George Heriot's School

George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff.[2] It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George Heriot,[3] and opened in 1659. It is governed by George Heriot's Trust, a Scottish charity.[4]

George Heriot's School
Address
Lauriston Place

Old Town, Edinburgh
,
EH3 9EQ

Scotland
Coordinates55°56′45″N 3°11′40″W
Information
Former nameGeorge Heriot's Hospital
TypeIndependent day school[1]
MottoImpendo
(I Distribute Chearfullie)
Established1628 (1628)
FounderGeorge Heriot
OversightGeorge Heriot's Trust
Chairman of GovernorsMr Alexander Paton
PrincipalMrs Lesley Franklin
Staffapprox. 80
Teaching staff155
GenderCo-educational
Age3 to 18
Enrolmentapprox. 1600
HousesCastle, Greyfriars, Lauriston, Raeburn
Colour(s)Navy Blue, White
SongThe Merry Month of June
RivalGeorge Watson's College
PublicationThe Herioter
Websitewww.george-heriots.com

Architecture
George Heriot's School, south side facing Lauriston Place (rear)
The Quadrangle.

The main building of the school is notable for its renaissance architecture, the work of William Wallace, until his death in 1631.[5] He was succeeded as master mason by William Aytoun, who was succeeded in turn by John Mylne.[6][7] In 1676, Sir William Bruce drew up plans for the completion of Heriot's Hospital. His design, for the central tower of the north façade, was eventually executed in 1693.[8]

The school is a turreted building surrounding a large quadrangle, and built out of sandstone.[9] The foundation stone is inscribed with the date 1628. The intricate decoration above each window is unique (with one paired exception - those on the ground floor either side of the now redundant central turret on the west side of the building). A statue of the founder can be found in a niche on the north side of the quadrangle.

The main building was the first large building to be constructed outside the Edinburgh city walls. It is located next to Greyfriars Kirk, built in 1620, in open grounds overlooked by Edinburgh Castle directly to the north. Parts of the seventeenth-century city wall (the Telfer Wall) serve as the walls of the school grounds. When built, the building's front facade faced the entrance on the Grassmarket. It was originally the only facade fronted in fine ashlar stone, the others being harled rubble.

In 1833 the three rubble facades were refaced in Craigleith ashlar stone. This was done because the other facades had become more visible when a new entrance was installed on Lauriston Place. The refacing work was handled by Alexander Black, then Superintendent of Works for the school. He later designed the first Heriot's free schools around the city.

The north gatehouse onto Lauriston Place is by William Henry Playfair and dates from 1829. The chapel interior (1837) is by James Gillespie Graham, who is likely to have been assisted by Augustus Pugin. The school hall was designed by Donald Gow in 1893 and boasts a hammerbeam roof. A mezzanine floor was added later. The science block is by John Chesser (architect) and dates from 1887, incorporating part of the former primary school of 1838 by Alexander Black (architect). The chemistry block to the west of the site was designed by John Anderson in 1911.[8]

The grounds contain a selection of other buildings of varying age; these include a wing by inter-war school specialists Reid & Forbes, and a swimming pool, now unused. A 1922 granite war memorial, by James Dunn, is dedicated to the school's former pupils and teachers who died in World War I. Alumni and teachers who died in World War II were also added to the memorial.

History
Statue of George Heriot in the quadrangle

On his death in 1624, George Heriot left around 25,000 Pound Scots – equivalent to several tens of millions today – to found a "hospital" (then the name for this kind of charitable school) to care for the "puir, faitherless bairns" (Scots: poor, fatherless children) of Edinburgh.

The construction of Heriot's Hospital (as it was first called) was begun in 1628, just outside the city walls of Edinburgh. It was completed in time to be occupied by Oliver Cromwell's English forces during the invasion of Scotland during the Third English Civil War. When the building was used as a barracks, Cromwell's forces stabled their horses in the chapel. The hospital opened in 1659, with thirty sickly children in residence. As its finances grew, it took in other pupils in addition to the orphans for whom it was intended.

By the end of the 18th century, the Governors of the George Heriot's Trust had purchased the Barony of Broughton, thus acquiring extensive land for feuing (a form of leasehold) on the northern slope below James Craig's Georgian New Town. This and other land purchases beyond the original city boundary generated considerable revenue through leases for the Trust long after Heriot's death.

In 1837 the school founded ten "free schools" in Edinburgh, where several thousand pupils across the city were educated. These were closed in 1885. One of them, which was designed with several features of the original Lauriston Place building, is at the east end of the Cowgate. (It now serves as a Salvation Army hostel).

In the 1880s, Heriot's School began to charge fees. But it still serves its charitable goal, providing free education to fatherless children, students who are referred to as "foundationers". In 1846 there was an insurrection in the hospital and fifty-two boys were dismissed.[10]

Front view of Heriot's Hospital

In 1979 Heriot's became co-educational after admitting girls. In the early 21st century, it has around 1600 pupils. Today, the school is ranked as Edinburgh's best performing school by Higher exam results.[11] Its leavers (graduates) attended the country's most selective and prestigious universities, including St Andrews (31), Glasgow (26) and Edinburgh (14) in Scotland; and Oxford (2), Cambridge (4), Bristol (4) and King's College London (3) in England.[12]

Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh by Henry Fox Talbot, 1844.

The school also provided funds for the establishment of an institution that later merged in the 1870s with the Watt Institution (named after James Watt). It formed Heriot-Watt College, a technical college that developed by 1966 into what is known as Heriot-Watt University.

Headmasters and principals
Rugby team of Serbian students at George Heriot's school in 1918

Chronological list of the headmasters of the school, the year given being the one in which they took office.[13]

  • 1659 James Lawson
  • 1664 David Davidsone
  • 1669 David Browne
  • 1670 William Smeaton
  • 1673 Harry Moresone
  • 1699 James Buchan
  • 1702 John Watson
  • 1720 David Chrystie
  • 1734 William Matheson
  • 1735 John Hunter
  • 1741 William Halieburton
  • 1741 John Henderson
  • 1757 James Colvill
  • 1769 George Watson
  • 1773 William Hay
  • 1782 Thomas Thomson
  • 1792 David Cruikshank
  • 1794 James Maxwell Cockburn
  • 1795 George Irvine
  • 1805 John Somerville
  • 1816 John Christison
  • 1825 James Boyd
  • 1829 Hector Holme
  • 1839 William Steven
  • 1844 James Fairburn
  • 1854 Frederick W. Bedford
  • 1880 David Fowler Lowe
  • 1908 John Brown Clark
  • 1926 William Gentle
  • 1942 William Carnon
  • 1947 William Dewar
  • 1970 Allan MacPherson
  • 1983 Keith Pearson
  • 1997 Alistair Hector


Thereafter, the title of Headmaster was changed to that of Principal.

  • 2014 (January) Gareth Doodes[14]
  • 2014 (September) Cameron Wyllie (Acting)
  • 2014 (December) Cameron Wyllie[15]
  • 2018 (January) Mrs Lesley Franklin

Other notable staff

Houses

Pupils at the school belong to one of four houses:

  • Lauriston (green, after the school's address, Lauriston Place)
  • Greyfriars (white, named after the adjacent Greyfriars Kirk)
  • Raeburn (red, after a famous former pupil, Henry Raeburn)
  • Castle (blue, after Edinburgh Castle to the north)

Extra-curricular activities

George Heriot's School has a wide range of extra-curricular activities in which pupils participate.

  • The pipe band is headed by Pipe Major Willie MacIntyre, and around 120 pupils take tuition of some kind.[16]
  • The George Heriot's School Combined Cadet Force is headed by Lieutenant Colonel Bain, and around 60 pupils participate in weekly activities and summer camps.

Notable alumni
Carving of a 17th-century classroom with a dominie and his ten scholars. Positioned at the school's main entrance, the motto reads, DEVS NOBIS HAEC OTIA FECIT - "God hath given us this leisure"..

Academia and Science

Media and Arts

Law and Politics

Sports

Military

Religion

  • Graham Forbes, CBE (b. 1951) - Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh
  • Hector Bransby Gooderham (1901 – 1977) - priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church
  • Gordon Keddie (b. 1944) - Reformed Presbyterian minister and theologian
  • James Pitt-Watson (1893–1962) - theologian and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
  • Brian Smith (bishop) (b. 1943) - Bishop of Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal Church) 2001–2011

Other

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gollark: Ah well, there's a raffle in 3 days or so, so you just need to h4xxinate DC or convince TJ09 then.
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References
  1. "George Heriot's School - Edinburgh City". Scottish Schools Online. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  2. "Facilities and Staff". George Heriot's School. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  3. "George Heriot and his Bequest". George Heriot's School. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  4. Governance page on official website, accessed 16 April 2018
  5. Colvin, Howard (1978). A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840. John Murray.
  6. Colvin, Howard (1978). A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840. John Murray. pp. 569–70.
  7. McWilliam, Colin; Walker, David; Gifford, John (1984). The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh. Penguin. pp. 179–82.
  8. McWilliam, Colin; Walker, David; Gifford, John (1984). The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh. Penguin. p. 180.
  9. "Architectural Detail and Tower". George Heriot's School. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  10. Gilbert, William Matthews (1901). Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century. J. & R. Allan. p. 116.
  11. "Private schools up to mark with best ever exam results". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  12. "Higher Education Destinations of Leavers 2014", George Heriot's School
  13. Jinglin' Geordie's Legacy, 2009, Brain Lockhart, ISBN 978-1862322578 page 333
  14. Appointment of Principal. "George Heriot's School". Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  15. Appointment of Principal. "George Heriot's School" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  16. "The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association". Archived from the original on 4 June 2012.
  17. Professor Kenneth McColl, Professor Henry Dargie (19 May 2008) [originally published (sans commentary by McColl & Dargie) in The Herald 9 October 2007]. "Obituary - Professor Sir Abraham Goldberg - Physician, scientist and academic" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 30 November 2008.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  18. Gowenlock, Brian G; B J Aylett; J C Bevington; D C Bradley; T S West; W P Richards; A G Hector (18 August 2004). "Obituary - Sir Harry (Work) Melville" (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  19. "Biography:Professor Adam Watt". Exeter University. 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  20. "Spellbinding times at Heriot's". The Scotsman. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  21. "Analysis: SNP bucks trend for privately educated MPS".
  22. The Law Times. London: The Law Times. 1892. p. 151.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  23. "The Official Website of The British & Irish Lions - History - Ken Scotland". British and Irish Lions. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  24. Connor, Jeff (22 February 2001). Giants of Scottish Rugby. Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84018-478-5.
  25. "Obituaries:Colonel Clive Fairweather". Daily Telegraph. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  26. Holgate, Andrew (15 February 2005). "Biography: John The Painter by Jessica Warner". London: The Times Online. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  27. "Hippolyte Jean Blanc". Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  28. Heriot's Quadrangle Magazine , 33 (2018), 4–7
  29. D. Singmaster, On the cellular automaton of Ulam and Warburton, M500 Magazine of The Open University, 195 (2003), 2–7
  30. Khovanova, Tanya; Nie, Eric; Puranik, Alok (2014). "The Sierpinski Triangle and the Ulam-Warburton Automaton". arXiv:1408.5937 [math.HO].
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