Reviews

1.5
Based on 25 reviews and 225 answers
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Parent
Sep 10, 2023

Shocking example of a school

School is shocking, kids vaping and smoking weed in school. Bullying is horrendous. If you want you kid to have the worse experience of high school. Send them to madras. Teachers do nothing about it.
Student
Sep 10, 2023

Please don’t make your kid suffer through this school.

Since s1 I was bullied relentlessly everytime I set foot in the school and all they did was stick me in the learning hub which was not what I needed.

I stayed off for multiple month bc of how bad the bullying got, im still incredibly behind on all of my work since they have done absolutely nothing with the bullying.

If you are even a tiny bit different students from all years will pick on you and most of the teachers are horrible
The Teachers usually have favouritism towards the popular kids I’ve also been called slurs in front of teachers and they did nothing

This “school” should be shut down it is an absolute shit hole where everyone is horrible I have basically no skills in half of my classes since I couldn’t come in without the teachers or students picking on me please just send them anywhere else.
Former Student
Aug 11, 2023

Bullying

Bullying seems to an everyday Occurrence by both pupils and staff, kids life’s are made miserable every day .

Heads will say what parents want to hear but not carry out the actions as protested .

Does a child need to take there own life before this school sit up and take notice!
Student
Jun 28, 2023

Shit school

Its so bad the teacher don't listen and the staff are horrid and they don't care if your getting battered or bullied
Parent
May 22, 2023

Big no from me!

My daughter is currently in S2 struggling with anxiety and panic attacks however the schools biggest concern is whether she is on time to classes or not. I’m having her call me close to everyday crying over how she is not being taken seriously at all. As a parent, this is heartbreaking that my daughter dosent feel safe at this school. Bullying is horrendous. Pupils think it’s funny to mock my daughter when she walks into lessons late due to having an anxiety or panic attack and teachers couldn’t care less. I’ve had meetings after meetings with several members of the senior management however everytime they feed me all this bullshit on how they are going to support my daughter but do not follow up on it. I wouldn’t recommend this school to anyone.
Student
May 22, 2023

DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS

I haven't been in madras or more than a year but the time that I have spent in madras has decreased my mental health rapidly. As a student who has harmed myself the school has done barely anything to help my mental health. I have had counselling and been told by the school that I would be given an referral for somewhere to help. It never happened.

I absolutely support all the reviews which state that there is no care or consideration to the students who are struggling with their mental health.

Here are a just a few points that I have to share on the stuff I have seen/experienced at this school:

• Teachers bully the students

• Too much pressure

• Bullies seem to be glorified and praised.

• Teachers do not believe the students

• Punishment for being upset or not knowing the answers

• Punished for standing up for your rights

• Teachers telling students that they should know something that they have not even been taught yet

• Teachers humiliating children on purpose to get their point across.

• Pressure, pressure, pressure; and then being punished when you snap.

• Teachers throwing students and pinning them to a wall

• The students bully the students with disabilities and even go as far as assaulting them

• Weapons and tobacco products are ignored


My Parents are currently trying to get me homeschooled due to horrendous bullying and them not helping me with my health condition
I even obtained a diagnosis of my health condition and provided this to the school as "evidence", the teachers still accused me AND my parents of lying and would try and insinuate that I was just a lazy teen who was trying to get out of school.

My teachers made me feel extremely attacked and neglected at madras. I was told that I was going to fail and that I wont get a good job or make any money because I was behind on my school work (due to being extremely unwell and having a lot of time off due to the bullying). This could not be further from the truth.

And dear any kid who wishes to come here. It isn’t worth the short praise few adults give you for going to a so called “good school with a good reputation” . Most of the time i get dirty looks and “is it as awful as i’ve heard?” when people find out i go here.
And finally to any current student at madras. It’ll be okay, it’ll be over as soon as you know it. Talk to someone please. Befriend a student from an older year. We have all been where you are right now and i promise we aren’t as scary as you may think.

Love from a struggling madras pupil
xx
Student
May 22, 2023

It’s awful

If i could leave 0 stars i def would. I’m currently in S5 at this awful school and i am leaving with anxiety, depression, suspected BPD, an ED, three therapists and a pending psychiatric.
The ‘school’ is uncaring, poorly ran and aims to make your kid leave with a million different mh issues after their first year. Madras is an awful awful awful school and has turned many students heavily suicidal. Due to the untreated bullying my friend faced from this school, they’re now dead. They took their own life. Madras took my friend.
Parents, if you are reading this, please don’t send your child here, it isn’t safe. If you value your kid’s life, keep them as far away as possible. Madras will destroy them. I used to be a very happy kid, now my mum has held me crying one too many times because of the school blaming me for being SA’d by another student.
Former Student
May 14, 2023

glad I left! Never want to go back to that prison

Madras is a litro prison
None of the teachers and other members of staff give a Damm about your mental health and well-being and some teachers litro laugh at students when their crying in class, only the loud/popular students are aloud to go to the toilet most the the time the rest of them they tell you to “suck it up” and btw you get in trouble for walking out even if it’s for an important reason.
The school is infamous for bullying and has been for years & there are many bullying situations and nothing gets done and so much rumours are spread it’s unbelievable when it comes the bullying they say they will sort it but they don’t do anything.
I had to spend 4 years dealing with harassment from other students, nothing but death threats and nonstop mockery. This took the worst toll on my mental health (as it would any normal person) and drove me to more death attempts and thank god I don’t have to deal with that anymore as I left the school 4 months ago.

The teachers are absolutely horrendous don’t care about mental health they scream at you when you’re extremely upset and only care about your class work, they always shout at u take there anger out on students in utter disrespect and give u consequences for asking for help it’s a joke honestly and also they mishandled an abuse situation, broke confidentiality and one teacher called a student an offensive insult then pinned them to the wall. When I was here I had to deal with multiple teachers shouting and disrespecting me In loads of ways. The head of years are unreliable and only care about their salary. The SLT staff are horrific they scream at you if you do the slightest thing wrong or if you look at them, most teachers couldn't care less about the students in their school. it is scientifically proven that students learn better when they are having fun. Can't do that if they scream like toddlers at every student and I'm speaking from personal experience here. Once I got accused of hitting someone. A teacher brought me outside to shout at me and my friends with no proof of me doing anything. Also I got a couple of consequences for looking at my jotter. They also don’t help ppl with autism or ppl with sensory issues (they think autism and sensory issues is an excuse) like they’re treated like dirt, when it comes to the press they act like they are the “Best school in Tayside and Fife” keep all the badly behaved students away in an isolated classroom while theirs inspectors and other people that are in the media industry
When it comes to complaints my parents had to complain to the school god knows how many times about the amount of death threats and bullying I had to suffer through but no brush all of it under the carpet as they want to keep the reputation of the school high.

Slurs get thrown around constantly the whole entire school is just litro chaos knifes vapes cigarettes & drugs and teachers just don’t care, making it a hostile environment.

The behaviour of many students is very poor, disruptive & aggressive the kids here are just so mean for no reason at all, like if you don't fit in their standard you'll be outcasted for the rest of your school years & Definitely not a safe place for people of the LGBT community either, even though the school have posters saying that they “support it”. And if you end up in B0 corridor (“support department”) don’t think you’ll be treated better than in the normal classes you’ll be treated 10x worse and you’ll be extremely isolated from everyone else.

I recommend you DO NOT send ur kid to madras as they will gain massive mental health problems and most likely ptsd.
Former Student
Apr 8, 2023

Do not recommend at all!

They don't care about mental health all they care about is how your uniform looks, your attendance, your behaviour and your grades.

They dont deal with bullying at all!

Don't trust the teachers with anything you tell them they will pass it on to your parents even if you ask them not to.

And last but certainly not least the inspections they will do absolutely anything to make sure they get the best on the inspection they once threatened to suspend me if i was seen in the corridors during the inspections.

Oh and also the teachers are HORRIBLE.
Parent
Apr 8, 2023

Terrible School 😡

this is a horrible school, my children go here and often they’d come home crying to me because they saw a teacher pin a student to the wall while screaming in their face. The school deal with absolutely nothing and always blame the people that need the help the most. No wonder the mental health of kids is the way it is these days. I have moved my child out of this school and it was the best decision I have ever made

Bullying is a huge issue at this school and nobody is willing to listen to the victims or there family’s. Think twice before sending your children here. It’s there mental health & state. Many parents i have spoken with are dealing with the same problems. The deputy and head teacher should be ashamed of themselves and the whole school should be under investigation.
Student
Apr 8, 2023

Welcome to Hell (Madras College)

I would have rated this school zero if I couldn't have as this school is a haven for future offenders and abusers only facilitated by head teachers and pupil support teachers who have absolutely no interest in actually being human beings. Only let your children attend here if you want them to experience gender abuse and have no resolution resulting in them being advised to ignore and stay away from the demons who perpetrate this abuse. Welcome to hell.
Student
Mar 18, 2023

School Encourages suicide and makes mental health problems worse

This is coming from a new pupil at Madras. I may have only been at this school for 6 months but the bullying I have endured is absolutely outrageous. On top of all this, I got no help at all with it. I struggle with anxiety and depression and this school made my mental health a lot worse than it was before I started. They expect you to look things up yourself if you are curious and in some classes I constantly get given worksheets with nothing to do with what I'm learning about because the teacher has not planned anything for the period. The teachers also shout at you if they think you are asking a "stupid question" when the questions are completely fine. Almost all of the Students dress like thugs and they don't like anybody that they think are different. If you don't talk a lot , like me, then you soon become a victim of bullying and harassment. They constantly point out your differences and target you because of them. The pupil support teachers do nothing to help. They never tell the parents what are going on. The heads and pupil support teachers also assume that they know everything about your life when they know nothing. I feel to scared to even tell them if I'm being bullied because of how they react. When I told someone about the bullying they immediately asked if I had told my pupil support teacher. I told them I hadn't and they told me they couldn't do anything about that instead of reporting it to someone. When I went back I had to sit in front of one of the bullies again who continued to mock me. If you aren't good at p.e (e.g catching a ball, running fast) the students immediately shout at you and call you horrible names. I was pulled to the side one time by a teacher who proceeded to interrogate me and didn't do anything to solve the problem. I am constantly told to avoid and ignore but how long can I do that before it gets bad. I have already had to use force on a boy because he was taking my property and threatening to burn it and throw it out of a window. Again, no one done anything about this. I have been told to speak up about the bullying but how can I when all they do is ignore me. I have been told to go to different teachers about it but the only people I feel I can talk to are my parents. I try to hide things and pretend I'm okay but I fear one day I won't be able to and it will all be too much. People have already died through this school not helping so they should be doing better. My parents have already told them that I have a history of trauma and still they refuse to do anything. It's like they're trying to encourage suicide and mental health problems. I haven't learned anything since I came here. Don't go here, you'll just get called slurs, be bullied and screamed at by students. The teachers won't do anything.
Former Student
Mar 18, 2023

Absolutely Horrendous !!! 😡

Such a horrible horrible school! Do not send your child here ever! The way that this school deals with bullying is absolutely disgusting, they would rather allow a child to goes as far as to attempting to end their life then defusing the situation. The staff in charge are not fit for the roles they have, 0 support for pupils unless they’re rich. Clear favouritism when it comes to the neds. The food is disgusting and the school says they have a zero tolerance policy for bullying but when bullying happens they just ignore it and don’t bad an eyelid & speaking of the teachers, they’d rather tell a student to take their hoodie off than deal with a student who is being bullied. The toilets in both female and male toilets are always full of people skipping classes and you’d get screamed at by them and the teachers if you attempt to go to the toilet.
Parents for the sake of your child/children’s safety please avoid this school at all costs.
Student
Mar 17, 2023

Horrible

Madras College is a disgrace. They never help with anything and when you don’t go to them they shout at you and make it out to be your fault when they don’t exactly make you feel as if you can speak with them about your life. If you have bad mental health you are told that the constant panic attacks and/or anxiety attacks are ridiculous and a lie and when you speak with your head if hears about specific teachers being unprofessional and out of line they speak with them and say there’s been a complaint and yet nothing is ever taken any further when you continue to tell the, there has been no change. A lot of students drop out of subjects they thoroughly enjoy because of the teachers they have and we are never given help with exams and are instead told to suck it up and get on with it. Us as students are never given any support or clarification from anyone and if complaints are made we are never updated on the outcome mostly because nothing has been done. I have been threatened to be stabbed multiple times and it’s always made out to be my fault or I’m overreacting. I am sick of the lack of support and action at Madras College in the areas of bullying and mental health and considering the tragedy of a young boy killing himself and who attended the school, you would think Madras would be more supportive when it comes to mental health and you’d think this school is top notch because it’s in St. Andrews. But of course this isn’t the case.
Former Student
Mar 17, 2023

Dont get me started

God awful. Most the students are nasty and shady, most of them do all sorts of sketchy stuff. 90% of the staff are horrible too
They claim to be so accepting and supportive and accommodating of this that and the next thing but then the next day they're yelling in your face for the same things they claim to be in support of.
You're being bullied? Dont bother telling a teacher, nothing will happen
You're depressed? Have fun waiting a year for a councillor that's not even good
Having a panic attack? HOW DARE YOU

Yeah this school sucks
Good luck and good riddance to anyone still in that literal hell hole
Student
Feb 17, 2023

Absolutely Disgraceful 😭😡

I’m a current student here and today I walked into my English class and I was running about 5 minutes late so I got in and I have a drink on my desk ready to put in my bag and get my jotters out but then I must of chipped it and it started to spray everywhere so I asked the teacher is I could get a little bit of sellotape to make it stop and she said “NO PUT IT ON THE WINDOW” so I did so and it started to spray all over everyone so 5 minutes into the lesson she then told me to go and get sellotape from a different English teacher down the hallway, so I went with my friend as she said that was okay as I didn’t know who she was.
Everything was okay and I was lied out of the classroom from getting the sellotape and then the head of my year group started to shout at me asking what the problem was? There was no problem but the fact her teacher made a seen about something totally small but bby she had to make it a big thing.
So then after getting screamed at by now My English teacher and then my head of my year and it being only 9:25am she leaves us sat outside her office so I go to find my guidance teacher as she is always there for me and to help me so as I’m on my way walking in the hallway to guidance, I get stopped by a man? No clue who he was as I’ve never came across this man ?
But after 2 seconds he started screaming at me asking where my mask was? Now I have asthma and from coming in from the cold and getting in a state from being screamed at from 2 teachers already I was in no fit state to have a mask over my face and he could see that. He then says to me “ YOU ARE A JOKE!!!!!” I was absolutely discussed and devastated! As a young person being screamed at and called a joke by a male Head teacher is just vile if you ask me.
The them instructed me to go and see my guidance and get a red card? Which I was already going to do! But then he sends me backwards and it is a one way system!?!?!?! It would have been hell if I went back though he would have lost it ? That dose not make sense at all!
I said to him that I was going to calm myself down as I was a absolute mess! Tears rolling down my face and everything!!! Then then replied with “CYA!!!!!!!” And by then I was absolutely appalled!

My mother comes and gets me and then he has the cheek to call her and scream at my mum down the phone and admit to calling her child a “JOKE!” And saying “CYA!” In front of other teachers?

Good luck Mr Currie as we will be taking this to the education board!

I will not be attending your school anymore as I am not getting put down on a daily basis and being called a joke by you!
Parent
Feb 17, 2023

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

Madras college is an absolute joke teacher screaming at my child cause she didn't know the answer too a question and it's not the first time so been on phone again am fumming how would he like it if a went n *** shouted at him I front o his class boils ma **** 😡😡😡😡...
Parent
Feb 6, 2023

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

Madras is Absolutely disgusting! The school is completely useless and have no standard of care for their students! Hopefully the school will be shut down ASAP!!!!
Student
Jan 30, 2023

This school needs investigated

This school, Madras College, has to be one of the worst schools I've ever seen in terms of the Guidance office. Pupils have argument’s with their friends and go sobbing to the office everyday pupils would even go and annoy the guidance team saying that their gonna go pee and the guidance team don’t bat an eyelid, but people who are actually being threatened to be stabbed, bullied, teased and distracted while doing schoolwork are ignored and treated like they have done something wrong.
i study here sadly and thank god im leaving this school soon because this school is by far one of the worst in scotland. this school has a SEVERE bullying issue that after 5 years of me being here has not been addressed although they say they have a “zero tolerance for bullying”, teachers & students are homophobic and carry weapons in school grounds, there have been many assaults and the school tell you that it’s your own fault for dressing like a sl*t and acting like a thug
The pupils are very disrespectful & the language coming out their mouths is appalling!
THIS PLACE IS A JOKE
head teacher thinks he’s special, but he’s not, can't even do his job & gets his minions to f*** up his jobs for him.the school genuinely does not care for their pupils as the headteacher does say a lot that they care more about the schools reputation and grades, not gonna get much good reputation and grades when all your pupils are leaving, are stressed, fights, bullying which i can say and everyone else can even court cases, they’re never ever dealt with and more than likely to take the bully’s side. staff are horrible, shout at you, treat you horribly, make you feel worthless.
Also If you’re shy and at this school, don’t bother trying to come out your shell as they just treat it as “aggressive and unacceptable behaviour”. Been at the school for a long time now and they claim to be a positive school that moves with the times but really they inflict far too much stress on every, single pupil.
there is a very poor quality of learning and they care little about their students only about their reputation. Bullying is always happening and nothing is done about it, kids get battered and all you’ll get for it is a 1 or 2 day suspension and the pupils see that as a holiday Most of junior pupils run around the school like they own the place, teachers receive abuse from them, they don't follow instructions and the management does nothing at all about it. There is a lot of drugs at the school and police are never called as the school wants to keep their reputation top notch
they favourite the badly behaved pupils (or should I say thugs) and if you come in and report bullying to staff you’ll get in trouble not them, and don’t care for you. guidance only guide you to the door, take nothing you’ve said into concideration and you’ll just get worse if you seek for help.

Parents, For the sake of your kids, go elsewhere.
Former Student
Jan 30, 2023

This school is absolutely horrific and needs an investigation

Parents If you’re thinking about enrolling your child/children into this horrific school you should really consider elsewhere.

I speak for myself and many others when I say this is THE worst school ever for many reasons. First of all, there is a major lack of professionalism and compassion amongst the staff. Bullying is a thing that happens every single day & that I seen a lot of whilst I was there, and the teachers always ignored it. No empathy whatsoever. They would take months to solve issues and lot of the time they just left things untreated and just ignored it. The school has an extremely severe bullying problem. Students are absolutely awful to each other especially if you are different and stand out from all the kids. It varies from constant whispering and teasing to putting pupils in hospital. They have no respect for anyone.
Teachers are a joke as all they care about is whether you're wearing correct uniform. You get an Detention if you don't bring PE kit but ignore if you're being very obviously harassed. They are very extremely strict about what you're wearing, where you're sitting at break times and absolutely nothing is done about the behaviour of students to each other
Speaking of teachers,they will not help or care about students mental health. Teachers do not understand that forcing a child who is suffering from a severe mental illness to do something Infront of the class can be absolutely traumatising to them. They need to understand that ignoring obvious bullying can have devestating long lasting effects on someone. I did not stay at this school for long but the damage it has caused to my mental (and as a result physical) health is horrible and I’m forever going to be traumatised because of this school
Student
Jan 27, 2023

for saying

Knives brought into school.
Fights break out every day.
Kids physically and verbally bullied.
School does nothing to help victims.
Unsafe environment for children with
Bell Baxter seemingly just as bad there are no safe options for parents to choose from.
Scottish school system is a joke and needs a big shake up for sure.
For saying families from America pay the big bucks to send their children to university in St. Andrews and how St. Andrews is perceived you’d think this school would be top notch, however it’s one of the roughest schools I’ve seen!
Kids do not care nor do the staff.
Only a matter of time before some ones seriously hurt.
Former Student
Jan 26, 2023

Public needs to know what goes on in this school behind closed doors

This School is a Hub for bullying. Playground for bullies education lacking and no real responsibility from teachers and pupils
I've seen many kids get bullied and many of my friends were bullied here. Most now have severe anxiety and had to move schools due to this. The Education likes to think it's above and beyond other fife state schools...its anything but that. Class rooms are like zoos, teachers don‘t care about the mental health crisis in their walls, the pupils carry pocket weapons and vapes. Furthermore, if your a thug who is very loud and always misbehaves teachers will love you, if you dress and act like a thug you'll definitely be popular. Anyone who is just average will get verbally and occasionally cyber bullied and physically beaten to a pulp. communication is average. Students and parents need to know more of how well there child is doing and if they need additional help not just told that their doing “fantastic” in classes. Both teachers and students need more motivation and discipline to earn and give respect to help our children learn in an academic environment where they can thrive and be happy, the guidance teachers didn't really care about my mental health at all when I was at this school even though they said they were “helping me” how is shoving me into the “support hub” helping me!?!.
this school has affected my life a lot and made my mental health worse. they only care about your attendance and improving their reputation. I struggled horribly with mental health issues the entire time and the only teachers who really tried to help me were the ones who weren't allowed to do anything about it.
Bullying is ignored all the time even tho they say they “deal with it seriously”and anyone that goes around looking like a tramp wearing fake tan or brands like Nike and adidas they get treated like royalty by teachers as teachers are to scared to discipline them. the school says they have a zero tolerance policy for bullying although I was picked on and teased the whole time I was at this school and the teachers wouldn't do anything about it because they were so busy sucking up the asses of the "popular' kids. please avoid this school at all costs, there are better schools like The High School Of Dundee, Waid Academy or Viewforth in Dysart. there is no feeling of safety in this school either
Pupils often sit in the toilets and yell at people when they enter. They hog the toilet, basically the toilets are used to skip classes and it’s very easy to skip classes as teachers will not bat an eyelid if your not in the class

The school have a very strict uniform policy school uniform policy and everyone shows up wearing branded hoodies and tracksuits, not wearing the tie, not bringing in their PE kit and wearing non school uniform shoes.

The kids can do what they please in classes. They can shout out and talk throughout the lesson. I've seen pupils tell the teachers to pi$$ off" and run out of the classroom as the teacher asks for the student to hand over their phone.
Fights don't occur too much on the school grounds although there is a lot of threatening to be stabbed and such in this school. Pupils may gather their friends to scream at other pupils who angered them. The whole "We are gonna batter you after school" type of thing happens often here.
On the other half there’s some really nice and lovely experienced teachers here but most of the teachers are nippy and only want their pay, it doesn't matter what the school expects of the pupils. The pupils don't care, and simply want to get through the school year.


I Joined this school in s1 and left in s6 so I've nearly seen it all. One of the worst places I've ever been.
This school has now left me with severe anxiety and PTSD

Parents...if you want your children/child to be happy, send them to a different school or one of the private schools (can't speak for any other school)
Student
Jan 19, 2021

Smell the chesse

Smells of cheese, loved it
Student
Dec 26, 2020

Have a good day

Teachers are a bit strict not a fan of the guidance team
Other
Sep 20, 2020

Reviews obviously

The teachers are great, and fit
South Street, KY16 9EJ, St Andrews
01334 659402

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