St. Patrick's High School, Secunderabad

St. Patrick's High School
School Emblem of St. Patrick's High School Secunderabad Virtus et Labor
Location
Secunderabad, Telangana India
Information
Type	Private High School
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1911
Principal	Fr.FRANCIES⟨⟩
Faculty	100
Grades	KG - 10
Number of students	3,400
Houses	Gandhi (green), Loyola (red), Ambedkar (yellow), Akbar (blue)
School colour(s)	Gold and Green
Sports	Cricket, football, basketball, table tennis, badminton, athletics
Website	http://www.stpatrickshighschool.in/

St. Patrick's High School is a boys' school located on Sebastian Road in Secunderabad, Telangana, India, run by the Jesuit order.

The school was established in 1911. In the earlier years it was known as the St.Patrick's European High School. It is a boys only school from kindergarten to 10th grade following the SSC curriculum.

History

The school was established in 1911 by Fr. H. Colli. While the school is a Catholic educational institution, with the primary aim of providing education to the local Catholic boys, students of other faiths are also admitted. It is also believed that the school in its early days only admitted boys of fairer complexion, so that they mixed easily with Europeans and Anglo Indians.^[1]

The school had a humble beginning under the leadership of Fr. Colli with 35 students on role in 1911. In the month of April of the same year, the students were presented to Madras Middle Certificate Examination. The school was then under the supervision of the Inspector of European Schools. In 1916, standard VII was added and the strength increased to 102. In the year 1918, classes kindergarten was added. By 1936, the school was full-fledged high school and celebrated its silver jubilee celebrations. The school was under the guidance of the Brothers of St. Gabriel from 1936 to 1956. They introduced the present house system among the students for healthy competition. The Archdiocese of Hyderabad took over the school in 1956 until 1973.[1] In 1973, the administration was transferred to the Jesuit Fathers of Andhra Province, belonging to the Society of Jesus Founded by St.Ignatius of Loyola.[2] The Jesuits brought in many changes to the school. Parent visits on second Saturday of every month was introduced. The rank system was replaced by grade system. The old building was demolished and the playground was extended. A spacious and ventilated building was built for the Kindergarten and Elementary sections. The school celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in 1986. Computer education was introduced in 1989. In 1991, basketball, tennis, and staking courts were constructed. Remedial hour system was introduced in 1997. The St. Patrick's Old Boys Association was rejuvenated around the same time.^[2]

School Administration

Being a Catholic institution, it is governed by the article 30(1) of the Indian Constitution. The school has a current enrollment of 3,400 students. The number of staff members is around 100. Since its inception more than 30,000 students attended the school. The school has four houses, Gandhi, Loyola, Akbar and Ambedkar, each being represented by green, red, blue and yellow respectively. These four houses were also previously known as Davids, Patricks, Andrews & Gabriels.^[3]

It celebrates Nostalgia Day on the first Sunday of every year for its alumni. In addition to its educational focus, the school also provides extra-curricular activities like sports and competitions. It conducts an annual Inter-School basketball tournament oragnised by the alumni association named after their former principal, the late Father Devasia. The motto of the school is "Virtus et Labor". It has produced several IITians and an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medalist. The school has football, basketball, cricket and tennis teams.

School Emblem and Motto

The school emblem consists of a green shield inscribed two golden cross on the upper right hand corner and the lower left hand corner. A white belt runs across the shield with three golden shamrocks. The shamrocks are symbolic of the school's patron saint St. Patrick. The motto of the school is Virtus Et Labor, the Latin words for virtue and hard work.^[4]

Centenary celebrations

St.Patricks High school celebrated its centenary celebrations on 12 February 2011.

Notable alumni