Dollar Academy

One of the best private schools in Scotland Dollar Academy is located in the same city, near the hilly area Ochil Hills - the road to Edinburgh takes only about 40 minutes, and to the international airport in Edinburgh from the Dollar Academy can be reached by taxi in only half an hour (the distance from Klackmannshire county to London is 652 kilometers).

The city of the Dollar is a fairly well-known and lively tourist center: its main attraction is the ancient Campbell Castle, which annually attracts thousands of people, lovers of history and architecture. The prestigious "neighbours" of the Acadamy Dollar are the university centers of Sterling and St. Andrews: such a student atmosphere gives the students even more comfort and opportunities for persistent, purposeful learning. The educational institution manages to maintain a friendly, calm, chamber atmosphere - from the very first days of stay here, students feel at home.

Dollar Academy is the oldest day school in the world, a boarding school of joint type. The Dollar Academy was founded in 1818: its rich history and traditions are revered by the teaching staff, which, nevertheless, is not afraid to introduce new teaching methods and innovative approaches to education, due to which the school is modern, comfortable, functional and maintains high educational standards. Graduates of the school without special difficulties enter the leading universities in Britain and the world: Oxbridge, Edinburgh University, Glasgow University, Warwick, St Andrews, Durham, UCL, LSE, Bristol and many others. Access is facilitated not only by the highest quality of teaching: the Scottish educational system is highly valued in the world due to the depth of knowledge received by students. An important role is played by developed programs of cooperation and partnership with other students and established programs for student exchange.

Dollar Academy is open for boys and girls from 5 to 18 years old, joint studying is practiced, students from all over the world can apply. The total number of pupils today reaches 1,227 people, of which about 90 are enrolled on a full board basis. The share of foreign students in the school is small - about 20% of the total number. Most students come from China, Russia, Germany, Spain and France.

Dollar Academy is divided into next educational stages:

• Preparatory School for children from 5 to 9 years old;
• Junior (Primary 6 & 7 School) for children aged 9-11 years;
• Senior School for students 12-18 years old.

The Dollar Academy is rightly proud of the academic successes of its graduates - in Scotland their academic performance is in the first place. About 95% of graduates successfully passed the Highers exams in three or more selected disciplines - for example, in 2007 for Scotland as a whole, this parameter was only 22%. Also it  is high the percentage of students who successfully enter selected prestigious and advanced universities - especially popular specialties are medicine, business, engineering and law.

Dollar Academy aims to stimulate everyone to high academic achievements, to educate interest in pursuits and enthusiasm, to maximize the strengths of each. Education in Scotland is built not only with the help of classical academic studies - students attend fascinating seminars, work in scientific laboratories, go on exciting trips and on sightseeing tours. This approach allows international students to increase the level of self-confidence and in discipline knowledge, to raise ambitiousness and at the same time respect for the opinions of others, to awaken the craving for knowledge that students support their whole life. It is particularly valuable that senior pupils are given a sufficiently significant degree of freedom and independence: the teaching staff fully trusts their pupils, does not question their personal and moral qualities, the ability to take responsibility for words and deeds.

In their free time students Dollar Academy expects more than 70 clubs and communities, various groups and studios: this is an excellent opportunity to find a new hobby, to show your abilities and skills. Also, extra-curricular activities, organized by teachers and educators, help children demonstrate leadership qualities, develop communication skills, creativity and originality.

To be enrolled in the Dollar Academy, the entrant is required to pass a competitive program:

• Confirm a high level of English proficiency
• Submit a progress report and a testimonial attested in the previous school
• Pass the math and english test
• Testing for logical thinking
• In some cases, you can go through a personal interview with the director of an educational institution.

Applications can be submitted at any time of the year, but the earlier you send your request, the more chances for successful consideration and enrollment in the ranks of students of the Academy.

• Prep School core subjects include English, Mathematics, Health and Wellbeing, Science, Social Studies, and Technologies,
• In Junior School, specialist teachers cover Art, Music, PE, Modern Languages, Laboratory Science, Engineering and Design Technology, Home Economics, and Computing,
• Senior School offers a wider range of SQA examination subjects than any other school in Scotland,
• In Form I and Form II, pupils study a broad range of subjects before choosing areas in which to specialize,
• In Form III, pupils select seven or eight subjects and begin the two-year National Qualifications course,
• In Form V, pupils take Higher examinations in five subjects, while in Form VI they can choose additional options, including Advanced Highers,
• In the final years, pupils can choose from 34 subjects.

• The school’s Pipe Band has won a world championship,
• The Combined Cadet Force regularly wins national competitions in military skills, shooting, and first aid,
• At the 2025 SSAA Indoor Championships, pupils won U20 and U15 gold medals in both the 60m and 200m, plus bronze in the U15 800m,
• In 2024, the Junior I and Junior II boys’ teams won bronze at the SSAA Primary Cross-Country, while the U14 and U17 girls’ teams took silver and bronze, respectively, at the SSAA Senior Cross-Country.

About 60% of graduates go on to Russell Group universities each year. The school highlights these individual destinations:

• Stanford — 2021,
• Harvard — 2022,
• Columbia — 2024.

Dollar Academy has small, family-style boarding houses, with 25 boarders for each pair of houseparents.

Almost all of the school’s 100 boarders are full-time boarders. A small number are weekly boarders, and flexi-boarding is not available. Half of the boarders are from the UK, while the other half represent 24 nationalities.

Dollar Academy has equipped three small and cozy residences for a comfortable stay of students, each of which has recently undergone extensive renovation.

• McNabb & amp; Tait House - a men's residence, designed for 49 people. Pupils of lower grades live by two, high school students can claim a separate room. Students are provided with PC, TV and DVD equipment, the atmosphere of comfort is complemented by local pets - affectionate cat and labrador.
• Argyll House and Heyworth House are girls' dorms built in classic Victorian style with a stunning panoramic view from the windows. Schoolgirls of younger age also live on 2-3 persons basis in one room, the pupils of the senior classes in the majority occupy separate rooms. As in the man's residence, there is everything necessary for comfortable rest: PC, wireless Internet, TV, piano, small kitchen and a cozy common recreation room.

All students who live in a boarding school receive full and varied meals. In addition, laundry services are available, such as laundry and ironing. The order in the buildings is provided by educators and curators, as well as student elders who enter the administrative structure of the educational institution - they all live together with students in each of the residences.

Subject list: Accounting, Art, biology, business, chemistry, design, economics, engineering, English literature, geography, history, Information Technology, maths, music, painting, physical education, physics
Activity list: badminton, Ballroom dancing, Chorus, cricket, culinary arts, curling, diving, downhill skiing, Drawing on canvas, fencing, fishing, football, golf, gymnastics, hockey, horseback riding, mountaineering, music studio, Photostudio, Rifle shooting, rugby, surfing, swimming, track-and-field athletics, volleyball, water polo, yoga

The school offers around 120 clubs and other extracurricular activities. Options include:

• hundreds of pupils taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program each year,
• Sunday trips for boarders to sporting events, theme parks, paintball, go-karting, laser quest, climbing walls, shops, the cinema, shows, and concerts,
• weekly art clubs for pupils in Junior School and Forms I–II,
• Craft Club, which covers traditional craft techniques, CAD, and CAM,
• athletics for pupils of all ages, from Prep 1 to Form VI, throughout the summer term,
• Senior Badminton for pupils in Forms II–VI, held every Friday after school throughout the year.

• Excellent quality education: a stable 1-2 place in the ranking of the best schools in Scotland
• The oldest Dollar Academy is featured by a stronghold of history and tradition
• Respect for the person, maximum personal growth, comprehensive support and development of moral and ethical qualities
• Comfortable living conditions
• The functionality and the present of technical equipment, the availability of any required equipment
• The broadest opportunities for sporting activities
• Huge opportunities for the development of creative talents and potential
• Friendly, chamber atmosphere.

Dollar Academy proudly highlights its status as the most sports school in the UK. Students of the Acadamy Dollar have great opportunities for sports and active recreation thanks to the combination of the flat and hilly terrain of the region: various hikes and expeditions, horse riding, cross country crosses. The total area of ​​the school territory is 28 hectares (70 acres). There is also free access to the pool, cricket fields, sports and fitness centers. You can play football and golf, do shooting, curling, badminton, athletics, try your hand at shooting, chess, gymnastics, rock climbing. In addition, students can dance and go fishing, surfing and skiing. Cricket, tennis, hockey and rugby are especially popular sports. There are even such exotic types of leisure as helicopter flying and falconry! Sports teams made up of the Dollar Academy pupils often represent the country at national competitions, so the level of sports training of an educational institution is so high.

Artists and gifted children will not be left out: they have mugs and sections for photography, ceramics and sculpture, drawing and animation, and clothing design. Pupils of the Academy regularly win in national competitions, many of them annually enter prestigious colleges of arts, the educational institution constantly holds exhibitions of creative works and achievements.

The lessons of the drama club, the production of musicals are very popular - for this purpose the Academy Dollar has its own theater.

The Academy also pays great attention to music lessons: five choral ensembles, three orchestras, two Jazz studios and ensemble of pipers, recognized as the best in Scotland. A special recording studio is opened for children, and a Christmas concert, which includes about 450 participants, is annually held in Edinburgh, in Usher Hall.

Pupils with great enthusiasm are engaged in the Cadet Corps of the Academy - CCF has won three years in national competitions in combat and drill studying, and various awards have been awarded to a brass band and a team of drummers.

All clubs and interest groups in which students can borrow the Academy Dollar in their spare time can not be counted:

• Economics
• Seismology
• Arts
• Japanese
• Ballet
• Philosophy
• Literature
• Puzzles and board games
• The debate
• Child care
• Diving
• Politics
• Cooking
• Multimedia technology
• Recording and creating music
• Entrepreneurship
• Gardening
• Yoga
• Making ornaments
• Journalism and the school newspaper and much, much more.

• Preparatory school
• High school
• High school

The price includes:

• Academic classes according to the program
• When paying boarding house - accommodation and meals, school uniform and bedding
• Use of school infrastructure.

 Additional payment:

• Visa fee (in the embassy)
• Deposit
• Registration fee (non-refundable)
• Flight tickets and Transfer
• Medical insurance policy
• School lunches 
• Additional leisure activities at will.

The non-refundable registration fee is ninety pounds per child.

Extras:

• Registration fee (for a programme/course) 150 GBP
• Deposit for a course/programme 1500 GBP

Dollar Academy graduates go on to study at leading universities across Scotland and the UK, as well as at American, Canadian, and European institutions.

• Children aged 10 or older may apply for boarding,
• Boarding applicants need scanned copies of the child’s passport photo page, birth certificate, two most recent school reports, and any educational assessment reports, if applicable,
• The school may ask parents and other fee payers for copies of identification documents,
• The school may contact the child’s current school for a reference and to check whether any fees are outstanding,
• Day applicants entering Form I who seek means-tested financial assistance submit an enrollment application and a Note of Interest, take an entrance assessment, and attend an interview with the Rector. The school also reviews their primary school reports.

Dollar Academy offers means-tested financial assistance for students entering Form I as day students, prioritizing families with the greatest financial need. Assistance may cover all or part of tuition, depending on the family's circumstances. Bursary applications are not accepted when annual pre-tax household income exceeds seventy thousand pounds.

The financial assessment considers household income, investments, savings, assets that can be sold, and expenses. Families must complete a financial assessment form and provide supporting documents, which may include business accounts, P60 statements, rent or mortgage information, bank statements, separation agreements, and benefit records. The school may request updated financial information at any time and reduce or withdraw assistance if the family's circumstances improve.

Awards continue throughout the student's time at the school, subject to satisfactory academic progress and compliance with school rules. Recipients usually receive help with uniforms and sports equipment every two years, along with support for local school trips and events. Parents normally pay for daily travel, lunches, and extracurricular activities, although the school may offer additional help at its discretion. Recipients are generally not permitted to join overseas school trips outside the curriculum or expensive overseas trips. Participation may lead to assistance being reduced or withdrawn.

For existing families facing financial difficulties, means-tested assistance may be available for students in Forms IV and V, and exceptionally Form VI, subject to sufficient funds. Students in Prep, Junior, and Forms I–III are not eligible for this hardship assistance.

For families whose first application was submitted after November 23, 2016, a 25% tuition discount applies to the third and subsequent children attending the school at the same time. For boarders, this sibling discount covers tuition only. If siblings enroll out of age order, the discount applies to the younger child or children. Only one fee discount may apply at a time.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision