The first of another occasional series, on schools. Edinburgh has a large number of private schools - about 25% of the city's children are educated privately, whereas in the rest of Scotland the figure is about 4%. This is one of the oldest private schools in the city - George Heriot's school. The school was founded in 1628 as a charitable foundation for the education of 'puire fatherless bairnes' (poor fatherless children) through a bequest in George Heriot's will. He was the son of a goldsmith, and himself became Jeweller and Goldsmith at the Court of King James VI. He amassed a fortune through this position, but died childless.
The school is right in the centre of Edinburgh, with Edinburgh Castle just behind it. Perhaps it's distracting to look out of the classroom window and see such a view - or perhaps the pupils don't notice after a while, like many Edinburghers. Some people wonder if Heriot's was a model for Hogwarts.
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