St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School

St. John's Diocesan Girls' H. S. School, better known simply as Diocesan, is situated in the city of Kolkata (old name Calcutta) in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was established in the year 1894. Standing on the crossing of Sarat Bose Road (erstwhile Lansdowne Road) and Elgin Road in South Kolkata it is a green haven within the crowded bustle of the city. The beautiful Victorian buildings and extensive open spaces make it an ideal place to spend the better part of your childhood.

The School is one of the oldest schools of Kolkata (India). The school was founded in 1894 by the Clewer Sisters of the convent of John the Baptist. The school was first started by Ms. Angelina Margaret Hoare, a missionary of Kent, England in 1876. The school has contributed to the cause of women's education for more than a century. Galaxies of luminaries in various disciplines of life originated from this great institution.It has contributed almost extravagantly to the cultural lives of middle class Bengali Homes. The school is affliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.

As is evident from the name it only admits female students and is predominantly taught by female teachers. The school teaches from the pre-primary level to the higher secondary (10 + 2)and is affiliated under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Examination and West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination. The medium of instruction is English though Bengali and Hindi are taught as first languages. Pre-primary, Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary section starts class at the same time in the morning five-days a week with the first two sections having an earlier finish than the rest.

Overall Secondary and Higher Secondary results have been consistently good for the school.

It has a comprehensive and updated library collection nestled high up on one of its five majestic buildings. Students are actively encouraged to read books that are out of their academic syllabus.

Distinguished Alumni of the School

*Maitreyee Devi
*Ketaki Kushari Dyson, the famous literati
*Nalini Das, Ex-principal of Bethune College
*Lady Abala Basu, wife of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, who later started Brahmo Samaj Girls' School
*Leela Majumdar, noted authoress
*Sarala Ray, founder of Gokhale Memorial School
*Dr. Renuka Rai, the first lady Doctor of Calcutta
*Dr. Mitasree Dasgupta, an eminent Gynaecologist of Calcutta
*Smt. Beena Das, freedom fighter who shot at Governor Stanley Jackson on April 7, 1931, for which the recognition of the Diocesan College was revoked
*Sebati Mitra, Ex-principal of Rani Birla College
*Chhaya Biswas, Ex-principal of St. Thomas' Girls School, Kidderpore
*Sheila Broughton, Principal of Julien Day School
*Maya Dutta, Ex-principal of Lady Brabourne College
*Purnima Dasgupta, Principal of Alipore Govt. School
*Kalyani Karlekar, Ex-principal, Hastings College of Education
*Dr. Bharati Roy, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Calcutta University
*Malini Bhattacharya, Reader in the Department of English and Ex-M.P.
*Chhanda Chowdhury, Reader in the Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University
*Tara Chakraborty, Reader in Calcutta University
*Charulata Das, Molina Mukherjee and Jaya Shome, three Ex-principals of Diocesan
*Ela Dutta, retired D.I.
*Rama Roy, daughter of Sarat Chandra Bose
*Chitra Ghosh, Ex-Professor, Lady Brabourne College
*Mahua Kini, renowned social worker in London
*Tanika Sarkar, Professor in the Department of History, St. Stephen's College, Delhi
*Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak, Professor in English, Columbia University
*Mala Al-Farooq, Professor, Modern Indology, University of Heidelberg, Germany
*Manjusree Chaki Sarkar
*Debjani Chaliha, noted danseuse
*Alokananda Roy
*Sharmila Tagore
*Mala Sinha
*Saswati Guha Thakurta from film and T.V.
*Subhalaxmi Khan, wife of maestro Amjad Ali Khan and a famous dancer
*Sakuntala Sen and Usha Iyenger, both renowned table tennis players
*Zulekha Ruksana, Principal, College of Catering and Hotel Management
*Bani Tagore and Sreeradha Banerjee and Uttara Chowdhury, noted singers

External links

* [http://www.stjohnsdiocesanschool.com/mission.html Official web site]