Marr College

Marr College was built and established using the money left by Charles Kerr Marr, a native of Troon who believed that people should be educated together, no matter their background and levels of wealth. The creation of Marr College has long been regarded as the model that paved the way for state comprehensive schools, which was created long before the establishment of state comprehensive schools became a political ambition.[4] Whilst a board of governors initially ran the school, it still provided free education in a traditional Scottish manner. Pupils from all areas of Troon attended the school despite their backgrounds.[4]

Marr College lost its anomalous direct-grant status in 1978 and became a Strathclyde Region run school. When Strathclyde was abolished in 1996, the newly formed South Ayrshire Council took over the responsibility of the school, delegating much responsibility to the school's Head Teacher.

Whilst much of the original building remains standing and intact, much of the building had fallen into a state of disrepair. Throughout 2016-2017, the school underwent a substantial renovation and new building blocks undertaken by South Ayrshire Council to improve the educational facilities and learning environments to bring the build-up to date with other newly built schools in the area and to improve educational outcomes for the pupils. The improved updates, estimated at a cost of £37 million (in 2017 terms), have seen new facilities added to the existing Marr College estate, such as a new sports hall, a new teaching wing and improved landscaping around the school estate. In July 2017, prior to renovation, the school roll was 921 pupils. After, with the new wing, capacity rose to 1350.[5]

Refurbishment and extension

The official opening of the new extension and modernisation of Marr College, November 2017

The condition of the Marr College building has been well known and a matter of concern to South Ayrshire Council. In 2001, Marr College was included on a list of schools within South Ayrshire for consideration to be included on the Public Private Partnership bid to South Ayrshire Council – a bid which would have seen an entirely new state-of-the-art school estate constructed. Due to community issues, such as disagreements on which proposal would represent the best value to the community, the bid could not proceed.[3] In 2008, Turner Townsend commissioned a report entitled Fit for Purpose, which highlighted a serious number of concerns regarding the condition of the current buildings that make up the Marr College campus.[3] Many members of the Troon community believed that the issues relating to the condition of the Marr College estate were due to negligence and neglect on South Ayrshire Council's part. In response, a council representative issued a statement that South Ayrshire Council, as far as their budget has allowed, has maintained the original Marr College building, which has seen several improvements, including upgraded roofing and new and more energy-efficient window replacements.[3]

Whilst a new Marr College campus has yet to be constructed, there have long been concerns from members of the Troon community and parents with children attending the school that the current school building is overcrowded. South Ayrshire Council acknowledge and agrees on this point but highlights that when South Ayrshire (then Strathclyde Regional Council) took over Marr College in 1975, the increase in pupil roll was addressed by implementing hut classrooms and extending parts of the school to meet the needs of the local community.[3]

On 29 November 2017, the £37 million new extension of Marr College was officially opened by John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. The work was completed as part of a £94 million pipeline of works delivered across South Ayrshire school estates.[9]

The school uniform policy for Marr College is as follows:

The following items of clothing are deemed to be desirable modes of dress for learning:

• Marr College blazer
• White shirt and school tie
• Black or grey trousers or skirt (of a reasonable length)
• Black, flat shoes that have the toes covered. Trainers are not acceptable for everyday school wear. [a]

[a] Despite the uniform policy stating black shoes, many boys at Marr College opt to wear brown, smart brogue-type shoes

For Physical Education and Games, the minimum the following kit is required:

• Shorts (dark)
• Marr College PE T-Shirt (available to order from the school office)
• Sports socks (white)
• Trainers

The management team at Marr College consists of one head teacher, five deputy head teachers and several principal teachers of individual subjects and principal teachers of guidance. The management team is as follows:[2]

• Ronni Ancona, actress[10]
• Tom Brighton, footballer[11]
• Gordon Brown, rugby player
• Gordon Burns, footballer
• Andrew Cotter, sports presenter[10]
• Alan Hutton, footballer[11]
• Donald Jack, writer
• Marysia Kay, actress
• Tom Morton, writer and broadcaster[10]
• Neil Murray, footballer[11]
• Jamie Ness, footballer[11]
• Steve Nicol, footballer
• Michael Russell, politician[10][12]
• Tom Walsh, footballer[11]
• Brian Whittle, athlete
• Susannah York, actress[10]
• Innes Cameron, Footballer
• Rory McKenzie, Footballer

• Marr College RFC

• Marr College official website
• Marr College
• Marr College's page on Scottish Schools Online