Royal High School

The Royal High School of Edinburgh (RHS) is a co-educational school run by the City of Edinburgh Council. The institution was founded in 1128 and is one of Scotland's oldest. It serves 1,200 students from four feeder primary schools in the city's northwestern outskirts: Blackhall Primary School, Clermiston Primary School, Cramond Primary School, and Davidson's Mains Primary School. Edinburgh established its image as the "Athens of the North" with the construction of the Royal High School on a rocky ledge above its heart. The intricate massing of Greek Revival components in the school was fully fitting for a city famed for the "democratic intellect" heralded by the cultural ferment of the Scottish Enlightenment.

The Royal High School was the structure that cemented Thomas Hamilton's reputation as a master of the Classical language of architecture. Hamilton, the son of a local mason, never visited Greece, but his integration of the central "temple" core of the structure with Doric colonnades and pavilions is masterful.

The location atop Calton Hill, directly below the Parthenon-inspired National Monument, is so well interwoven with its surroundings that it nearly looks to be hewn from the living rock. The main emphasis of the structure (finished in 1829) is the galleried central hall with gilded columns, with embellishments of Grecian themes such as anthemions, palmettes, and rosettes. The massively coffered ceiling, cleverly lighted from above by windows at gallery level, appears to float rather than weigh heavily, and the whole result pays beautiful respect to Classical origins without being slavish or pedantic. The Royal High School is an important part in making Edinburgh the best Neoclassical city in the world.

Location: 41 East Barnton Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 6JP, Scotland