The Madras College (St Andrews) Trust originated in an Indenture and Declaration of Trust by the Reverend Andrew Bell dated 14 July 1831. It 'bequeathed certain funds and estates for educational purposes.' Before this time there had been schools in St Andrews initially for boys destined for the Church. There had been for a few hundred years before Dr Bell established our fine school, some educational establishments serving both sexes, providing a rather basic level of instruction. What Dr Bell did was to use his wealth to transform those existing schools into a single school well fitted to meet the needs of its day and to be run on the monitorial system which he had pioneered. The College provided an outstanding education and many families moved to St Andrews so that their children could benefit from this education. The school grew rapidly after its foundation and by 1860 there were well over 1000 pupils at Madras. The school had many boarders and there were houses around the town for them run by masters at the school.
When the school was founded there was no headmaster - the senior masters of each department were largely independent and received fees from the pupils. The Trust set up by Dr Bell in 1831 was run by four Trustees, Robert Haldane the first minister of Holy Trinity, George Buist the second minister of Holy Trinity, William Haig the Provost of St Andrews, and Andrew Alexander the Professor of Greek at St Andrews University. The Trustees co-ordinated the essentially independent Departments into Madras College.
In 1880 the Trustees of Madras College (at this time the Provost of St Andrews, two St Andrews Ministers, and the Sheriff of Fifeshire) issued the following advertisement for the school:
The peculiar advantages which distinguish this Educational Institution, consist in the appointment of a Head Master, with a complete Staff of Assistants for each department of instruction. English, Writing, Arithmetic, Classics, Modern Languages, Mathematics and Drawing, are each superintended by a Master, whose professional training has been specially devoted to the subject which he teaches. By this arrangement, Parents are enabled to secure for their Sons a First-class Education, either Classical or Commercial. Special Classes can also be attended in preparation for the Army or Navy, and Oxford Examinations, and for Farming and Engineering pursuits. The extreme moderateness of the Fees, and the proverbial healthiness of St Andrews, form additional claims to the consideration of Parents and Guardians.
After the high point of over 1000 pupils in 1860, numbers dwindled and by 1890 there were 107 pupils in the primary and 90 in the upper school. Major changes came into effect through Commissioners appointed under the Educational Endowments (Scotland) Act of 1882. They proposed a Scheme which was approved by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on 3rd May 1888. As a consequence of the Scheme a rector was appointed in 1889 and a board of governors replaced the Trustees who had run the school up to that time. The Trustees continued to administer Dr Bell's Trust in a form similar to that of the present Madras College (St Andrews) Trust Scheme. New educational methods and subjects were introduced, all of which have been greatly developed over the years under the aegis of Fife County Council, Regional Council, and Fife Council, i.e., the Local Government administration, into a large modern and well equipped school, albeit on two separate sites. Everyone with an interest in the school is aware of the successes of both teachers and pupils (approximately 1,700) which speak for themselves.
Perhaps the least known of Dr Bell's legacy is the Endowment Fund he left to the school, and it has played a very significant part in the life of the school over the years, and is increasingly doing so. The present Trust Scheme came into force in 1968 and replaced the Scheme of 1888. The most valuable part of the Trust lies in the grants it makes to the school every year, to be used at the school's discretion, and supporting activities in sport, art, music, IT, library, etc thus enhancing the life and work of Madras College.
Under changes to the Regulation of Charities in Scotland, the Endowment is now a registered Charity in Scotland under The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill, the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 2005 has been passed and financial statements of our finances are passed to the Scottish Charity Regulator by our Auditor, former pupil Ian Palfrey NA, FCCA. Over the past years Ian has been a pillar of strength both to the Trust and to the Trustees, guiding us through the numerous legal and financial changes occurring in the administration of the Trust.
The Governors of the Trust are its Trustees for the purpose of Charity Law and these Trustees are nominated by the nominating bodies: Presbytery of the Church of Scotland, St Andrews (1), University Court of the University of St Andrews (1), Senatus of the University of St Andrews (1), Fife Council (4). Rector of Madras College ex officio.
The principal objectives of the Trustees are to provide grants for the general benefits of Madras College, and also bursaries for pupils, and former pupils, of Madras College attending universities approved by the Trustees. The day-to-day administration of the Trust is carried out by the Clerk who receives an Honorarium and is responsible to the Chairman. Trustees do not receive any remuneration, ie, they work as Trustees on a purely voluntary and unpaid basis.
During the last few years, awards totalling £13,000 (bursaries, school and project) were made, a figure which Trustees hope to sustain at this high level in the future. Trustees have appointed investment advisers, Speirs and Jeffrey Ltd to look after the performance of the investment portfolio. The valuation of funds at present is approximately a quarter of a million pounds.
During the year 1993/94, a period of increasing inflation, decreasing interest rates and Stock Exchange instability, the valuation of the Trust Fund decreased and it was agreed to mount an appeal to increase the status of the Fund. A target of £50,000 was the objective. A committee of FPs was formed and this was chaired by an eminent FP, Dr Archie Rennie CB, LLD and as his vice-president, Douglas Hamilton would like once again to record his thanks to him for his unstinting efforts in organising the appeal and working so well with those responsible for the organisation of the many fund raising events which took place over that year. Space limits us from describing in detail the range and variety of these most popular events.
Dr Ian Gilroy wrote at the time: "The funds left by Dr Bell are administered by Trustees [of whom at that time he was Chairman] since Madras is the only school in Fife to retain its original endowment - all others have been amalgamated into the Fife Educational Trust, whose income is used for the benefit of all other Fife schools. In 1993 the Endowment Funds were slightly under £100,000 and its income was about £7,000 a year. Over the past 20 years the school has increased in size, many more pupils are staying on into 5th and 6th years and this has resulted in greater demands on the Endowment Trust. It is against this background that Trustees decided to launch the appeal to FPs and all the friends of Madras College for financial help in restoring and improving the ability to assist the school community. The appeal was launched in May 1993 to mark the 160th anniversary of the founding of the school."
The target of £50,000 was successfully raised and, indeed, handsomely exceeded.
Finally we would like to end with Archie Rennie's words: "Madras is fortunate in many ways, as those of us who were fortunate enough to be educated there know - it is a school in which pupils find something extra in themselves that they did not know was there, and are thus enabled to give something extra of themselves, to the school, and to the community. It is a school where the teaching staff have given habitually a great deal far over the call of duty. Former pupils, the community, pupils and staff will, hopefully assist in helping Madras to continue and enhance its splendid record of endeavour and achievement".
May we acknowledge with thanks those who assisted us by supplying much of the above information e.g. Dr Archie Rennie, Mr Douglas P Hamilton and previous rectors, Ian Gilroy, David Galloway and Lindsay Matheson. To all Trustees who have assisted in carrying out the duties of the Trust over the past years, we give our sincere thanks.