Address
27 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata 700 019

Website
Website : stlawrencehighschool.edu.in/
Office : (033) 2475-1959 / 2539
Email : principal@stlawrencehighshool.edu.in

School Motto
For God and country

St Lawrence High School, 27 Ballygunge Circular Road, (Pramatesh Barua Sarani) Calcutta, established in 1820, is a Catholic minority, private school and offers quality education to boys of all religions although Catholic boys are given preference.

Administered by
Jesuit Fathers of Calcutta Province

Recognized by
Originally recognized by the Calcutta University

Affiliated to
West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (class 10) and West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education (class 12)

Board
Madhyamik Pariksha at the end of class 10 Uccha Madhyamik Pariksha (HS) at the end of class 12

Type of school
Day school

Status / category
Boys only

The school is under CCTV surveillance.

As on year 2020

Medium of instruction
There are 2 streams for each class:

Stream A (Section A & C)
Class 1-12
English medium
First language
Bengali
Second language
English

Stream B (Section B)
Class 1-12
English medium
First language
Hindi
Second language
English
All pupils study a third language (Bengali / Hindi) in classes 5 and 6.

A computer course is offered from class 2 to 8

Remedial classes for slow learners

Private tuition
School forbids all private tuitions. A pupil should be able to progress in his work as a result of good teaching in school.

Academic year
classes 1-10 January to December with 3 vacations
classes 11-12 June to May with 3 vacations

Special facilities
Apple lab
Computer lab
Library
Science labs (3)
Fr Wavreil Hall
Michael Madhusudan Dutta Hall
Fr Noel’s Nrityalay

Admission formalities
Entry point is class 1. A boy should be 5+ for admission to class 1. Application for admission is made to the Principal. Applications for other classes are conside#af1414 only if seats are available. A transfer certificate must be produced by all candidates who have previously attended any school.

New infrastructure 2020

Michael Madhusudan Dutt Hall (state of the art multi-purpose hall equipped with high end audio visual system, lighting, air conditioning system, library, stage and modern interiors)

Three new classrooms on third floor for primary section (fitted with the latest version of audio visual system, vitrified floor tiles and modern benches)

Fr Noel’s Nrityalay for dance classes (on the ground floor of Loyola Block)

New GYM for teaching, non-teaching and support staff and SLOBA Cricket Coaching Camp (on the first floor of St Anthony’s Block)

Indoor games facilities for students and staff (on 2nd floor of St Anthony’s Block)

Staff quarters renovated and given a new facelift as a token of gratitude

Events and activities
• Annual Sports Day
• Awareness campaign against substance abuse and addition
• Bhasa Divas
• Children’s Day
• Commerce Seminar
• Educate Magis (a global initiative seeking to create an online community connecting educators and students from Jesuit schools all over the world)
• Educational trip to Birla Industrial and Technological Museum
• English creative writing competition
• Excursion - summer (to Silk Route and Gangtok)
• Excursion - winter (Heritage Walk, visit to frontline Warship INS Kirpan of Eastern Naval Command)
• Fancy dress competition
• Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola
• Feast of St Lawrence
• First Inter School Staff Football Tournament
• Football Tournament
• Gandhi Jayanti
• Independence Day
• International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (first school in India to celebrate IDSDP and the first school in the world to be nominated for International Peace and Sport Award in April 6 th Category)
• Labourers’ Day Celebration
• Mathematics and Statistics Seminar
• Rabi Baul Mela (to honour Rabindranath Tagore)
• Retreat for Catholic students only
• Rhythms Art Aura Carnival (Annual Inter School Global Talent Fest)
• Teachers’ Day
• Tin and Can (to motivate students who are not regular athletes to participate in various sporting events)

Awards
• Honour certificate of Excellence in Academics (WBSE) at Telegraph School Awards 2019 • Award for Courage 2019 (under individual category) • Award for Best Green School 2019 on Sankalp Education Awards parameters

Individual achievements/awards
• Uccha Madhyamik 2019 - ranked 7 th awarded one lakh rupees
• District Swimming Championship 50 mtr freestyle at BSS – ranked 3 rd Bronze medal
• Universal Sports Shotokan Karate-Do Federation (India) – promoted to rank of Yellow Belt 2019
• West Bengal State Rowing Championship – won silver medal
• Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019 – won bronze medal

Magazine The Lawrencian – published annually

Co-curricular activities / Action groups
• Christian Life Communities (CLC)
• Drama Quiz Debate Dance Music Chess Elocution Extempore and Scrabble Clubs
• Leadership Training Services (LTS)
• Nature Club (affiliated to the WWLF)
• Scout Troop and Cubs Pack
• Work education and Physical education

Social and National Service Projects
Social service projects are organized regularly and consist of programmes of social upliftment outside the school campus.

Outdoor/indoor games
School offers coaching for cricket, football and basketball

Fees: payable in cash or by DD/Pay order/NEFT/online at School branch of Syndicate Bank

History of founder
ST LAWRENCE OF ROME
The history of Saint LAWRENCE takes us back to the 3 rd century AD to the city of Rome. During the reign of Emperors Decius, Gallius and Valerian (251-260 AD) there was fierce persecution of the Christians. In these persecutions, Popes Stephen and Sixtus II, Deacon Lawrence and two young men, Pancratius and Tarcius, died as martyrs.

Lawrence was a deacon, an Assistant Priest, to Pope Sixtus II. His duties were to assist the Pope in spiritual and pastoral activities and to come to the succour of the less fortunate people. He was also the administrator of the Church treasury and responsible for the Church’s revenues.

In the year 257 Pope Sixtus II was condemned to death by the Prefect of Rome. When he was being led to the place of execution Lawrence ran up to the Pope and said, “Father, why are you going alone to the place of execution without taking me?” In reply the Pope said, “My son, I am old and feeble. With one single stroke of the sword, my life on earth will be brought to an end. But you are still young and strong. A more severe death penalty and its glory are awaiting you. After three days you will meet me in heaven.”

After the beheading of Pope Sixtus II, Lawrence was summoned by the Prefect of Rome who knew about Lawrence’s responsibility over the Church’s treasury. The Prefect orde#af1414 Lawrence to hand over the Church’s revenues to him. Lawrence said, “I assure you that I will show you a very valuable part of the Church’s riches. I only request you to give me three days to make an inventory and to collect all the revenues.”

Lawrence went all over Rome searching in every hutment for the poor and the needy, the sick and the infirm. He gathe#af1414 about one thousand of such people who were supported by the church and distributed among them all the valuables of the Church. Three days later he led them in procession to the Prefect of Rome and told him, “Here are the true riches and the glory of the Church.” On seeing that he was outdone, the Prefect orde#af1414 Lawrence to be put to death. “Tie this disobedient fellow on the grid-iron and kindle a fire underneath so that the wretched may be roasted alive in fire and meet his death. Let him realize that the Prefect of Rome is not an object of ridicule and mockery,” he said.

The command of the Prefect was carried out carefully. Lawrence was stripped. His body was stretched out and bound with chains on an iron grid over a slow fire. Lawrence accepted this inhuman torment with great fortitude. His flesh broiled little by little. He prayed for his country and for his torturers and died. It was 10 th day of August of the year 258 AD.

HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL
This educational institution, started in 1810 as an elementary school, is one of the oldest in Kolkata. It was attached to the Church of Our Lady of Dolours at Baithakkhana, Sealdah. In 1855 the school came to be known as St John Chrysostom’s School in honour of the Archbishop Primate of Goa who visited it. It sent up students for the Lower Primary Examination. In 1902 St Ann’s Orphanage was inaugurated. It incorporated the already existing school and got recognized as an Upper Primary School. Although Bengali was the medium of instruction great attention was paid to the teaching of English.

From 1913 boys were trained for the Junior Cambridge Course. English became the medium of instruction. In 1920 the school was accorded recognition as a High School by the University of Calcutta. The first batch of students for the Matriculation Examination was sent up in 1922. Fr Lawrence Rodriques sj took charge of St John Chrysostom High School at 126, Bow Bazar Street in the early 1930’s. It was a boarding and day school. The place was very congested. There was no playground. The ground floor of the school building was occupied by a printing press. On the first floor were the classrooms and on the second floor, the boarding.

Fr Lawrence felt the need for developing and expanding the school. So he began to look for a better place and found a plot of land in Ballygunge, belonging to St Xavier’s College, on sale. With the permission of the Archbishop of Calcutta, he bought this land with the money he gathe#af1414 by organizing raffle on Sundays.

On a crisp winter morning of January 1937, St Chrysostom School was shifted from Baithakkhana to Ballygunge Circular Road and rechristened St Lawrence High School. As the first group of teachers and students ente#af1414 the compound of this newly built school they could not but be overawed by the sheer size of the new school building, the beautiful flower garden, the large playground and the imposing row of tall eucalyptus trees along Ritchie Road. The School in its new location got a new patron “St Lawrence” and a new motto “LIKE GOLD IN A FURNACE” which was changed to “For God and Country”.

Fr August Cordeiro sj took over the administration of the school with a new title, Rector-cum- Headmaster. In January 1953 a new Jesuit residence came up in line with the school building. In 1958 another block on the Western corner of the property was erected by Fr A Wautier sj to accommodate the Primary Section. The school was upgraded to class XI, Higher Secondary, in the same year.

The process of consolidation in academic and other fields was continued and extended during the time of Fr T Richir sj who also introduced the NCC Air wing, designed the school uniform and initiated the annual school concert.

Following the adoption of the 10+2 pattern of education St Lawrence High School opened the Higher Secondary Department in July, 1976, recognized by the West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education with Science and Commerce streams. A novel feature was the opening of Bengali stream in Commerce and a Bengali section from class 1 to 10 in the Primary and Secondary sections in 1980. Earlier, to respond to the increasing space requirements, the Boarding section (which for many years occupied the top floor of the school building) was relocated in 1981, to an entirely new complex erected on the site of the old swimming pool. The school chapel was also shifted to the hostel building. In 1984 the school library cum reading room known as Rabindra Granthagar was inaugurated. In 1986 a computer room was opened to provide computer literacy to students. In 2014 Wavreil Hall was inaugurated for conference and meeting.

St Lawrence, renovated Britto Stoa, new staff room, two computer rooms for students and newly refurnished state of art library christened Fr Lazarus Library.

Many are the towering personalities whose tireless labours, selfless dedication and single minded devotion nurtu#af1414 the school and contributed to its growth. Over the years number of successive Jesuit Principals contributed to the growth of St Lawrence to mention a few are Fr Aloysious Carvalho sj, Fr Andre Bruylants sj, Fr Adrien Wavreil sj, Fr Anil Mitra sj, Fr Sebastian Nallail sj and Fr Kurian Emprayil sj.

St Lawrence High School as an educational institution acknowledges the significance of values in shaping the character of a child. Ever since its inception, the institution has spa#af1414 no effort to cater to the upliftment of the poorer sections of society irrespective of caste, creed or social status. St Lawrence High School makes a special effort to promote unity in diversity and try to instil in every student a sense of justice and service of the less fortunate. The institution is proud of its alumni, St Lawrence Old Boys Association (SLOBA), which runs a charitable dispensary and involves itself in various projects of the School heralding the Jesuit motto “Persons for and with others”.

The Society of Jesus, the founder body of St Lawrence High School, is a Catholic religious order, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. It has been active in the field of education throughout the world since its origin. Worldwide Jesuits work in 70 countries, in 3730 institutions educating 2.5 million students. In India the Society of Jesus is responsible for 181 schools and colleges in which over 171,989 young people belonging to every social class, community and linguistic group are educated through the medium of nine regional languages and English. These institutions are part of the Catholic Church, which, while being particularly responsible for the welfare of the Catholic community, has always been at the service of the whole nation. Jesuit education aims at the integral formation of the young leading them to grow into Persons for and with others.

School anthem
We stand for God and for our country,
Our nation’s freedom, we acclaim,
And dedicate it to God’s glory,
Else all endeavour were in vain.

We lift our hearts and voices
To India’s standard on high
Beneath our flag we pledge our service
Strong in a love that ne’er shall die.

We shall not fail, nor shall we falter
We’ll take all hardships in our stride
And on we’ll march, true to his glory
And true to God our strength, our guide.

An end to graft, greed and hat#af1414
A nation’s soul lies fette#af1414 till
In freedom’s cause we fight united
For truth, justice, peace, goodwill.