History

Marr College owes its name to one Charles Kerr Marr, who was born in 1855 in a house in Welbeck Crescent. Marr, whose bronze bust greets all who enter the main door of the College, amassed a substantial fortune as a shipping charter, establishing depots all over the world. Although, to the world, Marr appeared a settled bachelor, few knew that he had been married and that his wife had died a few months after their marriage. He never remarried and through this dreadful blow never had a family who would inherit his considerable fortune. He himself died of peritonitis in 1919 and lies beside his wife in Cathcart Cemetery.

C.K. Marr bust

Sir Alexander Walker

In his will, made in 1917, Marr demonstrated considerable thought as to how he could best benefit the people of his native town. Marr appointed his solicitor and the current Provost as his trustees and in 1928, in what proved to be a master stroke, Sir Alexander Walker (of whisky fame) became a trustee. Throughout the 20s and the 30s it is clear that much time and effort was put into negotiations between the trustees and Ayrshire Education Authority about the possibility of building a secondary school in Troon. Meantime, Troon was already benefiting from Marr’s generosity as the Trust paid bursaries and grants to Troon students at university, as well as providing travel, clothing and other grants to Troon children attending secondary schools in nearby towns.

In 1926 an agreement was made concerning the Trust purchasing a site and building a school with capacity for four hundred secondary pupils. The school would be administered by a Board of Governors, four appointed by the Trustees, four by the Authority and one by Troon Town Council. However the Scottish Education Department intervened to object to the agreement and the objection was upheld. Then in 1927 the addition of the proviso that the proposed school receive grant-aided funding from central government satisfied the Education Department and the planning and construction of Marr College was able to progress.

Wallacefield Farm

The architects Messrs. Arthur and Macnaughton of Glasgow had already toured widely, inspecting no less than seventy-seven school buildings in England and Scotland and were ready for the off when the site of the school, Wallacefield Farm, was purchased from the Duke of Portland. The contract also included the erection of a gate lodge, the housewifery bungalow, the sports pavilion, the Rector’s house and two masters’ houses, plus a footbridge over the railway line.

"The Bridge"

The college was completed and its opening planned for 1st September 1930. A Rector had been appointed (Dr Murison, Rector of Hamilton Academy), seven Principal Teachers and the transfer of fourteen teachers from Troon High School agreed. However in June of 1930 the Scottish Education Department again objected on the grounds, basically, that the governors really has not the powers of appointment they had exercised and the governors, faced with this legal challenge, had no option but to announce that the school would not open as planned. For the next five years Dr Murison presided over an empty school. (Anyone wishing to study the intricacies if the legal impasse that brought about should consult Alan Stewart’s opening chapter in ‘Purple and Gold’.) Suffice to say, that this impasse was eventually settled and the College was opened by the Marquess of Lothian on September 2nd 1935.

Opening Day

The school was the envy of all secondary establishments: superb facilities, brilliant staff and all the energy and vigour that had been pent up for five years made success certain. Over the next forty-plus years Marr was to establish an ethos and tradition usually only found in schools established for centuries. As Troon grew, so did the school and the original four hundred had grown to nearly fifteen hundred by the late 70s. The grant-aided status of the school had worked well, but by the late 70s a massive injection of cash was required if Marr was to continue to provide an appropriate quality of education for the children of Troon and Dundonald. So it was that, in return for the building of an extension on the old tennis courts and gardens, the school came under the direct control and finance of the local Education Authority, with the buildings leased by the Board to the Authority. This has been the arrangement for the past thirty years and, despite rumour and counter-rumour, Marr seems set to continue in its current format for the foreseeable future. Substantial renovations have been made within the existing building to accommodate the demands of Health and Technology, but the magnificent playing fields still present a wonderfully active sight of a Saturday with hockey and rugby still to the fore: volleyball, basketball and football (for both sexes) have added to the myriad of activities for energetic youngsters.

After Dr Murison, Mr Kennedy, Dr Isaac, Mr McCarrison, Mr Bone and Mr Deacon, we start a new chapter in 2012 with Mrs McGregor-Sloman from Peebles High.

Dr Murison

Mr Kennedy

Dr Isaac

Mr McCarrison

Mr Bone

Mr Deacon

Mrs McGregor-Sloman

Over ninety years have elapsed since Charles Kerr Marr first put his ideas down on paper. One feels sure he would approve of, and indeed marvel at, the fruits of his magnificent legacy.