Commercial Academy, 20 South Street, Edinburgh

‘They walked to the Cowgate, turned east and climbed up to the South Bridge. "There," said Elspeth, "is the Commercial Academy". It was a severe building with a plain stone frontage.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024).

The engraving on the left shows Edinburgh University's Old College and the Tron Church on the west side of South Bridge Street. The Commercial Academy was in the block on the east side of South Bridge Street. No. 20 South Bridge Street is now occupied by the HAPI Church of Scientology.

Edinburgh's Commercial Academy in South Bridge Street

Mrs Jane Loudon wrote that ‘Among all the studies which Mr. Loudon pursued while in Edinburgh, those he preferred were writing and drawing. The first he learned from Mr. Paton, afterwards father to the celebrated singer of that name; and, strange enough, I have found an old letter of his to Mr. Loudon, senior, prophesying that his son John would be one of the best writers of his day—a prophecy that has been abundantly realised, though certainly not in the sense its author intended it. Drawing was, however, his favourite pursuit; and in this he made such proficiency, that, when his father at last consented to his being brought up as a landscape-gardener.’

Commercial academies were a response to the growing commercial and mercantile activities of the period. They were designed to equip young men with the practical skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in business. The curriculum of a commercial academy typically included: Arithmetic: essential for bookkeeping and financial calculations. Writing: crucial for commercial correspondence and record-keeping. Geography: Important for understanding trade routes and markets. Commercial law: to provide a foundation for business transactions. Modern languages: particularly French and Dutch, which were the languages of commerce. Commercial academies offered a more practical education. Compared to traditional grammar schools, they were often criticised for neglecting classical studies.

When John Claudius Loudon started his own college of agriculture, at Tew Lodge Farm in Oxfordshire, he carried forward the principle that to be useful an education should be both theoretical and practical. The Commercial gave  practical business education in a way which is part of Scotland's educational history.

The Edinburgh Commercial Academy on 20 South Bridge is now the Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence (HAPI). It runs courses in Scientology.