Armed Forces Families at Dollar
We hold the highest respect for our armed services personnel.
We also understand that serving your country can come with many challenges, including frequent moves and relocations due to postings and deployments. We are well-experienced in supporting military families to ensure continuity of education for their children.
Strong Boarding Heritage
Dollar is proud to have offered boarding to boys and girls for over 200 years and has a long history of welcoming and caring for Forces families.
Almost all of the 100 boarders at Dollar are full time boarders, with a few weekly boarders and no flexi-boarding. This ensures that our boarding houses are full at weekend.
Family-style Boarding
Our boarding provision replicates a family environment better than anywhere else you’ll find. Small family-style boarding houses, with an exceptional ratio of only 25 boarders to one pair of houseparents, provide a supportive and familial atmosphere.
Half of our boarders are from the UK, with the remaining half comprising 24 different nationalities. In addition, 350 day pupils live locally in the town of Dollar, so boarders have close friends in and out of the boarding house.
Well-connected Country Location
Our inspiring 70-acre campus nestles at the foot of the stunning Ochil Hills in the attractive small town of Dollar. The quality of the surrounding countryside is outstanding, and the town itself has considerable scenic charm. It is well provided with local amenities including a supermarket, cafes, delicatessen, doctor, dentist, optician, beautician and a bookshop. The town is also surrounded by numerous cycling trails and walks.
Scotland’s major cities and their airports are within easy reach. Dollar is only 20 minutes’ drive from Stirling, 30 minutes from Perth and around 45 minutes from Edinburgh and Glasgow. The school is a 25-minute drive from the world-renowned Gleneagles resort and an hour from the famous beaches and golf courses of St Andrews.
Strong Academic Results
We appreciate that Forces children have often moved schools multiple times before arriving at Dollar and may therefore have gaps in their knowledge. Our small class sizes and excellent pastoral system allow us to identify these and address them swiftly. In the boarding houses, tutors provide academic assistance in the evenings and help with homework to ensure that every pupil is supported to do their best.
With A grade pass rates averaging 70%, Dollar has a strong reputation amongst the top universities. Around 60% of pupils leave each year to go to the Russell Group universities with a number now also going on to Ivy League Schools (Stanford in 2021, Harvard in 2022 and Columbia in 2024).
Dollar offers one of the widest ranges of academic subjects in the country, with 34 subjects to choose from in the final years.
Over 120 Co-curricular Activities
From golf to guitar building and swimming to string orchestra, Dollar is sure to have something to interest every pupil. Dollar is one of Scotland’s leading rugby and hockey playing schools and passionately encourages participation at every level. The school also has an established reputation for cricket, tennis and golf, recently partnering with Gleneagles to offer an exceptional Golf Programme at their PGA Academy. A comprehensive triathlon programme has recently been established, which makes best use of our stunning natural environment and exceptional sports facilities.
Music and Art are also very popular, with 14 different choirs and orchestras, a World Championship-winning Pipe Band and a superb art department with sector-leading fine art, photography, ceramics and fashion design provision. The Combined Cadet Force is one of the largest in the country, consistently winning national military skills, shooting and first aid competitions, and hundreds of pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme each year.
Extensive Weekend Provision & No Exeats
There are plenty of activities to keep our boarders occupied at weekends. Many will choose to be involved in sports fixtures on Saturday morning. Every Sunday afternoon there is a full programme of trips to interesting places and fun events, including sporting events, theme parks, paintballing, go-karting, laser quest, treasure hunts, climbing walls, shopping trips, the cinema, shows and concerts.
Boarders can make use of the excellent sports and recreational facilities on site including grass and all-weather playing surfaces, a fitness suite, swimming pool, sports halls and music rooms. They can also visit day pupil friends, or go into town, within reasonable limits and with permissions in place. Senior boarders are permitted to visit Edinburgh and Glasgow for the day. All organised excursions are accompanied, and pupils are always given safe and appropriate guidelines for their own activities.
Excellent Pastoral Care
At Dollar Academy, we have a well-developed pastoral and guidance system, recognised recently by the Care Inspectorate as being ‘sector-leading’. We recognise that, in order for every young person to succeed to the best of their abilities, they must do so in a caring and secure environment; one which will encourage them to develop self-confidence and social skills, one where the relationship between all members of the community is based on trust and respect.
We understand the specific needs of forces children, particularly when parents are being deployed, and have decades of experience in supporting these children and their families.
Support for Military Families
We are fully committed to a fee policy that ensures maximum support for our HM Forces families.
Those receiving the MOD Continuity of Education Allowance should contact the Bursar’s Office for information about fee remission.
