A giant leap: The Madras Christian College School moved
to its present location at Chetpet in 1950.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
The Madras Christian College School (MCC) was founded in 1835 by Rev. George James Laurie and Rev. Mathew Bowie, the chaplains of the Church of Scotland. Their aim was to teach English to people of Madras. Today, it is one of the most prominent educational institutions of the city, having produced notable figures in all areas, including journalism, politics, and sports.
Initially, it was established on Randalls Road in Egmore and named St. Andrew’s School. The institution underwent a change when the general assembly of the Church of Scotland sent Rev. John Anderson to take charge of the school in 1836. He relocated the school to a two-storey house at Black Town, now known as George Town, and renamed the school as Madras General Assembly’s School, after the governing body of the Church of Scotland.
Steady progress
As the building was inadequate, the school was moved again in 1838 to Errabalu Chetty Street at Parry’s Corner. In 1846, the financial board of the Church of Scotland bought a sailor’s home at George Town, and it became the new location of the school. After the death of Rev. John Anderson in 1855, the school struggled for leadership until Rev. William Miller arrived in 1862. Under him, the school began to see a steady progress and the first junior Bachelor of Arts (BA) class was established and the institution was renamed as Madras Christian College. In 1882, Rev. Miller also founded the first students’ hostel in Madras.
In 1937, the college was moved to its current campus at Tambaram. The school moved to its present location at Chetpet in 1950. Mathias, who took over as the headmaster in 1962, played a dominant role in development of the school hostel. His contribution was the start of the endowment fund to augment the income, thus making it possible for the school to function without lowering the standards.
In 1967, E.D. Savarirayan succeeded Mathias. He added physics and chemistry laboratories to the school. He was honoured by the Central and State governments for his service to the cause of education.
Over the decades, the school has produced many renowned personalities, including M.K. Stalin, N. Ram, R.K. Narayan, Leander Paes, A.C. Muthiah, T.R.B. Rajaa, M.K. Narayanan, P. Chidambaram, and Gautham Vasudev Menon.
Today, the school has around 2,400 students and 170 teaching and non-teaching staff members. “Each student is unique, and everyone has different interests: some excel in sports, some in studies, some in arts. The role of the teachers is to identify these talents and encourage the students to pursue them,” says Headmaster Jebadoss Thinakaran.
Counselling for students
As for the challenges of managing the students in the era of Internet, Mr. Thinakaran says, “Some students are getting easily addicted to online games and lose their focus on studies. We provide such students with counselling through our trained counsellors.” Inculcating good moral values in the students is our priority, he adds.
He credits the former headmasters and teachers with having maintained the legacy of the school and the standards of education for 189 years.
Published – September 29, 2024 11:32 pm IST