Lomond School principal, Claire Chisholm

Lomond School, a co-educational, independent day and boarding school in the Scottish town of Helensburgh for those aged three-18, is to become the first school in the UK — and potentially the world — to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for school fees.

Parents can start paying with Bitcoin from the Autumn term.

Risk is carefully managed through phased implementation, conversion options, and partnerships with secure service providers, including FCA-registered CoinCorner and Musquet.

To mitigate currency risk, the school will initially convert Bitcoin payments directly into GBP.

Assuming Bitcoin gains broader acceptance in the UK and worldwide, the school will look to build a Bitcoin asset reserve.

In all situations, Lomond School will ensure full compliance with UK financial regulations, which encompass anti-money laundering and tax obligations.

The announcement will be made today by Lomond School principal, Claire Chisholm, at Cheatcode, a national Bitcoin conference featuring speakers from the world of finance, business, and economics including Gemini co-creators, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; and Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation.

By accepting Bitcoin, Lomond School is offering an alternative option for payments to their local and international market, a request that has been made by several local families and international educational agents and families.

Lomond School hopes this new initiative will attract the eye of forward-thinking families locally and around the world.

For internationally-based families, the ability to pay in bitcoin has the added attraction of removing the uncertainty of exchange rates.

Chisholm said: “For generations, this school has nurtured inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and open-minded risk-takers.

“It’s really no surprise then that the inventor of the television, John Logie Baird, is a former pupil.

“We were the first boarding school in Scotland to house both boys and girls under the same roof and recently moved away from the Scottish Government‘s SQA curriculum and introduced the International Baccalaureate, a globally-renowned qualification favoured by universities and employers worldwide.”