 The early success of the Edinburgh society was such that by 1828 it funded 85 schools in the Highlands and Islands with its sister societies enjoying similar levels of success.However following the early period of success the groups encountered financial difficulties due to poor administration and started to decline around 1830 and by 1850 only the original Edinburgh society remained although this branch, with strong support from the Edinburgh Ladies Association, continued until 1892.This was despite the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 which effectively put an end to non-English medium education and led to the discouragement of Gaelic with pupils being punished by teachers for speaking the language.