As the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world, Dollar Academy continues to thrive, blending proud Scottish traditions with forward-looking innovation. Its Pipe Band regularly defends its ‘world champion’ title, and its sports teams win national competitions..
Founded in 1818, this school with something for everyone, sits nestled in the rolling hills of Scotland. Its imposing neoclassical main building is complemented by modern facilities, with the latest addition — the Future Institute — promising innovative teaching spaces and methods. Remarkably, it will also be Scotland’s first regenerative, self-sufficient Living Building. We are particularly impressed by how Dollar Academy seamlessly combines deep-rooted tradition with cutting-edge progress.
Excellence and sustainability permeate every corner of this institution — even the dining hall: in 2020, Dollar became the first independent boarding school in the UK to earn the Food for Life Green Kitchen Standard Award. The breadth of opportunities here is equally impressive, enabling pupils to develop fully in any direction they choose. At its heart lie three guiding values: work hard, get involved, be kind.
Akademis makes history – A Triple Award-Winning Consultancy (2023, 2024 & 2025) 🏆
Akademis has been recognised three years in a row by StudyTravel for excellence in the education sector:
2025 & 2024: Winners of the StudyTravel Secondary School Award (Best Western European Agency)
2023: Winner of the StudyTravel Star Award
(Best Western European Agency)
The StudyTravel Awards are among the most prestigious honours in international education, recognising outstanding quality, client focus and trusted partnerships. Being the first consultancy ever to win for three consecutive years is something we are deeply proud of. For us, these awards highlight our commitment to offering the very best guidance, personal service and long-term support for families embarking on this exciting journey.
Quick Overview
Age range: 5-18 Jahre
Number of students: 1300
Boarders: 8%
Students in Sixth Form: 15%
Boarding fees per term: £ 19,785.60
Key sports offerings besides the traditional team sports: rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis, golf
Nearest airports: Edinburgh (40 minutes), Glasgow (1 hour)
Key strengths at a glance
Wide range of subject options and specializations
Innovative learning experiences at the Futures Institute
Strong in rugby & hockey
Internationally successful pipe band
Dollar Academy – Photo Highlights
Dollar Academy in detail
Academic Excellence
The school’s diversity shines academically too: subject options include Design and Manufacture, Engineering, Graphic Communication, and even Astronomy. Regular tutor meetings — in the Sixth Form, one-to-one — and an enthusiastic Learning Support team create an ideal environment for achievement. The results speak for themselves: in 2022, 62% of leavers achieved the top A*/A grades. Together with the Future Institute, the school also offers an online platform where pupils collaborate with universities and businesses on innovative projects. The well-stocked library, with over 9,000 fiction and non-fiction titles, is another wonderful resource for expanding horizons.
Sport
Whether it’s dance, swimming, climbing, or more unusual pursuits like croquet, diving, or surfing, Dollar offers an extraordinary range of high-quality sporting activities. Rugby, in particular, is a strong area. Coach Don Caskie — who has trained teams at European and World Championship level — regularly leads the school’s sides to national competitions. Hockey is played with just as much passion and success, with Dollar crowned Scottish champions in both 2018 and 2019. In golf, the school partners with the luxurious Gleneagles resort, offering pupils first-class coaching. Cricket is also taken seriously: recently, Dollar became the national training centre for Scotland’s U15, U17, and U19 national teams.
Creative Arts
One of Dollar Academy’s most striking features is its 160-strong Pipe Band, which regularly retains its world champion status and performs at national and international events. Every summer morning, pupils enjoy the sound of the band practising in the quad. Music thrives beyond the pipes too, with choirs, ensembles, and even a samba band. Theatre is performed with passion, and the annual senior production is a highlight of the school calendar. In the Art Department, pupils can explore everything from illustration and sketchbooks to stop-motion animation in the photo studio. Aspiring artists, lawyers, and medics alike benefit from tailored and expert support with their university applications.
Extracurricular Life
The dazzling array of extracurricular options truly offers something for everyone. Among the 100 or so clubs and activities are fishing, card games, coding, Ancient Greek, and Japanese — not forgetting traditional Scottish Highland dancing! For the more hands-on learner, there’s the chance to build a computer or even craft your own guitar. Budding journalists will love contributing to the school magazine. Even at weekends, boarders enjoy a lively programme of outings, from trips to theme parks to fun activities like paintball or treasure hunts. Older pupils can also take independent day trips to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
This is Dollar Academy
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In Summary
Dollar Academy is a Scottish school that enables your child to flourish in every direction.
That said, there are many other excellent boarding schools in Scotland that also offer outstanding all-round development.
We warmly encourage you to explore further. Please feel free to reach out to us for personalised advice. Thanks to years of close relationships with these schools, we understand their unique characteristics and can give you an authentic insight.
We are confident we can help you find the right school for your child.
On our Boarding Schools in England page, you will find:
- Insider glimpses of daily school life
- Exclusive photos and videos from our visits
- Our strong connections with Admissions Offices
- Expert preparation for the interview process
What Makes Akademis Stand Out?
- We remain your trusted contact throughout your child’s stay, well beyond the placement process.
- We provide support with guardianship, visa applications and recognition of qualifications within the German school system.
- We offer fully tailored advice. Our school recommendations are unique to each child and can run to 40 pages in length.
- Families receive our 30+ page boarding school guide, packed with practical tips and insights.
- We prepare your child thoroughly for entrance exams and interviews to maximise their chances of success.
- We arrange school visits, ensuring you have the opportunity to experience each school first-hand.
Every boarding school has its own character and ethos. Having personally visited more than 100 schools, we understand these nuances. We also work with schools that do not pay commission, ensuring that our advice remains independent and always in the best interest of your child.
Our roots lie in the UK. For years, we have placed 200–300 families annually into British boarding schools. While our portfolio now includes schools beyond Britain, the UK remains at the heart of what we do.
Our tailored approach results in exceptional acceptance rates. For example, in 2022/23, all seven students we placed at the highly selective Malvern College received offers – a 100% success rate.
We arrange for prospective families to speak with our current students to hear first-hand accounts of life at a UK boarding school.
