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The Future of Madras
2007 - The Campaign Continues
6.2.07 School Board Meeting
The Board discussed the outcome of the Children's Services Committee Meeting, and the Chairman of the Board gave a useful presentation on the possibility of developing plans for a new School on the North Haugh in cooperation with the University of St Andrews. Parents attending the meeting made useful input to the ensuing discussions.
Chairman's report on the possible collaboration (pdf file)
11.1.07 Outcome of Crucial January Children's Services Committee
At the Children's Services Committee today, the Chair, Councillor Tom Dair, concluded:
"We will pursue a single site solution for Madras, consider catchment areas in NE Fife prior to this and consider other proposals and all sources of funding that might be available. This will be done in the context of a broader Fife plan in expenditure terms."
In other words, the feared options of the status quo or 'business as usual' on the split sites or the new build on Kilrymont were rejected. Options for a new site either owned by the Council or other bodies in the town now look very favourable. Funding and the Structure Plan will be key determinants of the hows and whys and whens.
Peter McKiernan, Chairman of the School Board, 11th January, 2005
10.1.07 Council Papers suggest maintaining the status quo!
At the end of 2006 a paper was published for a meeting of the Council's Children's Services Committee on 11 January 2007, looking at the options for the accommodation for Madras College. Many of us were shocked to find that the paper suggested that the School should continue on the existing split site for a number of years yet, as it was suggested that the Council could not find the finance to move forward. Other options were listed, but not recommended.
This sorry state of affairs was highlighted on the front page of the local paper, and a group of parents started up a useful "blog" to highlight the issues. Members of the School board are trying to influence councillors and officials. Parents and Board members will be at the 11 January meeting as observers.
Parent blog
(independent of the School Board)
Agenda for 11 January Committee Meeting with links to the Madras
papers as item 10
2006 - HMIE Inspection Report
The HMIE report of May 2006 was critical of the current split-site nature of the School, with two main sites and separate sports facilities. The report stated "the education authority should take appropriate action to improve accommodation" and included the comment that the authority was "recommended [to] take immediate steps to remove barriers to learning, teaching and behaviour due to weaknesses in accommodation". Members of the School board have maintained a dialogue with the Education Authority to explore ways forward to end the split-site nature of the School.
2005 - Fife Council School Estate Strategy aims for new single site by 2008
On 19 May 2005 Fife Council Children's Services Committee accepted the
SCHOOL ESTATE STRATEGY: Towards New Map of Secondary Education for Fife
which included proposals for relocating Madras on a single site by 2008 and consultation on a new school in NE Fife. Feeding into this consultation are the
Forums that the School Board has organised over the
past 4 years to canvas the views of parents, pupils, staff and the
community on the future of Madras.
2004 - School Board Presents Report to Head of Education
The School Board have commissioned a report into the options for the future of Madras undertaken by Management students from the University of St Andrews. Their findings were presented to the Head of Education at Fife Council on 6 May 2004.
The School Board/PTA have found Fife Council very helpful in generating information for a ‘business case’ for future schooling. The Board’s aim is to establish the best form, educationally and financially, for secondary schooling. It is clear that the present situation is not tenable.
2002 - School Board holds forums on School Estate Strategy
The School Board is adopting a ‘multi-stakeholder’ approach involving education, health and other community agencies. Forums in St Andrews, Tayport and Wormit have brought out a wide range of views. At present the School Board does not favour any particular option but is anxious for Fife Council to conduct a proper survey of the state of the Madras College facilities both at South Street and Kilrymont Road, and of the options available, followed by a decision on which option would be feasible. Madras College is the largest split-site school in Scotland, but operating on a single site budget, so that repairs and maintenance are problematic and the buildings deteriorating.
Rector Lindsay Matheson explains that the split-site school, with about 1000 pupils at Kilrymont Road (S1-3) and about 800 at South Street (S4-6) is too big to run easily. It is difficult to do ‘ordinary things’, such as whole-staff operation or senior/junior pupil co-ordination. He thinks that the likely options are: (1) a large new single school to replace the split site or (2) a full refurbishment of one of the existing St Andrews sites and the construction of an additional, fourth, NE Fife secondary school somewhere to the north-west of St Andrews (where over half of the present Madras pupils come from).
Reports on the
Tayport and St Andrews Forums
Wormit Forum