Kelvinside Academy Private School

• Location: Glasgow, Scotland
• Age of students: from 3 to 18 years old,
• Type of study: blended,
• Language of instruction: English.

Kelvinside Academy is an independent day school in Glasgow, founded in 1878. It has more than 600 pupils and covers two years of kindergarten, six years of junior school (primary school), a transition year for senior preparatory classes and six years for senior years (secondary school) — a total of fifteen years of schooling. Kelvinside was founded as a private school and remained so until the late 1940s, when in 1985 the academy regained its status as a private institution. Previously, the school was for boys only, but in 1998 it became fully co-educational.

The school curriculum is in line with the Scottish Continuing Education Programme, including PSHE, French and Spanish. In addition to developing skills through cross-curricular social studies and science/STEM projects, the school develops age-appropriate innovative projects based on its pedagogy and NuVu facilities. Currently, the focus of the projects is on high school students. All students, from J1 onwards, have a dedicated iPad to facilitate learning. The school offers each student 5 to 10 different extracurricular academic activities or hobby groups.

Kelvinside Academy is divided into 4 divisions:

• Kindergarten
• Junior School,
• High School.

There is a well-established system of education that divides all students into four different faculties (Houses), each of which is represented by a color:

• red - Stewart House,
• yellow - Buchanan House,
• green - MacGregor House,
• blue - Colquhoun.

Kelvinside Academy provides full-time education only.

All J1-SP students are required to attend school lunch. Only SP students have access to the school snack bar during breaks and lunchtime. All students in grades S1-S6 can choose school lunches, and there is a school café (snack bar). Students in grades S5 and S6 are allowed to leave the school grounds at lunchtime.

Kelvinside Academy has a Breakfast Club and an After-School Club, which offer breakfast from 8:00 a.m. and after-school supervision until 6:00 p.m.

School life at the academy is full of adventures and unforgettable activities! At least one week a year, students leave their textbooks behind and go on a trip to the Highland Wilderness Campus, where they can go rock climbing, gorge walking, hiking, mountain biking and more.

Kelvinside Academy pupils have access to various clubs:

• Chess Club,
• Judo
• Hockey
• Soccer
• Photo Club,
• Athletics
• Handball
• Rugby
• Gardening Club,
• Lego Club,
• Art Club,
• Tennis
• Ecoclub,
• Science Club,
• Chorus
• Orchestra
• Theater Club.

Kelvinside Academy is located in the Kelvinside area of north Glasgow, close to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

As part of a commitment to transform the curriculum, Kelvinside Academy opened its Highland Wilderness Campus in May 2018. Located in the heart of Cairngorms, just two miles from the Lecht Ski Centre, the campus provides year-round access to mountains, forests and valleys. The building has been renovated to accommodate a large number of living spaces, cafes, restaurants and spacious public areas. The wildlife campus also boasts fishing equipment on a 3-mile stretch of the river.

In the summer of 2017, Kelvinside Academy acquired ownership of the 32-foot sailing yacht Level Best. Pupils can embark on learning sailing from the school's pier at James Watt Dock Marina in Greenock: a unique opportunity for every child to have a unique and memorable experience of cruising the waters of the River Clyde to the West Coast of Scotland.

The academic year at Kelvinside Academy runs from September to June. The year is divided into 3 trimesters, between which vacations are organized:

• Autumn trimester (September – December),
• Christmas Vacation (2 weeks),
• Spring trimester (January – March),
• Easter holidays (2 weeks),
• Summer term (April – June),
• Summer holidays (2 months, July and August).

Additional costs:

• Textbooks for all subjects,
• Consumables for art and information technology,
• Entry fees and subscriptions,
• Accident and travel insurance,
• Excursions according to the school curriculum,
• Exams
• Uniforms and sports uniforms,
• Transport
• Extracurricular activities,
• Puff.

Kelvinside Academy is licensed to sponsor student visas (formerly known as the Tier 4 visa), giving international students the opportunity to join the school community from all over the world.

The admission process to Kelvinside Academy is quite simple and consists of several stages:

• Visit School. Kelvinside Academy recommends that candidates and their parents visit the school to get acquainted with it: this is an opportunity to inspect the territory and classrooms, get acquainted with the teachers and ask all the questions of interest.
• Sign up. Fill out the registration form and pay the non-refundable registration fee. The documents requested by the school must be attached to the application form.
• Attestation and trial day. These days, the child can take part in the educational process, get acquainted with the children and communicate with the teachers. Candidates for admission to high school are tested and participate in classes where their level of knowledge and socialization is assessed.
• Interview. Future high school students must be interviewed by the rector of Kelvinside Academy: this will be a short informal interview, during which the child will be asked to tell about himself, his achievements and personal qualities. This part of the process tends to appeal to students the most, as it gives them complete freedom to use their imagination and just be themselves.
• Confirmation of enrollment. Children are assessed on the basis of their performance on the day of assessment (or trial day) and during an interview with the rector, upon receipt of a satisfactory report from their current school. Upon successful completion of all procedures, the Admissions Committee will contact the candidate to officially offer them a place. The place is confirmed upon receipt of a completed Enrollment Agreement from the parents.

Today, more than 600 people study at Kelvinside Academy.

Certification is a mandatory requirement when applying to Kelvinside Academy. Each age group has its own entrance exams:

• Kindergarten. With the help of play activities, the child's interaction with peers and adults is assessed.
• Junior School. Certification is organized in small groups, where teachers observe the child through a game form and interactive tasks. Communication with peers, language development, listening skills and concentration are evaluated.
• High School. The child will be invited to the Assessment Day: during the day, the child will be tested and take part in scientific experiments, sports and group activities. After that, an interview with the Rector of the Academy will be organized.

Kelvinside Academy strongly believes that a talented child should have the opportunity to pursue higher education and all the benefits and opportunities it provides.

Candidates for admission to Kelvinside Academy High School can apply for a scholarship with a family financial check. Payouts will be determined based on the results that the candidate shows throughout the admissions process. Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis to prospective students and newcomers who cannot afford full tuition fees. Such students will go through the normal enrollment process, in addition, parents/guardians will be required to complete a scholarship application form with details of their financial situation.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision