St. Paul's School | |
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Location | |
, India | |
Coordinates | 27°01′57″N88°15′48″E / 27.0325065°N 88.2633448°E |
Information | |
Type | Private boarding school |
Motto |
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Religious affiliation(s) | Church of North India |
Established | 1864 |
Founder | Archdeacon Corrie |
School board | ICSE (year 10) ISC (year 12) |
Rector | Peter Lepcha |
Gender | Boys |
Age | 6to 18 |
Enrollment | 600 |
Houses | 12 |
Colour(s) |
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Publication |
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School fees | Approx. 4–5 lakh per annum |
Affiliation | CISCE |
Former pupils | Old Paulites |
Website | stpaulsdarjeeling |
St. Paul's School is a private boarding school for boys in the town of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is known as "Eton of the East" [1] because it is thought to follow the similar cultural and traditional values of Eton College. St. Paul's is one of the oldest public schools in Asia. Entrance tests for admission are held every September. The school follows the ICSE curriculum until class 10 and the ISC curriculum for classes 11 and 12.
St. Paul's School was founded on 1 May 1823 in Calcutta by Daniel Corrie [2] at the instigation of John William Ricketts, a local Anglo-Indian leader. The first principal of the institution was Dr George Smith. Originally located at 11 Park Street, between the Archbishop House and the then Sans Souci Theatre, in 1830 it moved to Jawaharlal Nehru Road to the area now occupied by the Indian Museum. [3] In 1847, it was renamed St. Paul's School by Bishop Wilson, who had associated the school with St. Paul's Cathedral in Calcutta.It moved to its present Jalapahar estate in Darjeeling in 1864 with 31 boarders and a few day scholars. The estate was purchased from Brian Hodgson for Rs.45,000. At that time, at approximately 7,600 feet above sea level, it was the highest school in the world. [4] [5]
A number of its students fought in World War I and World War II. [6]
The school's original purpose was "to supply a good education at a moderate cost to the sons of Europeans and East Indians". [5] [7] After Indian Independence in 1947 it became a school for wealthy Indians and attracted wealthy students from other Asian countries. [5] : 66
Bishop Foss Westcott, metropolitan of Bengal, Burma and Ceylon, played an important role in the growth of the school. The Maharajah of Burdwan also made important donations. [4] Over the years a number of estates were purchased and merged with the existing school estate. The Mount Vernon Estate, known as Dawkins, was purchased in the early 1900s, and the Terpsithea Estate in 1955.
L.J. Goddard was the longest serving and perhaps the most important rector, leading the school between 1934 and 1964, including the transition from British-ruled to independent India. His successors were David Gibbs (1964–72) and Hari Dang (1977-84). Dang was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 for his services in education. [8] Goddard and Gibbs received the OBE for their work at St. Paul's. [9]
The school is divided into Primary, Junior, and Senior wings. The three wings are run independently with the Primary Wing having its own campus and a slight difference in uniform. The Senior and Junior Wings share many facilities. [10]
The Rector is the head of the school, assisted by the Senior Master, Head Junior Wing, Head Primary Wing and House masters.
The school currently presents itself as an residential school for boys, predominantly Indian with an "international, multiracial and cross-regional cosmopolitan character", [11] having students from many countries including the US, [12] the UK, [12] France, [13] Thailand, [14] Bhutan, [12] Japan, [15] Bangladesh, [12] Nepal, [12] United Arab Emirates, [15] and Hong Kong. [15]
Current students are referred to as Paulites and the alumni as Old Paulites. The school lays a great emphasis on uniforms. On off-campus trips students must dress in prescribed suits and carry umbrellas.
The school motto is derived from the passage 'Cedamus Phoebo, et moniti meliora sequamur' in the Latin epic the Aeneid by Virgil. 'Moniti meliora sequamur' means "Having Been Advised, We Follow Better (Higher) Things".
The student government is headed by a school captain, assisted by House Captains and Prefects, drawn from the sixth form. The Junior and Primary Wings have their own system of monitors. The sixth form is privileged and enjoys an advantage over the rest. The chapel holds a central place in the life of the school where it meets as a community. There are clubs which develop artistic and technical skills. Each house presents a concert from time to time, apart from the major school production in October.
The extracurricular activities in school are dramatics, elocution, debate, piano, guitar, drums, violin, marching band and sitar classes. There are various hobby clubs and societies. These are all run by the boys under the supervision of masters. In the senior wing, the hobbies are art and craft, Batik, Indian Western music, model-making, photography, wood and lathe work, cybernetics, textile design, and cooking. The school sends candidates for the music and speech examinations held by the Trinity College London and Royal Academy of Music. The boys are also sent on educational tours to NASA and other historical sites in India and neighbouring countries.
The sport curriculum is dominated by football, cricket, athletics, volleyball, basketball, squash, table tennis, tennis, Eton fives, gymnastics, rocking climbing.
There has been a long-standing rivalry between St. Paul's and St.Joseph's School, North Point in sports and other activities that the two compete in.
St Paul's has been ranked first among boarding schools in West Bengal and fourth in India according to the 2019 Education-World rankings. [16] The school was featured in Forbes India magazine in the article "The great Indian Schools - 2018". [17] It was named among the top seven boarding schools in India in 2020 by India Today. [18]
The school has been featured in Hindi and Bengali language films including Hamraaz (1967) by B. R. Chopra, Mera Naam Joker (1970) by Raj Kapoor, Seemabaddha (1971) by Satyajit Ray, Do Anjaane (1976) by Dulal Guha, Bada Din (2000), Main Hoon Na (2004) by Farah Khan, Chowrasta Crossroads of Love (2009) by Anjan Dutta, Barfi! (2012), Jagga Jasoos (2017) by Anurag Basu, Raja the Great (2017) by Anil Ravipudi, [60] Petta (2019) by Karthik Subbaraj, [61] and Mithya (2022) [62] by Rohan Sippy.
Hollywood actress Vivien Leigh was born on the school campus in November 1913. [63]
Darjeeling is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft). To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.
Palden Thondup Namgyal was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim.
Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of 1,250 metres (4,101 ft). The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration which is an autonomous governing body within the state of West Bengal. The Indian Army's 27 Mountain Division is located on the outskirts of the city.
Hope Cooke was the Gyalmo of the 12th Chogyal (King) of Sikkim, Palden Thondup Namgyal. Their wedding took place in March 1963. She was termed Her Highness The Crown Princess of Sikkim and became the Gyalmo of Sikkim at Palden Thondup Namgyal's coronation in 1965. She is the first American-born Queen Consort.
The Bhutias or Drejongpas are an Tibeto-Burman ethnic group native to the Indian state of Sikkim who speak Drejongke, a Tibetic language which descends from old Tibetan. In addition to the majority of them living in the state of Sikkim, significant numbers of them also reside in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of Northern West Bengal as well as in countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.
Bagdogra is a settlement in the Naxalbari CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the Greater Siliguri Metropolitan Area. Bagdogra is well connected by air to six major cities of India – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai through the Bagdogra Airport. The Bagdogra railway station is also well connected.
Rehman Sobhan is a Bangladeshi economist. Regarded as one of the country's top public thinkers, he is the founder of the Centre for Policy Dialogue. Sobhan is an icon of the Bangladeshi independence movement due to his role as a spokesman of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in the United States during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was awarded the Independence Day Award, Bangladesh's highest civilian honour, in 2008.
Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision.
St. Joseph's School, Darjeeling, popularly called North Point or N.P., is a private Catholic primary and secondary school for boys located in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Originally called St. Joseph's College, the school was founded in the year 1888 and is owned and managed by the Jesuits.
The History of Darjeeling covers the history of Darjeeling town and its adjoining hill areas belonging to Sikkim, but eventually part of British India so now in the Indian state of West Bengal, which is intertwined with the history of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Bengal and Great Britain. Part of the state of Sikkim, Darjeeling became part of an important buffer state between Nepal and Bhutan. The British, using the area as a sanitorium, found that the climate provided excellent tea-cultivating conditions and soon began to grow tea on the hills of Darjeeling. Darjeeling tea remains a world-renowned export from Darjeeling.
Farooq Sobhan is a former Bangladeshi diplomat. He served in various capacities in the Bangladesh government and foreign service. He was Bangladesh's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China (1987–1990) and High Commissioner to Malaysia (1984–1987) and the Republic of India (1992–1995) as well as the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh (1995–1997).
Mahendra P. Lama is an Indian professor and a development economist who was the pro-vice chancellor of IGNOU and the founding vice chancellor of Sikkim University in India. At the age of 45, he became the youngest vice chancellor of a National Central University in India. He is presently a senior Professor in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Chief Economic Adviser in the Government of Sikkim and Member of the Eminent Persons Group on Nepal-India Relations appointed by the Prime Ministers of India and Nepal.
Tattwa Prakash Satapathy, better known by his stage name Papu Pom Pom, is an Indian film, television, Music Director, standup comedian and an Odisha Legislative Assembly candidate. Satapathy has acted in over 50 Odia movies. He was the main lead in the well-known Odia television comedy serial 'Excuse Me: Jaha Kahibi Sata Kahibi, Faltu Katha, Eita Bayata. He acted more than 500 characters in Television.
Karma Topden was an Indian Sikkimese politician.
Mani Kumar Chetri is an Indian cardiologist, a former director of West Bengal State Health Services and a former director of the IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1974.
Chandra Das Rai popularly known as C.D Rai was a politician of pre merger Sikkim, bureaucrat and former journalist. He was a senior leader in Sikkim State Congress.
Lalat Indu Parija was an Indian cricket player and civil servant. He played 20 first-class matches for Odisha in Ranji Trophy. He was also the former chief secretary of Odisha for two terms in 1983 and later in 1986. His autobiography "Fate Takes a Hand" highlighting his 40 years of work as an administrator was published in March 2019. Parija was the son of scientist Prana Krushna Parija.
Mahesh Jethmalani is an Indian lawyer and a politician. He is currently a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He was also a member of the National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party up to 2012.
Education: St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, India
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