St Margaret’s School for Girls is the oldest all-through girls’ school in Scotland and caters for pupils aged three to 18 in a nursery, junior school and senior school. St Margaret’s is an independent charitable trust that warmly welcomes girls of all denominations and faiths. St Margaret's is a member of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), Girls' Schools Association and Queen Margaret of Scotland Girls' Schools Association. History Beginnings, 1846-1888 The school was first established in 1846 by 21-year-old Ann Stephen as a day school for girls in the drawing room of her parents' house at 1 Union Wynd, where pupils were taught writing, music, sewing, French and German. After 10 years, the school moved to 13 Union Row, where it was extended to a 'day and boarding school'. Miss Stephen retired in 1874, and the school was taken over by two sisters, the Misses Reid, who ran it for just four years. In 1878, Mary Andrew became headteacher, teaching French to the girls and insisting that they speak it at all meals and for certain hours in the evening; a fine was imposed on anyone who lapsed. According to the 1881 census, 13 boarders from the age of 11 to 19 lived at the school with Miss Andrew and a governess, a cook and a servant. Sadly, Miss Andrew died at the age of 40 in 1888. St Margaret's 1888-1929 Sisters, Isabella and Jean Duncan, took over in 1888, moving the school to 31 Union Grove as it grew. Pupils were expected to dress with 'a sense of propriety', and an early photograph shows the girls wearing ankle-length skirts and long-sleeved white blouses. Spot checks on deportment and behaviour were made at the end of the school day to check that the girls were behaving in a seemly manner. In May 1890, the school made its last move to 17 Albyn Place, where it remains today. A kindergarten class was established and the school was officially named St Margaret's School for Girls. The ‘best’ rooms were the sitting room, with its veranda and stairs leading down to the back garden (the present headteacher’s room), and the great drawing room (present library), with its vast bow-window, highly polished floor and gilt chairs. Following the sisters’ retirement, the newly formed Council appointed Mary C. Bell as the first headteacher of the new independent St Margaret's. Electric lighting and a