FAQs from the Erskine Stewart Melville Information Evening

We welcomed families and alumni to the Erskine Stewart Melville Information evening at the end of January. Alongside seeing the new uniform modelled by our wonderful student helpers, parents had the opportunity to speak directly with members of the Senior Leadership Teams from both the Junior and Senior Schools, and to ask questions about life at Erskine Stewart Melville.

Several questions came up repeatedly during the evening, and we have shared responses to these below.

Sites and Facilities

Will there be enough girls’ toilets at the Senior School?  

Yes. As part of the planned renovations to the Science and Product Design building, we will be adding a new girls’ toilet block. In addition, the Junior School buildings that will become part of the Senior School on the Queensferry Road site already have sufficient girls’ toilet facilities in place.

When will the site development work start?  

Our Site Development Works are already underway, with several projects happening between now and August. We have pulled together a timeline so you can see what is happening and when. We have carefully planned all work to minimise disruption to students and staff. The timeline and our approach can be viewed here.

Learning and Teaching

Will there be a change in the way we run our Physical Education and Sport Programme, and what does this mean for our students?  

Yes, our Physical Education and Sport programme will evolve, and we are confident this will create more opportunities for students rather than fewer. Experience shows that when students are offered a broader range of activities and greater choice, participation increases and engagement deepens.

The new Senior School PE and Sport programme is closely aligned with the highly successful model already in place at The Mary Erskine School. This approach allows students to enjoy a wider breadth of sports across the school week, while still supporting high performance for those who wish to specialise and compete at an advanced level.

We will have dedicated Physical Education teams for both the Junior and Senior Schools, with specialist sports coaches shared across the sites. This ensures continuity, expertise and high-quality provision for all students, while giving families confidence that sport remains a central and well-resourced part of school life.

How is the School going to maintain attainment figures across STEM?  

Many parents had the opportunity to speak with our Director of STEM, Dr Fiona Neave, during the Information Evening and to hear about our ambitious and forward-thinking approach to STEM education.

Our Heads of Department across STEM have recently surveyed S2 students about subject choice, giving us valuable insight into what motivates them to choose particular STEM subjects and how we can continue to engage and challenge them effectively. We plan to survey more year groups, as this evidence helps inform both curriculum planning and teaching approaches as students move into the Senior School.

We also place strong emphasis on engagement beyond the classroom. Some of you will have enjoyed attending our STEM Science parent evenings at both MES and SMC, and we are looking to extend these opportunities across other STEM subjects at ESM. Our STEM Ambassador Programme will not only continue but will have the opportunity to grow, enabling more students to take part, develop leadership skills and act as positive role models for younger pupils.

Importantly, our approach to STEM begins before Senior School. We are committed to developing curiosity, confidence and a love of STEM from an early age. In the Junior School, this includes P7 students benefiting from specialised STEM teaching, ensuring strong foundations are in place well before subject choices are made.

Student Experience

Will there be opportunities for the students to acclimatise to the new sites ahead of August 2026?  

Yes. Many students are already familiar with these spaces, either from previous years spent on site or through regular travel between campuses for clubs, swimming and a wide range of extracurricular activities.

We have exciting plans to take the Primary 4, 5 and 6 children to Ravelston in the Summer term to enjoy a range of activities and become familiar with the site. More information will follow in due course.

For students in S1–S5, we have already shared a video introduction to the new site. During the summer term, each year group will take part in twinned or combined activities designed to build familiarity and confidence.

For students who would benefit from additional support, we will also offer small-group or one-to-one tours. Our aim is to ensure every student feels comfortable, confident and well prepared for the transition.

Will there be a reduction in school trips?

No. We do not anticipate that the move to a co-ed school will have a negative impact on our trips programme; in fact, we expect the opposite. Across both the Junior and Senior Schools, trips are planned and led by our teaching staff and remain a valued part of the learning experience.

In the Junior School, we will continue to offer residential trips from Primary 4 to Primary 7. This year alone, students have taken part in a Monaco rugby tour, the P7 West Highland Way trip, a Blackpool hockey tour and a combined French and History trip to France. Next year will also see the reintroduction of the Junior School ski trip.

In the Senior School, maintaining our rich programme of opportunities has been a clear priority. Newly appointed Heads of Department have been asked to prioritise trip planning for session 2026–27, with student numbers carefully considered. Planning is already underway for trips across subjects including Biology, Modern Languages, Geography and Sport, with destinations ranging from Stratford-upon-Avon and Liverpool to Thailand, New York and South Africa. These are just some examples of what is being planned, and we expect further opportunities to be confirmed.

Uniform

When will the new uniform be available to buy?

We will share an update on uniform availability, alongside the full Uniform Policy, after the Easter break.

How will the ordering/purchase of the new blazers work? 

We will be holding a series of pop-up fitting events during the Summer term. These will allow students to try on a range of sizes and ensure the correct fit before placing an order, either online or in person at Stevensons. For those who try the uniform on at one of the fitting events and wish to order online, Stevensons will provide parents with a free postage code they can use for delivery to their home address, or alternatively, parents can choose collection from the branch if that is more convenient.

Dates for the pop-up fittings can be found here.

Stevensons will also be carrying their usual levels of stock, so uniforms can be purchased in their Edinburgh shop. More information on when the uniform will be available to purchase will be communicated after the Easter break.

What are the new quarter-zips like to wash? 

We have carried out extensive testing, including repeated washing and tumble-drying. We are pleased to confirm that the quarter-zips retain their colour and hold their shape well, providing reassurance for parents in terms of durability and ease of care.

How will colours be represented in the new uniform?

We are continuing to consider how best to recognise student achievements, including national-level performance, within the new uniform. We know that celebrating these accolades is important to students, parents and the wider community, and we will take a thoughtful approach to ensuring achievements are recognised appropriately.

What has been decided about outerwear – branded hats, scarves etc? 

Discussions are ongoing. We will also engage with students to seek their views on the design of future Erskine Stewart Melville scarves and hats.

When are we seeing the sports kit? 

We are currently developing the sports kit designs and testing a range of fabrics to ensure quality, comfort and performance – it’s really important to us that we get this right for our students. We are hopeful to share the designs with families before Easter break, and the full uniform guide after the Easter break. We can confirm that red will remain the primary colour of the sports kit.

Will Stevensons be able to provide longer length in blazers and trousers?

A number of parents were in touch regarding sizing and lengths that will be available in blazers and trousers. Stevensons have already placed orders for longer-length blazer sizes for production. This option has previously been available to students, where there has been consistent demand, and appropriate stock will therefore be available in the relevant sizes.

For longer-length trackpants, Stevensons plan to hold a small amount of additional stock in the longer length for the stadium pant, as this is traditionally the style most commonly requiring extra length for taller students. The tapered pant is designed to sit at the ankle and does not typically require a longer-length option; however, custom orders can be arranged if needed.

If you require a longer-length item, you should contact Stevensons directly to place the request. Payment will be taken at the point of order, and the team will confirm the expected delivery date at that time.

Formal black trousers can be purchased from high street stores, so sizing will rest with your chosen retailer.
Stevensons stock kilts in sizes 22″ to 34″ as standard, both in the current style and in the new kilt style, which will be introduced as they move through the current stock. The new style kilt is very similar to the current kilt, but with an adjustable waist and improved fastenings. Any sizes outside of this range can be requested following the same process as for the track bottoms.

We have been assured that Stevensons also monitor custom requests closely. Should they receive three or more requests for a size outside of the standard range, that size will be added to their regular stocked offering.