Cargilfield was founded in 1873 by Rev Daniel Charles Darnell[3] an Episcopalian and former master at Rugby School[4] and was the first independent preparatory school in Scotland.

It largely served as a feeder school to nearby Fettes College.

[5] In 2014, the UK government named the school in a list of 25 UK employers which had failed to pay workers the national minimum wage, for underpaying an artist in residence by £3,739.

[6] The school responded that it had rectified this situation as soon as it was made aware of it, and apologised.

[7] The school has reached the finals of the UKMT Team Mathematics Challenge competition in five consecutive years (2013,[8] 2014, [9] 2015, [10] 2016, and [11] 2017.