year and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of every Kilgraston girl.

Parents and families travelled from across the world for this momentous occasion and enjoyed a day of celebrations with strawberries, champagne and homemade picnics on the lawn!

This year, Kilgraston was delighted to welcome Dr Anna Campbell as guest of honour who gave an inspirational speech at both the Junior Years and Senior ceremonies and presented over 140 prizes, ribbons and trophies. Speeches from the Chair of Governors, Tim Hall and Headmistress, Dorothy MacGinty followed. After an extremely busy year, the Head Girl team gave an emotional farewell speech to the Senior School highlighting the recent school achievements and their many happy memories of their time at Kilgraston.

Mrs MacGinty said, ” The weather was kind to us and it was fantastic to see so many pupils and parents enjoying the celebration of the girls’ successes. I was delighted to see the Upper 6th girls move on to the next stage of their lives.  I wish this year’s leavers the very best for the future and look forward to welcoming the returning and new girls after the summer holiday.”

The Classical Guide to the Modern World and former Perrier-nominated stand-up comedian, on the importance of following your passion. After this, the girls broke up into groups for a series of workshops: first, Jo Haskins, project manager at Turner & Townsend, led a session on planning a refugee camp; then Professor Tim Whitmarsh of the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge gave a presentation on how the works of Homer might have been performed, including references to modern-day allusions; and finally, Anna Chrystal of the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham gave the girls some hands-on experience of studying fossils. Over lunch there was a higher education and careers fair in the school library then, to end the day, Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE spoke of his extraordinary feats of physical and mental endurance and his undiminishing desire for exploring.

I will leave the final word to Sir Ranulph – when asked what advice he had for the girls in the audience, he told the story of being left in charge of Elizabeth, his 11-year-old daughter, for the first time. His wife had given him a list of things that Elizabeth was and was not allowed to do. When Elizabeth did something on the banned list, Sir Ranulph told her: ‘You’re not allowed to do that.’
‘Daddy,’ she replied. ‘Shut up.’

Hockey and Sport in Scotland.

she held the post of Headmistress since 2009. Since 2012, Mrs MacGinty has chaired the Professional Development Committee of the Girls’ School Association (GSA), the most prestigious membership organisation for girls’ schools in the UK. Mrs MacGinty will be GSA President 2017.

Of Kilgraston, which was recently chosen as the Sunday Times Scottish Independent School of the Year, Mrs MacGinty said: “This is a distinctive and remarkable school. Many visitors say that we ‘feel different’. I believe this is because our founding traditions continue to reinforce the values that lie at the heart of our community: academic rigour, trust, respect, integrity and responsibility.

Our girls will be the leaders of tomorrow in a wide variety of professions and businesses. We believe that there should be no limitations on their ambitions either personally or professionally, and we offer a world class, exciting and challenging education where it is natural to step into leadership positions. Our girls work hard and enjoy considerable success in public examinations across a wide range of subjects.

When a girl joins Kilgraston, something rather extraordinary takes place. She quickly becomes a part of our Kilgraston ‘family’, where she is encouraged to grow and learn in an atmosphere of freedom and opportunity. Our teachers are dedicated and work tirelessly with all pupils to ensure each girl can achieve all she is capable of; the pride they share in success is palpable.

We are a school with traditional values but a modern and forward looking perspective on education. Education is not just about exam success; developing interest and talents, nurturing an understanding of divergent cultures, and emphasising our personal responsibility as global citizens are vital. As such, a Kilgraston girl benefits from a wealth of opportunities to extend and enrich her educational experience. We offer an enormous breadth of extra-curricular activities, and enjoy modern, state of the art facilities in sports, art, music and science”.

Photo: Mrs Dorothy MacGinty

was chosen for the accolade on the strength of the 2013-14 Intermediate 2 grades achieved by the Upper 5th year, which saw 98.6% of girls’ grades scored A-C, against a national average of 77.9%. 82% scored the highest ‘A’ grade.

Parent Power is the Sunday Times’ guide to the top performing schools in Britain. It publishes a ranking of 2,000 schools, using the latest results from public examinations to assess and compare academic performance. Each year, nine awards are presented to the very top performing ‘schools of the year’. Of Kilgraston, the guide said: “Nestled in a valley surrounded by the rolling hills of stunning Perthshire in the heart of Scotland, Kilgraston School, our Scottish Independent School of the Year, offers an idyllic environment for its pupils to learn and live in. Set in 54 acres of parkland, this small independent Catholic girls boarding and day school is centred around a 17th-century redbrick schoolhouse. The modern facilities, which include a six-lane indoor heated swimming pool, its own equestrian centre, and a £1m science centre, are as outstanding as the scenery is breathtaking, and the school’s academic results are impressive, too“

Claire Carey and Amelia Jackson-Hutt, who all achieved straight As in their Higher exams – a collective 15 As!

Our Upper Fifth have achieved outstanding results at Intermediate 2 level. Their A-C pass rate of 98.6% clearly outstrips the national average of 77.9%, and an impressive 82% are at grade A.

In Lower Sixth Higher results have held up well, with 53.7% at grade A compared to 55.5% last year and A-B grades slightly ahead.

At Advanced Higher our A- C grades compare favourably to last year with a 95% pass rate.

There have been some outstanding individual performances with 2 girls achieving straight A grades at Advanced Higher, 6 girls achieving 5 A grades at Higher and 10 achieving straight A grades at Intermediate 2 level.

We wish all our Upper Sixth well as they move on to University courses across Scotland and beyond with places confirmed at Cambridge, Edinburgh and at St Andrews to study courses ranging from Law to International Relations and Design Engineering to Medicine.

Photo: 2013-14 Head Girls team of Sarah Anderson, Claire Carey and Amelia Jackson-Hutt

as finding ‘the schools at the top of their game’ chose Kilgraston as one of the schools ‘best for horsey types’, alongside Stonar School in Wiltshire and Queen Ethelburga’s College, York.

The Week’s guide “trawled through the statistics, league tables and exam results, and consulted a panel of education experts, parents and pupils to find the schools that have the wow factor“.

We’re thrilled to have been recognised in this way following a successful year for Kilgraston’s horsewomen. At the annual Scottish Schools Championships at Gleneagles our team won the 14 and under section, and our equestrian centre recently launched its own pony club, where girls can achieve badges in all aspects of horse and pony care as well as take progressive riding tests.

hand in hand with a sense of social awareness, ensuring Kilgraston girls are well equipped for the modern world, whatever and wherever they want to be.

Open afternoon: Friday 26th September, 2pm – 5pm – For girls aged 2-18, and their families, who are considering a day or boarding education at Kilgraston

‘Try a night’ boarding sleepover: 5pm Friday 26th, to 5pm Saturday 27th September – For girls aged 8-15 who are considering boarding at Kilgraston.  Experience life at Kilgraston from dinner on Friday, overnight in our boarding houses, through to an action-packed day of activities on Saturday.

Find out more at www.kilgraston.com
Please register your attendance in advance at admissions@kilgraston.com

has recently won the prestigious prize of ‘Independent School of the Year’ at the Independent School Awards.

The school was nominated for the Outstanding Strategic Initiative Award in recognition of the changes the school has made to achieve a 55% growth over the last five years. It also received the Outstanding Financial/Commercial Initiative prize for the ongoing multi-million pound investment in facilities and the introduction of new Sports Academies developed to nurture young sporting talent. The judges also took into account the recent excellent HMIe inspection and the most successful examination results to date with an exceptional 57% A grades (95% A-C) for Higher and an outstanding 54% A grades (92% A-C) at Advanced Higher. The culmination of these led to the nomination for Independent School of the Year and eventual success. 

Kilgraston has pushed its academic capabilities over the last decade and often has the highest grades in Scotland being in the top three for Advanced Highers in the past four years. Kilgraston’s academic record is helped due to the small class sizes; the Sixth Form often has less than 10 pupils per class and the lower ages with around 15. 

With an Equestrian centre with 60m x 40m floodlit arena (only school in Scotland with this facility on site), a new International sized all-weather hockey pitch, 8 all-weather tennis courts, sports hall with climbing wall and fitness suite and a new 25m indoor swimming pool there is enough to keep the girls occupied! 

Means tested scholarships and bursaries are available on top of a 10% discount for armed forces families. Please visit our website or contact Mrs Linda-Anne Drane, Principal’s PA for more information or to arrange a visit.

The Spectator magazine and VISA, held at the National Motorcycle Museum on Wednesday 16^th November. The award is a reflection of the hard work of all the staff and pupils over the last few years and the transformation of Kilgraston into Scotland’s leading girls’ boarding school.

We were nominated for the Outstanding Strategic Initiative Award in recognition of the changes the school has made to achieve a 55% growth over the last five years. We also received the Outstanding Financial/Commercial Initiative prize for our ongoing multi-million pound investment in facilities and the introduction of our new Sports Academies. The culmination of these led to our nomination for Independent School of the Year and our eventual success.

We faced tough competition from some of the most progressive and innovative schools in the country with the award ceremony being a fantastic way to celebrate success in a sector which has seen many challenges in recent years.

Kilgraston joined a host of other excellent schools from across the country at the ceremony including New Hall School; Aberdour School; Adcote School; King Edward’s School, Birmingham; Caterham School; King’s College Taunton and St George’s Ascot to name but a few.

The award is prestigious with a rigorous selection process judged by a distinguished panel of educationalists and business people evaluating all aspects of the 28 shortlisted schools.

The panel of judges included Graham Able, former master of Dulwich College and former chair of HMC; Jill Berry, former president of GSA; Anne Evans OBE, chief executive of HTI; Jeremy Herrtage, Bursar of St Ive’s School, Haslemere; Andrew Maiden, Editor of Funding for Independent Schools magazine; Prof Malcolm MacDonald, Emeritus Professor at Cranfield University School of Management; Nick Shryane, Bursar of the Harrow School Foundation.

The judges took into account Kilgraston’s recent excellent HMIe inspection along with a number of factors including our outstanding examination results. The judges described Kilgraston as “particularly impressive”, “forward-thinking” and “an example to other schools”.

Mr Farmer was pleased to accept the award on behalf of the school and said “This is a testament to the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work of everyone in our community and we are all delighted that Kilgraston has been rewarded with this outstanding accolade.”