St. Xavier's Collegiate School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St. Xaviers's Collegiate School | |
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Nihil Ultra - Nothing Beyond
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| Location | |
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| 30, Mother Teresa Sarani Kolkata, India |
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| Information | |
| Headmaster | Father Jerome Francis |
| Students | 2300 |
| Faculty | 83 |
| Type | Primary, Secondary |
| Athletics | Football, cricket, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, track and field. |
| Color(s) | Blue, white |
| Established | 1860 |
| Information | +91 33 2280 5197 +91 33 2280 5198 |
| Foundation Day | 16th January |
Contents |
[edit] School
[edit] Introduction
St. Xavier's Collegiate School was established in 1860 in Kolkata, India by the missionaries from the Society of Jesus. It is named after the famous St. Francis Xavier, whose remains are till this day, naturally preserved at the Bom Jesu Basilica in Goa, India. Foundation Day is celebrated on 16th January.
There are two separate school buildings (across the street from each other). One houses the Primary School (grades K - 5) and the other is for the Secondary School (grades 6 - 12).
The school is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious English-medium schools for boys in Kolkata. Admission is mostly at grade K or 1 and is fiercely competitive, usually involving student and parent interviews and a lottery.
The St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, is located on the same premises as the Secondary School. The address, 30 Mother Teresa Sarani, Kolkata 700016, was formerly known as 30 Park Street.
[edit] Religious Affiliation
The school was initially established for the education of Catholic boys. However, it has long admitted students of any religious belief. In fact, most classes (with the exception of Kindergarten) are made up of primarily non-Christian students.
[edit] Academic Affiliation
The school is affiliated to the "Council for Indian School Certificate Examination" (which conducts the ICSE and ISC exams in grades, i.e. classes 10 and 12 respectively) as well as the "West Bengal Council for Secondary Education" (which holds the Madhyamik exams after grade 10). The students are given a choice of following either board up to standard 10 but must follow the Indian Council's board for classes 11 and 12. Presently, however due to less number of students opting for the West Bengal board, classes are held only for ICSE board, and of course, the ISC board for the 11th and 12th standard.
[edit] School Session
The school session is from April to March. Thursday is the normal weekly holiday (in addition to Sunday).
[edit] Uniform
The primary school uniform is dark grey shorts and white shirt while secondary school students wear white shorts / trousers with white shirt. During winter months a dark blue pullover is permitted in both schools. Secondary school students also have the option of wearing a blue blazer.
A metal badge which shows the house name and colors is also worn by the students on the top left side of the shirt. The house captains and vice-captains have badges that denote their designations along with the house colors.
Footwear is black leather shoes with laces. On days where students have Physical Training in school, they have to wear white canvas sport shoes.
The school tie is dark blue with white slanting stripes. It is not compulsory every day but required on important events.
[edit] Curriculum
Students may choose to follow either the ICSE or Madhyamik curriculum till class 10. In classes 11 and 12, however, they must follow the ISC curriculum, but may choose to study either Science (Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology/Computer Science) or Commerce (Commerce, Accounts, Economics and Maths). An Indian Language must be offered up to class 12.
[edit] House System
The secondary school students are grouped into four houses named after Jesuit saints. These are:
Britto (red), named after Saint John de Brito.
Gonzaga (green), named after Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
Loyola (blue), named after Saint Ignatius Loyola
Berchmans (yellow), named after Saint John Berchmans
Each house has a House Captain and a House Vice Captain (generally students of grades 12 and 11 respectively). Reporting to them are the House Representatives - one for each of the other grades. These executive members are selected by voting amongst the students belonging to each house.
The houses compete against each other in sports and academics. On the annual sports day, the winning house is declared on the basis of points earned by its students throughout the year.
[edit] Alumni
[edit] ALSOC
The alumni body of the school is known as Alumnorum Societas (ALSOC) and is actively involved in improving the facilities at the school. Annual reunions are generally held in January or, February.
[edit] Famous Alumni
The School has many well known alumni, including:
- Rabindranath Tagore, writer and Nobel laureate
- Shashi Tharoor, former UN undersecretary
- Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, noted scientist
- Jyoti Basu, former Chief Minister of West Bengal
- Siddhartha Shankar Ray, noted lawyer, former Chief Minister of West Bengal and former Indian Ambassador to the US
- Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and influential Muslim League politician in British India
- Sourav Ganguly, former Indian Cricket Captain
- Norman Pritchard, Indian athlete of British descent, first Indian to win an Olympic Medal.
- Raj Kapoor, Legendary Bollywood Actor
- Utpal Dutta, Thespian
- Lieutenant General J. F. R. Jacob, Decorated war hero, former Governor of Punjab
- General Shankar Roychoudhury, Former Chief of the Indian Army
- Laxmi Mittal, Industrialist
- Aditya Vikram Birla, Industrialist
- Sanjeev Sanyal, Economist and environmentalist
- Dipankar P Gupta, Former Solicitor General of India
- Neil O' Brien, Derek O' Brien and Barry O' Brien,Quizmasters
- Sanjeev Goenka, Industrialist
- Barun De, Historian
- Kishore Bhimani, Sports commentator
- Late Chandra Hirjee, 1958 winner of the inaugural World Amateur Snooker Championship held at Kolkata. Also Indian Open Billiards Championship winner in 1946, 47, 56 and 58, runner-up in 1952, 54, 55, 57 and Indian Snooker Championship runner-up in 1952, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58
