St. Paul's School, Darjeeling
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| St. Paul's School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Darjeeling, West Bengal IND |
|
| Information | |
| Affiliation(s) | Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSE) and The Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC) |
| Founder | John William Ricketts |
| Rector | Rev. Fr. D.A. Howard |
| Students | 800 appx. |
| Type | Private |
| Grades | Class 1 - 12 |
| Motto | Moniti Meliora Sequamur |
| Colour(s) | Maroon & Dark Blue
|
| Established | 1823 |
| Former Pupils | Old Paulites |
| Homepage | School's website |
St. Paul's School is one of the India's oldest and most pre-eminent public schools, known for its academic tradition and alumni. It is located in the town of Darjeeling, which is situated in the far northern portion of the state of West Bengal. At about 7500 feet above sea level, its altitude makes it the highest public school in the world[citation needed]. The school is run by the Church of North India and is led by a rector, who functions as a school principal and resides on campus in an impressive rectory. The school currently follows the curriculum prescribed by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations based in New Delhi.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 1823, John William Ricketts, a prominent Anglo-Indian leader from Calcutta, conceived the idea of a school to meet the educational needs of the growing British and Anglo-Indian community in Calcutta. On May 1, 1823, "The Parental Academic Institution" was established on 11, Park Street, between the Archbishop House and the then Sans Souci Theatre, in central Calcutta.
In 1846, the school was renamed St. Paul's School by Bishop Wilson, who had associated the school to St.Paul's Cathedral in Calcutta. During 1863, the school was in difficulties and after an investigation, Bishop Cotton decided to move the school to Darjeeling. The current buildings were not the location of the initial school and were later additions as the school expanded.
In 1864, the school was finally moved to its present Jalapahar ("Burning Mountain") estate in Darjeeling with 31 boarders and a few day scholars. The estate was purchased from Mr Brian Hodgson for Rs.45,000. The original two-storied building, built on what is today known as the Lower Field, no longer exists, and the magnificent buildings that form the core of the school were largely built in 1898. The first electricity lines in the school were connected in 1909. The Lefroy Hospital was occupied in 1914 and the Lyon Hall in 1915. In 1920, the chapel was demolished to make room for Westcott Hall, thanks to a liberal donation from the Maharaja of Burdwan. Construction for the existing school chapel began in 1933 and was completed in 1935. The rectory proudly boasts of being one of the oldest buildings in Darjeeling town, built about 1815. At present, the oldest building, built by the school, is Johnson Hall, housing a dormitory, the Junior Wing Library and Hall, and 3 classrooms, which was built in 1888.
A number of its students fought for the British in both World War I and World War II, and later for India in her wars. Many of those who died are remembered in plaques that can be found in the school chapel. Bishop Foss Westcott, Metropolitan of Bengal, Burma and Ceylon, played a very important role in furnishing various morals of the School. LJ Goddard, OBE, was perhaps the most important Rector, leading the school between 1934 and 1964 -- including the delicate transition from British-ruled to independent India. His successor, David Gibbs (Rector, 1964-72) took the school to even greater heights of renown, and Hari Dang (Rector, 1977-84) played a crucial role in Indianizing the school. Gibbs, too, received the OBE for his work at St. Paul's while Dang (a noted environmentalist and mountaineer) received India's Padma Shri. Over the years, a number of estates were purchased and merged with the existing school estate, thus growing to its present size. The Terpsithea Estate was purchased by the School in 1955.
Today home to over seven hundred students and almost two centuries old, St. Paul's has come a long way. Set in the majestic grandeur of mountains and lush greenery, with the Rev. Fr. David Andrew Howard as the Rector (winner of the Frank brother's honor for an educationist, 2006), it is more than just a school.
The standard of St Paul's School, situated on a burning mountain (Jalapahar) near Darjeeling, founded in the year 1846. The School motto reads "Moniti Meliora Sequamur".It means, "Having been taught (or advised) we follow the better (or higher) things". The Mitre, the Ceremonial headdress of a bishop, stands for the close association of this School with the Anglican Church (in the Diocese of Calcutta).The Flaming Mountain stands for Jalapahar - the mountain of fire, an extinct volcano on which the School is built. Fire is a symbol both of life and purity.The two Hanks Of Cotton commemorate Bishop Cotton, who was responsible for shifting the School from Calcutta to its current location in Jalapahar.The Shield is the Shield of Faith - a protection from all evil, as it "quenches the flaming arrows of evil".The two Crossed Swords are the Swords of the Spirit of God, which help to fight all evil in us and in the world.The whole design is surrounded by the Latin words: SIGILL SCHOLAE SANCTI PAUL IN MONTE URENTE JUXTA DARJEELING CANDIDATE A.D.1846
[edit] Location
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The school in situated in Darjeeling and shares Jalapahar estate with an Indian Army Cantonment. It is claimed to be the highest public school in the world, located at 7500 feet above sea level. The famous Kanchenjunga mountain range forms the scenic backdrop to the school. The school is physically separated from Darjeeling by its location on a high hill that is a few kilometres above the main town. Large expanses of wild land and greenery surrounds the campus, affording the campus a feeling of isolation and spectacular views of the town, the high foothills and snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Many believe the school's tennis court is the highest in the world.
[edit] Philosophy
Once, when reflecting on the meaning of the school’s motto which, in translation, runs’ Having been advised, let us follow higher things, Mr. Goddard said: “Exactly what is it we are trying to do? Our fundamental aim is to produce quality; to awaken and cultivate in our boys an ever increasing desire to follow ‘higher things’ just because they are higher. But to follow higher things requires unremitting effort and ceaseless work on the part of both the schoolmaster and the scholar. The student of today is so often found talking of his rights and his demands. That is not following higher things. If our own ambition is to follow better and higher things we shall put the demands of others first and our own last. When UNESCO asked Gandhiji just before his death for a message on human rights, he replied that there were no human rights until we had first fulfilled our duties.
The purpose of education, therefore, is to teach a boy to see his duty to his fellowmen, to his country and to his God; to infuse him with the desire and the energy to fulfill his duty with all his powers; to be acutely conscious of the demands mankind is forever making on him; and to be less conscious of what he loves to regard as his own rights .These are the higher things. This is the aim and this is the motto of St. Paul’s.”
What, then, is the Tradition valued at St. Paul’s? In brief, to cultivate excellence and to place this excellence at the service of the community and the nation.
In ordinary, everyday life in the school, as elsewhere, there are plenty of opportunities for a boy to try to put into practice the aim and motto of our School. There are also those more spectacular opportunities for unselfish service that occur in a country like India which is often visited with devastating floods, droughts or other natural calamities, and sometimes also by border problems and displaced people. In situations such as these, and through a variety of outdoor programmes, our boys are encouraged to learn by practical experience something of the difficulties and satisfactions of social service in the outside world
These community-service and the nation-building programmes are an integral part of the school programmes under the NCC, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the IAYP and Outward Bound activities. Together with outstanding academic excellence and discipline these have been the signal achievements which have modernised and strengthened the traditional St. Paul’s ethos and values.
St. Paul’s is essentially an Indian residential school. That is to say, the staff and the scholars are predominantly Indian, and its educational policy is oriented towards life in India and India’s place in world affairs. And this has not come in the way of one of the School’s most important assets, its international, multiracial and cross-regional cosmopolitan character. This is an asset of immeasurable educational value. Boys from many different parts of India , of different castes and from different religious communities, are living, working ,eating, worshipping and playing together with boys from other nations with different social and religious customs. We can hardly over –emphasize the importance of this factor. The intellectual, emotional and social adjustment a boy must make in such an environment provide additional interest and stimulus in his school life in an increasingly international world.
Boys and staff of diverse faiths worship together in the Chapel. This has always been an especially appreciated part of the school’s routine, by parents no less then by the boys and the staff. Many a man has admitted that, in his final analysis of what St. Paul’s meant to him as a boy, it is the effect of inclusive, liberal corporate worship in the Chapel that has remained uppermost. Boys and staff of many faiths and denominations share and to some extent officiate, in the experience. Many of the Occasional Prayers used in the services are, in fact, poems from Gitanjali or are other works by Rabindranath Tagore, or are quotations from the Gathas, or from Shri. Ramakrishna Paramahansha and Swami Vivekananda, or from the Bhagavad Gita, or the Holy Koran.
| St. Paul's School Administration | |
| Rector | Rev. Fr. D.A. Howard |
|---|---|
| Senior Master | R. H. Soler |
| Head, Jr.Wing | Punam Lama |
| Head, Pr.Wing | R. Anthony |
[edit] System
The school is divided into three wings, namely Primary Wing (Classes I-V), Junior Wing (Classes VI-VIII) and Senior Wing (Classes IX-XII). The Rector is the Head of the school and the Senior Master, Head Junior Wing and Head Primary Wing help with administration work in various departments.
The houses in the SW are named after distinguished persons from the British period of Indian History.
Clive - named after Lord Robert Clive - The first Governor of Bengal.
Hastings - named after Lord Warren Hastings - the Governor General of Bengal from 1813-1823.
Havelock -named after General Henry Havelock who fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Lawrence -named after Sir Henry Lawrence - the British Resident of Punjab (1846) who later fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The houses in the JW are named after either great benefactors of the school or those who have been closely associated with the school.
Anderson - named after Sir John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley - the Governor of Bengal (1933-1935) who gifted a lot of money to the school library.
Betten - named after Mr. Malcolm Betten a tea planter and a member of the Board of Governors of St. Paul's School.
Cable - named after Lord Ernest Cable - an old boy of the school and a very generous benefactor.
Westcott - named after Bishop Brooke Foss Westcott - Chairman of the Board of Governors of St. Paul's School for 35 years
The houses in the PW are interestingly all named and linked with the 1st successful expedition to Mount Everest in 1953.
Hunt - named after John Hunt, Baron Hunt - the leader of the expedition.
Hillary - named after Sir Edmund Hillary who climbed Mount Everest in 1953.
Tenzing - named after Mr.Tenzing Norgay who climbed Mount Everest in 1953.
Everest - named after the mountain itself - Mount Everest.
In accordance with the multiracial and multi ethnic character of St. Paul’s the staff is recruited from all over India. The staff of the Senior Wing are at least post-graduates from Indian and overseas universities. In the Junior wing and the Primary Wing the staff is mainly composed of men and women who are trained teachers and under the direction of experienced heads.Most of the members of the staff live on the school estate. Some quarters adjoin the dormitories; others are on the boundaries of the estate in separate houses.
In addition to the teaching staff there are the Matrons-in-charge of the personal welfare and care of the boys in the Senior, Junior and Primary Wings. Caterers are in –charge of the boy’s diet and of the cooking and serving of food. The Estate Manager’s many sided duties include the maintenance of the buildings and of the estate in general, and the employment and welfare of the Domestic Staff.
[edit] Culture
Current students are referred to as Paulites and the alumni as Old Paulites.
[edit] Uniform
The school lays great emphasis and pride in the uniform worn by its students. The school uniform for the senior wing and junior wing boys are regulation white shirt, gray trouser, gray jersey, black boots, school blazers and school tie. On a daily basis the students are not required to wear the school blazer and must substitute the school tie for their respective house ties. The boys of primary wing have the same uniform with a gray shirt substituting the white shirt and shorts for younger children. On visits outside of the school campus, all students are required to dress in prescribed suits and carry umbrellas, thus earning them the nickname chathawalla (chatha meaning umbrella in various Indian languages). The students of the sixth form wear distinct blazers from the rest of the students.
[edit] Student government
The student government consists of staff-appointed prefects, headed by a School Captain, who is assisted by the vice captain, house captains and prefects, these students are typically drawn from Class 12 in Senior Wing. These prefects have considerable discretion in imposing order among the student body. Junior and Primary Wings have their own system of prefects and are called monitors who exercise jurisdiction over their own wings. Great emphasis is laid on seniority and respect for seniors. Traditionally, the sixth form or Class 12 students enjoy a number of advantages over the rest of the students. the school prefects wear prefects neck ties in order to distinguish them from their peers.
[edit] Services
There are two N.C.C troops at St. Paul’s in the Senior Wing and the older boys belong to the International Award for Young Person which has a syllabus designed to suit the conditions of an Indian School. After the completion of training, boys are awarded bronze, silver or gold medals of the IAYP.The boys undergo training in camp craft, first-aid, cooking, map and compass practice , the country code , the highway code, etc. Later the participants have to qualify in four sections: expedition; pursuits and interests; service; and physical efficiency. Most of the boys at St. Paul’s who have participated during the last few years have qualified for awards.
[edit] Clubs and societies
There are various hobby clubs and socially – useful productive work programmes which develop manual, artistic and technical skills; and societies representing a wide range of intellectual interests also meet regularly. These are all run by the boys under the supervision of masters. Each of the four Houses in the Senior Wing presents a concert from time to time, and the School Dramatic Society stages a play annually in October. Indian and Western music and elocution and drama, play a large part in the lives of the boys, assisting in the development of self-confidence.The School deliberately encourages hobbies and societies and every facility is afforded to ensure that a boy has a variety of interest from which he may choose. A boy joins the club of his choice at the commencement of first term. He will meet, work and make friends with boys of different ages and will, perhaps, begin to get ideas of possible future careers from his practical experience. In the Senior Wing, the hobbies that are encouraged are Arts and crafts, Indian and Western music, model making, photography, woodworking and lathe work, computers etc.
A boy may offer the product of one of these hobbies for the winning of gold, silver or bronze medal in the IAYP in which, as described above, the school is an active participant. His best work will be on view to the school parents, visitors and old Paulites on Sports Day, and his work may contribute to his house winning the annual award which is given at the end of term supper, a special celebration, affectionately called G.H.D for Going Home Day. Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Natural History, Careers, the English literary Society, Debating, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, French, this is a sampling of the kind of subjects dealt with by the societies. Subjects vary from year to year and according to the availability of enthusiastic members of staff who would be in-charge, but the secretary of each society and hobby club is invariably one of the boys.
[edit] Sports
The school places great stress on development of sports and sportsman spirit among the students. The school follows an annual sports calendar with seasons reserved for different sports. The major sports seasons are cricket, football, hockey, marathon and athletics. While other sports like basketball, volleyball, tennis, squash, eton fives and gymnastics are interjected between the major seasons. It is compulsory for all students to compete in inter-house leagues for all the sports during their respective seasons, the seasons end with the house teams competing against each other for the championships. The school has official teams for most of the sports which represent the school at various levels. St.Paul's School is one of the few places in the world and the only one in India which maintains an eton fives court and plays the sport as a regular part of their annual sports calendar.
[edit] Awards
The school has an annual prize day ceremony where awards are given out for excellence in academic, sports and extra-curricular activities. The school also follows the tradition of awarding ″Colours″ to students for exceptional achievements in sports or other extra curricular activities, this award gives the recipient the privilege of wearing a special necktie and a star under the school crest on his school blazer. Receiving five Colours gives the student the privilege of wearing a special white blazer. However, Colours are awarded sparsely and years may separate them, while white blazers are extremely rare, with only a few instances being recorded in the schools long history.
[edit] Publications
The school publishes a fortnightly student-run magazine called The Paulite and an annual St. Paul's School Chronicle; besides this, the Kolkata-based Old Paulites Association publishes a magazine for school alumni. The Old Paulite Association (Europe) publishes and circulates a twice yearly Newsletter.
[edit] The Chapel
The Chapel Holds a Central Place in the life of the School. It is here that the School meets as community for prayer and worship. It is here that the moral and spiritual character of boys is guided and moulded with prayers, hymns and addresses, all inculcating ideals of leadership, esprit-de-corps, self-reliance and service to others. Students from the senior wing and junior wing attend chapel daily, while the boys from the primary wing attend on a weekly basis. It is the chapel where the daily announcements are made.
[edit] Tuck shop
Blackies is the school tuck shop which allegedly got its name from the fact that it was run by Indians when the student population was primarily non-Indian. There is no historical certainty about this and the name has been used for many decades with great affection for the facility.
[edit] Exeats
The environment the children grow up in is strictly controlled, and interaction with the outside is limited to exeats (permits for town leaves) twice a month for the boys of senior wing, once a month for the boys of junior wing and once in two months chaperoned exeats for the boys of primary wing. During these exeats too the movement of the students are restricted and many areas of Darjeeling are out of bounds for them. During these leaves the students are only allowed a limited amount of pocket money and must wear the prescribed school uniform.
[edit] Chota hazri
A unique part of the school culture is the "chota hazri", a tradition from the British raj which has lasted the test of time and is still practiced in the school today. Chota hazri, is basically early morning tea and biscuits. Chota hazri is more stringently followed in the primary wing and the senior wing.
[edit] Sunshine holiday
Darjeeling is known to have gloomy and persistent rainfall during the monsoon seasons, often lasting for days. Another unique feature of the school is the "sunshine holiday" which is an unscheduled holiday declared on a sunny day after a bout of the Darjeeling monsoons. These holidays are often prompted by the request of the students and prefects.
[edit] Alumni
The Old Paulites Association is a large community spread out all across the world, holding regular meetings in India, the United Kingdom and North America. It has an active Internet presence at the official website for Old Paulites. The Old Paulite Association (Europe) publishes and circulates a twice yearly Newsletter. There have been many famous Paulites over the years, and naming a few would not do the others justice. But among others,
- Jamling Tenzing Norgay (the first son of an Everest summiteer to climb the summit of Mt. Everest),
- Tashi Tenzing (the first grandson of an Everest summiteer to climb Mt. Everest),
- Dr.Munir Butt, KCMG, is a former British Diplomat and economic and foreign policy advisor to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He is regarded as a world expert on Indian and Pakistani affairs, and was a personal advisor in the region to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and advised U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In 1994 he was appointed High Commissioner of Pakistan by John Major.
- Ammar Siamwalla heads the Thailand Development Research Institute (and is a former minister in Thailand),
- Rehman Sobhan played a key role in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 (becoming a member of its first Planning Commission) and now chairs the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka.
- Dr. Rustum Roy is a founder of the inter-disciplinary field of Materials Science (the Materials Science lab that he headed at Pennsylvania State University for three decades was named the world's #1 Materials Science lab by ISI); Dr. Roy also served on the Pope's Nova Spes committee on Science and Religion, and his scientific achievements led to him being conferred the Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays by the Emperor of Japan.
- Kaizad Gustad is an Indian filmmaker, his credits include Bombay Boys and Boom.
- Anjan Dutta is an acclaimed Indian director, actor and musician.
- Ernest Cable, 1st Baron Cable was a prominent British-Indian merchant and financier.
[edit] In Popular Culture
The school has been featured in a number of Hindi and Bengali language films. Hamraaz (1967) , Mera Naam Joker (1970) by Raj Kapoor, Shimabaddha (1971) by Satyajit Ray, Do Anjaane , and the recent Main Hoon Na , are among them.
Vivien Leigh was born in the school campus — at a place now known as Dawkins, beside the old basketball court. Today, Dawkins houses staff members teaching at the school.
