St Andrews - Education

Education

Today, St Andrews is home to one secondary school; one private school and three primary schools. Canongate Primary School, which opened in 1972 is located off the Canongate, beside the St Andrews Royal Botanic Gardens. The school roll was recorded in February 2008 as 215. Lawhead Primary School, which opened in 1974 is on the western edge of the town. The school roll was recorded in September 2009 as 181.

Madras College is the sole secondary school in the town. The school which opened to pupils in 1833 was based on a Madras system - founded and endowed by Dr Andrew Bell (1755–1832), a native of the town. Prior to the opening, Bell was interested in the demand for a school which was able to teach both poor and privileged children on one site. The high reputation of the school meant that many children came from throughout Britain to be taught there, often lodging with masters or residents in the town. The school is now located on two campuses – Kilrymont and South Street (incorporating the original 1833 building). Pupils in S1-S3 are served by Kilrymont and S4-S6 by South Street.

Plans to build a replacement for Madras College on a single site have been ongoing since 2006. Originally, the school were in negotiations with the University of St Andrews for a joint new build at Lang Lands on land owned by the University. The plans, which were scrapped in August 2011, would have seen the school share the University's playing fields. In October 2011, a scoring exercise drawn up by the council to decide the best location for the new Madras College was put before parents, staff and the local community to ask for their views. A £40 million redevelopment of the Kilrymont building proved to be most popular and was officially given the go-ahead in November 2011. This decision was met with controversy from parents, staff and the local community. Work on the new school to date has yet to start, following a decision from a group of senior councillors to analyse the other potential sites than push ahead with the controverisal redevelopment. This means that the new school, which was expected to be open for August 2015, has now been delayed until at least 2017.

The private school known as St Leonards School was initially established as the St Andrews School for girls company in 1877. The present name was taken in 1882 when a move to St Leonards House was made. The school is now spread across thirty acres between Pends Road and Kinnesburn. A private school for boys was also set up in 1933 as New Park. The operations of the school merged with the middle and junior sections of St Leonards to become St Leonards-New Park in 2005.

The University of St Andrews, the oldest in Scotland, dates back to 1410. A charter for the university was issued by Bishop Henry Wardlaw between 1411 and 1412. This was followed by Avignon Pope Benedict XIII granting university status to award degrees to students in 1413. The school initially started out as a society for learned men in the fields of canon law, the arts and divinity. The chapel and college of St John the Evangelist became the first building to have ties with the university in 1415. The two original colleges to be associated with the university were St Salvator in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy and St Leonard in 1512 by archbishop Alexander Stewart and prior James Hepburn.