Bishop Cotton Boys School

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Bishop Cotton Boys' School is an all-boys school for boarders as well as day scholars in Bangalore, Karnataka, India; the first of its kind in this part of the world to start the house system, organized games, school sports day (Last Post bugled from the tower) and the prefect system which were introduced almost at the same time as they were developed in England, admitted students without regard to race, religion, gender or national origin even before Indian independence.

Named after Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton from the 19th century, the school is bordered by Residency Road, St.Marks Road, Lavelle Road and Vittal Mallya Road, and is spread over 13 acres of land in the heart of Bangalore City. Bishop Cotton Boys School is consistently ranked the top school in India. Prominent school heads in the early days included Rev. George Uglow Pope, Bishop Pakenham-Walsh, Rev. Pettigrew, Canon Elphick, Rev. Lowerth Thomas & Mr. A. T. Balraj. Notable alumni (Old Cottonians) include William Leefe Robinson, Colin Cowdrey^{[citation needed]} , General K.S. Thimayya, Dr. Raja Ramanna, Brijesh Patel and Nandan Nilekani. The sister school Bishop Cotton Girls' High School is located across the St. Marks' road. The St. Mark's Cathedral is close by, hence the name of this road.

Contents 1 Origins 2 School Arms/Shield/Motto 3 The Houses 4 Academics 5 Inter School Games 6 Then and now heads 7 Old Cottonians Association 8 Competitions held in the school 9 See also 10 External links 11 Trivia

[edit] Origins

The Bishop Cotton Schools past extends back to the British Raj and the Victorian era. The School had its humble beginnings in a house on High Grounds. It was started in the year 1865 by Rev. S. T. Pettigrew, the then Chaplain of St. Mark's Church who had a vision of starting a school for the education of children of European and Anglo-Indian families. In his own words, he wanted to "establish a day and boarding School for the Children of Christian residents in the station and its vicinity." The school was given the name Bishop Cotton School in honour of Bishop Cotton of Calcutta, under whose stewardship a scheme of education was organized for the Anglican Churches in India. The School maintains its close ties with the Church of South India amongst other Indian organizations..

The first five years of the School could be termed as turbulent period during which time school had three principals. It was only with the arrival of Reverend G. U. Pope, a distinguished Tamil Scholar acquired the present site and shifted to these premises. The Boys' school and the Girl's School functioned in the same campus but under different administrative heads. Under the stewardship of Rev. Pope, the school grew from strength to strength. A collegiate section was started and the School obtained recognition from the University of Madras. He gave the School its motto - 'Nec Dextrorsum Nec sinistrorsum'. But when Rev. Pope left India in the year 1892 to take up the post of Reader at Oxford University, the standard of the School began to decline. By the year 1906, closure of the school was contemplated.

It was Reverend Whitehead, Bishop of Madras, who as the Chairman of the Board of Governors, as a last resort to save the School from closure, invited the members of the Saint Peter's Brotherhood to prevent such an eventuality. Rev H. Pakenham-Walsh, of the Brotherhood of St. Peter, later to become Bishop, took the initiative to revive the school. The School is indebted to the yeomen service rendered by the brotherhood of St. Peter, the School till today celebrates St. Peter's day amongst other traditions such as Guy Fawkes bonfires. A lot of improvements took place under the stewardship of Brotherhood of St. Peter. There was remarkable increase in the student strength and several buildings were constructed. In 1911, the Girls' School was moved across the road. One who worked sincerely for a quarter of century for the growth of the Institution was Rev. Canon Elphick (it was hard to forget the sight of him cycling around).

The last living member of the Brotherhood of St Peter in India, Father David, died a few years back of natural causes (old age). He lived & worked in the school as the school chaplain.

[edit] School Arms/Shield/Motto

The School Arms or the Shield (Divisions of the field)

Per pale, Dexter - per fess indented ermine and gules, in chief two palm branches in saltire proper, surmounted of a mitre or, in base an episcopal staff, in bend, gold, surmounted of an open book, also proper. Sinister - Azure achevron between three hanks of cotton agent.

The Rev. Pakenham-Walsh explained this in a lucid piece in The Cottonian of October 1910.

Such is the blazon or technical heraldic description of the arms of the School, which, following the usual custom of colleges and schools, has simply adopted those of its founder, Bishop Cotton, of Calcutta, and it is now proposed to give some explanation of these curious terms and of the symbolism conveyed.

The motto Nec Dextrorsum Nec Sinistrorsum is connected with the school and is not that of the Cotton family, which is En utraque fortuna paratus, but it is the motto of Rev George Uglow Pope. Coming to the blazon, Per pale means that the shield is divided vertically down the centre, the sides being respectively termed Dexter and Sinister, from the Latin, but it must be remembered that these terms are always used with reference to the shield itself and not to the observer. This form of partition is used to allow of the arms of a man and his wife being placed on one shield, the man's arms being dexter and the woman's to sinister, and the same imagery is used in the case of bishops, who are held to be "married" to their Dioceses, the Diocese, however, being given the place of honour to the dexter. The arms therefore in the dexter half of this shield are those of the sea of calcutta, and are used by each successive bishop impaled with his own. They will be also found with those of Bishop Heber (Reginald Heber) in the School Dining Hall.

Per Fess means that the shield is divided in half horizontally, indented expressing the nature of the dividing line. Ermine is one of the furs used in heraldry and is always represented by black spots of a peculiar shape on a white ground, gules is a curios old Norman French term simply meaning red; various suggestions have been made as to its origin, one being from goolab (Persian) a rose, and another, gueule (French), the throat of a wolf. The latter seems most probable. In saltire means like a saltire or St. Andrew's cross, proper that they are painted in their natural color. Or, (lat, aurum) means gold, and in bend sloping dexter to sinister.

The sinister half of the shield contains the personal arms of the ancient House of Cotton of Combermere to which family of the bishop belonged. The head of the family, Viscount Combermere, is descended from a distinguished general, Sir Stapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere, a near relative of the bishop, who was ennobled for his services in the Peninsular War, where his habit of going into action in full uniform with all his orders and decoration on earned for him the nickname of "The Golden Lion". Azure is the old Norman French for blue, and a chevron, an inverted V, is supposed to represent the gable of a house, and was in early days usually granted for distinguished services in a siege. The hanks or skeins of the cotton are of course an allusion to the family name, a very common practice in heraldry where puns are regarded with much favour. Argent is the French for Silver. The School Shield and Crest is an adaptation of the crest of Bishop Cotton of Calcutta, in whose name the school was founded in 1865.

The crest is divided, vertically down the centre, the sides being called dexter (right) and sinister (left) having reference to the Shield itself. Thus the dexter is one on the left of the Crest as we look at it. The arms of this half of the Crest are those of the Bishopric of Calcutta - the Bishop's mitre (head dress), the Bishop's staff and the open Bible.

The other side of the Crest (the Sinister) contains the arms of the ancient house of Cotton of Combermere in England to which Bishop Cotton belonged. The White figure-of-eight like shapes represent skeins of cotton. The chevron (the inverted V) is supposed to represent the gable of a house and was usually granted to a family for distinguished service.

While the heraldic shield of Bishop Cotton was adopted as the school emblem, it was Dr. Pope who gave us the school motto taken from the Book of Joshua, from the Old Testament, Nec Dextrorsum , Nec Sinistrorsum - neither to the right nor to the left. School Anthem: On, straight on, On, Cottonians on, Like warriors to a fight, Cross thy heart, and fight with valor, Neither right or left, But on, straight on

[edit] The Houses

The House system is a feature common to Public schools. The House systems have great advantages of breaking a large community into smaller, more personal units, and thereby building a sense of loyalty and competition. A house is much more than a building (equivalent to the fraternities and sororities in American Colleges) in which boys have their habitat while in school. It is a way of life. Loyalty to House often surpassed loyalty to school. Parents, sometimes, prefer the choice of the house for their children, based on their own loyalties, whether they attended school or not.

The formation of Houses in Bishop Cottons may have occurred during 1910 since the Cottonian magazine of that year has reported "Puchi teams! Puchi marks!" . Puchi means flies. There were 125 students in school then and six teams were formed. The Puchi teams were named - Jerrimangalams, Bloodsuckers, Scorpions, White ants and Cobras. Each team was led by a captain, and boys were grouped as 'big', 'Medium sized' and 'little'. The puchi teams were in place till 1933. New houses were formed by combining -

• The scorpions & cobras as Pettigrew House (Shoot straight and true...)
• The white ants & jerrimangalams as Pope House (There is a house...)
• The blood suckers & mosquitos as Pakenham-Walsh House (Purple and Red forever...)

These names were assumed after the three pioneers of the school. Each team had a Head and a Captain of games. In 1956, a fourth House was added which was named after canon Elphick who was Warden from 1930 - 1955. Many boys volunteered to join the new House and all new admissions to the school automatically were added to this House. In 1996, a fifth House - Thomas House was formed to increase competitive spirit

• Pettigrew House The House was named after the Rev. S. T. Pettigrew, Chaplain of St. Mark's Church and founder of the school. Pettigrew House was formed in 1933.

Song:
Shoot straight and true
House of Pettigrew,
Forward our best endeavour
Aim for the right,
Keep it in sight,
Soiling our honour never,
What though the struggle be long
this be our watchword and song
Viva Pettigrew and
The good old green and black

• Pakenham-Walsh House The House is named after the Rt. Rev. Herbert Pakenham-Walsh in 1933. The Rev. Pakenham-Walsh left the wardenship of the School in 1913 and became the first Bishop of Assam in 1915.

Song:
Purple and red forever,
Colours the best of all
Making our best endeavour
Smiling we fight or fall
So we'll all pull together
With nothing untrue or false
And we'll work to the end of our tether
For the honour of Pakenham-Walsh!

• Elphick House Elphick House was formed in 1956 and was named after Canon Elphick , Warden from 1930 - 1955. Canon Elphick came to the School from Oxford Brotherhood in Calcutta, India and his Wardenship was the longest of any since the founding of the School.

Song:
Elphick House come rally around
Loyal to the core,
Play the game with body sound
Heroes to the fore,
In all we do let's do our best,
Carrying our colours high always
Knowing it's all for the blue and grey,
Honest is our endeavour,
Onward with a smile,
Upward we must steer,
Striving all the while,
Elphick House forever!

• Pope House The House is named after Rev. G.U. Pope, the first warden of the School, 1871 - 1882. He came to the School from The Nilgiris and is remembered beyond the bounds of the School as a great scholar in Tamil.

Song:
There is a House, a grand old house,
In mind and spirit strong,
Its cause is good, its motto bright
To cheer its sons along
Tally ho! Pope House!
Tally ho! Pope House!
Pope House on forever!
The yellow and White
Our colours so bright,
Are unfurled forever.

• Thomas House This house is the latest which was formed in 1996 - 1997 in the memory of the late Rev. Lowerth Thomas who was the Warden from 1956 to 1970.

Song:
Thomas House awake! Arise!
Upward let your banners fly,
Let heart, mind and spirit soar
To reach heights beyond the sky.
We'll do our best for the green and red
With faith in ourselves and God o'er head.

[edit] Academics

The School, administered along the lines of Junior, Middle & Senior School, works through three school terms, each ending with examinations. At the end of the 10th standard, every student sits for the Indian ICSE Examination. The ISC Examination is taken by all students after Class XII.

Subjects taught include English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Accountancy, Economics, Commerce, various Indian and European languages, History, Civics, Geography among others.

[edit] Inter School Games

Organized games includes the inter-school games competitions.

• Cottonian Shield Cricket tournament
• Hockey - St Josephs High School
• Football - Baldwin's Boys School

[edit] Then and now heads

Rev. S. T. Pettigrew & Messrs Reynold, Bamforth, Dubois, Pope, Hildesley, Parker, Williams, Watling, Burton, Smith, Barry, Ainley, Miller, Pakenham Walsh, Durry, Dawkin, Durry, Scipio, Hodges, Elphick, Thomas, Balraj, Samuel, Ebenezer and Col. John Ellis (the present incumbent).

[edit] Old Cottonians Association

There are old cottonians (popularly referred to as OC's without any of the derogatory school connotation) all over the known world with associations which are active in India (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು), Australia and the UK.

[edit] Competitions held in the school

The School boasts of hosting many competitions every year. The regular ones are the inter house competitions: INTER HOUSE Dramatics INTER HOUSE Music INTER HOUSE Spelling Bee INTER HOUSE EUREKA(Quiz)

Inter School Competitions: Exquizite(quiz) Cottons' Inxs (music) Spelling Bee

[edit] See also

• Vasco da Gama, Imperialism in Asia, Vellore Mutiny, Indian rebellion of 1857, Bangalore Cantonment, The Great Game, English language, Tom Brown's Schooldays, Lord of the Flies, Church of South India
• Indian School Certificate, Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, National Cadet Corps (India), Bharat Scouts and Guides, Socially useful productive work - SUPW
• Cricket portal, Indian cricket team, List of Indian Test Cricketers
• Ashtadhyayi, Padma Vibhushan, ISRO, Hindustan Aeronautics(or try HAL), Infosys, Capability Maturity Model, Capability Immaturity Model, Wipro, Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institute of Science, National Institutes of Technology, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, International Institute of Information Technology - Bangalore

[edit] External links

• Official Website developed by the students and the computer department of the school
• Unofficial Website- Maintained by a Parent Since 1998
• General Thimayya Memorial Lecture (Old Cottonian Lecture Series)
• A social network created by one of the students of the school

[edit] Trivia

• In Mehmood's movie Kunwaara Baap (single father) his son attends Bishop Cotton Boys School; scenes of the school in the movie.