Madras Christian College School

Great institutions and movements are often conceived by the concern of some men of vision for a noble cause and these institutions reach excellence to find a permanent place in the history of humanity. One such institution that has served humanity in the field of education for a hundred and eighty six years, with unflagging zeal, is the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School. The credit of having brought western education to Madras goes to the church of Scotland. Two Chaplains – Rev. James Laurie and Rev. Mathew Bowce who had come to serve the congregation at St. Andrew’s Kirk, Egmore opened a school on Roundall’s Road in June 1835. The appeal to the Church of Scotland for a missionary and an educationist, brought forth Rev. John Anderson to Madras on Feb 22nd 1837. He initiated the move, for the school to a better placed two storied house at Armenian Street in George Town. The school started functioning from April 3rd 1837 and was renamed as ‘Madras General Assembly’s School’. Anderson sacrificed much for the building of this institution , carried out several bold academic reforms and also opened education for the oppressed sections of the society. In 1846 the school moved to a renovated building called SAILOR’S HOME IN ESPLANADE. Rev.William Miller took over in 1862 and was destined to become the greatest architect of the school. The School which until then was going through rough weather got upgraded into a college. In 1877, the school got its present name “MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE”. The school grew so much in strength and reputation, as to never lose them again. The curriculum was updated and made more comprehensive. In course of time, it became clear that the school should move to a larger, quieter and healthier site and the effort to move the school to a new locale was intensified by Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob who became the Headmaster in 1931. The present site at Chetpet, then called NAPIER GARDEN was purchased and the school moved into the newly constr