Belmont House School is an independent

Independent school (UK)

An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...

 co-educational school in Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...

, East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, providing primary

Primary education

A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...

 and secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...

. It is based in the former Broom House, a Georgian category B listed building.

History

The School was founded in 1929 in Greenhill Avenue, Giffnock

Giffnock

Giffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb of Glasgow in the East Renfrewshire Council area, within the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 as a boys' preparatory school, but moved to its current home in the former mansion house of the Broom Estate in 1934. The Broom House was built in 1840, possibly to a design by David Hamilton, and was the birthplace of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll

Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll

Margaret, sometime Duchess of Argyll , was a notorious British Socialite, best remembered for her 1963 divorce case against her second husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll, which featured salacious photographs and scandalous stories.-Birth and youth:Margaret was the only child of Helen Mann Hannay and...

. In 1977, the secondary department opened, and the School began admitting female pupils in 2000.

Junior School

The school was originally established as a preparatory (or primary) school. Today, pupils are taught all subjects in the Scottish 5-14 Curriculum, and sit the cycling proficiency test and a programme of Emergency First Aid in Primary 6. The Junior School also organises fundraising activities which benefit various charities.

However, it is in an awkward area which is diifficult to reach and causes alot of tension on the surrounding road. Locals strongly feel that the location should be moved elsewhere irrelevant to the good quality of education.

Senior School

The Senior School opened in 1977, and begins begins in Transitus (Primary 7). Unusually for Scottish schools, pupils are presented for Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 or Intermediate 2 examinations at the end of S3, rather than S4, and spend two years studying for Highers, instead of the usual one. Further Highers or Advanced Highers may be taken in S6. Pupils also take part in Personal and Social Education, Religious Education and Physical Education.