St. Xavier's Collegiate School

St. Xaviers's Collegiate School (SXCS)

Nihil Ultra (Latin)
Location
30, Park Street
Kolkata – 700016
India
(Map)
Information
Type Private, day school
Religious affiliation(s) Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
Established 16 January 1860
Session April–March
Headmaster Benny Thomas S.J.
Faculty 83
Gender Male
Number of students 2300
Classes Preparatory to Class 12
Average class size 40
Education system Unit Test (20 marks) and Block Tests(80 Marks)
Medium of language English
Language Hindi and Bengali
Hours in school day 5:30
Campus Urban
Color(s)

Blue and White

         
Slogan Nihil Ultra(Nothing Beyond)
OR
Do You See What I See?
I see SXC!
Song Proud of Our School
Athletics Track and Field
Sports Basketball, Cricket, Football, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Rowing
Nickname Sunny, Xaverian
National ranking 7th, 1st (State)
Yearbook The Xaverian
Communities served LTS, Nature Club, X-quizite, Social Service
Affiliations ICSE and ISC
Alumni Alumnorum Societas (ALSOC)
Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore
Information +91 33 2280 5197
+91 33 2280 5198
Website SXCS.edu.in

St. Xavier's Collegiate School (informally SXCS) is a boys-only independent day school in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded in 1860 by the Jesuits and it is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. The school completed its Sesquicentennial year of existence, in 2010.

The school houses roughly 2300 pupils aged 5 to 18. Admission to the school is based on a form shortlist and an interview. Every year in April, the school admits pupils aged 5 in Preparatory and aged 6 in Grade 1. SXCS pupils take the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education in tenth and twelfth Grades. Pupils are offered a choice between Humanities, Commerce or Science subjects in eleventh and twelfth grades. The school previously offered the Madhyamik but it does not offer it anymore because of the diminishing popularity of the Madhyamik among pupils. Many of the school's pupils are children of alumni.

The School, whose alumni range from the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to the former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, is considered to be one of India's best schools.

History

The school was founded in 1860 by the Jesuits, an all-male Catholic religious order formed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The school is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th century Spanish Jesuit saint. The founder of the school is Fr. Henri Depelchin . He had overseen most of the ground work, during the foundation years [1]

San Souci Theatre

30 Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani), Kolkata-700016, was where the San Souci theatre was located, before 1843. A fire broke out in 1843, leaving nothing but ashes. This same address was later bought by 7 Jesuits, who had arrived from Belgium. It is here, that the present day campus stands tall.[2]

Foundation Years

The present 30, Park Street address where the school is situated, is an amalgamation of numbers 10 and 11 of Park Street. Premise number 11, was bought for Rs 45,000.00, by Fr. Depelchen. These funds were made possible with the generous donations of the Anglo-Indians and with help from the home Province of Belgium. Park street is located in the heart of Kolkata and is a landmark street in the city, a melting pot of its diverse cultural, culinary, social and intellectual milieu.

The very first class had as few as 40 students. Today, it has more than 2300 students.

The Goethals library deserves a special mention in the history of the institution.

However there was a paucity of funds for expansion work in terms of class rooms and to accommodate the Jesuits fathers. So The Rector appealed to the public of Calcutta in newspapers for generous assistance and was responded with magnanimity by well wishers of the city in 1864. Besides Fr Depelchin and his assistant and Br. Koppes the builder went around personally collecting funds. The present imposing 5 storied building was built in an interval of 6 years, from 1934 to 1940 at a cost of Rs 9 lakhs, which was collected partly from the public of Calcutta, assistance from Belgium, and the huge rental received from the American army that occupied the building during the second war.[3][4] Expansion of the school has been a ceaseless effort, with a campus slated to come up in Salt Lake City, Kolkata and a second boys' hostel not far away from the existing one.

Goethals Library

The Goethals library, which is located above the campus Chapel, houses some of the oldest periodicals, journals and books. The treasures were inherited by the Jesuit Fathers in 1908, from the then Archbishop of Calcutta, Paul Goethals S.J. Today, the treasures are well preserved and the library has become a spot of historical significance.

Postal Stamp

A commemorative stamp was issued by the Indian Post on 12 April 1985 depicting the campus. Thus recognizing the school's contribution to society.[3]

Infrastructure

There are two school buildings separated by a street, one for the Primary School (grades K - 5) and the other for the Secondary School (grades 6 - 12). The secondary school building shares the campus with the St. Xavier's College building and one of the college hostels. The two institutions were established by the same Christian order, but have independent administrations.

Religious affiliation

The school was 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.

Academic affiliation

The school is affiliated to the "Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations" (which conducts the ICSE and ISC exams in grades, i.e. classes 10 and 12 respectively) as well as the "West Bengal Board of 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. However due to a lower number of students opting for the West Bengal board, classes are held only for ICSE board, and the ISC board for the 11th and 12th standard.

School session

The school session is from April to March. Saturday is the normal weekly holiday (in addition to Sunday).

Uniform

The primary school uniform is dark grey shorts and white shirt while secondary school students wear white shorts/trousers with white shirt. A colored monogram on the shirt pocket has been introduced from April 2011. 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 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 when students have Physical Training in school, they wear white canvas sport shoes, along with the vests of their respective house colours, Blue for Loyola, Green for Gonzaga,Yellow for Berchmans and Red for Britto.

The school tie is dark blue with white slanting stripes. It is not compulsory every day but required on important events.

Student Exchange Programs

St. Xavier's Collegiate School is the one of the very few schools in India which host not one but two annual international student exchange programs.

The exchange program with Belvedere College, Dublin, Ireland has been on since the last 17 years and is open to students of classes 9-10. Fifteen Xaverian boys go to Dublin during the summer vacation in May, whereas, the Irish students visit St. Xavier's Collegiate School in November.

The second exchange programme is with China is open to the boys of 11-12 (those who have not been a part of the Dublin exchange program), St. Xavier's Collegiate School was the first School in India to have a student exchange program with China at this level. The first successful exchange took place in May 2011, led by Fr. Jerome S.J., Fr. Sebastian S.J. and Madan Saraff, Principal, The School of Chinese Language in Kolkata, when the Xaverians visited Shida Fuzhong High School, Kunming, and the Chinese students visited St.Xavier's in November 2011.

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 Science (Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology/Computer Science), Commerce (Commerce, Accounts, Economics and Maths), or Humanities (Sociology, History, Political Science with Maths). An Indian Language is optional in classes 11 and 12.

House system

The secondary school students are grouped into four houses named after Jesuit saints. The primary section used to have a house system, but it was discontinued for a couple of years, but it has been reinstated from the Academic year 2011-12. The houses are:

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.

Other clubs

The school also has many active clubs, which are aimed at building leadership qualities in the students at the school level. The clubs comprise:

Notable alumni

Movies & Music

Politics & Government

Sports

Writers & Thinkers

Scientists

Business

Others

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ History of the institution
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 indianpost.com commemorative stamp Retrieved on 4 February 2008
  4. ↑ sxccal.edu history Retrieved on 6 February 2008
  5. ↑ Rosalie Murphy, Contemporary poets of the English language (St. James Press, 1970)
  6. ↑ Quizmaster Derek O' Brien, an ex-student of St Xavier's School... The Times of India, 25 January 2005.

External links

SXCS.edu.in Coordinates: 22°32′54″N 88°21′21″E / 22.54837°N 88.35596°E