St. Thomas' College, Dehradun

St. Thomas' College, Dehradun is a co-educational Indian Certificate of Secondary Education school in Dehradun, the capital of the state of Uttarakhand in India, founded in 1916. It is located in the heart of the city of Dehra Dun on Cross Road. The school is regarded as among the best schools in India based on its consistent results in both the 10th and 12th examinations CICSE and the magnitude of extra-curricular activities and sports in its culture.

History

Prior to World War I, there were a number of Civil and Military Officers and resident Europeans and Anglo-Indians in Dehradun. The only English School in the town at the time was the Convent of Jesus & Mary. A School Committee was formed consisting of Rev. R.E. Bruce, Major G.A. Beazeley, R.E., Mr. R.S. Pearson, IFS, Lt. Gray, Mr. J.D. Maitland Kirman (Hony. Secy. &. Treasurer) and Mrs. R. Bruce. The Committee in 1915, issued a prospectus, engaged staff and rented a house - No. 52, Eastern Canal Road, known as "Cold Harbour" - as a school building. The St. Thomas' Day School was opened in January 1916 with Miss Priscilla C. Wells as Headmistress, two teachers. Miss Hannah and Miss Moses and 34 children.

Later on an application was made to the Municipal Board of Dehradun, for the lease of Nazul land and the present site of the School was maintained. Various bodies were then approached for funds to erect a proper School building on the plot. The European School Improvement Association, three members of the School Committee, members of the St. Thomas' Church donated some money and some was raised from two concerts.

The construction of the School was entrusted to Mr. Jones, District Engineer of Dehradun. He designed a building, consisting of a Central Hall, four class rooms, two and a back verandah and this cost the School Rs.8,600/-. Servant quarters were erected at a cost of Rs. 1,060/-.

As the number of children on the roll increased, additional class rooms became necessary and the U.P. Government was approached for a building grant. This could not be given except to a Society and so a School Society was formed and registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies - U.P. on 28.2.1924. The members of the Society were Rev. Francis A. Judd, Mr. W.E. Perrce, IFS, President, Forest Research Institute & Colleges, Dehradun, Mr. R.S. Pearson, IFS, Forest Economist, Mrs. D.C. Mackinnon, Mr. O.C. Ollenbach, Mr. S. D'Gama and Miss A. Degruyther. The U.P. Government then sanctioned a building grant of Rs.3,436/- for the Society.

Mrs. Amelia Fraser, a local resident, very kindly donated a sum of Rs. 10,000/- to the School to build a hall. This was gratefully accepted and thus the 'Fraser Hall' was con¬structed and formally opened in 1933.

Till 1947, the School taught only up to the Middle School and it was only the fol¬lowing year that the U.P. Government accorded the School the status of being a High School. This necessitated further expansion and so the Society built new class rooms and Science laboratories, which were built under the able supervision of Engineer Lt. Col. R.C. Wilkinson. Mrs. Percy Paine served the School for 14 years. After she left, the post was taken by the following ladies: Mrs. M.E. Mobsy, Mrs. M. Alexander, Mrs. Dorothy Sealy, Mrs. P. Ghose, and the present Principal, Mr. R.V. Gardner (MLA) who happens to be not only the 13th Principal of the Institution but the only Gent.

The Institution has always been co-educational and has prepared students for the Jr. Cambridge Examination, Senior Cambridge Examination, ICSE (Year X) ISC (Year XI) ISC (Year XII) and Trinity College for music through the 91 years of its existence. Children of all nationalities, communities, class and creed have studied and are still studying. It has always been inculcated in the staff and students that they are members of one happy family and this pleasing spirit is a very noticeable feature of the School. The staff and students have always had before them the School motto "Build Ye High and Build True".

The Institution has a House System, which initially consisted of 3 Houses, but now the staff and students are divided into 4 Houses - namely: Burn (Blue), Cole (Green), Degruyther (Yellow) and Fraser (Red) and all Sporting events, Dramatics, Dancing and Singing (Classical and Western), and Scholastics are held on an Inter-House basis which creates a healthy spirit of competition not only among the students, but also the Staff. The games played in the Institution are - Cricket, Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Athletics, Boxing, Badminton and Table Tennis.

At the present moment the Institution has classes from III to XII with strength of over 2200 students, 90 staff and 25 Support staff with students getting the option to offer Science or Commerce in the plus two stages along with Computer Studies. There is very clearly a need for a Primary School and that is why the Institution now needs a few benefactors who would donate generously for this cause.

The same institute also has a sister concern school "St Jude's School" which was formerly establish for pre-school and kindergarten till 2nd grade and thereafter the students would get admitted to St Thomas's but now the same school has breached itself till 12th standard having the same compassion and vision of the Thomas college. Mrs V.R Gardner wife of Mr. R.V Gardner is the principal of the school and have been very effective in standing the institute in its peak.

Affiliation

Initially the school was affiliated to General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), A&O level, later in the early '60s which was affiliated to Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. The school conducts both the standard 10th ICSE and the standard 12th ISC examinations.

STC prepares students for the 10th grade national ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations. The school also prepares students for the 12th grade national ISC examination conducted by the Council for ISC (Indian School Certificate) Examination, New Delhi. The medium of instruction is English.

The college placement record shows that students attend institutions in both India and abroad, such as the IITs, NITs, St. Stephen's College, AIIMS, University of Oxford, Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The school has produced top ranking officials in Defence and Civil Services. Future officers get into institutions like NDA and IMA every year after passing out of the school.

The House System

Apart from academics, students are participate in co-curricular activities. Activities and competitions within the school are conducted in cohorts or "houses".

• Burn House- Blue
• Cole House- Green
• DeGruyther House - Yellow
• Fraser House - Red

Inter-house competitions in sports, debates and quizzes are held.

Principals

• Miss Priscilla C. Wells
• Miss Teare
• Miss A.de Gruyther
• Miss V.P. Coughlan
• Miss Anne G. Percie-Paine
• Miss M.B. Martin
• Mrs. M.E. Mobsby
• Mrs. Margaret J. Alexander
• Mrs. Dorothy Sealy
• Mrs. Promilla A. Gosh
• Mr. R.V. Gardner (current)

See also

• Education in Dehradun

External links

• St. Thomas' College website