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Edinburgh Academy has been part of Edinburgh life since the early 1800s. In 1822, the School's founders, Henry Cockburn and Leonard Horner, agreed that Edinburgh needed a new school to promote classical learning. They recruited John Russell as a co-founder and the three of them, together with other interested parties, put a proposal to the City Council for the building of a new school. The City Fathers gave their approval in 1823 and the Academy’s Foundation Stone was laid in June the same year.

The school welcomed its first pupils in October 1824 with an address from Sir Walter Scott and has continued to grow ever since. Among many notable alumni, some of the most memorable include Dr Joseph Bell, the eminent surgeon said to be the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, Robert Louis Stevenson, and James Clerk Maxwell, the physicist who developed theories of electromagnetism, among many many others.

This is but a glimpse into our history. If you’d like to know more about the Academy’s heritage, click below for the full story.