The Junior School

The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent Day School situated in the north of Edinburgh, next to the world famous Botanic Gardens. The Inverleith area of Edinburgh in which the school sits is a pleasant urban area.

The school became fully coeducational in 2007. Children may start at The Academy Junior School at the age of 2 in one of our nursery units. There are around 90 pupils in total in these units under the direction of the Head of Nursery. In the main part of the school there are around 400 pupils from the ages of 4½ to 11 in six year groups, Primary 1 through to Primary 6. The school currently has an average class size of around 19 and a pupil teacher ratio of about 14 to 1. Each year group normally has three classes and in the first 4 years, each class is taught by a class teacher who takes responsibility for all the core academic subjects and is supported by specialist teaching in Art, PE and Music. In primary 5 and Primary 6 the pupils start to follow a subject based timetable and most staff will teach English, Maths and at least one other specialist subject.

School Management

The day to day running of the Junior school is undertaken by a collegiate senior management structure led by the Head Teacher, and comprising the Deputy Head, the Head of Nursery, the Head of Early Years, and The Head of Upper Primary.

The Junior School campus is situated approximately one mile north of the senior school to which pupils transfer without further examination at the age of around 11 years. The Rector of The Edinburgh Academy is responsible for the running of the whole school but devolves the day to day operation of the Junior school to the Head Teacher and her senior management team. The Head Teacher of the Junior School is a member of the whole school Senior Management Team and also reports directly to the Academy’s Board of Directors.

The Edinburgh Academy has a considerable reputation within Scottish educational circles and is widely believed to be amongst one of Scotland’s premier schools.

The junior school is administered by its own Head Teacher,  but the staff of The Academy is considered to be one staff,  and in-service days are often held together.  These normally take place on the day preceding the formal start of each term.  In addition the teaching of many subjects requires close liaison between staff of the junior and senior schools.

The Rector is responsible to the Court of Directors for the running of the entire school.

The Senior School

In addition to specific responsibilities, all teaching staff at The Edinburgh Academy are expected to:

1. Plan,  prepare and teach lessons to all assigned pupils according to their educational needs
2. Assess, record and report on the progress of the pupils within the guidelines written in the Staff Handbook
3. Engage with the wider school curriculum in a manner which is consistent with the ethos of the school
4. Carry out such administrative and other routine tasks as are outlined in the Staff Handbook
5. Demonstrate a commitment to both individual professional development and to the developing curriculum in the school
6. Carry out any other duties and assume any other responsibilities as the Rector shall from time to time reasonably request
7. Be conscious at all times of the importance of the good name of the school and to act in a professional and constructive manner with pupils,  parents and external agencies.

The academic responsibilities of the senior school are discharged through organisation into teaching departments.  A list of these departments can be found by consulting the "Curriculum" section of this website.  All departments have their own head of department (principal teacher.)  There is no faculty system.  Larger departments may have additional promoted posts in the form of heads of subject (assistant principal teachers.) All teaching departments have their own departmental handbooks, which give details of the courses taught, resources available, and recommended practices for the delivery of specific subjects.

All teachers have a pastoral responsibility for the welfare of their own pupils,  and for the wellbeing of the student body in general.  Specific "duty" staff are nominated by rota each week.   Their special tasks include the supervision of morning assembly,  the maintenance of good order during breaks,   and the invigilation of detention class after school on Fridays.   However any member of staff encountering a problem is expected to take action upon it himself / herself.   Pupils are divided by year group and by class,  and the primary exercise of pastoral care is conducted by class teachers.  Pastoral responsibilities in the senior school are additionally discharged through "Year Heads",  responsible respectively for the Geits (Year 1),  seconds / thirds,  fourths / fifths,  sixths and sevenths.

The Academy practises an open style of management which involves staff in pre-implementation discussions of major policy changes. Meetings of the whole staff precede the start of each term, and from time to time a "Staff Forum" will be held after school. Working parties of staff are set up to consider the practicalities of significant developments. An example of this procedure was the extensive consultations on a new salary structure following the publication of the McCrone Report into teachers' pay and conditions in Scotland. From time to time members of the teaching staff are also invited to give expert advice at meetings of Committees of the Court of Directors. For example the Finance and General Purposes Committee has more than once invited staff to assist its consideration of the implications of the Higher Grade reforms for The Academy.

All teaching staff are automatically members of the "Common Room" which holds meetings at least once per term to consider matters of interest or concern. The facilities of the Common Room have recently been refurbished in line with a scheme developed by staff. The President of the Common Room is elected by members, and assists the communication process between staff, management and Court of Directors. The Director of Administration is reponsible for timetabling and examination related matters. The Deputy Rector is primarily responsible for the direction of studies and matters of discipline in the senior school.