Draft:The Royal School of Dunkeld

The Royal School of Dunkeld Coat of Arms and Motto, Procedite Honeste (Proceed with Honour), ratified by the Court of the Lord Lyon. The bishop's mitre and dove symbol reflect the school's origins at Dunkeld Cathedral. (Photo: F.Ritchie)

The Royal School of Dunkeld is a state school for children aged 3-12, providing nursery and primary education in the catchment area of Dunkeld, Birnam and district in Highland Perthshire, Scotland. It is one of the oldest schools in the country and is the first of a number of free schools created in the name of James VI of Scotland (later also King James I of England and Ireland). It was founded in 1567, just after the Scottish Reformation, which aimed to establish a school in every parish . The Royal School of Dunkeld continues today as modern, non-denominational primary school within the council region of Perth and Kinross.

History

The seeds of Scotland’s educational history were sown in the days of St. Columba in the latter half of the 6th century. One of Columba’s disciples established a monastic settlement near the Pictish fort on King’s Seat, overlooking the River Tay and present-day Dunkeld. The Abbots of Dunkeld were men of learning, including Columba’s biographer St. Adamnan, so a church school would have existed there by the end of the 8th century, teaching music and Latin for the chanting of psalms. After 1127, when David I conferred the title of Cathedral on the church of Dunkeld, some notable scholars were appointed as Bishops to the see. The best known was Gavin Douglas the Poet Bishop, who, according to Sir Walter Scott, “in a barbarous age, Gave rude Scotland Virgil’s page". Such men nurtured a culture of learning in the area. Bishop George Brown, Chancellor of Dunkeld Cathedral, founded a Grammar School in the early 16th century for the education of choristers. The precursor of today’s Royal School, this was located in the Cathedral Chapel of St. George until much of the Cathedral was destroyed in 1560 during the Reformation.

Royal Charter and School Locations

On 2nd February 1567, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, acting as Regent for his half-nephew James VI, granted a Royal Charter in the infant King's name for a Grammar School "to be called for all time to come The Royal School of Dunkeld". The original vellum charter, which verifies these words and deeds with the king's wax seal, is preserved today in the archives at Blair Castle. At the same time, the school came under the patronage of the Earl of Atholl and his successors. After the school was destroyed at the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689, pupils were accommodated in a building attached to the east gable of the Cathedral, the existence of which is still visible on the stonework. By 1798, the scholars numbered 80 in winter and 60 in summer, each paying 2/6d per quarter, and the schoolmaster’s annual salary was £34. During this century the school moved to a building at the foot of Cathedral Street, remaining there until 1891 when it relocated to Culloden House at The Cross. Both boys and girls were educated here, however in 1853 a girls’ school, endowed by Anne, Duchess of Atholl, was established nearby. When this closed in 1898 the girls rejoined the boys in the Royal Grammar School. By 1930, pupils from Dunkeld and schools on the other side of the river in Little Dunkeld and Torwood, were brought together under one roof in the present-day building, which carries on the name, history, and traditions of The Royal School of Dunkeld.

Coat of Arms

In 1951, the Headteacher formally petitioned the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh, citing the Royal Charter and other evidence. The Lord Lyon subsequently issued a warrant and prepared a Letter Patent for a Coat of Arms.  This was assigned and ratified by the Lyon Court on 27th January, 1953.  Along with a now official motto "Procedite Honeste”, the Coat of Arms was accordingly depicted on the Letter Patent.  The document states that this "ensign armorial" is an "insignia of Nobility" and places the Royal School "amongst all Nobles and in all Places of Honour to be received as Incorporation-Noble in Scotland".  With the Lord Lyon's seal of office on the Letter Patent, the Royal School of Dunkeld's Coat of Arms and Motto are recorded on the 55th page of the 39th volume of Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland^. The bishop's mitre in the school’s coat of arms recalls its Cathedral origins, as does the symbol of the dove and the school motto in Latin: "Procedite Honeste” (Proceed with Honour).

Legacy

The Royal School of Dunkeld has educated the children of many ancient Highland Perthshire families with Alexander Mackenzie (1822-92), the second Prime Minister of Canada among its former pupils, and Alexander “Dundonnachie” Robertson, agitator and leader of the 1868 Dunkeld Bridge Toll Riots. It is a pioneer of the Eco-Schools movement and recipient of a permanent green flag for its environmental education. The school upholds a long tradition of participation in the Perthshire and Angus Provincial Mod, which strives to keep Scots Gaelic alive in a region where it was still widely spoken until the early 20th century.  Currently the school provides education for over 150 children from the community of Dunkeld and Birnam, along with the surrounding catchment area including Amulree & Glen Quaich, Dowally, Kincraigie, Butterstone, Thornton, Dairy Cottage, Kingswood, Boglehall Cottage, and Muirheadstone.

External Links

https://www.royaldunkeld.pkc.sch.uk

https://aberfeldymod.org.uk