St. Joseph's School, Darjeeling
| St. Joseph's School, North Point | |
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Sursum Corda
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| Location | |
Darjeeling,  India, |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1888 |
| Founder | Rev. Henry Depelchin |
| Rector | Rev. Kinley Tshering S.J. |
| Enrollment | 800 |
| Colour(s) | Blue |
| Website | www.sjcnorthpoint.com |
St. Joseph's School is a private school owned and managed by the Jesuits in Darjeeling, India. The school and the college of the same name are popularly known as North Point.[1]
The Kangchenjunga mountain range forms the backdrop to the school, with Grecian columns and cuneiform windows enclosing an eye-catching quadrangle in the centre. The school was opened on February 13, 1888, at Sunny Bank in Darjeeling town. There were eighteen boarders and seven day scholars on the rolls. Numbers soon increased and the need was felt for more ample grounds. Property was procured by Fr. Henry Depelchin SJ, the founder, on the town limits at North Point. The foundation stone was laid on April 27, 1890, and on February 18, 1892 the new building received the first North Pointers. In 1899, the student body consisted of 193 boys.
Towards the end of 1908, Sir Andrew Fraser gave Rs.21,000 on the school. The money was used to close in the quadrangle completely. With this the number of students increased to 290. In 1947, the year of Indian Independence, the number reached 422, including ninety-three college students.
Changes in the school department were dramatic. There was a steady increase in the numbers of day scholars. More striking was the growing international character of the school. An international student body was not new at North Point. There had always been a scattering of English, French and German boys, now students from China, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand and Burma started arriving. In 1954, twenty-eight nationalities could be found in the college, including the staff.
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[edit] Notable alumni
"The Harrow of the East". Its alumni include the royal families of Nepal, Bhutan, Coochbehar, Burdwan. Students in the late 1950s included nephews of the then Shah of Iran. Fr. Van Walleghem heading the organization. Some of the notable alumni are:
- Jigme Singye Wangchuck - former King of Bhutan
- Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev - former King of Nepal
- Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev - former King of Nepal
- Yeshey Zimba - Prime Minister of Bhutan
- Louis Banks - jazz artist
- Eric Avari - actor
- Michael Ferreira - world billiards champion
- David Mc Mahun - writer
- Arnold Mc Kenzie - business magnate
- Lyonpo Om Pradhan - Chairman, Druk Holdings and Investments, Bhutan
- Philip Khan Panni - writer and public speaker
- Palfor Benji Dorji - former Chief Justice of Bhutan
- Diniar Devitre - vice-president of Philip Moris, USA
- Malcolm Ash - athletes of the 1950s
- Kamal Meattle - Chief Executive Officer, Paharpur Business Centre and Software Technology Incubator Park
- Mr. Amal Ganguli - Trustee Directors, AIG Investments ,India
- Neer Shah - Nepali film actor and relation to the Nepal royal family.
- Ashok Singh - Erstwhile Crown prince of Kursela Estate in Bihar, India
[edit] History
The building of the structure, in 1888, was entrusted to Brother Eugene Rotsaert, who levelled the site. Approximately 2,000,000 cubic feet (57,000 m3) of rock and soil was removed before building could begin, and a force of some two thousand men was employed for the purpose. Below the school site, the Maharaja of Burdwan had an extensive field known as Ladbrooke Farm. It was acquired on long lease. The work at North Point proceeded under the lead of Brother Rotsaert. By May 10, 1889 the excavation of the foundations was completed and construction was started without delay.
On April 27 1889, His Grace blessed the foundation stone. On December 8, Fr. Depelchin blessed the new school. It was during this year, 1892, that Mr. E. H. FitzGerald joined the staff. He remained with the school until his death in 1945. Classes reopened on February 18, 1892, for the first time at North Point.
In spite of the financial difficulties at St. Joseph’s, material improvements were taken in hand from the very first year of its existence. The dormitories were panelled, dressing-rooms were fitted out, and the equipment of the two laboratories -for physics and chemistry- was improved.
In 1893 the unsightly mound which stood between the building and the Lebong Road was removed.
[edit] Houses
The house system was introduced in 1936. Boys who come to North Point are assigned to a house.
Four houses- Ashley, Garnet, Campion and Southwell- were established with a boy prefect each. There are no records of those after 1938. In 1952 the present system was introduced. The houses were named after four deceased Jesuits who had served many years at North Point.
- Depelchin House (red) was named after the founder of St. Joseph’s College and builder of North Point, Fr. Henri Depelchin S.J. (1822–1900).
- Fallon House (blue) was named after Fr. Joseph Fallon, a former Prefect and Rector (1913–1919). Fr. Fallon later became Superior of the Bengal Mission. He returned to North Point and died here in 1952.
- Laenen House (yellow) was named after Fr. Denis Laenen who taught from 1901 until his death in 1946.
- O'Neil House (green)was named after Fr. Edward O'Neil who had been a teacher and then the Prefect. Later he was appointed Rector of St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta.
[edit] Academic sessions
The North Point academic year is February-November.
[edit] Sports
[edit] Sports history
In 1893 Darjeeling residents were surprised by the excellence of the school sportsmen. St. Joseph's met St. Paul's for the first time in a cricket match on April 3, and the result was a victory for the North Pointers. Ten days later they won again in a season of mostly victories. Cricket flourished under the wise and firm direction of the captain, F. Boswell, who led the team from victory to victory. At the close of the year the team made a tour of Calcutta. During the year the first cricket pavilion was erected.
[edit] Sports now
The Duke of Edinburgh Shield in cricket, the Herlihy Cup and the Jack Coffey Cup in football, and the Pliva Shield in hockey has been won by the school. The major sports seasons are cricket, football and hockey. Other sports like basketball, volleyball, table tennis, squash, lawn tennis, athletics, swimming, billiards, boxing and gymnastics are played as well.
[edit] HMI
The class nine passed students go on a 15 days adventure course before they attend class 10. Courses are offered by the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute on Birch Hill From 1970 onwards, every year in the first week of February, the boys who are about to begin their class ten return for a two-week course in mountaineering.
[edit] In popular culture
The school has been featured in films by Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, Anjan Dutta to name a few.
[edit] Publications and media
According to the EW Survey of Schools, conducted by Education World Magazine, the school is one of the best boarding/residential schools in the country.[2]
School's experiment with honesty[3]
Old students head hillwards for reunion[4]
[edit] References
- ^ News item from Times of India dated 20-Mar-2007
- ^ http://educationworldonline.net/articles/Parameters%20of%20excellence%20India's%20top%2010%20residential%20schools.pdf
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/793930.cms
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Cities/Kolkata/Old_students_head_hillwards_for_reunion/articleshow/1784944.cms
[edit] External links
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