St Andrews Environmental Protection Association Ltd (Stepal), which was established by three former senior teachers of Madras College to “protect the environment of St Andrews and North East Fife”, lodged a legal challenge against Fife Council’s selection of Pipeland as the site for the new building.

However the petition which was raised in the courts, questioning the legality of the decision to grant permission for the school, has been refused.

This will now enable the project to go ahead.

Fife Council leader David Ross, welcomed the news saying: “We are very pleased with the decision taken by the court and hope that this will now enable us to move on and deliver a new state of the art school for the children of St Andrews and the surrounding areas. The pupils, staff and the wider community of Madras College have been very patient throughout this process but they deserve to have a building which matches the excellence of the school. I’d like to thank them for the support and determination they have shown and assure them that we will be doing all we can to have their school ready for them as soon as possible.”

Cllr Bryan Poole, executive spokesperson for education, children, young people and families, also greeted the news, saying: “This decision is essentially about people. On hearing the result, I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of the young people going through the doors of the new Madras College in, now, a relatively short time. They will enter a state of the art learning facility and will go on to achieve even more than they are currently achieving. And of course it’s not just the current generation of young people that will benefit – the children currently in our primary schools and nurseries will have the full range of opportunities that a new building can provide. And the same goes for the staff at Madras.

“Given the physical learning environment they have been working in, they have over-delivered for the young people in their charge, which was clearly shown in their excellent HMI report. So, of course I’m very pleased with the decision but particularly pleased for the young people and staff who will be going through the door of a new Madras in the near future.”