subject: Edinburgh Schools - An introduction to the education available in Edinburgh [print this page] Edinburgh Schools - An introduction to the education available in Edinburgh
Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh, has a very diverse education system including both state and private schools and education establishments covering all ages from six weeks old to eighteen plus.
The City of Edinburgh Council is the public body responsible for state maintained education in the city and is responsible for 23 secondary schools, 87 primary schools (many with nursery classes), 17 nursery schools, one under-fives centre and 12 special schools.
For the purposes of allocating places to state schools, Edinburgh is divided into" catchment areas" and these are the defined areas in which people must live in order to attend a particular school. Each catchment area includes at least one non-denominational primary school, one non-denominational secondary school, one Catholic primary school and one Catholic secondary school.
There are also 18 independent schools in Edinburgh including nursery, primary, secondary and boarding schools.
Edinburgh's nurseries include specialist, stand-alone nurseries run by the council as well as a number of nursery classes contained within primary schools. There are also a number of community centres which offer nursery or pre-school education, all free of charge for part time places.
In the private sector, there are over one hundred and twenty five nurseries which are either operated by individuals or by groups of nurseries. Although all of these are fee paying, many offer places which are subsidized by the City of Edinburgh Council, where the nursery is designated as a "partner provider". This means that the City of Edinburgh will reimburse some of the cost attributed to the part time places provided by that partner.
In Edinburgh, there are also a number of "special" schools operated by the City of Edinburgh Council which serve the needs of children with special needs. Many of the private schools in Edinburgh also offer places to children with special needs or learning difficulties.
