St. Columba's School, Delhi
St.Columba's is one of twelve of its kind conducted by the Indian Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers which was founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Following the C.B.S.E. system of education since 1991, Columba's is spread over a comfortably sized campus, in the very heart of Delhi. Offering a modest range of subjects for students in Class Eleven, Columba's was the first to introduce many a facility for the betterment of the students, such as computer sciences and computer labs. Columba's, though known for numerous prestigious events of its own, has always had a notable presence in all other inter-school events like the Columban Open Quiz, which is one of the largest inter-school quizzes in North India, attracting over 200 teams and has been at the forefront when it came to charitable causes.
History
Officially opened on Tuesday, 29th April 1941, St.Columba's began with 32 boys in New Delhi next to the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Admitting boys till class 6, the school known for its beautiful buildings, soon grew in strength and reputation to become one of the premier institutions of education in India. It was one of the first schools in the India to introduce computer education. It was a pioneer in providing other facilities like a swimming pool too.
Founder
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (born 1762, died 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist who was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1996. He was born in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1762 and died in Waterford, Ireland in 1844. His remains are in a casket in Mount Sion, Waterford.
When Edmund's wife died after an accident in 1789, he devoted himself to prayer and charitable work, particularly with the poor and marginalised. In 1802, he opened a school for them but the children were so difficult to manage that the teachers resigned. This prompted him to give up his own business and devote himself to training teachers who would dedicate their lives to prayers and to teaching the children free of charge.
He is the founder of two orders of religious brothers: The Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers.
The Christian Brothers grew throughout Ireland, England, Southern Africa, India, America and Australia and today many schools in those countries owe their existence to his vision. His mission is continued by more than 1900 brothers living in over 350 communities educating more than 200,000 students throughout the world.
Various Buildings
The school compund comprises of 5 buildings:
- Junior School
- Middle School
- Senior School
- Edmund Rice Hall
- Residential Block
Junior School
The Junior School, built in 1955, was the second building to come up. Attendance having increased dramatically to 2200 from 600 in 3 years, its need was clearly felt. Today, this cream and brick structure houses the junior classes from K.G. to 3, including an upgraded computer lab and other facilities such as singing rooms and a separate multimedia room.
Middle School
The Middle School building, built in stark contrast to the rest of the school, not only in colour but also in style, was built in 1967-68. It now houses classes from 4 onwards to 10, with even more laboratories, a totally separate computer room, the best in the school, and, the most reminiscent place for every ex-columban, the Canteen.
Senior School
The most majestic of buildings, the senior school building, when built, stood alone and housed the entire school. Today, the 11th and 12th classes are to be found here alongwith a library, science laboratories and the administration wing. On the first floor are the residences of the Christian Brothers.
Alumni
The school's alumini is full of distinguished personalites in all fields imaginable like Shahrukh Khan and Palash Sen, the lead singer of the band Euphoria.
External Links
- The Official School website
- Another (detailed but unofficial) website
- Old Columban Association website (regularly updated)