Merchiston Castle School is a leading independent boarding and day school for boys in Edinburgh, and Scotland’s last remaining all-boys school. Four provides ongoing strategic PR and communications support, built around two core campaign pillars: My Merchiston, covering pupil experience and wellbeing, and My Merchi-STEAM, covering science, technology, engineering, art and maths.
Our strategic communications programme helped support Merchiston's continued growth during one of the most challenging periods the independent school sector has faced, with more than 90 new boys enrolling at the school since the partnership began.
opportunities to see (OTS)
of coverage across national, regional, trade and specialist media
The Times, The Sunday Times, The Herald, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, Scottish Daily Mail, The Scottish Sun, Yahoo News and MSN News, among others
Positioned Merchiston at the centre of national conversations around screen time, digital wellbeing, boys' mental health, masculinity, AI in education and sporting resilience
Merchiston partnered with Four to deliver a strategic communications programme designed to:
Four began by investing time with a wide range of key spokespeople across the school, from the Head and faculty leads to houseparents and pupils, to uncover authentic stories with genuine national media appeal.
This insight sat at the heart of a proactive, always-on press office, mapped against the school’s two campaign pillars.
The national screen time debate:
Merchiston's phone and sleep policy was issued the day before the general election for maximum cut-through, securing a half-page feature in the Scottish Daily Mail plus coverage in The Herald, The Scottish Sun, Yahoo UK & Ireland and Edinburgh Evening News.
Louis Theroux's The Manosphere:
Following the national conversation sparked by Louis Theroux's documentary, Four secured an exclusive with The Scotsman and front-page coverage in Scotland on Sunday, positioning Head Huw Jones as a leading voice on positive masculinity and boys' wellbeing.
Golf Performance Centre opening:
DP World Tour ties and sporting alumni drove coverage across The Scotsman, The Herald and Golf Business News, with national digital pickup through Yahoo Sports and MSN News reaching over 30 million.
Rugby heritage and sporting reputation:
The return of former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw was announced via The Scotsman and RugbyPass/The Offside Line, followed by an exclusive on rugby mindset and resilience with The Times and The Sunday Times.
Chester's sustainable guitar:
A pupil-led STEAM innovation story that landed the front page of Edinburgh Evening News, with further coverage in North Edinburgh News and The Herald.
Reaching families beyond Scotland:
A 'Wimbledon Dreams' feature on the Tennis Academy in Independent School Parent, alongside further Independent Schools Magazine coverage.
"Working with Four has been a genuinely collaborative and strategic partnership for Merchiston. At a time when independent education is often framed through challenging and negative narratives, they have consistently helped us uncover and amplify meaningful, positive stories that reflect the real experience and values of our school community.
Their team approaches the work with creativity, warmth and seriously strong media instincts. Since working together, we've achieved excellent local, national and international coverage, while also contributing thoughtfully to wider global conversations shaping the media agenda.
Their work on the MerchiSTEAM campaign was particularly impactful, securing impressive national attention through authentic pupil-led storytelling.
Four are proactive, responsive and truly a pleasure to work with. We see them as an extension of the team rather than an external agency."