) , established = 1890 , closed = 2010 , type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head = , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder = , specialist = , address = 4 East Suffolk Rd , city =

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, county = , country = Scotland , postcode = EH16 5PJ , local_authority = , dfeno = , urn = , ofsted = , staff = , enrolment = , gender =

Female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Fema ...

, lower_age = Nursery , upper_age = 18 , houses = , colours = , publication = , free_label_1 = Founder , free_1 =

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, free_label_2 = , free_2 = , free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website = St. Margaret's School was an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

in the Newington area of

, Scotland. The curriculum was based on the Scottish education system. The school was one of three all-girls, private, fee-paying schools based in the Edinburgh district. The school was a private boarding school to cater for students staying from home was offered and often housed a small group of students. The school competed alongside other female-dominated private schools in the country.

History

Foundation and early years: 1890–1897

St. Margaret's was founded in 1890 by

. Buchanan housed his fledgling school in two identical specifically designed buildings, one on East Suffolk Road in Newington, the other on Egypt Terrace (now part of Cluny Drive) in Morningside. The total cost of both buildings was £6,000.Patrick, L.M.D. & Bowie, J.L.F.: ''Fortiter Vivamus''.

Mainstream Publishing Mainstream Publishing was a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1978, it ceased trading in December 2013.Charlotte WilliamsMainstream to cease publishing 1 March 2013, The Bookseller.com' (Retrieved 30 December 2016) It was ass ...

. . This equates to about £54,000 in today's money. The school was named after Saint Margaret of Scotland. Buchanan initially named his new school ''The Queen Margaret College for Young Ladies''. The inclusion of the word ''College'' in the name was to emphasise that secondary education was available. Prior to the school's opening on 1 October 1890, Buchanan had placed daily adverts in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

; giving out handbills to local businesses and creating a prospectus for parents. The result of this work was an opening roll of over 200. Though the two schools were separate in some respects (each had its own headmistress), girls and staff knew each other well and often commuted between the two campuses. Buchanan was Principal of both schools and taught English.

The reign of Annie Buchanan and the sale of the schools 1897–1929

As James Buchanan had died shortly before the new term was to begin, swift action was required. He had left a trust for the school, and that combined with his life insurance payout provided for the support of his wife and children (who would have otherwise had no income) and paid off much of the loan on the school's two buildings. His wife, Annie Custance Buchanan (née Carr) was appointed as Principal and, despite having a young family to look after, threw herself into the role. She remained in the post for over 30 years. During Annie Buchanan's principalship, St. Margaret's went from strength to strength. In 1903, the school was the first independent school in Edinburgh to offer a "Leaving Certificate" (the equivalent of today's

Standard Grade Standard Grades were Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years. Introduced in 1986, the Grades were replaced in 2013 with the Scottish Qualifications Authority's National exams in a major shake-up of Scotland's e ...

and Higher qualifications). In 1904, the school began Fröbel training for staff, another first for the city. In December 1903, a fire broke out at the East Suffolk Road building. There was a considerable amount of damage and girls had to be taught temporarily at the Livingstone Halls on Clerk Street (now a video rental shop). In 1914, the Territorial Army requisitioned Mrs Buchanan's office for a period. In 1926, Annie Buchanan sold the Morningside school to Miss Muirhead, who renamed it St. Hilary's. In 1929, she sold the Newington school to Miss Matthew, who decided to keep the name St. Margaret's (a decision that much pleased Mrs Buchanan).

Miss Matthew, World War Two and Independence 1929–1960

Prior to buying the school and taking on the role as Principal, Miss Matthew was already established at St. Margaret's, being a Housemistress and a teacher of Latin. It was she who came up with the school's motto, ''Fortiter Vivamus'', which translates from Latin as ''Let us Live Bravely''. Matthew House 2

The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

meant that most of St. Margaret's, like many other schools, had to leave Edinburgh. From the academic year 1939/40 all the boarders and many of the day girls decamped to Strathtay. The school moved to

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

seven months later then to

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "T ...

in July 1944. When the war finished in 1945, there was no longer enough space to house all the pupils at East Suffolk road. As such, the division of the school continued until 1956. The school celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1950. In 1960, Miss Matthew decided to transfer the school from private ownership to a Company Limited by Guarantee, to be administered by a Board of Governors. This came into effect on 1 January 1961, and the school became an independent fee-paying school for upper-class families based in Scotland.

New buildings, a new badge and the centenary 1961–1990

This period brought many changes to the school buildings, with the acquisition of Craigmillar House in 1962, Craigmillar Park Church in 1965 (now Buchanan House), Senior College in 1983 and Muirhead House in 1984. The building of Matthew House was completed in 1972, and extensive refurbishment work was carried out on the Pavilion and the science laboratories. BuchananHallSM

In 1965 the school celebrated its 75th anniversary, and to commemorate this the daughters of Mr and Mrs Buchanan donated a plaque. In 1967 a Clothing Exchange which enabled the purchase of second-hand uniform was established, and continued until the closure of the school. In 1983, St. Hilary's merged with St. Margaret's, reuniting the two schools. The merger necessitated a new school badge. The badge is lozenge-shaped, and has the cross of St. Margaret surrounded by four martlets on the upper half, and the

cedar tree Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus ''Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only "true cedars". Many other species worldwide with similarl ...

of St. Hilary's on the lower half. In 1990, the school celebrated its centenary. Several events took place throughout the year to commemorate this anniversary. One such event was a special trip in conjunction with the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

(also celebrating its centenary) – girls (escorted by a piper) boarded a steam train bound for

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Acco ...

, where they visited St. Margaret's grave at

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reforma ...

St. Margaret's 1991–2010

In 1998, the school merged with another independent girls' school, ''St. Denis and Cranley''. There were several changes in the buildings that housed the school, with Senior College, Maclean House and Muirhead House all being sold, and new buildings built and acquired closer to East Suffolk Road.

Closure

It was announced on 10 June 2010 that the school would close due to low pupil numbers owing to an increase in coeducational private schools.

Music

St. Margaret's had a strong musical tradition, and in 1984 the school choir won in the Youth Choir section. Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

Notable former pupils

This list includes people who went to schools merged into St Margaret's. * Dr. Margaret Blackwood (1924-1994), MBE, Disabilities campaigner and founder of Blackwood Homes and Care *

Joanna Cherry Joanna Catherine Cherry (born 18 March 1966) is a Scottish politician and lawyer serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the party's Shadow Home Secr ...

, SNP politician *

Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian Leeona June Dorrian, Lady Dorrian PC (born 16 June 1957) is a Scottish advocate and judge who has served as the Lord Justice Clerk since 2016. She is the first woman to hold the position. She has been a Senator of the College of Justice since ...

Elspeth Candlish Henderson Elspeth Candlish Green (née Henderson; 1913–2006) was an NCO and officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). She was a plotter during the Battle of Britain, serving at Biggin Hill where she won the Military Medal for her bravery dur ...

, Battle of Britain WAAF who won the Military Medal *

Alex Mahon Alexandra Rose Mahon (born October 1973) is a British businesswoman. She has been the chief executive of Channel 4 since October 2017, succeeding David Abraham as the first female CEO of the channel. Early life Alexandra Rose Mahon was born in ...

(born 1973), CEO-designate of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

* Della Purves, botanical artist *

Fiona Woolf Dame Catherine Fiona Woolf, (''née'' Swain; born 11 May 1948) is a British corporate lawyer. She served as the Lord Mayor of London (2013–14), acting as global ambassador for UK-based financial and business services. She has held and still ...

, Lord Mayor of London *

Lesley Yellowlees Lesley Jane Yellowlees, (born 1953) is a British inorganic chemist conducting research in Spectroelectrochemistry, Electron transfer reactions and Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy. Yellowlees was also elected as the presiden ...

, inorganic chemist and was the first female president of the Royal Society of Chemistry As a result of mergers with St. Hilary's and St. Denis and Cranley, there are currently three associations supporting former pupils: The St. Margaret's Association, The St. Denis and Cranley Association and The Cranley Club.

References

External links

St Margaret's School page on Scottish Schools Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Margarets School Edinburgh Defunct private schools in Edinburgh Educational institutions established in 1890 Defunct girls' schools in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh Listed schools in Scotland 1890 establishments in Scotland 2010 disestablishments in Scotland Educational institutions disestablished in 2010