June 18, 2025

Firstly, we are excited to announce that as of today we are officially legally a school, approved by the Scottish Department of Education and included in the register of Scottish Independent Schools. This is the result of a long thorough process during which government inspectors examined our school proposal, scrutinising our curriculum plans, our business and governance plans, the appropriateness of our facilities, our staff, and more.

Our team has done its best to put together an excellent proposal in every respect. This was recognised by the Registrar official who dealt with our application, who said that he was impressed by the quality of our application and expressed his confidence that the school will do well.

We are particularly proud of achieving this official recognition since our proposal included several non-standard elements that meant that we were scrutinised more closely. Namely, our school is one of the first schools in Scotland to bring back a Classical curriculum – a top tier academic programme characterised by rich-content and rigour. We are also the first Orthodox Christian School ever to open in Scotland. Please pray with us that we will live up to the promise of excellence that we have written into the design of the school. With God’s help we hope it will take root and bear much fruit for our nation.

Another reason for celebration is that we have managed to put together a blessed staff team. We have employed an experienced and able teacher who shares our hopes for the school, and who has enthusiastically embraced the challenging work that lies ahead of us now to make the school a reality. Together with our teacher, Mr. Tefler, we have hired an excellent teaching assistant, our very own home-grown Stephen Griffith. Any of you who know Stephen well and have had the pleasure of conversing with him will understand why we are so pleased that he is able to join the school. Besides our teaching staff Mrs. Bell has generously volunteered her time to the school to assist in the general running of the school and as our play specialist. Mrs. Bell has decades of experience, first as an early learning practitioner, then as a manager and owner of a nursery, and also as a teaching assistant.

We have chosen the staff for their experience and talent in the classroom, but also for their good disposition, their love for learning, their commitment and perseverance in the pursuit of excellence. As a board we can honestly say that we are excited for what lies ahead. We look forward to working together with our team to realise the potential of the school.

I need to mention also the various volunteers who have offered to run workshops with the students. We have a wonderful list of activities lined up for this year including: wood working, wood carving, knitting, martial arts, traditional Scottish dancing, craft-making, learning about owls, iconography and more. I will be finalising the plans for this year’s learning over the next month, so if you would like to volunteer some time to share your interests with our pupils or if you would like to offer your skills and knowledge to help in the school management (e.g. accounting, human resources/employment law) then please do get in touch with us at: standrewsschoolscotland@gmail.com.

With God’s help we are preparing to open our doors for the first time at the start of the next academic year - this September 2025. Our building is starting to look like a school, our staff team is ready and our paperwork has finally been completed. We want to thank you all again for your support and please keep the school in your prayers.