Two private schools to merge and scrap single-sex rule

Two Edinburgh single-sex high schools are to merge to become a single co-educational model.

Stewart's Melville College for boys and The Mary Erskine School for girls will become one school at the beginning of the 2026/27 academic year.

The new mixed-sex school will be called Erskine Stewart Melville.

It will provide private education for pupils aged three to 18.

The junior schools are already mixed sex.

The school said the move would "create a more inclusive community to reflect the modern world".

In a statement it said it would also make it "more financially efficient".

"Our schools have a proud history of delivering world-class educational opportunities for our students," it said.

"This strategic decision is part of our vision for the future.

"We are proud of our past – our culture and our traditions – and we will take these with us, but we are even more excited about the future."

The school will be located at the current Stewart's Melville site on Queensferry Road.

The junior school will be on the Ravelston site, currently occupied by Mary Erskine's.

It will leave two single-sex schools in Edinburgh - Merchiston Castle and St George's.