This paper looks at two sources which illustrate the relationship between Edinburgh schools and Edinburgh University. The first is the class register of the History Ordinary class from 1894 to 1933. The second is a published analysis of successful Edinburgh candidates in the higher civil service examinations, 1896-1944. Both list the schools attended by students. The class register shows how patterns of recruitment changed, for men and women, over the period. The main conclusion is the importance of the new higher grade schools, and of changes in the teacher training system in 1906, for access to higher education; the impact of the 1918 Education Act was more limited. The civil service data suggest that despite this broadening of recruitment, entry to elite positions remained confined to a handful of schools, reflecting the social stratification of urban secondary education.

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