St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata
St. Lawrence High School is a private Catholic primary and secondary school for boys, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is among the top 5 schools in Kolkata. The school was founded in 1810 and run by the Jesuits, initially in Baithakhana, Sealdah, as an elementary school which came to be known as St. John Chrysostom School. It was renamed in January 1937 by Fr. Lawrence Rodriques, S.J. as St. Lawrence High School. The school caters for approximately 3,000 students.
| St. Lawrence High School | |
|---|---|
St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata, in 2017 | |
| Address | |
27 Pramathesh Barua Sarani (formerly Ballygunge Circular Road) , India | |
| Coordinates | 22°31′43.39″N 88°21′20.88″E / 22.5287194°N 88.3558000°ECoordinates: 22°31′43.39″N 88°21′20.88″E / 22.5287194°N 88.3558000°E |
| Information | |
| Former name | St. John Chrysostom School |
| Type | Private primary and secondary school |
| Motto | For God and Country |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Catholicism |
| Denomination | Jesuits |
| Patron saint(s) | Lawrence of Rome |
| Established | January 1937 |
| Founder | Fr. Lawrence Rodrigues, S.J. |
| School district | Kolkata |
| Rector | Fr. Julian S Das, S.J. |
| Principal | Fr. Francis Jimmy Keepuram S.J. |
| Teaching staff | 84 |
| Grades | 1-12 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Enrollment | 3,000 |
| Language | English |
| Hours in school day | 5:35 |
| Campus | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
| Houses |
|
| Athletics | Football, cricket, basketball |
| Nickname | Lawrencians |
| National ranking | 19 |
| Yearbook | The Lawrencian |
| Affiliations | CISCE |
| Website | stlawrencehighschool |
History
St.Lawrence High School traces its roots to an elementary school at the Church of Our Lady of Dolours at Baithakkhana, Sealdah, in 1810. In 1855 it was known as St. John Chrysostom's School and prepared students for the Lower Primary Examination. In 1902 it became the site of St. Ann’s Orphanage and included Upper Primary School; teaching was in Bengali but instruction in English was included. In 1913 teaching turned to English and boys were prepared for the Junior Cambridge Course. In 1920 the University of Calcutta recognized Chrysostom as a high school, with its first graduation in 1922. At that time the school at 126 Bow Bazar Street occupied one floor of a building that had a printery on the ground floor and the top floor housed boarders; it had no playground. In the 1930s Fr. Lawrence Rodriques S.J. held Sunday raffles to purchase St. Xavier's College land at Ballygunge. In January 1937 he was able to open a large new school there, featuring tall eucalyptus trees, a flower garden, and playground. Rodrigues rechristened the school after his namesake, Lawrence of Rome.[1]
The 1950s saw the addition of a primary school block and Jesuit residence, and a National Cadet Corps Air Wing arrived on campus. In 1976 the Higher Secondary Department was opened with majors in commerce and in science. In 1981 the boarding school, formerly on the top floor of the school, was built on the site of the former swimming pool, and the chapel moved to that building. In 1984 the school library was opened and two years later a special computer room. In 2014 Wavreil conference and meeting hall was added.[1]
The school maintains as a goal to uplift the poor, to show equal respect for all castes, creeds, and social strata, and to promote unity in diversity.[1] It would implement the Jesuit ideal of forming "persons for and with others."[2]
Programmes
St. Lawrence is an unaided, primary through higher secondary school for boys, with English as the medium of instruction. It has about 28 teachers and 22 classrooms at the secondary level,[3] with computer-aided learning.[4] Students are organized into four "houses" which integrate primary and high school students.[5]
In 2017, St. Lawrence High celebrated in a big way the United Nations International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (6 April) and, along with its alumni association,[6] sponsored an art contest for Jesuit schools worldwide on the theme of Olympic Games and Peace.[7] In 2016 a group of students enjoyed a one-week, educational trip to China hosted by the Chinese Consul General His Excellency Mr. Ma Zhanwu.[8]
Cricket, soccer, and basketball are the main school sports.[9] The school has also had a championship rowing team.[10] Extracurricular activities include speech and debate, drama, music, and choir.[11] Dozens of videos of student activities are available on the web, as well as a tour of the facility.[12][13]
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (June 2021) |
- Aniruddha Bose, Justice of the Supreme Court of India
- Ranadeb Bose, cricketer
- Suman Chakraborty, Professor of Mechanical engineering at IIT Kharagpur
- Kalyan Dhall , cricketer
- Utpal Dutt, actor
- Abhik Ghosh, chemist and winner of the Hans Fischer Career Award (2022) for lifetime contributions[14]
- Nikhil Haldipur, cricketer
- Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, filmmaker
- Kharaj Mukherjee, actor
- Bedabrata Pain, scientist and filmmaker
- Saugata Roy, Member of Parliament, Union Minister, Member of Legislative Assembly West Bengal, trade unionist and educationalist
- Tathagata Roy, Governor of Tripura, engineer and Professor of Jadavpur University
- Kabir Suman, singer
- Ashok Jhunjhunwala,Padma Shree recipient
See also
References
- ^ a b c "History". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Men for Others". onlineministries.creighton.edu. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Teaching staff". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "St. Lawrence High School, Ward-69, Kolkata - West Bengal". iCBSE. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "houses". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Expression 2017 - A report | sportanddev.org". www.sportanddev.org. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "International Day of Sport for Development and Peace observed by St. Lawrence High School - Educate Magis". Educate Magis. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Trip to China". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Sports". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Rowing 2014, 2015: Bengal and All India K.C. Mahindra Invitational". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Activities". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Shots on campus". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Picture tour". stlawrencehighschool.edu.in. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ "Society of Porphyrins & Phthalocyanines". www.icpp-spp.org. Retrieved 16 April 2022.