Funding to ‘break deadlock’ for Royal High School

“It was a close run thing,” says Carol, who is now RHSPT chairwoman.

“When we’d finished campaigning, we realised we could bring the original Thomas Hamilton building back in its entirety with the added bonus of public gardens.

“People know about this building but it’s almost been hidden in plain sight so the fact that we’ve got the project going and this award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is a real milestone.”

The plan which got closest to competition was St Mary’s Music School – it had been due to move to the site in 2022 when the hotel developers’ land rights lapsed.

But delays and rising construction costs meant it had to pull out in 2023.

The Royal High School Preservation Trust is confident of completing the project by the summer of 2027 with a £69m budget, although they have a funding gap of £8m to bridge.

The largest portion of funding comes from the Dunard Fund, which is also supporting a new concert hall in St Andrews Square.

“This is an important building, built to look down over the old town, a public school for the whole of Edinburgh,” says Carol.

“So here we are, opening it up to the public for the first time in decades.”