David Kilpatrick Secondary School

Leith School Board was established as the result of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 and assumed responsibility for the provision of universal education. It faced a massive task, as existing school buildings were hopelessly inadquate for the thousands of children who had previosuly been left out of the system, so a number of new schools had to be built. The architect George Craig designed many of them, including Couper Street School (now demolished) which opened in November 1890. It had accommodation for 1900 pupils of all ages, but as subsequent Education Acts raised the school leaving age it became a primary school and a new junior secondary was built in nearby North Junction Street.

A site was available there following the closure of the North Leith Poorhouse.

The new school, also designed by George Craig, was named the David Kilpatrick School after the minister of Newhaven Free Church who was chairman of the Leith School Board when bulding started in September 1913. Work was completed in September 1915, but with the First World War in progress the building was needed for military purposes, and was used as barracks for soldiers stationed at Leith Fort and others in transit via Leith Docks until the start of the school year in September 1919. DK’s, as the school was known locally, was damaged in the Second World War when the adjacent Leith Town Hall was bombed. It was repaired and continued in use as a school until the 1970s. After it was demolished, part of the site was used for Ferrylee care home and the part nearer the street was landscaped.