St. Lawrence High School is an English language Jesuit secondary school for boys in 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...

, which has boarding and day students. The school was founded in January 1937 by Fr. Lawrence Rodriques, a Jesuit priest. Around 2,300 students are enrolled. It was named after Lawrence of Rome, a Spanish martyr.

History

Originally St. John Chrysotom High School, the current school was founded by Goan Jesuit priest Rev. Fr. Lawrence Rodriques, S.J. 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 captured by the Royal Air Force

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...

. 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 Fr. J. Arimont, Fr. C. Vrithoff, Fr. Schillebeeckx,and Fr. Segers.

The School-in-Charges from 1937 until 1950, when the title Rector-cum-Headmaster was introduced.

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

In October 2000, the Provincial Jesuit House of Calcutta (Kolkata) broke the post of Rector-cum-Headmaster into Rectors and Headmasters/Principals.

The Rectors from October 2000 onwards were Fr. Charles Pollet, Fr. Tapan Gomes and Fr. Sebastian Nallail (to present).

The Headmaster/Principals from October 2000 onwards were Fr. Adrien Wavreil, Fr. Anil Mitra, Fr. Benny Thomas and Fr. Sebastian Nallail, Fr.Kurien Emprayil(Present)

Affiliation and performance

St. Lawrence High School was affiliated with Calcutta University. Now 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, though it maintains good relations with other Christian missionary schools, such as St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (brother school) and Carmel High School for Girls

Carmel School, Kolkata

Carmel Convent School is an all-girl Catholic institution located in Kolkata, India. The school aims at the education of the surrounding Catholic community and extends its service to members of other communities to the extent possible...

 (sister school).

Classes

There are three levels of classes: primary, secondary, and higher-secondary, each with three sections or streams. The streams are primarily differentiated by the languages used (Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

, Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, etc.), though instruction is mostly done in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

.

Weekly assembly

Every week Primary has an assembly on Monday and Higher Secondary on Wednesday. But by rule after February '11, daily assembly is held for Secondary. The assembly is held everyday for the secondary section which starts sharp 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 Fr. Tapan Gomes and Fr. Kurien Emprayil, S.J. (Rector).
West Bengal°N date=December 2010°W