The Cathedral and John Connon School is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

founded in 1860 and located in

Fort, Mumbai Fort is a business and art district in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The area gets its name from the defensive fort, Fort George, Bombay, Fort George, built by the British East India Company around Bombay Castle. The area extends fro ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

.
The school is widely considered to be amongst the best and most prestigious schools in India, housing five sections: Pre-Primary, Infant, Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. The school also controls the 300-year-old St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai, St. Thomas Cathedral. CAJCS was founded to provide choristers to the Church.

History

In 1860, Bishop Harding and the Cathedral Chaplain opened a grammar school within the walled city of Bombay along with a smaller establishment for girls. These were the first of many strands that have joined to form the Cathedral and John Connon School.Adapted from the School Diary A Choir School was established in 1875 with the objective of providing choristers for the St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai, the first

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in the city. Meanwhile, the Bombay Scottish Education Society was founded in 1866. The society put up a building on the Esplanade, and named it for John Connon (then Chief Registrar of Bombay). In 1878, a high school in

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to t ...

, set up by the Bombay Diocesan Society, was merged with the Choir School to form the Cathedral High School. The present Senior School building, a blend of Indian and Gothic architecture, was erected in 1896. A girls' school had been started in 1880. In 1922, in a public meeting held at the Town Hall, the present Asiatic Society of Bombay library, the principal of the Cathedral Boys' School suggested that the Cathedral Schools and the Scottish School work together, instead of competing; this prompted the formation of the Anglo-Scottish Education Society. The schools were re-organized into the Cathedral Boys' School, the Cathedral Girls' School, and the John Connon School. Today the old boys' school is used as the Senior School; the old girls' school is the Middle School; and the John Connon School is the Junior School. The Infant School, located at

Malabar Hill Malabar Hill is amongst the most affluent residential areas in Mumbai. It is home to several business tycoons and film personalities. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had built and lived in a bungalow, called South Court, in Malab ...

, was set up in 1965. The Senior School also serves as the main administrative office for all the sections of the school. The IB arm of the school, set up in 2015, planned to move to the Deutsche Bank Building (formerly Tata Palace) by 2018. However, a later decision by the Dean, Dr. Sonal Parmar converted the building into a section for the 11th and 12th standard of both the IB and ISC curricula. The building is located in the same vicinity (Fort) as the school, next to Sterling Theatre. In 2022, Meera Isaacs, the first woman principal of the Cathedral School, retired after 26 years.

School badge

In 1923 the Cathedral Schools and the Scottish School were amalgamated to form The Anglo-Scottish Education Society. Miss Whitfield, the Principal of the Girls' School, wanted a badge which was representative of both elements of the Society: Anglican and Scottish. A badge was designed in which the Bishop's Mitre represented the Anglican side, while the Scottish neighbours were symbolised by the white diagonal cross of St. Andrew.

Academics and curriculum

The Cathedral & John Connon School is affiliated with the

Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is a non-governmental privately held national-level board of school education in India that conducts the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Examination for Class ...

(CISCE), and its students appear for the council's ISC, IB (Grade 12) and IGCSE, ICSE (Grade 10) examinations. English is the medium of instruction.

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

is taught as a second language, and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

are taught as third languages. A ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

'' report of 2013 ranked it as the best ICSE and ISC school in the country. It now offers the IBDP programme and

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...

programme, as well.

Cathedral Model United Nations (Symposium)

The Cathedral Model United Nations is run entirely by the school's student body over a period of three days, where students assume the roles of delegates representing countries. From a start in 1996 - the first CMUN had only one committee (Asia and Pacific Council), it has grown into an event with over 700 delegates attending. CMUN 2007 was the first to have delegates from outside Mumbai. Schools like Mayo College, La Martiniere Calcutta, St. James' School, Doon School, Modern School Barakhamba Road, and others attended the conference. 2011 featured the first international delegates from Rato Bangala School from Nepal and Aitchinson College, Pakistan.

Clubs

The Cathedral and John Connon School has clubs for students to enrol in. Enrolment in a club is required for all students in the Senior school (8th - 12th grade, for both curricula). # International Award for Young People (IAYP) - Cambridge International's way of offering the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award to students in Indian schools. The Cathedral and John Connon School offers a variety of trips and camps to suburbs of Mumbai city which often include multiple hikes and other adventures. No application is required to join this club, any student of the school may join. # Full Steam Ahead (FSA) - A

STEAM Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

club for scientifically inclined students involving a variety of engaging science experiences including visits to the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai as well as a series of lectures by scientific professionals after school. Additionally, the school's science departments organize engaging experiments and scientific demonstrations for students. This club requires students to complete an application and offers a limited number of seats. # Symposium - The club responsible for organizing CMUN, it also allows the school to partake in various other Model United Nations across the country and the world. Delegates have been sent for the Harvard Model United Nations in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

as well as

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Students of the school must undergo a series of interviews by the club's administration, which consists of twelfth grade students. # Nature Club - The Nature Club is a student organization that fosters a connection with the natural world through various activities. The club aims to educate students about the significance of environmental protection and inspire them to participate in efforts to restore damaged ecosystems. All students are permitted to join the club, no application is required to join.

House system

There are four houses in the school - Barham, Palmer, Savage and Wilson - named after Barham (A. Canon), James Palmer ( Bishop in Bombay), Arthur Savage and Percival Wilson, the founders of the Cathedral School and the John Connon School. The House System serves as the centre of school life, with students from the houses competing at sports, games and other co-curricular activities, primarily divided into 2 categories- Cultural and Sports which include a plethora of activities. There was also another house, that was brown in color, called Kuruvilla that was later disbanded and students were distributed amongst the houses available since it made more sense to have four houses in order to keep competitions easier.

Notable alumni

* Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

* Srikant Datar, Dean of

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

* Kiara Advani, Actress *

Siddhartha Basu Siddhartha Basu is an Indian television producer-director and quiz show host. He is best known for hosting shows such as Quiz Time', ''Mastermind India'' and ''University Challenge'', and as producer-director of shows such as ''Kaun Banega Cr ...

, TV Director and Producer *

Rahul Bajaj Rahul Bajaj (10 June 1938 – 12 February 2022) was an Indian billionaire businessman and politician. He was the chairman emeritus of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group. He was awarded the third-highest civilian award in India, the Padma Bhus ...

, Chairman emeritus,

Bajaj Group Bajaj Group is an Indian multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in Mumbai in 1926. The group comprises 40 companies and its flagship company Bajaj Auto is ranked as the world's fourth largest two- and three- ...

Mandira Bedi Mandira Bedi (born 15 April 1972) is an Indian actress, fashion designer, and television presenter. She gained recognition by playing the title role in the 1994 television show, '' Shanti'', which was telecast on India's national channel, Doorda ...

, Actress *

Homi J. Bhabha Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FNI, FASc, FRS (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist who is widely credited as the "father of the Indian nuclear programme". He was the founding director and professor of physics at the ...

, Father of the Indian nuclear programme *

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

, 9th

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Rahul Bose Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor and athlete who works in Hindi films. Bose is the president of Rugby India. He has appeared in Bengali films such as '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'', '' Kalpurush'', '' Anuranan'', '' Antaheen'', ''L ...

, Indian film actor, director, screenwriter *

Milind Deora Milind Murli Deora (born 4 December 1976) is an Indian politician who currently serves as a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. He previously held key positions within the Government of India, notably as the minister of st ...

, Indian politician and former Union Minister *

Jamshyd Godrej Jamshyd Naoroji Godrej is an Indian industrialist and member of the Godrej family, currently serving as managing director and chairman of Godrej & Boyce, the holding company of the Godrej group. Godrej & Boyce is a diversified business with a ...

, Industrialist and founder of the

Godrej Group Godrej Enterprises Group (Including Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates) is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. G&B was founded in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej and Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej. The company is known for developing one of th ...

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

Father of the Nation The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, Pakistan's first Governor-General, and leader of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

Sharif, Azizullah.
Karachi: Restoration of Church Mission School ordered

Archive
. ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

''. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2014. "Taking notice of the highly dilapidated and bad condition of the Church Mission School (CMS) where Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had studied, .. *

Karisma Kapoor Karisma Kapoor (; born 25 June 1974) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. One of the leading and highest-paid actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Kapoor is a recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Karisma Kapoor ...

, Actress *

Durga Khote Durga Khote (née Vita Lad; 14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her time. She remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starr ...

, Veteran Marathi & Hindi Film , Theater Actress and Producer *

Anand Mahindra Anand Gopal Mahindra (born 1 May 1955) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Mahindra Group, a Mumbai-based business conglomerate. The group operates in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket, automotive, components, construc ...

, Industrialist and Chairman of

Mahindra & Mahindra Mahindra & Mahindra is an Indian automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohammed and later renamed Mahindra & Mahindra. Part of the Mahindra Group, M&M is one of the lar ...

* Rakesh Maria, Senior

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

officer and former Commissioner of the

Mumbai Police The Greater Mumbai Police (Marathi language, Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Brihanmumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay City Police'') is the Police, police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a cit ...

* Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of

WeWork WeWork Inc., headquartered in New York City, is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, in approximately 600 buildings in 125 cities. WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey. Ove ...

Khalid Mohamed Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He worked for The Times of India for 27 years and then DNA followed by Hindustan Times and was the lead editor for Filmfare magazine. He is the s ...

, Film director and critic *

Ehsaan Noorani Ehsaan Noorani is an Indian composer and guitarist. Music career Noorani is the part of the ''Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy'' trio, which consists of Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa and himself. He started off as a freelance guitarist for many comp ...

, Musician,

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and English. Amongst ...

fame *

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

, Author * Jehangir Sabavala, Painter * Rajdeep Sardesai, Indian news anchor, journalist, and author * Ranvir Shah, Cultural Activist and Philanthropist *

J. R. D. Tata Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French born Indian industrialist, philanthropist, aviator and former chairman of Tata Group. Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Rat ...

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* Nusli Wadia, Chairman of the

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, son of

Neville Wadia Neville Ness Wadia (22 August 1911 – 31 July 1996) was a British born Indian businessman, philanthropist and a member of the Wadia family, an old Parsi family which, by the 1840s, was one of the leading forces in the Indian shipbuildin ...

and

Dina Wadia Dina Wadia (; 15 August 1919 – 2 November 2017) was the only daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and his second wife, Rattanbai Petit. Born in London, she grew up in an influential and politically active family. Her pat ...

, grandson of

and Rattanbai Jinnah *

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born January 20, 1964) is an Indian-born American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's '' Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a c ...

, Indian-American author, political scientist, and

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journalist *

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, Sixth Chairman of the Tata Group * Gautam Singhania, Chairman of

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, Actress * Ashmit Patel, Actor *

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, Industrialist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral And John Connon School Church of North India schools Schools in Colonial India Primary schools in India Christian schools in Maharashtra High schools and secondary schools in Mumbai Private schools in Mumbai Educational institutions established in 1860 1860 establishments in India