Belhaven Recognised for Its Innovation in The Week’s Awards
Belhaven’s STEM teaching and state-of-the-art Makerspace was recognised when it achieved 2nd place in ‘Best for Innovation’ in The Week’s Best of the Best UK Prep Schools (2026).
Olly Langton, Belhaven Hill School's Headmaster, also shared the comments below about Belhaven’s unique boarding education with The Week.
His comments have been extracted from the feature Smooth Sailing about thriving boarding schools.
SMOOTH SAILING – THRIVING BOARDING SCHOOLS
Despite strong political and financial headwinds, plus a downward trend in the popularity of full boarding, some prep boarding schools are not just surviving but thriving like never before, discovers Dorothy Lepkowska.
“These prep schools all seem to have a golden thread running through them.”
At 159 pupils, Belhaven Hill School in East Lothian Scotland, is the biggest it has ever been in terms of numbers on roll. Its appeal, says Headmaster Olly Langton, is in its location and the education it offers.
One of its unique characteristics is that dogs owned by staff members are allowed in school.
“We have dogs in pretty much every home on the grounds and in the classrooms.
“If they were all here at the same time there would be more than 30 dogs on site, but we allow around eight every day because the children connect well with them, and it can feel like a home from home.
“The children take them for walks, stroke them when they come into lessons – and it is an extension of our ideal, which is that this is a home with classrooms, as opposed to a school with dormitories.
“If the children feel happy and cared for then the learning comes naturally.”
Some of Belhaven’s dogs star in the school’s new film which focuses on their Lifelong Companion ethos. Watch their film here.
“We’re able to protect those last two years of childhood so they are not vulnerable to what they see on their phones”
Langton stresses that the school “is not a hothouse”, despite having a 100 per cent success rate in common entrance exams during the past six years.
“We achieve great results, but never at the expense of happiness or free time. We have a balanced curriculum and encourage the children to have a go at everything the school has to offer.
“The purpose of a good preparatory school is, I think, to ensure that pupils are ready for the next stage of their education but that they’re not always thinking what that next stage is. They need to be engrossed in having a brilliant time and trying lots of different things, so they’re left with a secure base.”
Part of that means hanging on to those childhood years for as long as possible.
“Most children at the age of 11-13 years are already in a secondary setting, but we’re able to protect those last two years of childhood so they are not vulnerable to what they see on their phones,” Langton adds.
“By the time they are allowed to use them, they are so much more mature and able to deal with what life throws at them. They are also much more likely to say ‘yes’ to the opportunities on offer at senior school.
“Parents are actively looking for solutions to these problems and boarding at prep school age is a solution – and something that boarding schools don’t flag up enough. The fact that we can impose a clear set of rules and regulations that are often too challenging for parents to impose within their family unit.”
Read the full article here.
