St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata

St. Lawrence High School is an English language Jesuit secondary school for boys in Kolkata, India, which has boarding and day students. The school was started in 1810 as an elementary school which later came to be known as St. John Chrysostom School. It was re-founded in January 1937 by Jesuit Fr. Lawrence Rodriquez as St. Lawrence High School. Around 2,300 students are enrolled. It was named after Lawrence of Rome, a Spanish martyr, the patron saint of Fr Lawrence Rodrigues himself.

History

Originally named St. John Chrysostom High School, the current school was founded by Goan Jesuit priest Fr. Lawrence Rodriquez in 1937 in an attempt to reduce congestion at nearby schools. The plot of land on which the school sits was owned by St. Xavier's College, Kolkata and was purchased from them with the permission of the Archbishop of Calcutta.

In the Second World War the school premises were occupied by the Royal Air Force. In 1945, the students got back the school only after paying a rent of ₹17,000 to the government as directed by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell.

Administrators

The first four administrators (January 1937 to February 1950) were Frs. Joseph Arimont, Charles Vrithoff, Louis Schillebeeckx, and Joseph Segers, the School-in-Charges until 1950, when the title Rector-cum-Headmaster was introduced.

The Rector-cum-Headmasters from 1950 to 2000 were Frs. August Cordeiro, Albert Wautier, T. Richir, A. Bruylants, Noel D’Souza, K.C. Jacob, Boris D’Santos, André Bruylants, C. Carvalho and Adrien Wavreil.

In October 2000, the Provincial Jesuit Superior of Calcutta (Kolkata) broke the post of Rector-cum-Headmaster into Rector and Headmaster/Principal.

The Rectors from October 2000 onwards were Frs. Charles Pollet, S. Nallayil, and Joseph de Sousa.

The Headmaster/Principals from October 2000 onwards were Frs. Adrien Wavreil, Anil Mitra, Benny Thomas, and Sebastian Nallail,

The school today

Affiliation and performance

St. Lawrence High School was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. It has both secondary and higher-secondary sections and sends up its students of Class X board for Madhyamik Pariksha under West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) and students of Class XII boards for Uccha-Madhyamik Pariksha under West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE)}.

The school maintains its ties to the Jesuit Society and is still administered by them. It always kept close ties with other Christian missionary schools, such as St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (brother school) and Carmel High School for Girls (sister school).

Classes

There are three levels of classes: primary, secondary, and higher-secondary, each with three sections or streams. The medium of instruction is English.

Weekly assembly

Every week Primary has an assembly on Monday and Higher Secondary on Wednesday. After February 2011, daily assembly was held for Secondary, starting at 08:45. The Headmaster and all teachers attend the assembly escorting the students into the school hall. The assembly commences with a prayer song and ends with the national anthem.

School hostel

The school hostel is open only for Christian boys who are studying in Class VIII and above. The Jesuit Brothers run the hostel under the leadership of the Jesuit Senior Fathers. The administrators are Frs. Tapan Gomes and Kurien Emprayil (Rector).

Notable alumni

• Utpal Dutt, actor
• Kabir Suman, singer
• Bedabrata Pain, scientist and filmmaker
• Saugata Roy, Member of Parliament, former Union Minister, former Member of Legislative Assembly West Bengal, politician, trade unionist and educationalist.
• Ranadeb Bose, cricketer
• Kharaj Mukherjee, actor
• Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, filmmaker
• Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura, politician, engineer (ex Indian Railway Service), legal arbitrator, author and former founder Head and Professor of Construction Engineering & Management at Jadavpur University
• Debashis Chatterjee, President, Technology Solutions at Cognizant Technology Solutions ^[1]

Coordinates: 22°31′43.39″N 88°21′20.88″E / 22.5287194°N 88.3558000°E / 22.5287194; 88.3558000

References