St. Peter's College, Agra
Encyclopedia
St. Peter’s College, Agra
is one of the oldest convent school in India. It is a Minority Anglo-Indian
Christian
Institution granted Minority Rights under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution
. It is located in to the east of Paliwal Park
and opposite the commercial district of Sanjay Place
. The campus
is approximately 50 acres (202,343 m²). The school is accredited under the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
board for grade 10th and under the Indian School Certificate
board for Grade 12. The school professes to follow a ten-point vision programme and has been a prominent educational institution in Agra. In the 2006 ISC exams, Satyam Saxena, a student of the school ranked 1st in the country with 98.25% marks.
Rectors
Principals
Vice - Principals
Under Fr. Mathew K., the school saw the development of the new Junior wing, the replacement of the cycle stand with an auditorium. And the construction of a new, bigger cycle stand in place of the field across from the middle-school wing, informally called the C Field. The School also witnessed highly increased alumni relations, for example an alum of the school in the Defence Ministry donated a fighter jet and a tank to the school. The jet found its way to the center of the new cycle stand while the tank stands at the entry of the school. The school also went tech-savvy by teaching its students computers from the primary classes all the way to the 12th grade whereas earlier it was only compulsory between classes 5 - 10 and optional for those in classes 11 and 12. The current school website also went live under Fr. Mathew as with the school newspaper.
Fr. John Ferreira, after taking over from Fr. Mathew was quick with changes. Fr. Ferreria's focus on the health of students lead him to introduce full yoga sessions for the entire school during the daily assembly.
. As an entire year engagement, it conducts election in the starting days of each academic session wherein the electees are invited to form a parliament type governance system with the Principal as the nominal head of the Parliament with the entire activities carried out by the elected students. The functionaries work in various official capacities such as the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker of Assembly, various Ministerial positions, etc.
On the co-curricular front, the College organizes and participates in a number of activities. Other than the occasional participations, the College also organizes each year a Cultural Festival which takes place starts in late August and culminates in mid-September. It involves all the sections of the College (i.e. Primary: Class 1 - 5, Middle: Class 6 - 8; and Senior: Class 9 - 12) at their respective and also overall levels. Participants are judged by external evaluators and the winners are lauded for their efforts in various ways. A number of competitions take place in this week. Some of these are activities take the form of Debate
s, [Quiz]]zes, Elocution
, Essay
-writing, Paper-presentations, Plays and performances
, Dancing
, Singing
, etc.
On the extracurricular front, the entire student section of the College is grouped into four Houses; namely, St. Francis, St. Lawrance, St. Pauls, and St. Peters. These houses are constituted for the purpose of promoting and conducting intra-College co-curricular and extracurricular competitions. Each of the House is headed by a House Captain whereas the Houses are together represented by the College Captain, who is on a position analogous to the Prime Minister in the student Parliament. While the House Captains represent the Houses internally in the intra-College sports competitions, the College Captain, along with the Captains of the various individual sports teams, represent the College in inter-College competitions at district, state and national levels. The College has it own cricket, basketball, football, hockey, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, handball, volleyball, tug-of-war, as well as the dance teams.
The month of October (and sometimes November) is devoted to Sport
s and outdoor field activity which involves a number of intra-College tournaments. The month begins with the trials and selections and culminates on what is termed as the Sports' Day, which is usually attended and addressed by a current or former national level sporting figure. Kapil Dev
, Milkha Singh
, P. T. Usha, Kiran Bedi
have been the few dignitaries who have attended the Sports' Day in the previous years. The College also organizes various inter-Collegiate events. The most popular of these is the "Archbishop Athaide Memorial Football Tournament" which is now being organised for more than 40 years. Other tournaments include those on basketball
, cricket
, tennis
, swimming
, Roller skating
, athletics, etc.
St. Peter's College has also won the coveted 'Shah Jahan Trophy' for 7 consecutive years in the Moon School Olympics, an annual sporting event in which students from various schools of Agra District
participate as teams.
The building of the college was shown in the A-V clip prepared for Agra's Rakesh Maini, a finalist in the popular talent hunt show, Indian Idol
5, as part of Agra's heritage structure.
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
is one of the oldest convent school in India. It is a Minority Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Institution granted Minority Rights under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
. It is located in to the east of Paliwal Park
Paliwal Park
K.D.Paliwal Park is located in the heart of Agra, India. It is spread over an area of around . It also has a small lake and has vast variety of trees.- Location :...
and opposite the commercial district of Sanjay Place
Sanjay Place
Sanjay Place is a place in Agra, India. Sanjay Place is the financial hub of Agra.-History:The area which is now known as Sanjay Palace was actually a central Jail. Then in 1976 during Indira Gandhi's emergency rule saw the shifting of the Central Jail to a new site outside the city periphery....
. The campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
is approximately 50 acres (202,343 m²). The school is accredited under the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
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 for grade 10th and under the Indian School Certificate
Indian School Certificate
The Indian School Certificate is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations for Grade 11, i.e., year 11, until 1976....
board for Grade 12. The school professes to follow a ten-point vision programme and has been a prominent educational institution in Agra. In the 2006 ISC exams, Satyam Saxena, a student of the school ranked 1st in the country with 98.25% marks.
Significant dates in history of St. Peter's College
- 1841 : St. Peter's established.
- 1846 : St. Peter's moved to existing building; date taken as founding year of St. Peter's.
- 1870 : St. Peter's affiliated to Calcutta University. First Entrance Examination conducted. Title of College added.
- 1946 : St. Peter's College celebrates 100 years of its existence.
- 1963 : New block built. Presently hosts the middle section.
- 1963 : St. Peter's College adopts Indian Certificate of Secondary EducationIndian Certificate of Secondary EducationThe 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...
system. - 1966 : Head of institution changed from Rector to Principal.
- 1977 : St. Peter's College adopt the Indian School CertificateIndian School CertificateThe Indian School Certificate is an examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations for Grade 11, i.e., year 11, until 1976....
for Grade 12. - 1984 : Boarding facility discontinued. St. Peter's College becomes full time day-scholar system of education.
- 1996 : St. Peter's College celebrates sesquicentennial anniversary for completing 150 years of existence.
- 2003 : Significant construction changes. 33 rooms, administrative block and Multipurpose hall constructed.
- 2006 : St. Peter's College celebrates post centennial anniversary for completing 160 years of existence.
Principals and Vice-Principals of St. Peter's College
Since its inception, the head of the College was known as the Rector it the College was a boarding school. Thereafter when the College was opened for day-scholars only, the name of the Head was changed to Principal, a nomenclature which continues till date. The Principal is the whole-and-sole in charge for its running. He is assisted by a Vice Principal who generally looks after the affairs of the middle section (i.e. class 6 - 8) and a Head Mistress who generally looks after the primary section (i.e. class 1 - 5). The Rectors, Principals and Vice-Principals of St. Peter's College have been as under;Rectors
| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Father Mermet | 1841 - 1851 |
| 02 | Father Bonaventure | 1852 |
| 03 | Father Barry | 1852 |
| 04 | Father Lewic OC | 1853 - 1954 |
| 05 | Father Keegan | 1855 |
| 06 | Father Gaetani | 1856 - 1857 |
| 07 | Father Macken | 1857 - 1858 |
| 08 | Father Lewic OC | 1858 - 1862 |
| 09 | Brother Bothain | 1862 |
| 10 | Brother Gregory | 1863 |
| 11 | Father Symphorian OC | 1863 - 1882 |
| 12 | Father O'Dea OC | 1883 |
| 13 | Father Genesius OC | 1883 - 1889 |
| 14 | Father Radhael OC | 1890 - 1893 |
| 15 | Father Joseph Carroli OC | 1893 - 1894 |
| 16 | Father Englebert OC | 1895 - 1897 |
| 17 | Father Radhael OC | 1897 - 1904 |
| 18 | Father Christopher OC | 1904 - 1906 |
| 19 | Father Norman DD | 1906 - 1921 |
| 20 | Father Hyacinth OC | 1921 - 1925 |
| 21 | Father John OC | 1925 - 1926 |
| 22 | Father Hyacinth OC | 1926 - 1934 |
| 23 | Father Leo OC | 1934 |
| 24 | ??? | 1934 - 1941 |
| 25 | Father Pius Lyons OC | 1941 - 1947 |
| 26 | Father Hyacinth OC | 1947 - 1951 |
| 27 | Father Antony OFM | 1952 - 1956 |
| 28 | Father Radhael OFM | 1957 - 1962 |
| 29 | Father Lawrance OFM | 1962 - 1967 |
Principals
| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Father Columban OFM | 1966 - 1976 |
| 02 | Father Alexander OFM | 1976 - 1978 |
| 03 | Father Jerome D'Souza OFM | 1978 - 1983 |
| 04 | Father Sebastian Panthaladi | 1983 - 1986 |
| 05 | Father Jose Maliekal | 1986 - 1987 |
| 06 | Father George Paul | 1987 - 1995 |
| 07 | Father Dennis D'Souza | 1995 - 2001 |
| 08 | Father Mathew K. | 2001 - 2007 |
| 09 | Father John Ferreira | 2007 - incumbent |
Vice - Principals
| No. | Name | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Father Ivan | 1966 - 1972 |
| 02 | Father Thomas KC | 1972 - 1976 |
| 03 | Father Jerome D'Souza | 1976 - 1978 |
| 04 | Father Jose Maliekal | 1978 - 1983 |
| 05 | Father George Paul | 1983 - 1986 |
| 06 | Father Dennis D'Souza | 1986 - 1988 |
| 07 | Father Joe Thykattil | 1988 - 1990 |
| 08 | Father Simon Lopez | 1990 - 1996 |
| 09 | Father Andrew Correia | 1996 - 1999 |
| 10 | Father John Elias | 1999 |
| 11 | Father Paul Mathew | 1999 - 2005 |
| 12 | Father Robert Palatty | 2005 - 2008 |
| 13 | Father Roy Dolphus | 2008 - 2009 |
| 14 | Father Prakash D'Souza | 2009 - incumbent |
Recent Principals
In the last two decades, the School has seen four Principals: Fr. George Paul (1990-1996), Fr. Dennis D'Souza (1996-2001), Fr. Mathew K. (2001-2007) and Fr. John Ferreira (2007-incumbent). While the School attained lots of local popularity under Fr. George Paul by swapping across most of the district and State level sports championships, Fr. Dennis D'Souza is accredited for the expansion of the school by the constructing a new cycle stand and building the swimming pool in the school and also giving shape to a number of new ideas which were built upon by his successors. It was also during his reign that the School completed 150 years of its existence (1996) and celebrated its sesquicentenary functions. It was a grandest event ever witnessed by the School with the programme running for over two months and organizing a number of State level championships, including a Carnival and a Science Exhibition which was inaugurated by then Union Minister for Science and Technology, Government of India.Under Fr. Mathew K., the school saw the development of the new Junior wing, the replacement of the cycle stand with an auditorium. And the construction of a new, bigger cycle stand in place of the field across from the middle-school wing, informally called the C Field. The School also witnessed highly increased alumni relations, for example an alum of the school in the Defence Ministry donated a fighter jet and a tank to the school. The jet found its way to the center of the new cycle stand while the tank stands at the entry of the school. The school also went tech-savvy by teaching its students computers from the primary classes all the way to the 12th grade whereas earlier it was only compulsory between classes 5 - 10 and optional for those in classes 11 and 12. The current school website also went live under Fr. Mathew as with the school newspaper.
Fr. John Ferreira, after taking over from Fr. Mathew was quick with changes. Fr. Ferreria's focus on the health of students lead him to introduce full yoga sessions for the entire school during the daily assembly.
Activities
The College promotes various co-curricular and extracurricular activitiesExtracurricular activity
Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education...
. As an entire year engagement, it conducts election in the starting days of each academic session wherein the electees are invited to form a parliament type governance system with the Principal as the nominal head of the Parliament with the entire activities carried out by the elected students. The functionaries work in various official capacities such as the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker of Assembly, various Ministerial positions, etc.
On the co-curricular front, the College organizes and participates in a number of activities. Other than the occasional participations, the College also organizes each year a Cultural Festival which takes place starts in late August and culminates in mid-September. It involves all the sections of the College (i.e. Primary: Class 1 - 5, Middle: Class 6 - 8; and Senior: Class 9 - 12) at their respective and also overall levels. Participants are judged by external evaluators and the winners are lauded for their efforts in various ways. A number of competitions take place in this week. Some of these are activities take the form of Debate
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...
s, [Quiz]]zes, 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...
, Essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
-writing, Paper-presentations, Plays and performances
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, Dancing
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, Singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, etc.
On the extracurricular front, the entire student section of the College is grouped into four Houses; namely, St. Francis, St. Lawrance, St. Pauls, and St. Peters. These houses are constituted for the purpose of promoting and conducting intra-College co-curricular and extracurricular competitions. Each of the House is headed by a House Captain whereas the Houses are together represented by the College Captain, who is on a position analogous to the Prime Minister in the student Parliament. While the House Captains represent the Houses internally in the intra-College sports competitions, the College Captain, along with the Captains of the various individual sports teams, represent the College in inter-College competitions at district, state and national levels. The College has it own cricket, basketball, football, hockey, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, handball, volleyball, tug-of-war, as well as the dance teams.
The month of October (and sometimes November) is devoted to Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s and outdoor field activity which involves a number of intra-College tournaments. The month begins with the trials and selections and culminates on what is termed as the Sports' Day, which is usually attended and addressed by a current or former national level sporting figure. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
, Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh is an Indian athlete, who represented India in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo...
, P. T. Usha, Kiran Bedi
Kiran Bedi
Kiran Bedi is an Indian social activist and a retired Indian Police Service officer. Bedi joined the police service in 1972 and became the first woman officer in the IPS. Bedi held the post of Director General at the Bureau of Police Research and Development before she voluntarily retired from...
have been the few dignitaries who have attended the Sports' Day in the previous years. The College also organizes various inter-Collegiate events. The most popular of these is the "Archbishop Athaide Memorial Football Tournament" which is now being organised for more than 40 years. Other tournaments include those on basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, Roller skating
Roller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
, athletics, etc.
St. Peter's College has also won the coveted 'Shah Jahan Trophy' for 7 consecutive years in the Moon School Olympics, an annual sporting event in which students from various schools of Agra District
Agra District
Agra District is one of the 70 districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and the historical city of Agra is the district headquarters. Agra district is a part of Agra division.-Geography:...
participate as teams.
The building of the college was shown in the A-V clip prepared for Agra's Rakesh Maini, a finalist in the popular talent hunt show, Indian Idol
Indian Idol
Indian Idol is an adaptation of the Pop Idol format. It started airing in India with the first season in 2004-2005 and followed that with second , third and fourth seasons...
5, as part of Agra's heritage structure.