Our School
pastoral care
At St Columba’s we place great emphasis on the care and wellbeing of all pupils. Our students are known as individuals; their personal qualities are appreciated, and their individual needs are recognised.
We take a proactive approach to Pastoral Care, championing resilience over reliance and empowering our young people to have the confidence to navigate life’s challenges. This method encompasses academic, social, and emotional development, reflecting our belief that wellbeing is the foundation of education.
PUPIL VOICE
Listening to our pupils is at the heart of our Pastoral Care approach. We routinely gather feedback, monitoring how safe, happy and respected our students feel. This data-driven ethos allows us to continually refine our approach, addressing the needs of our young people.
From this data, we have created impactful programmes for our pupils, responding to their concerns, proactively addressing current issues in our society, and arming them with tools to cope with life’s challenges.
We became the first school in Scotland to achieve UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting School status (ages 3-18) on our first attempt, which is a testament to our strides in inclusivity and pupil input.
In 2026 we have also become the first independent school to achieve the Respectme Reward, recognising our commitment to anti-bullying.
What our parents say
“Of equal value [to academics] has been the school’s pastoral care, guidance, and extra-curricular leadership opportunities which have positively shaped the good people they have become.”
Parent of a Senior School pupil, 2025
our house system
Our House system promotes a strong sense of community. Pupils belong to one of the four Houses – Craigmarloch, Duchal, Kilallan and Strathgryffe.
The Head of House is the person responsible for a child’s pastoral care throughout their time at school and is a pupil or parent’s first point of contact. They oversee pupil’s personal and social education, monitoring progress and attainment, subject choice and UCAS applications.
The House Captains also play an important role in supporting the members, particularly the younger pupils of their House. Every new pupil is allocated a Regent from Senior VI to ensure that their entry to Senior School is a happy one.
