WHAT OTHERS SAY

We appreciate that we may be biased in our opinion of Ardvreck and so we have asked a variety of people, including past and present parents, pupils and Alumni to describe their experiences.

PARENTS

 

Ardvreck School provides the children with a culture of courage, teamwork, creativity, spontaneity and individualism. They go off to Public School down south or in Scotland and stand out for their life skills, sense of self-acceptance and their can-do attitude. They are known as the children who are always the first to volunteer. Gary Phillips at Oundle would endorse that. When I first went round Fettes a Geography teacher, recognising the uniform, exclaimed “Oh I love Ardvreck children! They are always so sparky and such great characters!”

E. Arbuthnott

We can’t recommend this little school highly enough. Our girls, aged 6 and 7, have just finished their first year at Ardvreck. They loved it from the moment they stepped foot in the door and we are all full of excitement for the years ahead. It’s an incredibly nurturing school with wonderful teachers.

Outdoor learning and adventures are an integral part of school life and help to build confident, kind, creative and resilient children. Not to mention the music, drama and sport … you have to love a school which has school ski days as part of their annual calendar! Lockdown learning was a huge success, hats off to all the staff on a truly amazing job.

S. Turner

My two children THRIVE in the care of Ardvreck. They are growing in confidence and SELF BELIEF and beginning to see just what they are capable of. Ardvreck is a unique school and I would not wish for them to go anywhere else.

B. Connell

Ardvreck absolutely understands the army ethos be it for a day family or a boarding family.  They understand the unpredictability of army life and their outstanding pastoral care means that day children can be swept up and looked after overnight at a moment’s notice.

Major A. Watson

We chose Ardvreck because it was a full boarding school which offered an excellent education and good pastoral care.  There were lots of children there at the weekend to enjoy the host of activities laid on by the exceptional house staff.

Major T. Carmichael

We have spent most of the last two years posted overseas.  Ardvreck has been incredibly supportive and our daughter has thoroughly enjoyed the transition to boarding despite the distances involved.  Ardvreck have always gone the extra mile to ensure that our needs are accommodated.

Major W. Colquhoun

We chose Ardvreck because we knew we would most likely be ‘long distance’ parents for a lot of our children’s prep school days and we needed a full boarding school where weekends were busy with activities and they would not be the only ones left in school.  Ardvreck ticked all the boxes and our children were looked after, educated, entertained and nursed to the highest of standards.  We had to call on the school to help a lot with travel arrangements and no more so than when we were posted to Oman for my youngest daughter’s last three and a half years.  The office staff were always there to help with taxis to and from the airport and deal with emergency emails from us when we had forgotten to send things like unaccompanied minor forms!  Nothing seemed too great a request for them and for us it was an absolute godsend to know that our daughter was in very capable and caring hands.  Our daughter’s journeys back to the UK were always overnight and she often arrived back at school totally exhausted and not a little tearful. She was immediately scooped up into the arms of the Junior House Matron who recognized a young girl’s tiredness and homesickness, and tucked up in to bed early with a warm drink and biscuit. She then made sure that friends popped in every now and again to keep her smiling.  Anyone who has had to say those awful goodbyes from overseas will know that this was the kind of care we needed for our children and we certainly got it at Ardvreck. We cannot speak highly enough of the care and attention our children received at Ardvreck.  Because the school would routinely go above and beyond the normal pastoral care we always felt confident and happy that our children were well and thriving – despite us being 3500 miles away.

Brigadier M. Dodson

PUPILS

On the weekends we do so many fun activities like laser tag and weaseling. Most of these things I have seen on TV but never been able to do myself. I had never done Weaselling or laser tag before! If you don’t want to do an activity you have the choice to stay at school and can have a lot of fun there too.

Form 1 Flexi-Boarder

I love the sport at Ardvreck and the fact that there are lots of unique opportunities to try new things (such as the low ropes). There are wonderful lessons and lots of brilliant people here.

Form 5 Pupil

The Boarders Club is great because we are all with our friends all the time. We get to do so many different activities in the evenings!

Form 5 Boarder

I love boarding at Ardvreck! It’s like a big sleepover and you get to be with your friends all the time. It feels really homely.

Form 6 Boarder

ALUMNI

My time at Ardvreck from 1946 to 1950 is still recalled both with happiness and gratitude for the foundation this experience provided in my youth and has stood me in good stead for the remainder of my 84 years. The guidance of the staff, and the enthusiasm of the Headmaster, then, taught me the values to which I have aspired ever after. A recent visit to the school showed me that the same spirit and kindness still pervades the staff – and the facilities, today, are really first class.

C. Normand (OA 50)

 

When I think of my time at Ardvreck, I think of building dens in the rhododendrons at break time, clad in wellies and a green puffa jacket. The sense of excitement and achievement in discovering waterfalls, beaches and summits of Munros on Barvicks. Saturday night films all snuggled with our duvets. Learning how to ski at Glenshee. Being cast as a pizza ingredient, and then one of the 101 Dalmatians in various school plays, yet still feeling like a star of the show. I could go on and on…

My four happy years at Ardvreck were immeasurably formative. They instilled me with a thirst for learning , a respect and love for the great outdoors, and, most importantly, a plethora of lifelong friendships. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience an Ardvreck education – it set me up for life and will stay with me forever.

C. Carmichael (OA 01)