image copyright Rachel Windsor

This ornate building on Great Junction Street was designed by R & R Dickson and completed in 1839.  Dr Andrew Bell was a Scot who travelled in India, where he observed the teaching method in Madras, and formed a new educational method known as the Madras method, where advanced students assist with the tutoring of younger pupils.  At its heyday, there were more than 10,000 Dr Bell’s Schools. When the school was taken over by the Leith School board, the school became Great Junction Street School. Part of the funds allotted to Dr Bell's School were at this point provided to Leith Nautical College to ensure the future of navigational training in the town. Dr Bell's name lives on in Leith, through the Dr Bell's Family Centre, which is now in the old school buildings.