Royal High School: The £4.5 million boost for new Edinburgh city music centre and public gardens
The building was the former Royal High School on Calton Hill
A project to transform Edinburgh’s Royal High School into a national music centre has won an additional £4.5 million in funding in a move to “safeguard a vital part” of Scotland’s heritage.
The Royal High School Preservation Trust has been awarded the grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, moving it significantly closer to its overall fundraising target of £70m to transform the site into the National Centre for Music.
The conservation project will involve the former school on Calton Hill being transformed into a cultural hub for music performance, creation and learning.
The funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund follows an initial award of £437,000 in January, which has been used towards the exploration works on the building, as well as enabling consultations with local communities.
The trust said the new £4.5m investment would contribute to the long-term delivery of the project, with a strong focus on ensuring Edinburgh’s local communities share fully in its cultural and creative benefits.
Initial work to transform the former Royal High School into the National Centre for Music is now underway and is scheduled for completion in 2027.
Two new gardens - the first to be created in Edinburgh’s city centre for more than two centuries - will be situated on either site of the building under the plans.
Caroline Clark, director for Scotland for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “For over 50 years the former Royal High School has faced an uncertain future. It is a wonderful achievement by the Royal High School Preservation Trust to now have a clear path laid out to conserve the building’s important heritage and to create an exciting future as a new home for musical performance, education and creation. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are proud that this project is being made possible with Heritage Fund support.
“The restored and redeveloped A-listed building will be an inspiring site for musicians, and particularly young people, to learn and develop in the heart of a historic city famous for its support for the arts. Opening the site to the community and creating new public gardens will offer opportunities for all to engage in new ways with Edinburgh’s culture and heritage.”
The project is largely bankrolled by Scotland's biggest arts philanthropist Carol Grigor through her long-running Dunard Fund charity. Music groups and organisations are expected to use the new centre for collaborating, rehearsing, recording and performing.
The announcement came as Angus Robertson, MSP for Edinburgh Central in which the Royal High School sits, visited the building.
Mr Robertson said: “The Old Royal High School is one of Scotland’s most important architectural landmarks, and I’m immensely impressed by the quality and care of the work carried out so far. This new National Lottery funding reflects that. Its transformation into the National Centre for Music will not only safeguard a vital part of our heritage but also add to Scotland’s world-leading educational and cultural assets for generations to come.”
Jenny Jamison, creative director and chief executive of the National Centre for Music said: “We’re extremely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this second round of funding.
“It will allow us to move forward with the preservation of this wonderful building as we transform it into the National Centre for Music, creating a nourishing and inspiring environment for music and culture in the city, and a place for people of all musical passions to gather and celebrate.”
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