Belhaven Hill School

An Idyllic Prep School, on the East Lothian coast

Belhaven Hill feels like the ‘Famous Five’ of Prep Schools. Perhaps it’s the location, or it’s stand alone status – no big kids to remind you that there is a seriousness to academic life. We had a delightful tour, a long chat about the army with seemingly the entire school and then a delicious supper with the highly engaging head boy and head girl. Belhaven Hill is a small independent Prep School, in the small village of Dunbar in East Lothian. Think sea, sand, sun and fun – Scottish style. 30 miles from Edinburgh city centre, the school is close enough for travel links (Dunbar station takes 20 mins), but far enough down the east coast that it in a world of its own.

General

The school is a Co-educational Prep, consisting of a Pre-Prep for 4-7yrs, and Prep for 7-13yr olds. Wrap around care offered for day children. Boarding is major draw, with over half the 167 pupils boarding. Boarding is full-time only – no flexi or weekly. Fees vary from £5000 in pre-prep to £13000 full boarding. No formal tests to get in.

On the head hunt..

the much loved headmaster, Olly Langton, is heading back south the Radley Schools. Having made the school into a thriving and full community, he will be greatly missed. However, this little gem should attract a good replacement – will they break the trend and go for their first female head? I’m sure the core values of courage, creativity and courtesy will remain strong.

Sport, events, clubs..

Sport and a broad extra curriculum feature heavily. The school teams compete on the Scottish circuit, as well as a few forays across the boarder. A large music school, with great emphasis on the pipeband, drama, DT and a wealth of clubs. The award aims to create a structured approach to learning some of those valuable skills. The ‘Belhaven Award’ reward the completion of tasks related to the school’s core values: Courtesy, Courage and Creativity.

Academic

Belhaven in a non-selective school, that produces fantastic results. Many children are recipients of scholarships at their chosen senior schools. As a stand-alone prep school, Belhaven offers its pupils a choice of a range of senior schools both north and south of the border.

Boarding and Day..

As a prep school, days are long and full already. Whilst many pupils are local, there is a good proportion of International, Military and children from across the UK that board. Boarding is strictly full-boarding. The girl’s boarding house, is within the grounds, small dorms, a cosy kitchen and wonderful pod for gatherings. The boy’s boarding house, within the main building of the school definitely harks back to boarding of old. I was almost expecting to spot the scratched names of my twin uncles…..not quite, but certainly some of my friends from 40 years ago. Old but loved?! The smell of delicious baking that wafted out of the boy’s kitchen put paid to any thoughts of old style boarding though.

If you would like to know more about Belhaven Hill School, or arrange an accompanied visit, please do get in touch with us.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS