St. James' School
Encyclopedia
Other meanings, see Saint James School
St James' School, Kolkata
, India
, is a CNI
school, and one of the oldest private school
s in India. It is associated with the ICSE
Board of Education. It was established in 1864 by Bishop Cotton.
The school is associated with St. James' Church, Kolkata, which has a historic building.
The principal is T.H Ireland; past principals have included John Mason
and D.L. Bloud. The school has a double steepled
church. The school is equipped with a basketball court and an athletics field. The school also has a computer lab
and three science labs.
The school motto is "Pro Ecclesia Et Pro Patria", meaning "For Church and for Country".
The school closed in December 1904. According to reports, there was an upsurge of sentiment on the part of parents, well wishers and old boys at the closure of the school. In 1907, with financial assistance from the Church Education League, the school was reopened. However, it again ran into difficulties and closed in 1918.
It opened its doors again in 1924 under the Rectorship of The Rev.. Thomas H. Cashmore, also the Vicar of St. James' Church. Rev. Cashmore established a renaissance in the life of both church and school. Sport was greatly encouraged as essential to character development and the feats of his pupils in hockey, football, cricket, boxing, swimming and athletics are remembered. Rev. Cashmore left in 1933 to return to England and was succeeded by Mr. I. M. Valentine from 1933 to 1950.
The impact of World War II was felt in the period between 1942 and 1946. Air raid shelters were constructed in the school compound and the school premises requisitioned by the RAF. on rent. The boarders were sent off to Christ Church School, Jabalpore, and to Bishop Westcott School, Allahabad. The school functioned from two rented premises on Ripon Street and Lower Circular Road. The school moved back to its own premises in July 1947 but the entire premises were in a state of disrepair and it took considerable funds to make the place usable. The school now functioned as a day school for boys, the old boarding section having been demolished.
In 1950 Mr. Valentine resigned as Rector and Mr. F. R. Marshall had a short two year tenure and was succeeded by Mr. E. C. Chippendale in 1952, who ushered in a period of considerable change. There was an increased emphasis on the teaching of science and streaming into Science and Humanities began in Class IX. In 1960 the school had above six hundred pupils on its rolls, and with the care of the Rector and the Board of Governors, was at last financially sound.
A new science block was constructed and named after Mr. Chippendale, on his departure in 1961, after nine years of service. Mr. L. N. Bird took charge as Rector in 1961, the designation of Rector being changed shortly thereafter to Principal. Mr. F. P. Pakianathan succeeded Mr. L. N. Bird in 1971 and the numbers of pupils on rolls now increased from 640 in 1971 to 1200 in 1977.
Mr. J. A. Mason joined the school as Principal in 1978. The scope of academic, cultural and extra curricular activities was greatly increased, the school buildings renovated and the gardens nurtured.
The expansion programme initiated by Mr. Pakianathan required additional accommodation, which was provided in December 1979 with the opening of the Schunker Block constructed over the school hall and annexe, consisting of fourteen classrooms to accommodate the Junior School. Numbers during this period rose to 1800 with as much as ten percent of the pupils studying at concessional rates or on freeships. The number of qualified teachers rose to 60.
s of the Anglican Church in India. Competition between the houses takes place in the form of interhouse activities like quizzing, debating
, athletics, drama, and elocution
, as also the Monday morning uniform inspection. Meritorious houses are awarded house points and the house with the most points at the end of the year wins the Cockhouse cup, which was instituted following a gift from the RAF
after the school buildings were used as barracks during World War II.
The students competing are divided into divisions according to their age group. All these activities take place on a house basis. The house with the most number of wins and points from the events emerges to be the winner. At the end of sports day the following awards are given:
The following awards are given out on the Annual Prize Day:
School of the Year award (given by a local English daily
) a number of times for its prowess at interschool activities. In 2005, the school, after having won the award for a sixth time, was inducted into The Telegraph
Hall of Fame. This meant that the school would not be eligible for this award again in the future so as to give other schools a fair chance.
School clubs include Interact Club, Drama Club, Nature Club, Bible Club, Space Club, Eastern Cultural Club, Quiz Club, SPICMACAY and others, each hosting public events throughout the year, ranging from the photography contest of the photography club to the interschool quiz organised by the quiz club, known as 'Jaco-Iz'. The Debating society of St. James' School, has organized a new event, Jaco-MUN, 2009 being its inaugural year, which is a Model United Nations.
The Interact Club, which is involved in community service activities in collaboration with The Rotary Club of Calcutta Victoria, had been awarded best Interact Club in town in the academic year 2006-07. One of the most sought after fests, Jaco-synthesis is hosted by this school, though the year 2009 sees a fest called Jaco-Sansklriti, a cultural fest.
The students call themselves Jacobeans.
Games like cricket, hockey, football, table tennis, rugby are a part of the school's extra curriculum. Cricket, hockey and football are played at three levels i.e. class, house and school.
In 1900, St. James' School won the Beighton Cup
and has till date been the only school to ever win the oldest hockey tournament in the world.
The society holds the annual Independence Cup for football, played with teams comprising four house teams, one prefects’ team, one senior staff team, one service staff team, two alumni teams and one parents team, on 15th August.
The society hosts an Annual Dinner. The society has a website.
The members of the Alumni are encouraged to be present at the annual Founder's Day Service, held on the 25th July. Students of class 12 are encouraged to join the Alumni.
Saint James School
Saint James School and similar name forms may refer to* St. James' School, Kolkata, India* St. James' School Exeter in Devon, England* Saint James School in the US* St. James School, Maryland in the US...
St James' School, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, is a CNI
Church of North India
The Church of North India , the dominant Protestant denomination in northern India, is a united church established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India...
school, and one of the oldest private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s in India. It is associated with the ICSE
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education or ICSE examination is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private, non-governmental board of school education in India, for class 10, i.e., grade 10...
Board of Education. It was established in 1864 by Bishop Cotton.
The school is associated with St. James' Church, Kolkata, which has a historic building.
The principal is T.H Ireland; past principals have included John Mason
John Mason (Schoolmaster)
Jonathan Anthony Mason is an Indian educationist. He has served as the Headmaster of several major public schools, including St. James' School, Kolkata and the Doon School. He also served as House Master at La Martiniere College, Kolkata before moving to St...
and D.L. Bloud. The school has a double steepled
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
church. The school is equipped with a basketball court and an athletics field. The school also has a computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
and three science labs.
The school motto is "Pro Ecclesia Et Pro Patria", meaning "For Church and for Country".
History
St. James' School was established in 1864. In the first twenty years of its existence the school faced intensive financial difficulties. Apart from its financial conditions the question of the school's relevance as an institute of higher education was also raised. Opinion was sought from Mr. Pedler, Director of Public Instruction, Bengal and Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University, who stated, "I see little good in propping up an institution of this kind. The present policy of the Education Department is to insist on concentrating on the teaching of higher courses in the European Schools. Judged by this test, St. James' School fails to justify its existence."The school closed in December 1904. According to reports, there was an upsurge of sentiment on the part of parents, well wishers and old boys at the closure of the school. In 1907, with financial assistance from the Church Education League, the school was reopened. However, it again ran into difficulties and closed in 1918.
It opened its doors again in 1924 under the Rectorship of The Rev.. Thomas H. Cashmore, also the Vicar of St. James' Church. Rev. Cashmore established a renaissance in the life of both church and school. Sport was greatly encouraged as essential to character development and the feats of his pupils in hockey, football, cricket, boxing, swimming and athletics are remembered. Rev. Cashmore left in 1933 to return to England and was succeeded by Mr. I. M. Valentine from 1933 to 1950.
The impact of World War II was felt in the period between 1942 and 1946. Air raid shelters were constructed in the school compound and the school premises requisitioned by the RAF. on rent. The boarders were sent off to Christ Church School, Jabalpore, and to Bishop Westcott School, Allahabad. The school functioned from two rented premises on Ripon Street and Lower Circular Road. The school moved back to its own premises in July 1947 but the entire premises were in a state of disrepair and it took considerable funds to make the place usable. The school now functioned as a day school for boys, the old boarding section having been demolished.
In 1950 Mr. Valentine resigned as Rector and Mr. F. R. Marshall had a short two year tenure and was succeeded by Mr. E. C. Chippendale in 1952, who ushered in a period of considerable change. There was an increased emphasis on the teaching of science and streaming into Science and Humanities began in Class IX. In 1960 the school had above six hundred pupils on its rolls, and with the care of the Rector and the Board of Governors, was at last financially sound.
A new science block was constructed and named after Mr. Chippendale, on his departure in 1961, after nine years of service. Mr. L. N. Bird took charge as Rector in 1961, the designation of Rector being changed shortly thereafter to Principal. Mr. F. P. Pakianathan succeeded Mr. L. N. Bird in 1971 and the numbers of pupils on rolls now increased from 640 in 1971 to 1200 in 1977.
Mr. J. A. Mason joined the school as Principal in 1978. The scope of academic, cultural and extra curricular activities was greatly increased, the school buildings renovated and the gardens nurtured.
The expansion programme initiated by Mr. Pakianathan required additional accommodation, which was provided in December 1979 with the opening of the Schunker Block constructed over the school hall and annexe, consisting of fourteen classrooms to accommodate the Junior School. Numbers during this period rose to 1800 with as much as ten percent of the pupils studying at concessional rates or on freeships. The number of qualified teachers rose to 60.
Houses
The students are divided into four houses, each named after one of the school's founding members. They are Copleston (gold, motto "Duty Before Self"), Westcott (red, motto "Work Is Worship"), Cotton (green, motto "Never Despair") and Lefroy (blue, motto "Love Conquers All"). They are named after bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of the Anglican Church in India. Competition between the houses takes place in the form of interhouse activities like quizzing, debating
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, athletics, drama, and elocution
Elocution
Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone.-History:In Western classical rhetoric, elocution was one of the five core disciplines of pronunciation, which was the art of delivering speeches. Orators were trained not only on proper diction, but on the proper...
, as also the Monday morning uniform inspection. Meritorious houses are awarded house points and the house with the most points at the end of the year wins the Cockhouse cup, which was instituted following a gift from the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
after the school buildings were used as barracks during World War II.
Prefects
The student body of the school is elected by the members of the staff, House Masters, coordinators and the Principal and Vice-Principal. The prefects are selected from class 12, who have excelled in various fields and have shown leadership qualities over the years. A list of seven prefects from each house is announced along with the four house captains. On the day of the investiture which takes place in the St James' Church the names of the Vice-Captain and Captain of the school are announced. The students who are installed as prefects receive a prefects tie, prefects badge and blazer.Awards
On annual Prize day awards are given along with the declaration of the winner of The Cockhouse Cup for the best house. The highest awards presented to individual students are The Principal's Award for the most outstanding student & The C.V.Shunker Award for Integrity and Service. The other awards for individual students include The Bishop Cashmore Award for Creative Talent, The Robertson Award for the Best Sportsman and The Bishop's Medal for Academic honours. Colours are given to students who have made exceptional contributions.Athletics
Annual sports day for the junior school is held in February and the meet for the middle and senior school takes place in November-December. Events like march past, relay races, tug of war, and javelin throw are part of this event.The students competing are divided into divisions according to their age group. All these activities take place on a house basis. The house with the most number of wins and points from the events emerges to be the winner. At the end of sports day the following awards are given:
- Ranjit Sen Trophy for the fastest boy('B' division)
- James Chippendale Trophy for the best athlete ('A' division)
- Archie Edwards Challeng Trophy for the best athlete in field events('A' division)
- Jibran Tyabbi Trophy for the best athlete ('A' division)
- R.S. Paul Challenge Trophy for the best athlete ('B' division)
- Most promising athlete ( 'C' division)
The following awards are given out on the Annual Prize Day:
- Robertson Award for the best sportsman
- Balachander Award for the most promising sportsman.
Activities and achievements
Interschool activities are stressed at St James', the school having won The TelegraphThe Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
School of the Year award (given by a local English daily
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
) a number of times for its prowess at interschool activities. In 2005, the school, after having won the award for a sixth time, was inducted into The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
Hall of Fame. This meant that the school would not be eligible for this award again in the future so as to give other schools a fair chance.
School clubs include Interact Club, Drama Club, Nature Club, Bible Club, Space Club, Eastern Cultural Club, Quiz Club, SPICMACAY and others, each hosting public events throughout the year, ranging from the photography contest of the photography club to the interschool quiz organised by the quiz club, known as 'Jaco-Iz'. The Debating society of St. James' School, has organized a new event, Jaco-MUN, 2009 being its inaugural year, which is a Model United Nations.
The Interact Club, which is involved in community service activities in collaboration with The Rotary Club of Calcutta Victoria, had been awarded best Interact Club in town in the academic year 2006-07. One of the most sought after fests, Jaco-synthesis is hosted by this school, though the year 2009 sees a fest called Jaco-Sansklriti, a cultural fest.
The students call themselves Jacobeans.
Games like cricket, hockey, football, table tennis, rugby are a part of the school's extra curriculum. Cricket, hockey and football are played at three levels i.e. class, house and school.
In 1900, St. James' School won the Beighton Cup
Beighton Cup
Beighton Cup is a field hockey tournament. Instituted in 1895, it is organised by Bengal Hockey Association and is usually held on the Mohun Bagan ground on the Maidan in Kolkata in India. The Beighton Cup was presented by T.D. Beighton, Legal Remembrancer of the Government of Bengal, and was run...
and has till date been the only school to ever win the oldest hockey tournament in the world.
The school day
School is open on week days from Monday to Friday. The timings are:St. James' School Alumni Association)
Former students of the School got together in 1998, under the leadership of Mr. Marcus Rodrick (student of St. James’ School and former Senior Headmaster and Vice Principal), and approached the Principal at the time - Mr. Daryl Bloud - to form an Alumni Association. The society now has over 200 members.The society holds the annual Independence Cup for football, played with teams comprising four house teams, one prefects’ team, one senior staff team, one service staff team, two alumni teams and one parents team, on 15th August.
The society hosts an Annual Dinner. The society has a website.
The members of the Alumni are encouraged to be present at the annual Founder's Day Service, held on the 25th July. Students of class 12 are encouraged to join the Alumni.
Notable alumni
- PritamPritamPritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...
, Bollywood music director - Somnath BharadwajSomnath BharadwajSomnath Bharadwaj is an Indian theoretical physicist who works on Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology.Bharadwaj was born in India, studied at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, and later received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science. After having worked at the...
, Theoretical Physicist - Arjun AtwalArjun AtwalArjun Singh Atwal is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and is the first player born in India to become a member of, and later win on the U.S.-based PGA Tour.-Early life:...
, Golfer - Rahul Matthan, Legal Expert
- Ramanand Mundkur, Legal Expert
- Ashish Dhawan, PE Investor
External links
- Official site
- Official website of The Telegraph newspaper - conducts the School of the Year award
- Student's quizzing blog