A close-up photo of a brown desk with a clock, notebook, a satchel and a cup holding a bunch of pencils

Scottish Education and Society Since 1945

by Lindsay Paterson Scottish education has often been celebrated as an international pioneer in many things – the opportunity to provide schooling for everyone in the sixteenth-century Reformation, resulting in widespread literacy that provided the social basis for the eighteenth-century…

A statue of Robert Burns

Robert Burns’s Memory: A Matter of State

by Paul Malgrati Every year, on 25 January, Burns Night offers a remarkable opportunity for Scottish political parties to issue a statement about the Scottish nation, its identity, and its situation. Last year, in 2022, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon,…

detail of La Passionara

The Scots at Jarama

By Fraser Raeburn On this day 84 years ago, Scottish soldiers went into battle. For most of them, it was for the very first time – and for many, it would also be their last. Throughout modern Scottish history, this…

Making the Census Count: Edinburgh 1760-1900

By Richard Rodger You might think that with a commitment to Open Data and Open Access from the Scottish Government and Local Councils that you would be able to consult Census records from 150 years ago. You might think that…