Community

Reaching further: Our school’s community engagement

Our links with our local community are a vital part of our identity as a school. And our mission is to reach as many girls as possible.

This was exemplified during the Covid pandemic when we opened up our outdoor facilities for the benefit of the local community to keep active and connected. From this outreach project, we developed several exciting partnerships with organisations aligned with our ethos of empowering girls and women, including:

Looking beyond the school campus is essential to our community ethos, whether contributing to the festive decorations in our local Roseburn community, or raising funds and committing time to Edinburgh charities through the Youth Philanthropy Initiative Scotland. Our students regularly raise awareness around charitable causes and find innovative ways to raise funds.

Of course, this sense of service goes beyond charitable fundraising to include personal action, particularly around sustainability. Staff and student sustainability groups have led the way on many important habit-changing initiatives such as ‘clothes swaps’ and ‘walk to work’ schemes.

School community engagement programme: Our partnerships

All our sport partnerships operate under our wider Sport for All philosophy and are driven by world-class role models. "If you can see it, you can be it".

We were delighted to partner with Netball Scotland in 2021 after a successful initiative that allowed the wider community to play outdoor netball on our courts throughout lockdown, as per the regulations. Over the past two years, the partnership has developed within the three strands of Educaton, Community Engagement and Women and Girls.

Visit Netball Scotland

We have had the pleasure of working more closely with Lacrosse Scotland to benefit opportunities for women and girls in lacrosse. This ranges from beginner level through to the Senior Scotland Women's team training at St George's regularly throughout their season. 

Visit Lacrosse Scotland

We have a long-working relationship with Edinburgh Judo and have been delighted to take our programmes to the next level through this new partnership. Edinburgh Judo are now running community judo classes for girls and boys at after-school hours as an extension from the current judo offering in-house. 

Visit Edinburgh Judo

Other community activities

The campus and grounds offer a variety of facilities and venues available to hire and lend themselves to a multitude of different uses, both large and small, from sports camps, language schools, and regular and block bookings for clubs and charities. 

Find out about hiring a school venue for an external event

Every year the school’s facilities are used by different community organisations at a reduced cost or free of charge.  For example, young people from across the Lothian area rehearse with the National Youth Choir of Scotland two nights a week, and a range of local sports clubs, as well as sporting and cultural bodies, use our facilities on a weekly basis.

Find out about our camps and courses

We instil a sense of social responsibility in our students and lead by example through our staff's involvement in charitable works. Our Lower 5 (S3) students participate in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative, where they learn about local charities and compete for funding. Our entire student body engages in fundraising activities, particularly for children in the Edinburgh area.

Community Support: Our school facilities are made available at a reduced cost or free of charge to community organizations. Around 900 children benefit from our facilities each year, supporting their growth and development.

Teacher Education. Our Practitioner Research Seminars offer free Continuing Professional Development to teachers in the region. Additionally, we actively participate in the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Bursary provision: We are committed to extending our bursary provision to students from families who cannot afford our fees. Supporting their education creates life-changing opportunities, and we take great pride in this endeavour.

We run joint activities with boys and girls from several schools and have a special relationship with Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh. There is a discount scheme currently available for brothers who attend Merchiston (for third and subsequent siblings). We run daily morning and afternoon transport for students from Merchiston to St George’s.

Find out about Merchiston Castle School