It’s anything but a dog’s life at the Chippendale school, although it sometimes feels like it.

Because we not only welcome students from around the world, we’re also happy to welcome their canine friends.

The latest addition to the Chippendale family is little Taco, a rather adorable Chihuahua.

He belongs to Clare Charleston, one of our tutors and a restoration specialist.  Taco lives in his very own “fort” beside her workspace.

Then there’s Ghost, who is mostly Husky, and Quine (meaning “girl” or “lass” in Aberdeenshire Doric), a mixture of Jack Russell and Sausage Dog.

They belong to student Ruaraidh Stewart, from Aberdeenshire, who is a former soldier with the Black Watch (3 Scots), and who saw service in Afghanistan.

Taco, Ghost and Quine join a pack of other dogs at the school – the furthest travelled being Sparrow, who belongs to Vanessa Johnston from Seattle in the USA.

Before coming to the Chippendale school, Vanessa was a marketing director and graphic designer.

But we’re not just dog friendly.  We also have George, the school cat, Shellac the school tortoise, and Chip and Dale the school’s exotic fish.

As long as the students’ dogs are well behaved they’re welcome to come to the school each day, underlining our teaching approach that mixes both the formal and informal.

Because we believe that if learning is made enjoyable, what our students learn will last a lifetime.