Description

A three-storey and 19-bay former intermediate school in the International Modernist style with Art Deco details, built 1949-50 to designs by James S Johnston of J & F Johnston Partners and latterly in use as a higher education college. It is composed of a central 15-bay block flanked at each end by a bow-fronted staircase tower and an end bay with former boys' (east) and girls' (west) entrances. The building is set back to the south of Pilton Avenue within former school grounds now developed with apartment buildings. Most of the original school buildings were demolished 2007-15 leaving only the north entrance range of the main quadrangle which has been refurbished and extended as residential apartments.

The building has a flat roof with north-light windows, harled brick walling with a brick base course and concrete parapet copes. There is a single-storey entrance centrepiece with a deep parapet displaying a panel of the City of Edinburgh coat of arms and motto 'NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA'. Recessed beneath the parapet, the main entrance has a concrete architrave and brick surround all set within a glazed screen. It is approached by concrete steps with low curved brick platforms to either side and flanked by curving bays each with windows divided by strip pilasters.

The windows are arranged in horizontal bands with concrete lintel and sill courses, and each bay divided by strip pilasters. The window units were replaced in 2015 but largely retain the original fenestration arrangements. The stair towers rise higher than the rest of the building and each have a tall glass-brick window divided by two concrete mullions on their outer curve. The sills of these windows extend into flat concrete canopies over the entrances in the neighbouring end bays. Above the canopies there are blind walls with a low relief concrete figure on each side: to the east a kilted male figure with a torch inscribed 'KNOWLEDGE' and to the west a female figure with mirror inscribed 'TRUTH'. The entrances beneath have surrounds and steps matching the main entrance.

The respective east and west elevations to the end bays have three bays of windows to each floor. A U-plan extension of apartment blocks abuts the rear (south) elevation of the school building.

The interiors have not been visited (2026) but images from sales particulars in 2025 suggest they have been largely modernised. The cantilevered concrete staircases survive in the two towers.

The former entrance drive to the school from Pilton Avenue now forms the start of Arneil Place and retains two sets of plain brick gate piers linked by harled walling and all with concrete coping.

Historical Background

The layout of the building appears on the National Grid map (surveyed 1946, published c.1948) but it is not shown as completed until the revised edition (revised 1968, published 1969). It was designed in 1938-9 by James Stewart Johnston of J & F Johnston & Partners but construction was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War. Revisions to the plans were carried out after the war and construction eventually took place from 1949 to 1950. The practice of J & F Johnston & Partners was engaged to make additions to the school in 1967 for a Boy's Vocational Unit.

The school's first headmaster was Norman Murchison, a noted Edinburgh voice on post-war educational matters and later Deputy Director of Education for Midlothian. He was the first Citizen of the Year of the City of Edinburgh, in 1967.

Ainslie Park High School was established as a state secondary school to serve the growing district of Pilton in north Edinburgh which was being developed in the 1930s-50s on the lands surrounding East Pilton Farm. The site of the school was located beside the junction where the Leith and Granton branches of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway divided, immediately beside a curving section of dismantled railway linking the two lines. The area to the north had already been constructed with streets of semi-detached social housing by the time the school was built.

Ainslie Park High School closed in 1991 following a decline in numbers and pressure from the opening of the nearby Craigroyston Community High School in 1963. The building was then occupied by Telford College until 2006 when the college moved to a purpose-built site on West Granton Road (Telford College merged into Edinburgh College in 2012). In 2007-12, many of the ancillary buildings were demolished and the school grounds were developed with residential apartment buildings. In 2015, the gymnasium block and most of the main quadrangle were also demolished. The principal north range of the quadrangle was retained and refurbished with new extensions to the south, including the removal of most of the interiors.

Statement of Interest

In our current state of knowledge, we have found that the former Ainslie Park High School meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• It is a notable example of an early 20^th century educational building in the International Modernist style building that retains distinctive elements of its historic style and character.
• The building has been altered and truncated from its original form but the main central block remains and retains much of its early composition and design features.
• The building makes a positive contribution to the local streetscape and retains aspects of its historic setting, particularly the views and approach from the north.
• Schools dating from the earlier 20^th century are not rare but its adoption of the International Modern style is less common.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are proposed to be legally excluded from the listing: extension wings to the south.

Architectural interest

The building is a notable example of an early 20^th century educational building in the International Modernist style with some good Art Deco details. While elements have been demolished and replaced with new build apartments in recent years, the remaining building retains much of its external character as well as distinguishing features of the original complex of buildings including its large scale and the banded windows, entrance centrepiece, stair towers and sculptures. Although the interiors have been largely modernised, some key features like the cantilevered concrete stairs in the towers remain in the building.

The 19-bay, symmetrical front elevation is a prominent architectural feature in an area mostly characterised by post-war housing, particularly along the vista down Crewe Place/Royston Mains Place.

James Stewart Johnston (1901-92) worked in practice with his father until the latter's death in 1934. He designed Ainslie Park High School while sole partner in the firm but by the time it was constructed, he had taken his brother Frank W Johnston to form J & F Johnston in 1947. The practice designed a wide range of buildings, mostly in Edinburgh, of which educational, commercial and retail buildings were an important part.

Historic interest

All schools have a level of social historical interest as buildings relating to education and collective communal memory. This is not considered to be of special interest in itself.

The 20^th century was a period of expanding educational provision and school buildings from this period are not rare. However, schools from the 1930s and 1940s are less common and Ainslie Park High School is of interest as an unusual example from these decades. It is also an unusual early example of a school building in the International Modernist style in Scotland which highlights the arrival of modern design in public buildings in the mid-century.

Statutory address and listed building record were revised in 2026. Previously listed as '347A Pilton Avenue (and Crewe Road North), Telford College, including Gymnasium and Entrance Gates'.

External Links

• Wikidata Q17811294

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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