Most
girls take five subjects in Lower Sixth usually at SQA Higher Level.
They select from a wide and flexible choice of subjects which caters for
individual needs. The Scottish Higher is a university matriculation
qualification and remains the gold standard for entry to Scottish
universities. Increasingly, English universities often make
unconditional offers to Scottish applicants with five (very good)
Highers.
Upper Sixth Form (S6) 17 – 18 years
In
Upper Sixth Form a wide range of courses is available. Many girls take
at least three Advanced Higher courses or a combination of
qualifications. Girls usually apply for university entry in the autumn
term of Upper 6.
Academic Scholarships
Academic Scholarships are available at S1, S2 and S5 entry. Head over to our scholarships section to find out about the exceptional opportunities and benefits of our scholarships and the application process.
Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers provide versatility. While Higher remains the gold standard for entry to university courses in Scotland, Advanced Higher courses carry comparable UCAS ratings to A Levels and English universities welcome Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications, as do universities throughout the world.
Our applicants regularly receive attractive offers from top English universities based on the success of combining Highers and Advanced Highers.
Scottish Advanced Higher UCAS Tariff A = 56 points
A Level UCAS Tariff A* = 56 points.
“After taking Chinese as one of my Advanced Highers, it’s now my favourite subject so I’m pursuing this as my degree at Oxford University – and St George’s University Preparation Club was extremely helpful during the Oxford application process.”
Lauren, Class of 2023
St George’s academic enrichment programme provides is a vibrant range of activities that offers challenges to students’ thinking and expands their view of the world around them.
Innovative, creative and interdisciplinary STEM opportunities at St George’s all-girls school equip our students with skills that will allow them to be competitive in a rapidly changing world.
Read about some of our recent STEM competitions to get a feel for the breadth of STEM opportunities we offer:
The UK Space Design competition requires teams to take on the role of a company pitching a design for a space settlement to the Foundation Society, who ultimately finance the project. The St George’s team collaborated with St Columba’s in the regional competition and won with their design of Balderol- a mining settlement on the moon. At nationals they collaborated with 6 other schools on their design of Arial, a Space Elevator settlement on the moon. They gave a superb presentation and ultimately came runners up in the competition. Read the full story
This year we had three ‘CanSat’ teams from Upper 5-Upper 6 designing a satellite no bigger than a drinks can. They had to design, construct and program the satellites themselves, which would transmit data such a temperature and pressure back to a ground station when launched. Nineteen students have achieved a Silver Industrial Cadet award for their project reports, despite the weather’s best efforts to derail our satellite launch. Read the full story
The Physics Olympiad offers a challenge for the top Physics students in the country to push themselves in the area of problem-solving. This year students have competed at three levels: intermediate; senior and round one main competition. Fourteen students achieved bronze awards, thirteen achieved silver and two achieved gold.
The AWS GetIT programme is designed to get more girls interested in a career in technology, by working through a series of online modules, then entering a competition to design an app that solves a problem in their community. As St George's Upper 4 completed the programme as part of their curriculum. Only two groups could enter the UK competition, one of which, ‘Roots’, was selected by a panel to compete in the UK final. In June the team travelled down to London for the national final, where they presented their app, "Roots" designed to help users find the safest routes to their destinations by highlighting crime hotspots and suggesting alternative paths. The app mainly targets women, children, and tourists—groups that often feel vulnerable. However, its features are beneficial for anyone seeking safer travel options. The team were runners up in the whole competition and acquitted themselves very impressively indeed. Read the full story
An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most esteemed scholarship of its type in the UK, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as an outstanding engineer of the future. The Scholarships are awarded to hard-working 16-year-old students through a rigorous selection process, supporting them through their A levels, Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications. A Lower Sixth student was awarded the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship this year. Every Scholarship is sponsored by a commercial company or other organisation and our recipient is being sponsored by Amazon Future Engineering who are providing mentoring and support. Read the full story
St George’s School hosted Women in Computing encouraging girls across Edinburgh to consider a career in tech
St George’s School invited girls from 12 state and private schools across Edinburgh to an event today (Wednesday 11 December), Women in Computing, aimed to inspire, motivate and empower females from P6 upwards to take their first steps towards a future in computing and technology. The event was opened and attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth MSP. Read the full story
Students use their individual devices to access learning materials within and outwith the classroom; Class Notebook is used extensively to structure class notes and student work; staff use an inkable Windows 2-in-1 device, which can be wirelessly streamed to the digital screens in classrooms, which we call ‘the untethered classroom’.
By the time the students reach Sixth Form, most no longer require input from Support for Learning, but some, due to their subject options, still benefit from occasional tutorial sessions with a member of the Learning Support staff.
Sixth Form students use the Upper School Library throughout the school day for quiet study and research. Sixth Formers also receive additional librarian-led research and reference seminars as a group and in subject classes. They may then request 1:1 support from the librarian to help with specific enquiries.
Students in Upper 4 can apply for a reciprocal exchange to our partner schools in Toronto, Canada and Philadelphia and Fort Worth in America. The duration of the programme ranges from 2- 4 weeks.
Students in Upper 5 and Lower 6 can apply for a reciprocal exchange to our partner schools in Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa. The duration of the exchange is 4 – 6 weeks.
There are opportunities for expeditions with Global Action to Nepal and Costa Rica which run every 2 years.
Global Perspective course
Global Perspective course delivered in the Upper 4 Curriculum
develops learners’ ability to consider significant global issues from different perspectives
encourages learners to work collaboratively and individually and to apply their knowledge in different contexts
develops transferable skills to complement learning in other curricular areas and prepare learners to be active global citizens in a life beyond school