Welham Boys School
| Welham Boys School | |
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From Strength to Strength
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| Location | |
| Dehradun, Uttarakhand India |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public School |
| Established | 1937 |
| Staff | 70 |
| Number of students | 550 |
| Founder | Hersille Susie Oliphant |
| Houses | Krishna, Cauvery, Ganga and Jamuna |
| Website | welhamboys.org |
Welham Boys School is a boarding school in India. Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas over an area of 32 acres (130,000 m2), the school lies amidst the hills and rivers of the Dehra Dun. Students from many parts of the sub-continent and beyond attend the school. The school is a residential school for boys and is affiliated with IPSC.
Welham was founded in 1937 as a preparatory school for boarding schools in England and India, by Ms Oliphant, an English lady, with a capital of £1000. Miss Oliphant was struck by the lack of schools of similar quality for the sisters of boys studying at Welham. Fired by the desire to create an equal educational platform for young Indian women in a newly independent India, she acquired a palatial estate called 'Nasreen' adjacent to Welham Boys School to start a small boarding school for girls.
There were no funds or staff, and no school buildings. Miss Oliphant recruited another retired English lady, Miss Grace Mary Linnell to run the boarding school for girls. Miss Linnell became the Founder- Principal of Welham Girls School. Under Miss Linnell’s guidance Welham Girls High School, as it was known then, established itself as a fully fledged boarding school. From its initial 10 students, it has grown to a strength of over 600 students.
In 1956 Ms Oliphant donated all her assets to the Welham Boys School which presently is administered by a Board of Trustees. Mr. S. K. Kandhari took over as principal in January 1983. He was the principal for almost 18 years, and helped raise the school from preparatory to Class XII.
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[edit] Notable alumni
- Rajiv Gandhi - politician, Ex-Prime Minister of India
- Sanjay Gandhi - politician
- Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi - cricketer, ex-captain of the Indian Cricket Team
- Vikram Seth - writer
- Mani Shankar Aiyar - politician, Cabinet Minister
- Naveen Patnaik - Chief Minister of Orissa
- Shaad Ali - film director
- Zayed Khan - actor
- Chandrachur Singh - actor
- Shahzada Alam Monnoo - industrialist and politician
- Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb - politician
Some of the older ex-welhamites are also ex-doscos(old boys of the Doon School). This is because Welham was a preparatory school to the Doon School in its earlier years and most of its students went on to Doon after Class 6.
[edit] History
Welham was named after the little Welsh village from which its founder, Miss H. Oliphant, came. A lady from the English aristocracy, Miss Oliphant started Welham Boys School (or Welham Boys Preparatory School as it was then known). Miss Oliphant had served in the British Army in World War I in Egypt. She was closely attached to many Royal Families in India who urged her to start a school for their children.
[edit] Houses
Welham follows the house system. The houses are Ganga, Cauvery, Krishna and Jamuna for the Senior School. Each house is run by a Housemaster, who is assisted by a senior boy known as the House Captain. There is one senior boy who serves as School Captain, and he is assisted by the four House Captain, a Sports Captain, and a body of Prefects.
[edit] Academic sessions
The academic year starts at the beginning of April. The first term (Spring term) lasts four months and runs to the end of May. Halfway through the term the boys take a one-week Midterm - a rugged trip or adventure often through the Shiwalik Hills or Himalayas - which senior boys plan on their own, accompanied by at least one member of staff. This includes camping out in tents, cooking their own food and trekking.
The Autumn term starts in mid-July, and lasts till the end of November, once again with a Midterm break halfway through the semester.
The school awards Colours, Sports Colours, the Games Blazer, and the Scholar's Blazer.
[edit] Sports and extracurricular Activities
Navandeep Matta and Shabaz Singh represented the state of Uttarakhand in Shooting nationals. Aditya Mahara was the first Welhamite to represent the state of Uttarakhand in the Soccer Nationals held at Mandya in 2009 December. Rahil Walson, Akash Godara, Pulkit Aggarwal, Abhishek Singh, Gaganjyot Juneja, Dhairya Karwa and Sushant Singh represented the state of Uttarakhand in basketball nationals. Dhairya Karwa was appointed as the state basketball captain in 2007. Kanwar Aftab Singh Sandhu and Uday Singh Sandhu in Hockey.
[edit] Other schools
Some other Indian schools that compete with Welham in every arena include The Doon School in Dehra Dun, The Scindia School in Gwalior, The Lawrence School in Sanawar, The Lawrence School in Lovedale (Ooty), Mayo College in Ajmer, La Martiniere Colleges at Lucknow and Calcutta, Yadavindra Public School in Patiala and Sherwood College in Nainital and Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie.
Membership of the Round Square International Service allows children to take part in a student exchange program with other member schools throughout the world and in student conference's. During a visit of about two months duration, they study at the host school, staying either with families or in the school's dormitory facilities.
Welham has ceased to be a member of the Round Square Organization in an effort to better serve the community around them. They have adopted a village called Jaidwar and provide infrastructural and societal developmental help.
[edit] Publications and media
A monthly English magazine, called The Oliphant is edited by students and has sections like the Editorial, Lampoon, Through the Keyhole (jokes) etc. In 2008 The Oliphant celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Welham News is a video recap of the past month, made by members of the school. It has grown popular because of the graphical effects, creativity, and the 'Sneak Peak' [sic?] section.
"Sankalp", the school's monthly Hindi magazine is edited by the students.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Welham Boys School |
