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THE RECTORS
Originally there was no Rector in overall charge of the
school, each department being run by a head. However, from 1889 a
Rector was in overall charge of the school
Up to the time of writing (2011), Madras College has had ten Rectors. A
brief comparison of their careers shows interesting similarities in the
routes they followed to reach the top, although some of these may be no
more than coincidences.
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J MacKenzie
1889-1915; |
J Moore
1915-1920; |
H F Martin
1920-1923; |
J D McPetrie
1923-1941; |
N MacLeod
1941-1955; |
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J Thompson
1955-1975; |
I D Gilroy
1975-1985; |
D D Galloway
1985-1997; |
L S G Matheson
1997-2007; |
I S Jones
2007-2013; |
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D McClure
2013 - 2020; |
A McNeill
2020 - 2021; |
K Currie
2021 - |
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Connections and Coincidences – Similarities in the Route
to the Top.
A survey of their subject disciplines gives the following result:
Classics – 5 (Mackenzie, Martin, McPetrie, MacLeod, Galloway);
English – 1 (Gilroy);
French – 1 (Moore);
History – 2 (Thompson, Matheson);
Mathematics -1 (McClure);
Science – 1 (Jones);
Social Subjects - 1 (McNeill)
Design & Technology - 1 (Currie)
The preponderance of Classicists may be explained by the fact that in the
early days the Rector not only managed the school, but also acted as
Principal Teacher of Classics. Of course, for much of that time there was
a fairly widespread assumption that Classicists were particularly well
suited to administrative tasks.
Three Rectors (McPetrie, MacLeod, Galloway) taught at Bell Baxter High
School, Cupar.
Two of them (MacLeod, Galloway) were Depute Rectors of Bell Baxter High
School.
Three Rectors had connections with Daniel Stewart’s College (now Stewart’s
Melville College) in Edinburgh. Martin went on from Madras to be Rector of
Dollar Academy, but subsequently returned to Edinburgh to be Headmaster of
Daniel Stewart’s, which he had himself attended as a pupil. Before coming
to Madras, Thompson was Principal Teacher of History at Stewart’s. The
third Rector links the other two. Galloway attended Stewart’s College as a
pupil. At the beginning of his time there, Martin was still Headmaster and
then, in S4–S6, Thompson was his History teacher.
Although it was possible to be promoted straight from Principal Teacher to
Rector as happened with Moore and Thompson, this was exceptional,
especially for a school of the size and status of Madras. Even promotion
from a Depute Rector’s post would be unusual, although the two Madras
examples are mentioned above. Before becoming Rector of Madras, the
successful applicant would almost certainly have gained direct experience
of senior management as Rector or Headteacher of a smaller school elsewhere. This is the
route to the top followed by:
Mackenzie – Elgin Academy;
McPetrie – Alva Academy and Keith Grammar School;
Gilroy - Mackie Academy, Stonehaven;
Matheson – Milne’s High School, Fochabers;
Jones – Menzieshill High School, Dundee;
McClure - Buckhaven High School;
McNeill - Kirkland High School.
However, the Rector’s post was not necessarily a career summit. One Rector
(Moore) went on to lecture in French at Edinburgh University (1920) where
he later became Professor of French (1930).
D D Galloway 2011, A Pardoe 2021 |
