Edinburgh University warns students not to be ‘snobs’

Shanley Breese, a law student who founded the Scottish Social Mobility Society, said that when she arrived at the university she had never heard of private schools.

She set up the group so her Scottish peers had somewhere to go to feel they could fit in.

She said it started in Freshers week when she was asked constantly what school she had gone to.

“And I would say you won’t know the school, it’s in Dumfries and what they were actually referring to was what private school did you go to,” she said.

She said that, as a result, it was really hard to make friends and figure out the culture.

“It was a really isolating experience and there was no community to turn to,” she said.

Shanley said it was hard to meet other Scottish students because most commuted as they had been priced out of town.

She said creating the society created a space where Scottish students could communicate their experiences.

“I felt so stupid and out of place for not knowing private schools existed and so it affected my academic ability,” she said.