A “vigorous PR campaign” has been launched to attract new pupils to Madras College after it emerged competition from the private sector is contributing to a fall in its roll.
Rector David McClure said there was a growing threat to the St Andrews school from the decision of some parents to send their children to the fee-paying schools at Dundee High School and St Leonards.
Concern was also expressed by at least one councillor that ongoing uncertainty over the proposed single site Madras proposed for Fife Council at Pipeland might be contributing to a negative image for the school.
Another said the affordable housing issues in St Andrews and the subsequent impact on numbers of families able to live in the town was also having a negative impact.
In a presentation to Fife Council’s North East Fife Area Committee, Mr McClure said the proportion of the 1,287-strong roll from St Andrews now stands at a third, with two-thirds being bussed in from other areas.
However, he said there was a need to improve the image of the school.
He said: “It is all about confidence and image.
“We are doing various things to encourage pupils. We went out to all the primaries in November with a roadshow, which was highly successful.
“We also held an open night to outline what was on offer at Madras to attract parents.
“We are sending ambassadors from the school out into the community and raising the profile of the school uniform.
“The most important thing is the perception of the school within the local community and we’re confident that the roll will increase.”
Mr McClure also praised the school, staff and pupils for the levels of results.
“As a rector coming in, I can honestly say that the level of achievement in Madras College is, in my mind, the best I’ve ever seen in the whole of my teaching career,” he added.
“For me, building resilience is about pupils being confident in what they are doing.”
However, he acknowledged the school’s split site did have an impact on learning.
East Neuk councillor Elizabeth Riches said: “We all collectively have to take responsibility for this situation.
“If the future of the new school was signed and sealed, the pupils would have more confidence.”
Committee chairman Frances Melville said: “We also have dwindling residential numbers in St Andrews which has an impact. There are curious patterns in the town.”
A planning application for the Pipeland site, on the southern edge of town, is due to be considered by councillors within months.
Mr McClure said Madras also faced challenges with a transient university and RAF population leading to a turnover of pupils.
Meanwhile, the leaders of all three of North East Fife’s state secondary schools have been praised for the “incredibly outstanding work” being carried out in and around the area’s classrooms.
Fife Council’s head of education (north) Joe Fitzpatrick said the rectors of Madras College, Bell Baxter High School and Waid Academy had “high ambitions” for children in the area.
They were also maintaining the high standards that had been set in previous years.
The comment was made by the education official as he presented the annual report from Fife Council’s education and children’s services to Fife Council’s North East Fife Area Committee.
Councillors were presented with reports from the rectors of Madras and Waid plus the deputy rector of Bell Baxter.