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Stewart's Melville College
Secondary · Independent · Edinburgh
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Make it great again
Bad bad and bad. Please bring back both sex it is no fun to gang bang the same gender
A culture of bullying & harassment toward anyone remotely different
I'm a black, gay male. Whilst this has caused me next to no issues in my daily life, Stewart's Melville College has relentlessly harassed, bullied, alienated & berated me for who I am. Students make me sit alone at lunch, and teachers sit me alone in classes. When I report this behaviour, i'm met with "oh boys will be boys", even by those in charge of the school. I can't make myself clear enough, this school is backwards & treats its students as customers, not pupils.
A prison for children
For me, the school was like a prison that I had to attend every day. The only time I was happy was when I walked away from it.
I was on a government assisted place which, at the time, meant that the government paid my school fees on my behalf. I came from a single parent family of three children where money was extremely tight. My mum probably earned less in a year than most parents earned in a day, week or month.
On my first day I listened to my ‘class mates’ talk about what cars they were getting for their 17th birthday (I joined in 5th year). I was completely ostracised and bullied by them once they realised that I was ‘different’. My way of handling this was to never speak but only to listen - something that is completely opposite to my personality. I was scared to speak because every time I did people mocked me and made fun of me.
The teachers also participated in the bullying. I had long hair, by choice. As someone who was a teenager in the mid-90s and was a guitar player this was part of my identity. One teacher used to pull my hair down in front of my face, physically touching me in front of everyone, in order to make me look stupid and humiliate me. He would say that my hair cut was ‘not regulation’. He used to do this to other kids too.
We were also forced to play rugby. A sport that, by this point, I had no love for as I was at least 1 year younger than my classmates and hadn’t matured at the same rate as them. This was another opportunity for the system to bully and denigrate me.
For me, this school represents everything that is wrong with modern day society. Elitist and uncaring: it creates people who have little understanding or appreciation for the realities of life.
I’ve always said that “school was like a prison for children” and that is because I was a pupil at Stewart’s Melville College.
I was on a government assisted place which, at the time, meant that the government paid my school fees on my behalf. I came from a single parent family of three children where money was extremely tight. My mum probably earned less in a year than most parents earned in a day, week or month.
On my first day I listened to my ‘class mates’ talk about what cars they were getting for their 17th birthday (I joined in 5th year). I was completely ostracised and bullied by them once they realised that I was ‘different’. My way of handling this was to never speak but only to listen - something that is completely opposite to my personality. I was scared to speak because every time I did people mocked me and made fun of me.
The teachers also participated in the bullying. I had long hair, by choice. As someone who was a teenager in the mid-90s and was a guitar player this was part of my identity. One teacher used to pull my hair down in front of my face, physically touching me in front of everyone, in order to make me look stupid and humiliate me. He would say that my hair cut was ‘not regulation’. He used to do this to other kids too.
We were also forced to play rugby. A sport that, by this point, I had no love for as I was at least 1 year younger than my classmates and hadn’t matured at the same rate as them. This was another opportunity for the system to bully and denigrate me.
For me, this school represents everything that is wrong with modern day society. Elitist and uncaring: it creates people who have little understanding or appreciation for the realities of life.
I’ve always said that “school was like a prison for children” and that is because I was a pupil at Stewart’s Melville College.
Stewart’s Melville
The teachers don’t have the qualifications to be teaching Nat 5 and definitely not advanced higher and the school do nothing to get better teachers
Stewart’s Melvilles
Terrible school they couldn’t get themselves together for online work and just had the kids doing there own thing and this really shows with there recent results
amazing school
amazing, dedicated staff educating boys and teaching them to become mature and talented men. best school around by far.
Stewart’s Melville College
SMC is a single sex, independent school located in Edinburgh. My experience has been world class. Passionate teachers, a friendly environment and a host of opportunities is available for all. SMC prepares pupils for life and I couldn’t be more proud to attend such a brilliant school.
best school around x
good pat, teachers are soond so are pupils
Stew Mel
Best school on earth, mon the stew 💛❤️🖤
Queensferry Road, EH4 3EZ, Edinburgh
0131 311 1000
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