How can I find out which schools operated in a particular place at a particular time?

For the period prior to 1873, the most comprehensive list of schools in Scotland is contained in the questionnaires returned by schoolteachers in each parish and burgh of Scotland to the Parliamentary Education Select Committee of 1838. These form part of official parliamentary papers, series of which are held by the National Library of Scotland, the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, and some university libraries.

For the period after 1873, there are several options. Postal Directories for each county and town have, in many cases, an appendix with a list of educational establishments. In the case of cities, such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, these are subdivided by district. Many directories are available at <https://digital.nls.uk/directories/> [accessed 26 April 2024]. Francis H. Groome’s Ordnance Gazetteer for Scotland (various editions) mentions how many schools were in each place (in most cases) but does not name the schools.

If the education authority (e.g. school board, county council, etc) published a diary or annual handbook, these might be held by the local authority archive service or local studies library for the area concerned, and these usually list the schools and other educational establishments in the area. The local archives or library may have other resources or might have compiled lists of schools to help with these kinds of enquiries.

If the minutes of the school board for the area concerned survive for the period beginning 1873, it is worth looking at the minutes, as these usually contain information about the various schools in the parish run by the various churches, charitable organizations and so on, usually because the school board would, be discussing which ones to take over themselves.