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 seventy five 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 St. in George Town. The school started functioning from April 3rd 1837 and was renamed ‘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 Head Master in 1931. The present site at Chetpet, then called NAPIER GARDEN was purchased and the school moved into the newly constructed building in the year 1950.
It was during Mr. Kuruvilla Jacob’s time the school reached its peak of excellence in both curricular and extra curricular activities.
In 1962 MR. MATTHIAS took over as Headmaster. He formed the first Parent Teacher Association. With the help of the association and other friends Mr. Mathisas added the seventh standard block, equipped the laboratories and started new programmes.
In 1967 Mr. E.D. Savarirayan succeeded Mr. Mathias as Headmaster of the school. He succeeded in adding to the school new Chemistry and physics laboratories.
Dr. Clement Felix became the Headmaster in 1973. He started a number of curricular and building projects. The swimming pool, the auditorium, the junior and the higher secondary hostels, NCC rooms, the MRF pace foundation bear ample testimony to his untiring efforts to build the school to excellence. It was during his tenure that, the higher secondary course was introduced.
Dr. A. Jefferson Christopher succeeded him as the Headmaster in 1992. Untiring and unstinting in the efforts to upgrade the institution to the changing times, he set up a computer laboratory, Junior Science lab and Basket ball Court and was also instrumental in the construction of the compound wall along the railway track behind the school. He also made the campus greener, by growing more trees and maintaining gardens.
Descended from the lines of such illustrious predecessors, is Mr. G.J.Manohar who took over as the headmaster and correspondent in the year 2006. He has proved to be an able, dynamic and an energetic person with a great vision to build the school to reach glories. He started the nursery and primary sections and constructed a new block to accommodate the sixth, seventh and eighth standards. He has introduced innovative methods and technology in education, like the Smart Board Classes, which are a great boon to teachers and students. He has also revived the OBA, to harness their good will and support for the expanding programmes. His initiatives include coaching classes and special classes for students, career guidance, NIE (Newspaper In Education) programme, student exchange programs (The school works with AFS and sends students to United States & Japan), Health Insurance and school mate.
A shuttle Court of International standards is one of the many notable contributions for the welfare of students. He has started the Sports Academy and the Music Academy to provide an all round education. He has been organizing the Christmas Carnival every year and the proceeds are spent for the poor. It needs to be mentioned that the school has been greatly involving in various social activities under his guidance. Another significant achievement is the introduction of co-education from the academic year 2010-11.
The school has been serving the student community and mankind in large with unflagged zeal for 175 years. Milestones have been successfully crossed but there are still miles to go. In an ever changing and ever demanding world, education plays a major role and MCCS strives to meet the challenges thrown by the modern world and find a permanent place in field of education.