Our move to co-education from 2026 Find out more
Welcome to ESMS Junior School. We are delighted that you are considering ESMS for your child. My name is Hannah Ireland and I am the Admissions Manager here at the Junior School. The following pages will tell you everything you need to know about our admissions process. I am always on hand to answer any questions you have and to arrange a tour of our School.
A member of our Leadership Team would be delighted to meet you and give a tour of our facilities.
You can contact me by email: jsadmissions@esms.org.uk or by phone, Tel: +44(0)131 311 1115 at any time.
“ESMS Junior School is incredible. Their continuous desire to help every child achieve their full potential is unwavering.”
You can join The Junior school at any time from Nursery to Primary 7. While you can join ESMS at any time, we find that the earlier children join the better they will do in every aspect of their education.
Children joining Primary 1 and 2 enjoy small class sizes, a range of specialist lessons and a dedicated full time Teacher Assistant for each class ensuring that every child is nurtured and challenged.
For parents wishing to leave their applications until later up the school we recommend you start in Primary 6. There are fewer spaces in Primary 7 and families leaving it till this point can be left disappointed. Primary 6 is also a great time to join for social and educational reasons. It gives our teachers two years to fill in any gaps in their learning and ensure they are prepared academically for Senior School. Socially we form new classes at the start of Primary 6 by mixing up our own Primary 5 children and adding new ones which means that new boys and girls find easier to settle in. The boys and girls then have two years to build strong friendships which they will take with them into Senior School. The vast majority of children in our Primary 7 move on into Senior 1.
Our School assessments can be arranged at any time during the school year although most take place between October and April and for those living far away from Edinburgh, we may be able to send out entrance papers or arrange for the assessment to be administered by your child’s current school. Primary 1, 2 and 3 assessments are carried out in a one-to-one situation with a senior teacher who will put your child at ease and make the session fun. Primary 4-7 children are assessed in small groups. There is no pass mark for any of our assessments, we just want to make sure that we can meet the needs of your child.
We allocate places for some of our Year Groups by January so it is a good idea to get your application in early. However, if you haven’t managed to apply in time don’t despair. We do sometimes have late vacancies, so it is always worth getting in touch and we will endeavour to find your child a place.
The best way to find out about our School is to come along for a visit. Tours of Primary 1, 2 and 3 are undertaken by Mrs Alison Lydon, Senior Deputy Head of Early Education so you can see the children enjoying their school day and have the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Our Primary 4-7 tours are led by the children themselves so that you and your child can find out everything you need to know from the people who know our school the best. Please contact our Admissions Manager, Hannah Ireland, to arrange a tour.
Click the Apply Now button below to complete our application form. Once you have submitted your form I will contact you to discuss your application. Please note that a non refundable application fee of £90 per child will be taken in the final step of the application process.
