Professor Alexander Darroch was one of the founding committee members on Edinburgh School of Social Study and Training. Darroch (1862-1924) held the Bell Chair of Education from 1903 to 1924. The university website tells us that he played a vital role in the major reorganization of teacher training in Scotland that took place in 1905. He was instrumental in introducing a new system of teacher-training at the Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre which opened at Moray House in 1907. Close links were immediately established between the University and Moray House. Arrangements were made enabling students to take their training and University course concurrently, with certain university classes being recognized as an integral part of their training programme. Later, Darroch was pivotal in establishing an Honours Degree of Bachelor of Education at Edinburgh University in 1915-16, much of the teaching for which was conducted at Moray House.

Source: Our History – Alexander Darroch (1862-1924).

Image source: University of Edinburgh portrait.