| St. Vincent's High and Technical School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Asansol, West Bengal, India |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1895 |
| School district | Bardhaman |
| Principal | Mr. Ravi Victor |
| Faculty | 60 |
| Grades | 1-12 |
| Number of students | 1,800+ |
| Color(s) | Navy blue and gold |
| Athletics | Football, cricket, swimming, field hockey, Badminton |
| Affiliation | Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSE) and The Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC) |
| Houses | Blue House (St. Matthew's) Yellow House (St. John's) Green House (St. Luke's) Red House (St. Mark's) |
| School site | www.svsasansol.com |
St. Vincent’s High and Technical School (known as SVTS) is one of the oldest schools in eastern India. It is a kindergarten through 12th grade school of secondary education, located in Asansol, in the western part of West Bengal, about 200 km from Kolkata (Calcutta).
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On the grounds that the school now stands in, St. Vincent's Technical School was started in 1877. The land was purchased from the railways with the intention of producing trained mechanical and electrical artisan staff to bridge the talent shortage in the railways.
In 1895 the high school was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, a Catholic society from Ireland that has undertaken missionary and educational work worldwide. This group, also informally known as the Christian Brothers, was founded by Sir Edmund Ignatius Rice. St. Vincent’s High and Technical School is one of the 19 Christian Brothers Schools in India. The foundation stone of St. Vincent’s School was laid by Dr. Meulman S.J., Archbishop of Calcutta, on 25 October 1919.
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The history of the school dates back to 1914, when a committee, Calcutta Improvement Trust was formed for opening up the congested parts of Calcutta. One of the roads, 100 feet wide, was designed to run through Chowringee Road to the Cathedral in Moorghihatta, where it was to run through the catholic male orphanage. This would leave CMO without a playground and kitchen. On a visit to St Patrick’s Asansol, Br Arsenius Ryan, the provincial of the Brothers, inspected an open partly cultivated plot of 50 bighas as a possible site for the Orphanage. The site was purchased and with the addition of surrounding plots it increased to 390 bighas, the property on which St. Vincent’s now stands. Br Joseph Moyes was selected to superintend the erection of the buildings
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In 1927 Br. Gabriel Pakenham was appointed superior and the first batch of 29 boys took up residence. They were soon joined by 20 more. Official government sanction came at the end of the year. Number grew steadily as did the staff. Government stipulations were exacting so in1928 it was decided to present students for the matriculation of Calcutta University Br. Baptist Collins who succeeded Br Packenham deemed it advisable to utilize part of the extensive property for dairy farming. The herd of St Vincent’s became the admiration of the district. Br. Aidan Callaghan followed Br. Collins in 1934. Affiliation to Calcutta University was made permanent in 1937. In 1938 arrangements were made for boys to sit for the Board of Apprenticeship Training examination.
. The school sailed along on an even keel till the 1939-35 ear intervened. In 1942 the British military took over the school. 350 R.A.F men occupied all the buildings except the Chapel. Seventy eight years cattle were sold for Rs. 5,715 and other accessories for Rs. 7,856. Many of the boys went to St. Michael’s Kurji and were dealt with there as a unit by the education department under the title of “St Vincent’s school, Asansol, now at Kurji”.
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In February 1946 Br Adjutor O’Connor returned as superior to take back the property from the military. The buildings and fields were in a sorry state. Workers were employed to clear the debris and establish some semblance of order in the place once more. On march1st 1947the school reopened. Much of the land which as formerly cultivated by the school was let out to labours on the half and half basis. Rs. 21,117 was received from the military rental and compensation for damage to buildings and grounds
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In 1949 the school took the step of becoming a technical school through the efforts of Br. J. E. McCann a building a 100 feet long and 60 feet wide was constructed and equipped for technical instruction. The provincial of the christen brothers in Australia offered the services of a qualified instructor in the person of Br Raphael Maher. The boys of St. Vincent’s were presented for the senior Cambridge examination with Metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing along with sciences, mathematics English and literature.
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At the end of his term Br Maher returned to Australia in early 1955. Br C.J. Harrison came from Australia to take charge of the tech. He was joined by Br R.C. Whiting and Br. R.A. Parton also from Australia. Together they built St. Vincent’s into the professional technical institution that it is today.
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The foundation stone of St. Vincent’s School was laid by Dr. Meulman S.J., Archbishop of Calcutta, on 25 October 1919.
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With three sections for each class/grade from 1-10, three kindergarten sections KG-A, KG-B and KG-C, and two sections for 11-12(11-A/11-B and 12-A/12-B), there are about 1,500 students enrolled in the school. The school follows the 10+2 Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations curriculum which includes the national ICSE exam at the end of Class 10, and the ISC exam at the end of Class 12.
St. Vincent's was originally a fully residential school. It started admitting day scholars later, and finally closed the hostel completely in 1994. The school is one of the largest landowners in Asansol, with buildings, fields and wooded areas on prime real estate. The school has a swimming pool, the only other institution to have one being St. Patricks School. It runs summer swimming camps during the school's summer vacations, open to children from all schools.
The school is one of the largest landowners in Asansol, with buildings, fields,a pond, buildings for the technical department, former residencies, A school for the mentally and physically challenged children "Asha Niketan" and acres of virgin wooded areas bordering like the residential colony, Hill View, an oldage home, etc.
The school is structured to represent four houses - St. Matthew's (blue), St. Mark's (red), St. Luke's (green) and St. John's (yellow). The annual sports day is held by the end of after every one year. The neighbouring schools are invited to attend and encouraged to participate in the events.
Apart from the annual sports day, there are activities throughout the year. Neighbouring schools and popular rivals St. Patrick's, Loretto Convent and Assembly of God Church are invited to participate in these activities. Science exhibitions, elocutions, drama enactment, fete and debate competitions are events in the annual calendar.
The is one of the best in the region in terms of academic performance.
Long live St. Vincent's in famed Asansol.
It's glorious reputation flourishes and grows.
Renowned for learning and virtues golden gleams.
It is the school we all esteem.
Glory to S.V.T.S.!
Our deeds we'll e'er profess.
Let us proclaim her fame with every breath.
Long live our S.V.T.S.!
God give her all success.
And bless her sons in life and death.
What be the future
We'll cherish memories dear.
Of happy days of childhood would not have passed in vain.
If Vincent's tradition we retain!
Glory to S.V.T.S.!
Our deeds we'll e'er profess.
Let us proclaim her fame with every breath.
Long live our S.V.T.S.!
God give her all success.
And bless her sons in life and death.