| Cathedral And John Connon School |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT CATHEDRAL AND JOHN CONNON SCHOOL | |
| educational institutions established in 1922 | |
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It was in the year 1860 that Bishop Harding and the Cathedral Chaplain decided to open a Grammar School within the walled city of Bombay. This small establishment, together with an even smaller school for girls, were to be the first of many strands which were eventually joined together to form the Cathedral School as we know it today. On October 1st 1875, a Choir School was established with the primary objective of providing choristers for St. Thomas' Cathedral. In the meantime, in 1866, The Bombay Scottish Education Society had been founded. in 1881 the society put up a beautiful building on the Esplanade naming it after Mr. John Connon, a well-know philanthropist and Chief Registrar of Bombay. In 1902 the Society took over the small school conducted by the Wesleyan Church in Colaba Causeway. This virtually became the kindergarten department of the John Connon School till it was closed in 1920, when the accommodation became unsuitable. The Bombay Diocesan society had opened a High School in Byculla in 1878. This school was amalgamated with the Choir School under the name of the Cathedral High School. Rs 50,000 was collected by grants and public subscriptions and the Government Paper purchased with this sum forms the major portion of the present endowment settled by Trust Deed on the Cathedral High School. The present Senior School building, a happy blend of Gothic and Indian Architecture, was erected and occupied in 1896. In 1880, the Girls' School was started under the supervision of Mrs. Evans, wife of the headmaster of the Boys' School. It was housed in the Old High Court. As the number of European families increased and the residential areas they occupied became more widespread, many small schools, each linked to a particular branch of the Christian Church sprang up. Finally, in 1922, at a public meeting held at the Town Hall, the Principal of the Cathedral Boys' School suggested that the Cathedral Schools and the Scottish School should join forces instead of competing against each other. The idea was applauded enthusiastically and so the Anglo-Scottish Education Society was conceived. The re-organisation of the school was effected, with Col. Hammond as the Principal. The schools with boarding facilities were now divided as follows : 1. The Cathedral Boys' School - Outram Road (now Purshottarndas Thakurdas Marg). 2. The Cathedral Girls' School - Napier Road (now Maharishi Dadhichi Marg). 3. John Connon School - Esplanade Road (Now Mahatma Gandhi Road). The Malabar Hill Infant School was founded in 1965. In the 60s coeducation was still viewed with trepidation and when in 1965, the Principal, Rev. Ridding, stated that the only way to solve the financial and organisational problems of the school was to make it coeducation, some people felt so strongly about it that they went to Court to stop the school from proceeding with these plans. Justice Lentin, a name which was to become synonymous with courageous judgments two decades later, weighed the legal points carefully and pronounced that the school had every right to introduce coeducation if it so wished. The 'merger' surprisingly was processed smoothly. In the words of Mr. Gunnery, one of the school's eminent principals, "the School is a place where everything that goes on bears the stamp of the Cathedral School character and tradition Our education is international. We are an Indian school where foreigners are at home, a Christian school which children of any faith can call their own." "Indeed the School's objective is all round character formation and the development of proper attitudes. Consciously and unconsciously, pupils absorb a great deal apart from subjects they study and in the great examinations of Life, it is these extra assimilations which speak a school's worth." The motto of the school is 'Clarum Efficiunt Studia'. This is in Latin and in English means 'Studies Maketh Famous'. The school has a house system that is introduced from Grade 3 (though only the activities of grades 8-12 count to the Cock House tally). The four houses are(in alphabetical order) Barham, Palmer, Savage and Wilson named after the founders of the school- Cannon Barham, Bishop Palmer, Arthur Savage and Percival Wilson. The school currently has four buildings - the Infant School, Junior School, Middle School and Senior School. Recently, the Cathedral and John Connon also opened a nursery on the property of the St. Thomas Cathedral at Fort in Mumbai. PRINCIPAL The current principal of the Cathedral and John Connon School is Mrs. Meera Isaacs. Mrs. Meera Isaacs was recently honoured with a National Award for Best Teacher from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India. She received this award from the President of India in an Award Distribution Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on 5th September 2005. Mrs. Isaacs, who has been the Principal of the school since 1996, has the honour of being the first woman Principal of the school in over 145 years. Mrs.Meera Isaacs' predecessor was Mr.D.E.W.Shaw. HEADMISTRESSES
FAMOUS ALUMNI
HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS
HOUSE MASTERS & HOUSE MISTRESSES
COCK HOUSE
STUDENT OFFICE BEARERS
SCHOOL ADDRESSES Senior School 6, Purshottamdas Thakurdas Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. India. Middle School 4, Maharishi Dadhichi Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. India. Junior School 19, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. India. Infant School 9, Little Gibbs Road, Malabar Hill, Mumbai - 400 006. India. Pre-Primary School St. Thomas' Cathedral, Veer Nariman Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. India. TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Office Hours - 7:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays EXTERNAL LINKS
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