Private school offers 'safari-style' tours through 300 acre grounds

A Scottish private school is believed to be the first in the UK to launch safari-style tours of its campus in an attempt to attract new students during the pandemic.

Parents who wish to tour Glenalmond College in Perthshire can receive a guided tour of its 300-acre grounds in a convoy, with a running commentary delivered through mobile phones from a guide in a lead vehicle, while staying in their own cars.

School bosses have designed the hour-long tours to allow in-person visits without any risk of spreading coronavirus.

Several businesses, such as estate agents, have begun offering ‘virtual’ tours during the pandemic. However, the school said that there remained demand for in person visits, while staff were keen for an alternative to Zoom calls.

The £37,000-per-year boarding and day school, which counts the actor Robbie Coltraine, Christopher Geidt, former private secretary to The Queen, and the Prince of Prussia among its alumni, will begin offering the “drive-through” tours this week.

“Parents who register their pupils with Glenalmond often tell us that it was only when they actually visited us in person that they really got the feel of the school,” Kitty Lindsay, director of admissions, said. “So we were looking at what we could offer which would be Covid secure and still allow families to see the school first-hand.”

The tour has been designed to give visitors a sense of the scale of the school’s grounds, which include a nine-hole golf course. Cars will be allowed to drive through the school’s historic Quad if the visits take place during school holidays.

Scottish boarding schools had feared a drop in numbers this year as a result of the pandemic and restrictions on international travel. However, pupil numbers have been boosted by families who are keen to send their children to rural areas to escape the virus. Interest is increasing from America in particular, where schools in some states remain closed or are open only part time.