Bombay Scottish School
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The Bombay Scottish School is a secondary, co-education school located in Mumbai, India.
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[edit] History
The institution was founded in 1847 by Scottish missionaries in Mumbai, India. At first the institution was an orphanage for the benefit of the daughters of British seamen of the (then) Royal Indian Navy. In 1859, the Scottish Female Orphanage and the Orphanage for the Sons of Presbyterians were merged to form the Bombay Scottish Orphanage. The construction of the building in its present form began on 15th July 1875. The structure, which was designed by Mr. D.E Gostling and J.Morris was completed on 28th February 1878. The school was originally intended to serve only children of Scottish descent but after India became independent from Britain, the Bombay Scottish School (as it was renamed in 1935), became open to Indian students.
The School now has a sister concern in Powai, Mumbai. Scottish at Mahim has flourished over the last few years under the leadership of Dr.D.P.N.Prasad (honorary doctor, not medical), the present principal and has watched its popularity soar in that same period. Dr.Prasad's reign has also seen a rise in media visibility for the school; a customary photo of the school Christmas Concert appears in the Bombay Times, and he himself has appeared on Star News on more than one occasion.
The school is situated on Cadell Road, overlooking the Mahim Bay. The original school buildings was a one-storeyed colonial structure, made of black granite. However, the building was later expanded and now consists of three wings- the Heritage Block (the original orphanage and school) which consists of the Junior School classrooms, the South Block (also called the Sesquicentennial Block) which includes the Middle School classes and the Computer Laboratories and the North Block in which are situated the Senior School classrooms and the science laboratories. The school also has a football pitch, basketball courts and a separate play-area for younger students. There are three halls in the campus - the Mackay Hall (named after the last Scottish Principal Adam Alexander Mackay), the Gamaliel Hall (named after a Principal who is much remembered and loved even today) and the Sesquicentenniel Hall. There is a cafeteria run by the Interact Club of the school for use by both teachers and students.
[edit] Curriculum and extra-curricular activities
The Bombay Scottish School follows the syllabus of the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. English is the medium of instruction. Hindi and French are taught as second languages. Tests are conducted periodically. The school's students have consistently performed well at the I.C.S.E examinations and the school has maintained a 100% pass-rate. A lot of importance is given to extra-curricular activities and there are various clubs in the school- The Nature Club, The Science Club, The Scouts & Guides, The Scottish Junior Rifle Club etc. Bombay Scottish also has various teams for various sports activities including football, cricket, basketball, swimming etc.recently the school was adjudged the best sporting school by the MSSA.
[edit] Culture
Bombay Scottish is a cosmopolitan school, however the majority of the pupils are Hindu by religion. The annual Christmas Concert is celebrated every December. A Sports Meet, and a Farewell Party for students who are passing out of the institution are also held annually. The school strength is divided into 4 group houses-Red, Green, Blue and Yellow house. Inter-House competitions are held in elocution, drama, song etc. In the Outlook 'India's Best Schools Survey' 2003, BSS Mahim was proclaimed a close winner in Mumbai city.
[edit] Hierarchy
The school is managed by a Board of Trustees, however the actual administration is carried out by the Principal. The current Principal is Dr. D. P. N Prasad. Prasad is also Chairman of the Leprosy Mission, India. He claims a strict military background and says, "We put pressure on the student in order to prepare them for real life." A Chief Academic Coordinator assists him and also manages the curricular activities of the school. The present Chief Academic Coordinator is Mrs. Molly Paul, who replaced (the extremely popular) Ms. Monica Bose at the end of the 2005-2006 academic year. In addition there are also Academic coordinators at the Junior School, Middle School and High School levels.
[edit] Student Office-bearers
A School Captain and two Vice-Captains are selected from amongst the students of Class 10 by the Principal. Additionally House Captains and Vice-Captains (two for each House) are selected by the House-mistresses. A Sports Captain is selected to manage the extra-curricular activities of the House.
[edit] School Flag, Motto and Hymn
The school flag features a white Cross of Saint Andrew against a blue background. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. The flag itself is flown during ceremonial occasions. However, as per Indian law, the school flag is at all times, flown at a lower level than the flag of India. The school's motto is Perseverentia et fide in Deo, Latin for "Perseverance and faith in God". Courage Brother, do not Stumble is the official school hymn, however Psalm 23 is rendered at every school function.
Bold text==School Song== The lyrics of the school song are as follows:
[edit] Houses
There are four school houses, viz. - Blue, Green, Red, Yellow. The house names are different for Boys and Girls, as listed below:
Boys Girls
MacGregor (Blue) Elizabeth (Blue)
Kennedy (Green) Victoria (Green)
MacPherson (Red) Catherine (Red)
Haddow (Yellow) Anne (Yellow)
The boys houses are named for the missionaries who helped found the school, whereas the girls houses are named for the Queens of England. Each student is sorted into a house once they enter the first standard. There is a keen and fierce Inter-house rivalry in several activities throughout the school year like Debates, Elocution (English, Hindi and Marathi), Quizzing, Dramatics, Singing and Sports. The House with the highest points at the end of the school year is awarded the house championship trophy.
On the annual sports day, the houses march separately on two occasions: once at the beginning, and once at the end. At the beginning, the houses line up according to the final standing on the previous sports day; and at the end, they line up according to the standing at the end of the day. The sports day is an inter-house competition, with girls and boys competing separately. Points are awarded to each house based on the results of the various track and field events.
[edit] Famous Ex-Students
- Abraham John- Winner of the 99 Gladrags Mega Model contest and movie star. He graces the school Founder's Day each year and proceeds to play a football match inappropriately attired, and autographs shirts galore. In the light of his recent success, he has been singled out by Dr.Prasad for generous and respectful treatment beyond that provided to any other alumnus.
- Abhishek Bachchan - son of movie star Amitabh Bachchan went to Scottish for a few years.
- Bhalla Vikas A singer, has a hit song called OM.
- Bhanot Nirja (1980) Flight Stewardess on board the Pan Am flight which was hijacked by terrorists. Got a national award for bravery when she died protecting the passengers against the terrorists. Read more here.
- Bhattacharya Aditya (1981) Son of the legendary Basu Bhatacharya - maker of films like Tesri Kasam and Grihapravesh. Aditya himself made the film Raakh starring Amir Khan.
- Chatterjee Nayanika Fashion Ramp Model in India.
- Casper Svetlana(1985) Fashion Model for Live Shows.
- Chopra Aditya (1987) - son of the famous director Yash Chopra, Aditya achieved tremendous success with his directorial debut Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
- Chopra Uday (1988) - Bollywood movie star with movies like Supari, Charas and Dhoom to his credit. Was a classmate of John Abraham.
- Gavaskar Rohan - son of the great Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, Rohan has followed his fathers footsteps. Though not yet in the Indian squad, he is knocking on the doors of the Indian team. Hopefully he will be on the Indian Team to the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. You can see him play for India in some tournaments like the Sixes and the Eights and now at the Commonwealth Games.
- Darshan Dharmesh(1983) Director of the famous Aamir Khan hit film - Raja Hindustani.
- Eisa Mustafa - A successful model with over 100 Commercials and Press Ad's - turned Interior Designer after a course at Parsons New York - Last Project's done - Studio - the Fashion Bistro and Bar , and residence of actor Salman Khan.
- Hinduja Sanjay - Sanjay G. Hinduja, Co-Chairman, Gulf-International, UK holds several roles including that of the VP of Hinduja Group, which claims a turnover of $11 billion from oil trading, vehicle manufacturing and banking activities and includes companies such as Ashok Leyland. Amongst other things, Sanjay is the first Indian to open a private bank in Switzerland
- Kanodia Lalit Dr He started Datamatics after working for some time at TCS. He achieved the best possible results in Senior Cambridge, 6 high distinctions in those days.
- Kapoor Nikhil (1983) TV presenter.
- Kapoor Tusshar - Another movie actor with movies like Khakee, Yeh Dil and Gaayab to his credit. Son of famous movie star Jeetendra.
- Kapoor Ektaa - "Queen of the Soap Opera" world with shows like Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, and Kusum to her credit. She is the daughter of Jeetendra Kapoor, the actor and director who owns the company with his family. At the age of 25, she was listed in Asiaweek's top 50 list of young entrepreneurs. She was listed in Mid-Day's 2003 list of 50 most powerful people in the media. A lamentable example of the 'intellects' produced by the school, she produces inane soap after inane soap, yet has gone on to receive recognition beyond her wildest capabilities.
- Kapur Shibani (1993) Won the Diamond International Award. It is the most prestigious jewellery award ever. It is termed the "Oscars" of jewellery. She is the first Indian to win this award and the youngest person to ever win. The award ceremony took place in Paris. She has been interviewed by BBC MTV DD and others.Presently she is launching a new brand for a very prestigious jewellery company called Gitanjali.
- Kazi Nasir (1985) Son of popular comedian of yesteryears - Johnny Walker (not Lever). Nasir is currently omnipresent on television in many ads, programs. He is a VJ of Channel V and also appears alongside Raageshwari in her new video.
- Khan Aamir (1981) What more can be written about Aamir Khan? He has starred in most of the hit films of the past decade ever since his debut in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak . Recently he has decided to turn pseudo-intellectual and become a fighter for the peoples' cause.
- Khan Arbaaz (1986) - another son of a famous person. He is the son of the very famous villain from the 60s, 70s and the 80's-Ajit or Loin, popular on the Net for his style of unique dialogue delivery. Arbaaz has made his debut in Hindi films and starred with Amitabh in Mrityudaata. His new movie is due out soon called Ek Tha Dil, Ek Thi Dhadkan . His screen name is Arbaaz Ali Khan.
- Khan Mansoor (around 1975) Cousin of Amir Khan and son of the famous film director Nasir Hussain who made films like 'Teesri Manzil' and 'Yaadon Ki Baarat'. Mansoor ofcourse is famous for his films. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Akele Hum Akele Tum.
- Leslie Lewis (around 1977) - son of the famous film choreographer P. L. Raj. He teamed up with Hariharan to form the 'Colonial Cousins'. Recently released an album called 'Haseena'.
- Lucky Ali (around 1976) Original Name Maqsood Ali. Son of film comedian Mehmood. Has became a very successful singer with his two albums 'Suno' and 'Sifar'.
- Mirza Aziz An ex-student of Scottish from the 60's (I think). Does not appear much in the press, but he has been a very successful director both on Television and Film. His contributions include directing Nukkad, Circus . His two films have been Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Yes Boss
- Mirza Saeed Another famous director, known for his movies with long names such as "Alert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai", "Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho". Elder brother of Aziz Mirza.
- Sanjit Narwekar of the 1967 Senior Cambridge batch is a noted journalist/author/scriptwriter. His most notable achievement is that he bagged the PRESIDENT'S GOLD MEDAL for the Best Book on Cinema for the year 1995. The prize was awarded in 1996. He has written more than 16 books on Indian cinema and over 200 documentaries apart from innumerable articles.
- Reddy Meghana Channel V VJ who presents the programme Ghat Mania or was it Maangta Hai.
- Roshan Hrithik Big movie star in India with many films under his belt including Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Koi Mil Gayaa, Kal Ho Na Ho, Lakshya .
- Sadhana Kamal (1987) Another movie star. His debut film was Bekhudi with Kajol.
- Sharma Rahul (1988) Son of the santoor player Shiv Kumar Sharma He has performed and cut records.
- Shroff Shyam (1954) Snooker champion in the 50's and the 60's.
- Sinha Pratibha - daughter of the famous actress Mala Sinha. Has starred in a few movies.
