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China, Shenzhen
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Merchiston describes pastoral care and boarding provision as central to students' social and emotional development, stating that its boarding practice aims to “encourage physical, social and emotional development” and to develop a sense of identity within a community. The school cites tutors, houseparents and a boarding team who live on site and work alongside teachers to provide day-to-day pastoral support. The Leadership Team page identifies senior staff with pastoral responsibilities (for example a Deputy Head with pastoral duties), indicating leadership oversight of pastoral provision. The school also emphasises home–school partnerships as part of its approach to student wellbeing.
The school's Admissions and Application Information states that children with certain learning needs may be considered for learning support only after submission of an educational psychologist's report and that such applicants are assessed on an individual basis. The website also refers to a “Learning Support Center” as part of the school's student‑centred framework and lists vacancies for Learning Support Teachers, indicating in‑school provision for differentiated learning. The admissions page explains the school seeks information on additional support needs at application to determine reasonable adjustments. The school does not state on its website that it is a specialist SEN institution; admissions decisions for applicants with SEN are handled case‑by‑case.
Merchiston lists staff with specific EAL roles (for example named English & EAL teachers on the staff pages) and advertises EAL teaching posts, indicating dedicated EAL staffing. The Admissions information notes that, where applicable, the Head of Section can require a student to enter an intensive English programme, showing an established pathway for additional English support. Job listings for Juniors EAL and school staff profiles further confirm EAL provision is part of the school's staffing and admissions arrangements. The school therefore documents EAL support but does not publish a detailed EAL curriculum on the pages cited.
The school runs a published “Mental Health Week” and reports activities led by a named school counsellor (Jenny Jiang) including sessions on resilience, mindfulness and communication, indicating organised whole‑school mental wellbeing initiatives. Boarding and pastoral pages also emphasise promoting health and welfare and note a fully staffed medical centre for students in boarding, showing operational health and welfare support. The school's wider materials reference a Student Growth Centre focused on learning and wellbeing as part of its educational framework. These pages together show both scheduled wellbeing events and structural pastoral/medical provisions rather than a single counselling policy document.
Merchiston publishes a dedicated “Child Protection and Safeguarding Principles” page that describes measures such as trained site security, visitor challenge procedures and alignment of site security with the school's pastoral systems. The page sets out operational expectations for security staff and links safeguarding to everyday site management. Leadership and governance pages further state that pastoral care and safeguarding are priorities for the Leadership Team and Board. The website therefore provides an explicit safeguarding statement and describes specific on‑site practices to support child protection.
Merchiston International School (MIS) Shenzhen opened in August 2018 as an overseas branch of Merchiston Castle School (Edinburgh) and serves students aged 4–18 (Early Years to Year 13). The Longhua campus lists facilities that include a library, multimedia classrooms, science laboratories, theatre and recording studio, an indoor swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, an indoor virtual golf hall, gymnasium and landscaped gardens. MIS delivers a British-based programme (Early Years Foundation Stage and the British National Curriculum), with IGCSE and IAL/GCE AS & A Level pathways and an American AP pathway available for Years 10–13; the school also operates a separate Qianhai campus in Shekou. MIS operates a boarding programme alongside day provision and publishes class-size maxima (Early Years 16; Years 1–11 typically up to 22; Years 12–13 up to 16). Co-curricular offerings include sports, drama, music, debate and outreach/community projects.
