Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School

2021-08-11T19:17:12Z

61.1.236.199: /* List of principals */

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School
| image = Mount Carmel Convent AIGHS-Main Gate and Chapel.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Main Gate and Chapel of the school
| location = [[Tangasseri]], [[Kerala]], [[India]]
| district = [[Kollam district|Kollam]]
| established = {{Start date and age|1885|07|22|df=y}}
| pushpin_map = India Kerala#India
| coordinates = {{coord|8.8839|76.5650|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| affiliation = [[CISCE]]
| classes offered = [[Kindergarten|LKG]] to [[Education in India#Secondary education|Standard XII]]
| language = English
| song = ''Flower of Carmel''
| publication = ''Carmeline''
| motto = ''Hold your light up high''
| website = {{URL|https://mcctangi.org/|mcctangi.org}}
}}

'''Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School''' is an [[English-medium education|English-medium]] [[all-through school]] in [[Tangasseri]], [[Kollam District]] in [[Kerala]], [[India]]. Located on the shores of the [[Arabian Sea]], it consists of a day school, and a [[boarding house]] located within the convent. The school was founded on 22 July 1885 by [[Mother Veronica of the Passion]]. It was one of the first English-medium schools in the Kollam District,<ref name="Amina2018"/> and is one of its two originally Anglo-Indian schools.<ref name="Thomaskutty2012">{{cite thesis|url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/12575|title=Anglo-Indians in Kollam|work=The Anglo Indian Community in Kerala|date=2012|last=Thomaskutty|first=K. V.|publisher=[[University of Kerala]]|page=35|chapter=Historical Evolution and Expansion of Anglo Indian Community in Kerala|url-status=live|archive-date=2013-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229043619/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/12575/7/07_chapter%202.pdf}}</ref> The school awards qualifications based on the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education|ICSE]]/[[Indian School Certificate|ISC]] syllabus.

== History ==
The school was founded as The Mount Carmel European School by Mother [[Veronica of the Passion]] in July 1885 to promote English education of poor European girls in the Quilon district.<ref name="Census1971">{{cite book|title=Census of India, 1971|series=9|year=1973|publisher=Office of the Director of Census Operations|page=25|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Census_of_India_1971_c_Survey_report_Par/zRtAAAAAMAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Amina2018">{{cite web|url=https://spb.kerala.gov.in/kollam|last=Amina|first=P. J.|title=Kollam|publisher=[[Kerala State Planning Board]]|access-date=2021-04-04|url-status=live|archive-date=2021-04-04|archive-url=http://archive.today/2021.04.04-014434/https://spb.kerala.gov.in/kollam}}</ref> It was originally situated in a small bungalow by the beach in Tangasseri,<ref name="JKS2008">{{cite journal|work=Journal of Kerala Studies|date=2008|volume=35|page=21|publisher=[[University of Kerala]]|title=Tangasseri: Remnants of a European Settlement in Kollam}}</ref> a town on the coast of the Arabian Sea, with ancient Portuguese, English and Dutch settlements, and a once-thriving [[Anglo-Indian]] community.<ref name="Varghese2006">{{cite book|last=Varghese|first=Theresa|page=519|isbn=9788190250511|publisher=Stark World Pub|title=Stark World Kerala|date=2006}}</ref> The school was inaugurated by Ferdinand Ossi, [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon|Bishop of Quilon]],<ref name="JKS2008"/> as was the convent to which it was associated, on 22 July 1885.<ref name="QuilonDiocese2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.quilondiocese.org/women.htm|title=Quilon Diocese - Women|date=2006|archive-date=2006-06-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618160212/http://www.quilondiocese.org/women.htm|url-status=live|publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon]]}}</ref> In 1889, it was recognised by the [[Madras Presidency]] as a 'European Convent School'.<ref name="MadrasPresidency1900">{{cite book|date=1900|title=Report on Public Instruction|page=44|publisher=Government of Madras|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Report_on_Public_Instruction/qF4_AQAAMAAJ}}</ref> It became a high school in 1914.<ref name="JKS2008"/> The school was one of the only two employers of Anglo-Indian women in Tangasseri in the mid 20th century, the other being the nearby [[Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian Boys' High School]].<ref name="Peterson2006">{{cite book|title=A Tangy Party|page=145|last=Peterson|first=Kevin|editor1-first=Glenn|editor1-last=Deefholts|editor2-first=Margaret|editor2-last=Deefholts|date=2006|isbn=9780975463932|work=The Way We Were}}</ref> The establishment changed its name to '''Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls School''' when India gained independence in 1947.

The school's syllabus prepared students for the [[Anglo-Indian High School Examination]].<ref name="KeralaGazetteIII13.35">{{cite book|work=[[Kerala Gazette]]|publisher=[[Government of Kerala]]|chapter=Part III. Education Department|title=Nominal List of Candidates for the Anglo-Indian High School Examination November 1967|page=179|volume=13|number=35|location=Trivandrum|date=1968-08-27|url=https://archive.org/details/gazette.kerala.archive.1968.1968AUG27/page/n235/mode/2up|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-06}}</ref> The school later switched to the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education|ICSE]]/[[Indian School Certificate|ISC]] syllabus.<ref name="asisckerala2018"/>

== Curricular and extracurricular activities ==
{{refimprove-section|date=April 2021}}
The school provides classes from LKG up to Class XII. The school offers education in subjects like Maths, Science, Economics and English, based on the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education|ICSE]]/[[Indian School Certificate|ISC]] curriculum.<ref name="asisckerala2018">{{cite web|title=List of Schools Who Paid National Annual Subscription for the Year 2018 from Kerala|url=http://asisckerala.in/Files/Downloads/LIST%20OF%20SCHOOLS%20WHO%20PAID%20NATIONAL%20ANNUAL%20SUBSCRIPTION%20FOR%20THE%20YEAR%202018.pdf|access-date=2021-04-04|url-status=live|archive-date=2018-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123115516/http://asisckerala.in/Files/Downloads/LIST%20OF%20SCHOOLS%20WHO%20PAID%20NATIONAL%20ANNUAL%20SUBSCRIPTION%20FOR%20THE%20YEAR%202018.pdf|date=2018-10-29|publisher=Association of Schools for Indian School Certificate, Kerala Region}}</ref> It offers Science and Commerce streams at the higher secondary level. It also provides classes in extra-curricular activities like classical dance, music and karate. The core school hours are from 8:45am–3:45pm. The school also has religious classes in [[Catechism]], Moral Science and Value Education. First Friday Holy Masses and rosary recitals are conducted for the [[Catholic]] students. Scapulars are also provided to the Catholics. Every year, the students from Classes VIII to X visit old age homes and provide alms to the poor.

The students are divided into four houses: Blue, Green, Red and Yellow. The Inter-House Cultural Fest, also known as the Youth festival, and the annual athletic meet fosters the competitive spirit and sportsmanship of the houses. There are clubs and groups like The Literary Club and The Eco Club. A science exhibition is held annually.

There are around 4000 students at the school. The school is affiliated to the [[Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations]].

The maiden alumni reunion of the institution, was held on 16 July 2011, on the feast day of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel. Styled ''Le Revenir'' ([[French language|French]] for ''The Return''), the function was inaugurated by Mrs. Lida Jacob, Chairperson of the Commission for Right to Education Act. The website of the school was launched by leading playback singer and former student [[Chitra Iyer]], who was the celebrity guest.

The school motto is 'Hold Your Light Up High'.

''Carmeline'', the yearbook published by the school, has literary articles, poems, short stories in [[English language|English]], [[Malayalam]] and [[Hindi]] languages and artworks including pencil drawings, paintings and ink sketches featured in it.

== List of principals ==
Some of the former principals were:
* Sister Lawrence
* Sister Bertha
* Sister Mary Patricia, who was at the helm for nearly three decades, making her the longest-serving principal of the school
* Sister Mary Antoinette
* Sister Angel Thomas
* Sister Helen Louis
* Sister Pramila Fernandez
* Sister Elsy Paul<ref name="asisckerala2018"/>

== Notable alumnae ==
* [[Ambika Pillai]]<ref name="Pillai2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ambikapillai/posts/778158988901064|last=Pillai|first=Ambika|publisher=[[Facebook]]|title=Ambika Pillai on Facebook|quotation=I went to boarding [...] to Nazereth convent,Ooty . At the tender age of 5 [...] Renuka [...] started studying at mount Carmel convent Kollam [...] we joined Renu in MCC|date=2014-09-05|access-date=2021-04-04|archive-date=2021-04-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://conifer.rhizome.org/joshuaissac/archives-for-wikipedia/20210404133411/https://m.facebook.com/ambikapillai/posts/778158988901064}}</ref>
* [[Chitra Iyer]]{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

== See also ==
* [[Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian Boys' High School]] – nearby Anglo-Indian school for boys

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://mcctangi.org/}}

{{Kollam |state=expanded}}

[[Category:Carmelite educational institutions]]
[[Category:Girls' schools in Kerala]]
[[Category:High schools and secondary schools in Kerala]]
[[Category:Private schools in Kerala]]
[[Category:Christian schools in Kerala]]
[[Category:Schools in Kollam]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1885]]
[[Category:1885 establishments in India]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School