/daughter will attend lessons, sports and activities alongside them. They will be placed with a pupil the same age as them at the time of visiting. Occasionally we are also able to offer overnight stays
Once your child is registered, you will be kept informed about the upcoming Entrance Examinations, dates, processes and requirements. Past papers are also available on request for entry to the Senior School.
Pupils may join the Prep School from ages 7-12. The Entrance Assessments are held at Fettes in the January preceding entry although assessments can also be arranged at other times in the year. Each child will meet with a member of the teaching staff for a short interview as well as sitting an online Cat4 assessment. Older year groups will also take online assessments in English and Maths.
Candidates must be 13 on 1st September in the year of entry. Applicants take the Fettes College Entrance Examinations and can also take Common Entrance. The 13+ Entrance Examinations take place at Fettes in the February preceding entry. The Common Entrance Examination takes place at their Prep schools in the June prior to entry in September.
Those candidates sitting the 13+ Entrance Examinations take papers in both English and Mathematics and they are also required to have two short interviews with senior members of staff.
If students are unable to attend the Entrance Examinations at Fettes, we will arrange for them to sit papers at their current school. A Zoom/Teams interview will also be arranged.
Candidates must be 16 on 1st September in the year of entry. The minimum entry requirement into the Lower Sixth Form is six GCSE subjects at 6 or better (or the equivalent to this). The subjects passed must include English Language and Mathematics.
The Entrance Examinations take place in the November prior to entry with three subjects of the candidate’s choice being sat. If English is not the candidate’s first language, this must be one of the three papers. Two interviews will also take place.
We strongly suggest candidates attend the Entrance Examinations at Fettes but, if students are unable to attend we will arrange for them to sit papers at their current school. A Zoom/Teams interview will also be arranged.
Entry is sometimes possible into 4th Form but places are often limited. We do not consider students for entry into 5th Form or Upper Sixth.
We aim to let all families know the outcome of examinations as soon as possible. If your child has been successful, you will receive a formal offer for completion. Please return your acceptance to secure the place. In the Summer Term, you will receive details of the senior College house your son/daughter will be joining as well as detailed instructions including uniform requirement, medical information, music lesson choices etc. The houseparent will make contact with you and you will be fully supported as you transition into the school.
Please find below dates of the examination and assessments for 2023 entry:
• Entrance and Scholarship Exams – Friday 11th November 2022.
• All-Rounder Assessments, Art Awards, Piping Awards, Sports Awards – Thursday 10th November 2022.
• Entrance Exams and Assessments for all year groups – Saturday 28th January 2023.
• 13+ Entrance and Scholarship Exams – Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th February 2023.
• 13+ Sports Assessments – Wednesday 8th February 2023.
• 13+ All-Rounder Assessments – Monday 6th, Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th February 2023.
• Fourth Form Entrance Exams – Monday 6th February 2023.
For all year groups, these will take place on Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th January 2023.
We offer each of our students the opportunity to make the most of their talents, to challenge themselves, and gain a wealth of new experiences in a happy and encouraging environment.
Fettesians are curious, creative, and kind, and we can maximise their full potential by affording them all the opportunities that a boarding education can offer whilst ensuring the highest level of care.
Our first interest is in potential students’ abilities – their inquiring mind, their initiative, their willingness to pursue a subject deeply and to think independently. We are also interested in what potential students have accomplished with those abilities – how they have ventured beyond their known talents and shown excellence.
We actively seek a student body that is racially, geographically and socio-economically diverse and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Differences in educational opportunities and individual circumstances are valued and are taken into consideration.
We use examinations and interviews to assess the promise of each individual applicant and to determine which students will gain the most from and contribute to all that Fettes has to offer. As we receive many more applications from prospective students than there are places available, we are unfortunately not able to accommodate all applicants who meet the admissions criteria.
Fettes College offers a range of Scholarships and Awards based on merit: there is considerable kudos attached to being a scholar or award-holder at Fettes. Academic Scholarships cover up to a maximum of 5% of the fees.
The following Scholarships and Awards are available:
• Academic Scholarships at 13+ and 16+
• Music Awards at 13+ and 16+
• Sports Awards at 13+, 16+
• All-rounder Awards at 13+, 16+
• Piping Awards at 13+, 16+
• Art Awards at 16+
To discuss the Scholarship and Awards process in more detail, please speak to the Admissions Team.
Means-tested bursaries are available to any applicant who passes the Entrance Examinations for Fettes Prep School or Fettes College and requires financial assistance. The maximum reduction available is 100% of the fees.
There is a finite amount of funding available each year and parents are advised to refer to the 'Guide to Bursaries' to assess eligibility. This guide can be found on our website and can also be obtained from the Admissions Team.
All bursaries are co-ordinated through the Bursar’s Office. Please contact bursarsoffice@fettes.com.
Bursaries are managed independently to scholarships and awards.
Fettes welcomes students from all over the world and we are proud of our international outlook and diverse community. All international students will find our International Students Policy a helpful guide. This is available on our website and can also be obtained from the Admissions Team.
Any student who does not hold a UK passport or settled or presettled status in the UK must apply for a visa in order to study at Fettes College and Fettes Prep School. Fettes College is a registered Student Sponsor (via the Home Office's UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) unit). The College retains full discretion over the decision on whether to sponsor a student. As a general rule, Fettes will only sponsor boarding students and will consider sponsoring applications for day students in the Prep School only by exception.
We require parents of any child applying for a visa to work with the account management team at Holmes & Partners who will discuss your child's application and visa requirements and provide all relevant information and support. Please be aware there is an additional fee for this service.
All parents who live overseas are required to name a UK based guardian for their child. The guardian’s role is to support the child, look after the student during half term or leave weekends, deputise for the parents when they are unavailable and be contacted in an emergency (a proximity to Edinburgh is therefore recommended). A guardian can be a relative or friends whom parents know and trust or a guardian appointed and monitored by a reputable guardianship agency. Further information can be accessed in the International Students Policy.
We understand the needs of overseas parents and have vast experience caring for students from around the globe. Our Admissions Team will be happy to put you in touch with current parents, or a member of our Old Fettesian network, who may reside near you so you have a local point of contact if you wish.
• Boarders £13,330 per term
• Day Pupils £11,200 per term
• Boarders £9,275 per term
• Day Pupils £6,320 per term
There is a premium for direct entry into the Sixth Form equivalent to 10% of the Senior School boarding fee. It may be paid termly on the basis of 5% of each of the two Sixth Form years.
All fees include the cost of all meals taken at School.
In the event that more than one sibling attends Fettes, there will be a reduction available on the total fees payable equivalent of up to 5% of the second child’s fees, 35% of the third child’s fees and 50% of subsequent children’s fees while they are attending Fettes together.
Children of serving members of HM Forces may also qualify for up to a 12.5% reduction in fees.
A non-refundable registration fee of £100 should accompany the registration form.
A deposit of £500 should be sent as a final entry fee when the offer of a place is confirmed. Parents who are not UK nationals and/or who are not domiciled in the UK are also required to deposit a full term’s fees.
Deposits will be offset against the student’s account for the final term.
Details of arrangements for the paying of fees will be provided in good time before the first term’s fees are due.
Fees are reviewed annually, and every effort is made to avoid an increase in the course of the school year.
• 780 students – 590 in Fettes College (13-18) and 190 in Fettes Prep School (7-13)
• 53% boys, 47% girls
• College 70% Boarding, 30% Day
• Prep School 24% Boarding, 76% Day
• 75% UK residents, 25% live overseas
• Over 30 countries represented in the student body
• 125 full-time members of teaching staff
• The teacher/pupil ratio is 1 to 6
Providing applicants meet our standard entrance criteria, we welcome applications from disabled students for a place in our College. We have successfully integrated students with a physical disability in the past, but the extensive grounds and long distances between buildings do present serious challenges for students with serious ambulant disability.
We will nevertheless consider all such applications fully. We would be very happy for you to visit the College and discuss with us your son’s or daughter’s requirements and to see for yourself what we offer. We would be pleased to send you a copy of the School’s Disability Access Strategy on request.
Fettes College will ensure that 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 that creates lifelong learners
• Feel safe, have a sense of personal worth, are thoughtful and considerate of the needs 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.
A place to live. A place to learn. A place to grow.
"Ourstudentswillleavetheschoolknowingthemselves,lookingout forothers,capableofthinkingcriticallyandreadytomakeapositive markontheirrapidlychangingworld.Theywillbeboldand visionaryyetcompassionate;theywillpossessaglobalperspective andbereadytoembracetheopportunitiesofthefuture."
HelenHarrison,Head
Helen Harrison, Head Charlie Minogue, Headmaster, Fettes Prep School
James Weatherby, Senior Deputy Head
Jonathan Marchant, Deputy Head (Academic)
Carolyn Harrison, Deputy Head (Pastoral)
Peter Worlledge, Bursar
GOVERNORS
Our Governors are chaired by the Rt Hon Lady Morag Wise.
A full list of our governors can be found on our website: www.fettes.com/about-us/the-leadership-team
Fettes College is a registered Scottish Charity, No SC051259
