St. Paul's School is an independent boarding school for boys in the town of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, India. It is known as "Eton of the East" because it is thought to follow the similar cultural and traditional values of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. St. Paul's is one of the oldest public schools in Asia. Entrance tests for admission are held every September. The school follows the ICSE curriculum until class 10 and the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

curriculum for classes 11 and 12.

History

St. Paul's School was founded on 1 May 1823 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

by Archdeacon Corrie at the instigation of John William Ricketts, a local Anglo-Indian leader. The first principal of the institution was Dr George Smith. Originally located at 11 Park Street, between the Archbishop House and the then Sans Souci Theatre, in 1830 it moved to Jawaharlal Nehru Road to the area now occupied by the

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

. In 1847, it was renamed St. Paul's School by Bishop Wilson, who had associated the school with St. Paul's Cathedral in Calcutta.It moved to its present

Jalapahar Jalapahar is a ridge as well as a locality in the hilly town of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. There was a British military camp in this locality in the Raj days. This ridge meets Katapahar ridge at Observatory Hill. St. Pau ...

estate in Darjeeling in 1864 with 31 boarders and a few day scholars. The estate was purchased from

Brian Hodgson Brian Hodgson (born 1938) is a British television composer and sound technician. Born in Liverpool in 1938, Hodgson joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1962 where he became the original sound effects creator for the science fiction program ...

for Rs.45,000. At that time, at approximately 7,600 feet above sea level, it was the highest school in the world.Educational Institute
City of Darjeeling, retrieved 24 September 2013.Gordon Brook-Shepherd, ''Where the Lion Trod'', London: Macmillan / New York: St. Martin's, 1960, , pp. 65–72
Text online
at archive.org. A number of its students fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The school's original purpose was "to supply a good education at a moderate cost to the sons of Europeans and East Indians". After Indian Independence in 1947 it became a school for wealthy Indians and attracted wealthy students from other Asian countries. Bishop Foss Westcott

Bishop Foss Westcott, metropolitan of Bengal, Burma and Ceylon, played an important role in the growth of the school. The Maharajah of Burdwan also made important donations. Over the years a number of estates were purchased and merged with the existing school estate. The Mount Vernon Estate, known as Dawkins, was purchased in the early 1900s, and the Terpsithea Estate in 1955. L.J. Goddard was the longest serving and perhaps the most important rector, leading the school between 1934 and 1964, including the transition from British-ruled to independent India. His successors were David Gibbs (1964–72) and

Hari Dang Hari Dang (1935-2016) was an Indian educationist and a mountaineer. While at The Doon School, he led the schoolboys on the first Indian expedition to Mt. Jaonli (6,632 m) in 1965. Education Dang was schooled at Modern School, Delhi, and then ...

(1977-84). Dang was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 1976 for his services in education. Goddard and Gibbs received the OBE for their work at St. Paul's.

School system

The school is divided into Primary, Junior, and Senior wings. The three wings are run independently with the Primary Wing having its own campus and a slight difference in uniform. The Senior and Junior Wings share many facilities. The

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

is the head of the school, assisted by the Senior Master, Head Junior Wing, Head Primary Wing and House masters.

Culture

The school currently presents itself as an residential school for boys, predominantly Indian with an "international, multiracial and cross-regional cosmopolitan character", having students from many countries including the US, the UK, France, Thailand, Bhutan, Japan, Bangladesh, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. Current students are referred to as Paulites and the alumni as Old Paulites. The school lays a great emphasis on uniforms. On off-campus trips students must dress in prescribed suits and carry umbrellas. The school motto is derived from the passage 'Cedamus Phoebo, et moniti meliora sequamur' in the Latin epic the ''Aeneid'' by Virgil. 'Moniti meliora sequamur' means "Having Been Advised, We Follow Better (Higher) Things". The student government is headed by a

school captain A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, assisted by House Captains and Prefects, drawn from the

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

. The Junior and Primary Wings have their own system of monitors. The sixth form is privileged and enjoys an advantage over the rest. The chapel holds a central place in the life of the school where it meets as a community. There are clubs which develop artistic and technical skills. Each house presents a concert from time to time, apart from the major school production in October. The extracurricular activities in school are dramatics, elocution, debate, piano, guitar, drums, violin, marching band and sitar classes. There are various hobby clubs and societies. These are all run by the boys under the supervision of masters. In the senior wing, the hobbies are art and craft, Batik, Indian Western music, model-making, photography, wood and lathe work, cybernetics, textile design, and cooking. The school sends candidates for the music and speech examinations held by the

Trinity College London Trinity College London (TCL) is an examination board based in London, United Kingdom, which offers graded and diploma qualifications (up to postgraduate level) across a range of disciplines in the performing arts and English language learning and ...

and Royal Academy of Music. The boys are also sent on educational tours to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

and other historical sites in India and neighbouring countries. The sport curriculum is dominated by football, cricket, athletics, volleyball, basketball, squash, table tennis, tennis,

Eton fives Eton fives, a derivative of the British game of fives, is a handball game, similar to Rugby fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any varie ...

, gymnastics, rocking climbing.

Awards and recognition

St Paul's has been ranked first among boarding schools in West Bengal and fourth in India according to the 2019 Education-World rankings. The school was featured in '' Forbes India'' magazine in the article "The great Indian Schools - 2018". It was named among the top seven boarding schools in India in 2020 by ''India Today''.

Gallery

Notable alumni

Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi Prithviraj Singh "Biki" Oberoi (born 1929) is the Executive Chairman of the EIH Limited (formerly East India Hotels), the flagship company of India’s The Oberoi Group, which runs a chain of luxury hotels, The Trident hotels and Oberoi Hotels & ...

- Executive Chairman of EIH Hotels,

The Oberoi Group The Oberoi Group is an award-winning luxury hotel group with its head office in New Delhi, India. Founded in 1934, the company owns and operates 32 luxury hotels and two river cruise ships in 7 countries, primarily under its Oberoi Hotels & R ...

;

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

* Major General D K Palit -

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

recipient for commanding the

9th Gorkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independe ...

, author *

Rustum Roy Rustum Roy (July 3, 1924 – August 26, 2010) was a physicist, born in India, who became a professor at Pennsylvania State University and was a leader in materials research. As an advocate for interdisciplinarity, he initiated a movement of mat ...

- physicist in the field of chemistry and materials sciences with 21 nominations for the Nobel Prize; awarded with Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan * Rehman Sobhan - Bangladeshi economist and freedom fighter * Ammar Siamwalla - Thai economist, former President of Thailand Development Research Institute, author *

Samiran Nundy Samiran Nundy is an Indian gastrointestinal surgeon, medical academic, writer and the President of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh. He is a former member of the faculty at the Cambridge University, London University and Harvard ...

- founder editor of the ''

National Medical Journal of India ''The National Medical Journal of India'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal that was established in 1988. It is published by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. It is abstracted and indexed in Index Medicus (Medline) ...

'' and ''Tropical Gastroenterology'', recipient of India's

* Frank Blaker -

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient; in 3rd Battalion,

9th Gurkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independe ...

, the

khas Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Historical ...

battalion in the

Indian Army during World War II The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

Farooq Sobhan Farooq Sobhan (born 17 September 1940) is a former Bangladeshi diplomat. He served in various capacities in the Bangladesh government and foreign service. He was Bangladesh's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China (1987–1990) and High ...

- diplomat, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh *

Lalat Indu Parija Lalat Indu Parija (died 26 August 2019) was an Indian cricket player and civil servant. He played 20 first-class matches for Odisha in Ranji Trophy. He was also the former chief secretary of Odisha for two terms in 1983 and later in 1986. His aut ...

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

, former Chief Secretary of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, Author and Captained Odisha cricket team in the Ranji Trophy. * S.V.S Juneja -

, former Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary in the union finance ministry, former Director (Infrastructure Department) at the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

Sanjib Banerjee Sanjib Banerjee (born: 2 November 1961) is an Indian judge presently serving as the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. He has previously served as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court and a Judge in Calcutta High Court. Career Banerjee di ...

- Chief Justice of Madras High Court * Subroto Roy (economist)- Indian economist, former economic advisor to late Rajiv Gandhi * Anand Burman - Indian businessman, chairman of

Dabur Dabur Ltd is an Indian multinational consumer goods company, founded by S. K. Burman and headquartered in Ghaziabad. It manufactures Ayurvedic medicine and natural consumer products, and is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) ...

Ajay Chhibber Ajay Chhibber is the first Director General of India's Independent Evaluation Organisation with the status of Minister of State, recently established to assess the effectiveness of India's development programs . From July 2008 to July 2013 fo ...

- first Director General of India's Independent Evaluation Office (with the status of a union Minister of State), former Assistant Secretary-General of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

(UN), head of the Asia-Pacific division of the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

Karun Krishna Majumdar Wing commander Karun Krishna 'Jumbo' Majumdar, DFC & bar (Bengali: করুণ কৃষ্ণ মজুমদার) (6 September 1913 – 17 February 1945) was an officer in the Indian Air Force. He was the first Indian to reach the rank ...

- during World War II, the first Indian to achieve the rank of wing commander in the Indian Air Force *

Mahesh Jethmalani Mahesh Jethmalani is an Indian lawyer and a politician. He is currently a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He was also a member of the National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party up to 2012. Personal life Jethmalani was ...

- lawyer and senior council, Supreme Court of India and senior member of

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

Party. *

Manish Choudhary Manish Choudhari is an Indian actor who is best known for his character of Sunil Puri in '' Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year''. He made his film debut in the 2003 Indian film '' Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula''. He was also seen in the 2021 ...

- Bollywood actor * A R Shamsud Doha - Bangladesh

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

, former Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Iran and the United Kingdom; former Minister for Information *

James McMullan James McMullan (born June 1934) is an Irish-Canadian illustrator and designer of theatrical posters. Born in Tsingtao, Republic of China, where his grandparents had emigrated from Ireland as missionaries for the Anglican Church, he and his moth ...

- artist, illustrator, educator; received

Drama Desk Special Award The Drama Desk Special Award is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements by an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway ...

in 1991 and Hamilton King Award * R. J. Minney - British film producer, journalist, editor and author *

Kelly Dorji Kalden "Kelly" Sonam Dorji (born 4 January 1971) is a Bhutanese actor, model, and artist who works primarily in Indian movies. Early life Dorji's father is Lynpo Paljor Dorji, widely known as Dasho Benji, the permanent advisor to Bhutan's Natio ...

- actor and author * Anjan Dutt - Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter * George Emmett - test cricketer for England, Captain of the Gloucestershire cricket team, 1955–1958 *

Kaizad Gustad Kaizad Gustad (born 1968) is an Indian film director and author based in Mumbai, India. He is best known for his 1998 comedy '' Bombay Boys.'' In his career as an author, he has written three books, ''Of No Fixed Address'' published in 1998 by H ...

- Bollywood director and author * Peter Hildreth - Olympian * Paul Raschid - Olympian in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

* Sharad Kumar - Paralympic Games high jumper, Olympian * Rajeev Mohta - team gold medalist and individual silver medalist in

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

at the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of t ...

* Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal-Maharaja and Chogyal of Sikkim * Tashi Namgyal - longest-reigning Chogyal (king) of Sikkim (r. 1914-63), who signed the 1950 treaty giving India suzerainty over Sikkim *

Jamling Tenzing Norgay Jamling Tenzing Norgay (born 23 April 1965) is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer. Biography Norgay is the son of mountaineer and guide Tenzing Norgay (who first climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary) and Daku, his third w ...

- mountain climber, author, recipient of National Citizen award *

Vishnu Som Vishnu Som (born July 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is an Indian news anchor and journalist. He is the Executive Editor and Principal Anchor with New Delhi Television (NDTV), India's first 24-hour news network. Som reported extensively on war, envi ...

- senior editor and principal anchor with New Delhi Television * Tashi Tenzing - mountain climber * Swapan Dasgupta - columnist, Member of Parliament,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Films shot at St. Paul's School

The school has been featured in Hindi and Bengali language films including

Hamraaz ''Hamraaz'' () is a 1967 Indian Bollywood suspense thriller film, produced and directed by B. R. Chopra and written by Akhtar-Ul-Iman. It stars Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Vimi, Mumtaz in lead roles, with Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Jeevan, Iftekh ...

(1967) by B. R. Chopra,

Mera Naam Joker ''Mera Naam Joker'' () is a 1970 Indian Hindi romance drama film, directed, edited and produced by Raj Kapoor under his banner R. K. Films, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor as the eponymous character, with his son ...

(1970) by

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

Seemabaddha ''Seemabaddha'' ( bn, সীমাবদ্ধ ''Shimabôddho''; English title: ''Company Limited'') is a 1971 social drama Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on the novel ''Seemabaddha'' by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It stars Bar ...

(1971) by Satyajit Ray, Do Anjaane (1976) by

Dulal Guha Dulal Guha (1929–2001) was an Indian film director of Bollywood films in the 1960s and '70s. He was born in Barisal city. His father Ruhini Guha died when he was one month old after which he was cared for by his uncle Harendra Lal Guha. He di ...

, Bada Din (2000),

Main Hoon Na ''Main Hoon Na'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language masala film written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Sunil Shetty, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan, and follows Major Ram Sharma, ...

(2004) by

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...

, Chowrasta Crossroads of Love (2009) by

Anjan Dutta Anjan Dutt (Bengali: অঞ্জন দত্ত) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutt began his career in Bengali cinema i ...

Barfi! ''Barfi!'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as the eponymous lead, alongside ...

(2012),

Jagga Jasoos ''Jagga Jasoos'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language musical adventure comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu, and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Basu and Ranbir Kapoor. It stars Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and tells the story of a teena ...

(2017) by

Anurag Basu Anurag Basu (born 8 May 1974) is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He began his directing career in television, moving to feature films in 2002. Basu achieved initial success with his films tackling the themes of passion and ...

Raja the Great ''Raja The Great'' is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Anil Ravipudi and produced by Dil Raju on Sri Venkateswara Creations banner. The film stars Ravi Teja as a visually impaired man, alongside Mehre ...

(2017) by

Anil Ravipudi Anil Ravipudi (born 23 November 1982) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He made his directorial debut with the comedy ''Pataas'' (2015). He then directed the dramedy works such as '' Supreme'' (2016), ''Ra ...

, Petta (2019) by

Karthik Subbaraj Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director, writer and producer working mainly in Tamil cinema. Life and career Karthik did his schooling in SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Madurai after which he went on to study Mechatron ...

, and

Mithya ''Mithya'' ( en, Illusion) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language film co-written and directed by Rajat Kapoor and produced by Planman Motion Pictures. It stars Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah, and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles. The sc ...

(2022) by Rohan Sippy. Hollywood actress Vivien Leigh was born on the school campus in November 1913.

References

External links

*
St. Paul's School, Official, Darjeeling

St Paul's School Official Darj (@st_pauls_school_official) • Instagram photos and videos

St Paul's School Officials Darjeeling - YouTube

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, India collection

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, India collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls School Darjeeling Church of North India schools Boys' schools in India Christian schools in West Bengal Boarding schools in West Bengal Primary schools in West Bengal High schools and secondary schools in West Bengal Schools in Darjeeling district Education in Darjeeling Educational institutions established in 1823 1823 establishments in India