Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)

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Not to be confused with Bishop Cotton Boys' School or Bishop Cotton Girls' School.
Bishop Cotton School
File:Bcscrests.JPG
School crest
Location
Knollswood, Shimla

Himachal Pradesh

India
Coordinates31°05′07″N 77°10′25″E / 31.0853°N 77.1736°E / 31.0853; 77.1736Coordinates: 31°05′07″N 77°10′25″E / 31.0853°N 77.1736°E / 31.0853; 77.1736
Information
TypeIndependent boys-only boarding school
MottoOvercome Evil With Good
Established28 July 1859; 164 years ago (1859-07-28)
FounderBishop George Edward Lynch Cotton
School districtShimla
Head of schoolSimon Weale
GradesClass 3–12
Number of studentsapprox. 500
Campus size23 ha (56 acres)
Houses
Curzon, Ibbetson, Lefroy and Rivaz
Colour(s)   Cambridge blue and Oxford blue
AffiliationIndian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSE) and The Indian School Certificate examination (ISC)
AlumniOld Cottonians
Websitebishopcottonshimla.com

Bishop Cotton School is a boarding school in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the oldest boarding schools for boys in Asia,[1] having been founded on 28 July 1859 by Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton. Bishop Cotton also founded the Bishop Cotton School in Nagpur. The alumni of Bishop Cotton are known as Old Cottonians.[2] The Bishop Cotton School, Shimla celebrated 150 years of existence in 2009.[3]

The school has produced army officers, ambassadors, judges, ministers, and politicians.

Bishop Cotton School has been ranked among the best boys-only residential schools of India by media such as The Times of India, Outlook, and Education World.[4]

History[edit]

Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton was a scholar of Westminster, and a graduate of Cambridge University.[5] In 1836 he was appointed Assistant Master at Rugby School by Doctor Thomas Arnold, one of the founders of the British public school system. It was the young Mr. Cotton who was spoken of as 'the model young master' in Thomas Hughe's famous book 'Tom Brown's School Days'. The school opened for students on 15 March 1863. Though mentioned in correspondence as the Simla Public School, it never actually bore this name. The first boy, Frederick Naylor, joined the school on 16 March 1863. Bishop Cotton reconnoitred ten sites in September and October 1864, and finally approved the South end of Knollswood Spur which belonged to the Rajah of Keonthal. After negotiations the site was acquired through the intervention of the Viceroy and the foundation stone for the new buildings was laid on 26 September 1866, by the Viceroy, Sir John Lawrence, brother of Sir Henry Lawrence, founder of the famous Lawrence School, Sanawar. In September 1868, the school moved to Knollswood, the present site. Bishop Cotton was inspired by the phrase, "Overcome Evil With Good" from Romans 12:21.

Head Masters[edit]

Headmasters[6]
  • The Rev. S. Slater D.D. (1863-1885)
  • The Rev. H.M. Robinson (1885-1886)
  • The Rev. E.A. Iron MA (1887-1901)
  • The Rev. H.M. Lewis MA (1901-1918)
  • The Rev. R.R. Gillespy (1919-1922)
  • The Rev. W.S. O’Neil MA (1923-1926)
  • The Rev. J.R. Peacy MA, MC (1927-1935)
  • The Rev. Canon G. Sinker MA (1935-1945)
  • The Rev. F.M. Drake BA, BT (1946-1949)
  • Mr. F.H. Fisher BA, BT (1949-1953)
  • Mr. E.G. Carter OBE, MA (1956-1957)
  • Dr. T.M. Dustan, MA, BD, DD (1958-1962)
  • Major R.K. Von Goldstein MBE, MA (1963-1976)
  • Brig. S.J. Mukand MA LT, DP Ed (1976-1986)
  • Mr. R.N. Hakim MA LT (1986-1993)
  • Mr. Kabir Mustafi MA, B.Ed. (1994-2004)
  • Mr. Roy Christopher Robinson M.A, B.Ed., T.T.C (2004-2019)
  • Mr. Simon Weale M.A Oxon (Current)[7]

School organisation[edit]

House system[edit]

The four houses are named after people who provided financial help to the school after The Great Fire of 1905.[8]

Houses[9]
Name Founded Motto Named after
Curzon House[10] 1909 Facta Non Verba Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India (1899–1905)
Ibbetson House[11] 1907 Nec Impetu Nec Imperio Denzil Ibbetson, the Governor of Punjab (1907–1908)
Lefroy House[12] 1906 Mutare Sperno George Lefroy, the third Bishop of Lahore (1899-1912)
Rivaz House[13] 1908 Servamus Charles Montgomery Rivaz, the Governor of Punjab (1903–1907)

House Masters[edit]

In the Junior School, from classes III to V, pastoral requirements are met and control and supervision of the boys is done by the matrons who live next to the boys in the dormitories. The children have class teachers who function like house tutors for the children of their classes.

Prefectorial System[edit]

Bishop Cotton School was again the first school in India to start the Prefectorial System. Today, the school authorities consist of the four house captains, the school captain, and the school prefect.

Curriculum[edit]

The school has its own curriculum for classes III to VIII. Classes IX to XII follow the CISCE syllabus.

Every boy goes on for tertiary education at the end of year XII, and the success rate for the board examination is usually 100%. The teaching system is backed by a remedial address system, and since the boys and staff are residents, every teacher is accessible at any time if a child seeks help. The school has provisions for helping children with special needs. The school runs The Learning Centre, which is an education centre for non-resident, intellectually-challenged children of Shimla town.

Buildings and grounds[edit]

2009 stamp dedicated to Bishop Cotton School

The staff are housed in Linlithgow house. Next to this is the Holy Trinity Chapel and between them is Canning Gate and Lawrence Gate which can be identified with The Lawrence School, Sanawar crest bearing the legend "Be ready". Viceroy Lawrence laid the foundation stone of the school at the present site.

Facing the main school building are Rivaz, Ibbetson and Lefroy dormitory houses. Curzon dormitory house is at the right back end. Opposite Lefroy is the War Memorial and Museum with a cannon and an aircraft further along. Between Lefroy and the War Memorial is an arched hedge that leads past a tiny rose garden to the Headmaster's Lodge and the Lady Willingdon Swimming Bath. In front of the porch is a fountain commemorating Sardar Sohan Singh.

The main hall of the school is Irwin Hall. Behind this is the Senior Master's Lodge to the left of which is the park and to its right Litster Hall and the laboratories. Sports facilities include the Bawa Squash Courts and Shankar Hall for indoor badminton.

Dormitories[edit]

From classes 3 to 8 the boys live in dormitories under the care and supervision of Matrons, boys of the same age group are together. The Remove Building commemorates Ronald and Zoe Hakim (Staff 1969–86; HM: 1987–94). Each dormitory has about 34 boys. Class III and IV lives in Linlithgow, Class V lives in Iron's Dormitory, Class VI lives in Sinker Dormitory, VII lives Stooks and Class VIII lives in Lewis Dormitory. Dormitory From class IX the boys move up to the Main School, which dates back to the 1860s, and live in their Houses with all boys of a particular house together. They are under the direct control and supervision of their House Masters, Captains and Prefects.

Old Cottonians Association[edit]

The Old Cottonians Association was started in 1910 when 17 Old Cottonians assembled in the Freemason's Hall in Shimla.[14] The Old Cottonians Association is spread all over the world.[15]

Notable alumni[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • Main school building

    Main school building

  • Aerial view of Bishop Cotton School

    Aerial view of Bishop Cotton School

  • BCS View 1944.jpg

    Main school building in 1944

  • BCSchoolPhoto1944.jpg

    School photograph from 1944

  • Archive first flat.jpg

    Archived picture of the first flat

  • Under-15 cricket squad go to UK with teachers

    Under-15 cricket squad go to UK with teachers

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Bishop Cotton School in Shimla stands test of time". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "Heritage". Old Cottonians Association. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal PLUS". m.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "3 School Rankings of 2012". Education World. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Our Heritage and History". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Headmaster's Lodge". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Simon Weale is director of Shimla's Bishop Cotton School". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "BCS History". Old Cottonians Association. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Pastoral Care". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Curzon House". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ibbetson House". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Lefroy House". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Rivaz House". Bishop Cotton Shimla. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  14. ↑ Bodh, Anand (27 February 2012). "On completing 101 years of their association, old boys of Bishop Cotton School (BCS) Shimla presented their alma mater Rs 1 crore. The cheque of Rs 1 crore was presented to Roy Christopher Robinson, Headmaster of the school. The Old Cottonians Association, the alumni committee of one of the oldest boarding schools in Asia, had organized annual lunch in Delhi to celebrate the completion of its 101st years. - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Old Cottonians Association". Old Cottonians Association. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "The 'Evil Cottonian' who let the school down". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

External links[edit]

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