St. Robert's School, Darjeeling
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St. Robert's School is a higher secondary school for boys, which is situated in the green milieu of Darjeeling Hill Station, West Bengal, India. It is affiliated with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. The government-aided school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling and is under the religious jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Darjeeling.
| St. Robert's Higher Secondary School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
13, Doctor Yen Singh Road, Chauk Bazaar , 734101 India | |
| Coordinates | 27°02′46″N 88°15′55″E / 27.0460°N 88.2652°ECoordinates: 27°02′46″N 88°15′55″E / 27.0460°N 88.2652°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Government Aided; Administered by RC Diocese Darjeeling |
| Motto | Latin: Ad Maiora Natus Sum (Born for higher things) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Catholicism |
| Patron saint(s) | Saint Robert Bellarmine |
| Established | 1 February 1934 |
| School board | West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education |
| School district | Darjeeling |
| Headmaster | Rev. Fr. Micheal Singh |
| Gender | Boys |
| Age range | 10 - 19 |
| Language | English |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Houses |
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| Colour(s) | Yellow and Prussian Blue |
| Website | www.srsdarjeeling.org |
The school aims at the education of the Catholic community in and around Darjeeling while extending its service to members of other communities too. St. Robert's School Higher Secondary school stands for academic excellence, development of skills, and character formation with the view of educating the citizens remarkable for all-around development and sincere commitment to God and the country.
Catholic education is inspired by a vision of the world drawn from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, whose teachings have always been respected and admired. The vision and principles give Catholic institutions a specific character and set before their staff and students high ideals of humanism and service towards which they are invited continually to strive.
St. Robert's Higher Secondary School aims at the integral, personal formation of the young. To accomplish this, special efforts are made to help the students become mature, spiritually oriented men of character; to encourage them continually to strive after excellence in every field; to value and judiciously use their freedom; to be clear and firm on principles and courageous in action; to be selfless in the service towards the society and to become agents of social change in their country.
The school thus aims at making its contribution towards a radical transformation of present-day social condition so that the principles of social justice, equality of opportunities, genuine freedom, respect for religious and moral values enshrined in the Constitution of India may prevail and so the possibility of living a fully human existence may be open before all.
HistoryEdit
St. Robert's School opened in February 1934 in Halcyon House, Darjeeling[citation needed]. It was the successor to St. Francis Xavier's Middle English, started by Rev. Fr. Charles Grant in 1914, on the grounds of Archbishop's House.[1] The name of the school honors a 16th-century Roman Catholic scholar, Saint Robert Bellarmine. St. Aloysius Gongaza, patron saint of youth, and the famous spiritual son of St. Robert was known to have been bestowed, by our very own patron saint, with the motto of "Ad Maiora Natus", which translates to "I was born for higher things". As such, these words have been the motto of the school since its establishment. Embodied in this motto is the aim of the school to impart to each of its students the conviction that his life on earth has a purpose far beyond the present world.
On July 17, 1934, St. Robert's was transferred to the grounds of Park Hotel. It was recognized as a High School in 1935 by Calcutta University. The school was upgraded to Higher Secondary status with effect from January 1, 1963, and phasing out of the primary section began to allow for increased enrollment. This program was completed in 1965. In 1974, the school was affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and the year 1990 was a landmark in the history of St Robert's School as the administration shifted from Jesuits Order to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling. Later in 1993, the school was upgraded to Higher Secondary status by the West Bengal Board and the school started imparting studies in Humanities and Science in the Higher Secondary classes ever since.
School systemEdit
The school imparts education from Class V onwards, all the way to Class XII, and each of the classes till Class X is segregated into four sections. The classes of XI and XII are segregated into two sections for students studying the streams of Humanities and Science. Additionally, the school hosts four houses, each named after the locally found floral species of the Darjeeling Hills to signify different attributes the students inculcate during the duration of their stay as the students of the institution:
- Magnolia House (Blue) representing consistency, sincerity, and devotion.
- Rhododendron House (Red) representing courage, strength, and passion.
- Marigold House (Yellow) representing purity, truth, and perseverance.
- Ochid House (Green) representing rejuvenation, humility, and brilliance.
Each of the houses is led and represented by its respective House Captain chosen by the School Committee in view of all the attributes and skills that the student possesses. In addition to the House Captains, the school hosts a group of captains, led by the School Captain (Head Boy) appointed based on leadership skills, academic skills, interpersonal skills, and sportsmanship. These captains help the faculties in the coordination and functionality of the school in an efficient and orderly fashion, while also helping to bridge the gap between the students and the faculty.
The school also houses different clubs for the overall development of the students via different extra-curricular activities. These clubs are Nature Club, Numismatics Club, Readers Club, etc. Additionally, the school also hosts the National Cadet Corps (NCC) with the aim to channelize the youth energy of the students through military vibrant feelings in a positive manner, all with the objective of making India a great nation.
HeadmastersEdit
- Major Augustine J. DewanTemplate:Spaced endash (1934 - 1935)
- Mr. John GomesTemplate:Spaced endash (1935 - .... )
- Fr. R.V.D. AbeeleTemplate:Spaced endash (1939)
- Fr. Joseph Arimont, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1940 - 1949)
- Fr. John Prendergast, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1950 - 1958)
- Fr. William Mackey, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1959 - 1962)
- Fr. John Prendergast, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1963 - 1964)
- Fr. Francis Farrell, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1964 - 1966)
- Fr. John Prendergast, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1967)
- Fr. James McCabe, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (Acting HM, 1967)
- Fr. Leo Forestell, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1968 - 1976)
- Fr. Anthony SharmaTemplate:Spaced endash (1977 - 1980)
- Fr. William Bourke, SJTemplate:Spaced endash (1980 - 1990)
- Fr. Valerian ViegasTemplate:Spaced endash (1990 - 2012)
- Fr. Peter LingdamoTemplate:Spaced endash (2013 - 2018)
- Fr. Micheal SinghTemplate:Spaced endash (2018–present)
Notable alumniEdit
- Dr Sanduk RuitTemplate:Spaced endash Opthamologist.
- Indra Bahadur RaiTemplate:Spaced endash Nepali writer.
- Uday SotangTemplate:Spaced endash Singer, writer.
- Prashant TamangTemplate:Spaced endash Winner, Indian Idol Season 3, singer, actor.
Recognition and accoladesEdit
- Sera Vidhyalaya Award, 2019Template:Spaced endash Awarded by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee