Napier civil engineering students tour Royal High School restoration on Calton Hill

Twenty civil engineering students from Edinburgh Napier University have visited the restoration of Edinburgh's former Royal High School on Calton Hill, under a new partnership between the university and the Royal High School Preservation Trust.

The trust, which announced the visit on 6 November, said the students saw the engineering challenges of restoring and adapting the building, including the need to work with and around the Calton Hill bedrock into which Thomas Hamilton's original design was built.

Robertson Group representatives joined the trust's team on site for the visit. The building is being turned into Scotland's National Centre for Music.

Kate Smith, Chief Executive and Development Director of the Royal High School Preservation Trust, said: "It was a pleasure to welcome students from Edinburgh Napier to the site to see the progress being made and hear about the innovative approaches being taken to preserve and restore this extraordinary building."

The partnership

The trust said the partnership with Edinburgh Napier is supported by a legacy gift made through the Edinburgh Napier University Development Trust from the estate of the late philanthropist Dr Ian Tomlin, who received an honorary doctorate from the university in 1995. No value for the gift was given.

Professor Zack Moir, Professor of Music at Edinburgh Napier University, said the bequest had been made to support performance and ongoing music education for students at the university.

Student Riona Sorianosos said the site team had adapted to the building and the landscape by "bringing in mini-excavators and equipment that can fit through the doors and how all of this equipment runs electrically on site".

The contract

The trust appointed Robertson Construction Central East as construction partner on 28 January 2026, in what the trust and Robertson both described at the time as a £47 million contract. The trust's announcement of the student visit refers to the overall restoration as a £70 million project.

Robertson said main construction started in January 2026, with completion planned for spring 2028 and the National Centre for Music due to open in early summer 2028.

Robertson said it carried out enabling works on the building throughout 2025 to understand its condition. Carol Nimmo, Chair of the Royal High School Preservation Trust, said in January that the trust had formed a strong working relationship with Robertson through that enabling phase.

Under the contract, Robertson said it would create 10 new local jobs and offer 10 new apprenticeships. Just under three quarters of its subcontractors on the scheme are Scottish, the contractor said.

The building and the scheme

The trust said the A listed building was built in 1826 to a design by Thomas Hamilton and has been unused for more than 50 years despite a number of proposals for its future use. The trust holds the site under a lease with City of Edinburgh Council that began in March 2023.

According to Robertson's case study for the project, key works include enlarging the lower ground floor under and next to the main building, and the refurbishment covers the Main Building, Lodge, East Pavilion and West Pavilion.

The centre will have three performance spaces, including a main hall with a specialist moving floor, along with rehearsal rooms and a recording studio, Robertson said. The approved planning scheme also includes new gardens, a café, conference facilities and a vaulted bar, according to the trust.

Funding

The trust said the Dunard Fund has gifted £45m to the project. In January 2025 the trust announced a funding package potentially worth £5m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and in February 2026 it was awarded £3 million from City of Edinburgh Council's Visitor Levy.

Main works are due to finish in spring 2028.