Stewart's Melville College
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Stewart's Melville College (SMC) is all-boys' private day school in
Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Classes are all boys in the 1st to 5th years and co-educational in Sixth (final) year. It has a roll of about 750 pupils. The modern Stewart's Melville College arose through the merger of Daniel Stewart's College and Melville College in 1972. Daniel Stewart's College was designed by architect
David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scotland, Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Plac ...
and opened as Daniel Stewart's Hospital in 1848, being renamed to Daniel Stewart's College in 1870. Melville College opened as the ''Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics'' in 1832, and acquired its final name in 1936. Managed by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, Stewart's Melville is twinned with the Mary Erskine School (MES), an all-girls independent school in Ravelston, Edinburgh. The combined ''Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools (ESMS)'' share a co-educational Sixth Year and
Junior School A junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide pri ...
, split between the school's two campuses, which cater for pupils between 3-12, and 17-18 years old, respectively. Many sports, performing arts, and extra-curricular activities are run jointly. From 2026-27
academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...
, the schools will merge to form the
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
''Erskine Stewarts Melville''.


History

Stewart's Melville College originated from the merger of two schools — Daniel Stewart's College and Melville College — in 1972.


Daniel Stewart's College

Daniel Stewart's Hospital was opened in 1855 by the Merchant Company of Edinburgh. Daniel Stewart (whose wealth came from India and was Macer to the Court of the Exchequer), upon his death in 1814, left a sum of money and instructions that, once it had reached £40,000 it should be used to create a hospital for needy boys within the city. The hospital was located on the current Queensferry Road campus (designed by
David Rhind David Rhind FRSE (1808 – 26 April 1883) was a prominent Scotland, Scottish architect, mainly remembered for his public buildings, banks, churches and schools, most of which are now listed buildings. Life Rhind was born at 15 Gayfield Plac ...
). The hospital was transformed into "Daniel Stewart's College" in 1870. The school uniform from 1924 onwards was a cap with red and black stripes and a black blazer with red trim.


Melville College

Melville College was founded in 1832 by the Rev. Robert Cunningham in George Street but soon moved to Hill Street in the centre of Edinburgh with a teaching emphasis on modern subjects, such as science, rather than classical subjects – unusual at that time. The school moved a short distance to 8 Queen Street which was purchased in 1853 and then to Melville Street in the city's West End in 1920. Originally named "The Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics", its name changed to Melville College in 1936 about the same time as the caps and blazers of the boys were changed to bright red.


Merger

In 1972, the two schools merged to become Daniel Stewart's and Melville College. After the merger Melville's bright red trim replaced the dark red trim on the black Daniel Stewart's blazer for general use and the red blazer of Melville College was adopted for those awarded colours (for sporting and other achievements); recently use of the red blazer was limited to the head boy and his deputies, with colours being signified with a particular tie.


Modern

In 1974, the link with another nearby Merchant Company school, the all-girls Mary Erskine School, was formalised and The Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School was formed. Nursery to Primary 3 are housed on the Mary Erskine campus, with Primary 4 to 7 on the Stewart's Melville campus. The sixth (final) form of both senior schools is coeducational. In 2013, Stewart's Melville was voted the Scottish Independent School of the year by the Sunday Times newspaper and Mary Erskine School was voted the Scottish Independent School of the year in 2012. In 2014 the combined Erskine Stewarts Melville school, with over 2,700 pupils, claimed to be the largest independent school in Europe. In 2014, a programme of improvement work on buildings of the junior school was announced, and as of 2018, work has begun. In February 2023, it was announced by principal Anthony Simpson that the boarding house would close by July 2025, citing costs and the facility not being compatible with the school's vision for the future. The allocation of resources towards the boarding house was not sustainable, as at the time of the announcement, there were only 19 boarders, accounting for less than 3% of all pupils at the school. It was announced in October 2024 that Stewarts Melville will undergo a merger with its sister school, Mary Erskine, in the beginning of the 2026/2027 academic year. The school stated that it would create a more inclusive community and it would also be more financially efficient.


Academics


Curriculum

Pupils at Stewart's Melville mainly sit
Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba'') is the Scottish public bodies, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educationa ...
(SQA) examinations, including (as of 2013) National 4, National 5, Higher Grade and Advanced Higher Grade levels. The English
GCE Advanced Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...
, examinations can also be sat in art and music. Almost all pupils go on to higher education.


Activities


Sport

Stewart's Melville College has won the Scottish Rugby Schools Under 18 Cup six times: in 1999 (in their first year of entering), 2006, 2011, 2016, 2019 and most recently in 2024. Stewart's Melville RFC, the successor to the Former Pupils Rugby club, play in the Scottish League Championship. "Ravelston Sports Club", a large on-site sports centre opened in 2000. The sports centre is mainly used by pupils for physical education lessons and sports training (such as swimming, basketball, badminton, short tennis and table tennis) but is also open to members of the public for a monthly membership fee. There is also a school shooting range located at the Ravelston campus. Extensive rugby, cricket, hockey pitches and athletics facilities are also located at the school's sports grounds in Inverleith, two miles north of the school. The main stadium at Inverleith dates back to the 1890s and was the main ground of the
Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents the Scottish Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship, where they are the current Doddie Weir Cup holders. They also participa ...
until 1925.


Performing Arts


Tom Fleming Centre for Performing Arts

The school's main Victorian assembly hall was converted to the "Performing Arts Centre" between 2005 and 2007. This £3.5 million project, was paid for in part by donations from the parents of the schools current pupils and former pupils (some of the chairs have names in gold of people who have donated). The centre has 800 seats that fold back into the wall, providing a variety of possible configurations and was officially opened in 2007. It is also available for use by the public and is used as a venue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2011, actor John Cairney unveiled the new name for the centre, "Tom Fleming Centre for Performing Arts", named after former pupil Tom Fleming, one of Scotland's leading broadcasters.


Carbisdale

Since 1965, the school organised an outdoor education programme for the boys of SMC and the girls from MES in the third year. It took place in the north of Scotland, based for over forty years at Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel, Easter Ross, until its closure in 2011 required accommodation to relocate to Aviemore. The camp was also abandoned in 2020 and 2021, due to coronavirus restrictions. It returned in 2022; however later in 2022, Carbisdale Castle was sold and is now a private residence.


Houses

The school has six houses, named after historic regions of Scotland. * Appin (Blue) * Ettrick (Green) *
Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...
(Yellow) *
Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...
(Purple) *
Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...
(Red) * Torridon (White)


Former Headmasters

*Herbert James Liddle Robbie (1904–1964) headmaster of Daniel Stewart's from 1946 to 1964


Notable alumni

The school maintains a Former Pupils Club, which organises social events throughout the year. There are branches throughout the UK and abroad. Academia and science * Thomas David Anderson (1853–1952) – astronomer who discovered many temporary and variable stars ( novae) *Professor James Barr (1924–2006) – a radical theologian who was professor at Montreal, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford, Princeton and Vanderbilt.Williamson, HGm (8 November 2006
James Barr, Radical academic whose incisive critiques challenged the orthodoxies of biblical theology
''The Guardian'', Retrieved 23 September 2014
* James Bertram (Carnegie secretary) (1872–1934) * Erskine Beveridge (1851–1920) – textile manufacturer, historian and antiquary *Professor Henry Calderwood (1830–1897) – Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University and Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
* James Ireland Craig (1868–1952) – meteorologist (dux 1885) *Professor Maurice Ewing (1912–1999) – First professor of surgery at Melbourne University, Australia *Sir William Tennant Gairdner (1824–1907) – Professor of Medicine at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
and President of the British Medical Association * William Aitcheson Haswell (1854–1925) – Scottish-Australian zoologist specialising in crustaceans, winner of the 1915 Clarke Medal * Andrew John Herbertson (1865–1915) – geographer and Professor in Geography at Oxford University *Sir James Charles Inglis (1851–1911) - British civil engineer, President of the
Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...
and General Manager of the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
*Professor Tom W. B. Kibble (1932–2016) – theoretical physicist, co-discovery of the
Higgs mechanism In the Standard Model of particle physics, the Higgs mechanism is essential to explain the Mass generation, generation mechanism of the property "mass" for gauge bosons. Without the Higgs mechanism, all bosons (one of the two classes of particles ...
and
Higgs boson The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...
. *Professor Arnold Maran (1936–2017) – surgeon, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. *Sir Peter Redford Scott Lang – Regius Professor of Mathematics at St Andrews University. *
George McGavin George C. McGavin (born 1954, in Glasgow, Scotland) is a British entomology, entomologist, author, academic, television presenter and explorer. Background McGavin attended Daniel Stewart's College, a private school in Edinburgh, then studie ...
(born 1954) – entomologist * John Smith (1825–1910) – dentist who founded the
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh The Royal Hospital for Sick Children was a hospital in Sciennes, Edinburgh, Scotland, specialising in paediatric healthcare. Locally, it was commonly referred to simply as the "Sick Kids". The hospital provided emergency care for children from ...
and was Surgeon Dentist to Queen Victoria. *Sir
Fraser Stoddart Sir James Fraser Stoddart, (24 May 1942 – 30 December 2024) was a British-American chemist who was Chair Professor in Chemistry at the University of Hong Kong. He was the Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry and head of the Stoddart ...
(1942-2024) – chemist,
Nobel Prize in Chemistry The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
2016, Professor of chemistry at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
, USA (
supramolecular chemistry Supramolecular chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry concerning Chemical species, chemical systems composed of a integer, discrete number of molecules. The strength of the forces responsible for spatial organization of the system range from w ...
and
nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
), awarded
Albert Einstein World Award of Science The Albert Einstein World Award for Science is an annual award given by the World Cultural Council "as a means of recognition and encouragement for scientific and technological research and development", with special consideration for researche ...
. *Sir John Thomson-Walker (1871–1937) – Hunterian Professor of Surgery at the
Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...
and leading surgeon in the field of
urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...
* Ramsay Traquair (1840–1912) – naturalist and palaeontologist, leading expert on fossil fish, awarded the
Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society. Two are given for "the mo ...
by the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
and the Lyell Medal Media and arts * Ian Stuart Black (1915–1997) – novelist, playwright and screenwriter * Michael Boyd (director) (born 1955) – Artistic Director of the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
. * Tom Fleming (1927–2010) – actor and television commentator. *Sir William Russell Flint (1880–1969) – watercolour painter and president of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours * Stuart Henry (1942–1995) – popular radio
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
of the 1960s and 70s. * Philip Kerr (1956–2018) – writer. * Alexander Moffat (born 1943) – artist, Head of Painting, Glasgow School of Art. Law and politics * Lord Brailsford (S. Neil Brailsford) (born 1954) – Senator of the College of Justice and Supreme Courts Judge *Sir Martin Chamberlain (born 1973), a High Court Judge of England and Wales *Sir William Young Darling (1885–1962) – Member of Parliament for South Edinburgh and
Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...
Waterson, C.D. and Shearer, A Macmillan (July 2006
Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002
Published by The Royal Society of Edinburgh,
*Sir
Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser Sir Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser (14 November 1848 – 26 February 1919) was a British officer of the Indian Civil Service and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal between 1903 and 1908. Early life and education Born in Bombay on 14 Novem ...
(1848–1919) – Lieutenant Governor of Bengal between 1903 and 1908 * Sir James Gibson, 1st Baronet (1849–1912) Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Member of Parliament for
Edinburgh East Edinburgh East was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It existed ...
* Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford (1820–1887) – Scottish Advocate and Judge * Robert McIntyre (1913–1998) – politician, leader of the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP) and the SNP's first elected Member of Parliament. * J P Mackintosh (1929–1978) – academic and British Labour politician of the 1960s and 70s. Leading advocate of Scottish devolution. *Sir Thomas Brash Morison (1868–1945) – Liberal Member of Parliament for
Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
, Solicitor General for Scotland,
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and
Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...
*Sir George Touche 1st Baronet (1861–1935) – Conservative Member of Parliament and founder of one of the firms that created
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Deloitte is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four a ...
*Sir James Wilson (1849–1929) New Zealand Politician * Paul Wheelhouse (born 1970) – SNP MSP for South Scotland, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy in the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
* Daniel Johnson (born 1977) – Entrepreneur and Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern. Sports * Finlay Calder (born 1957) – international rugby player and
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
captain who appeared 34 times for Scotland. * Jim Calder (born 1957) – Scottish and British Lions rugby player who appeared 27 times for Scotland * Grant Forrest (born 1993) – European Tour Professional Golfer and Member of the 2015 Walker Cup Team. * David Florence (born 1982) – Olympic canoeing silver medallist and world champion. * Dario Franchitti (born 1973) – professional racing-car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 race three times. * William Laidlaw (1912–1992) – international cricketer for Scotland and Durham * John Lisle Hall MacFarlane (1851–1874) – international rugby player and surgeon. He played for Scotland in the first international rugby match in 1871. * Donald MacGregor (born 1939) – Olympic marathon runner. * Finlay Mickel (born 1977) – Olympic skier, his result at the 2005 World Championships was the best result by a British man in the history of the skiing World Championships. * Arthur Plowright (1913–1992) – first-class cricketer * Charles Scobie (1895–1965) – first-class cricketer * Jamie Stevenson (born 1975) – world champion orienteer. * William Turnbull (1879–1959) – first-class cricketer * Grant Weatherstone (1931–2020) – international rugby player who was played 16 times for Scotland. * Doddie Weir (1970–2022) – Scottish and British Lions international rugby player who played 61 times for Scotland. Charity fundraiser for MND research. * Jake Wightman (born 1994) – International athlete. Gold medallist 1500 metres
2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...
. * David Wilkie (1954–2024) – only person to have been swimming champion at British, American, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic levels at the same time(31 July 2012
Coaches; David Wilkie MBE
"Coached off the Coach", STV (Scottish Television), Retrieved 27 April 2013
Military * Sir Robert Neil Campbell (1854–1928), a physician who commanded the Bengal Medical Service *Lieutenant General Sir James Hills-Johnes VC (1833–1919) – was awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
for action in Delhi in the Indian mutiny in 1857 * John Alexander Cruickshank VC (born 1920) – recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
in the Second World War. *Major-General Mungo Melvin (born 1955) Religion *The Right Reverend James A. Whyte (1920–2005) – leading theologian, Professor at St. Andrews University and
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...
(2014
The Right Reverend James A. Whyte MA LLD
Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church, Retrieved 23 September 2014
*The Right Reverend Ronnie Selby Wright (1908–1995) – chaplain to the Queen, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Other * Sir Ivison Macadam (1894–1974) – Director General of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (
Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...
) and founding president of the National Union of Students *Sir Robert Hogg Matthew (1906–1975) – acclaimed architect and a leading proponent of modernism


References


External links

* * *
The Erskine Stewart's Melville Schools WebsiteProfile
on the ISC website
Stewart's Melville College page on Scottish Schools Online
{{authority control School buildings completed in 1855 Educational institutions established in 1972 Listed schools in Scotland Private schools in Edinburgh Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Boarding schools in Edinburgh Boys' schools in Edinburgh Diamond schools