Hyderabad Public School

Infobox Private School | name = Hyderabad Public School

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established = 1923
type = Public
head_name = Headmaster
head =
city = Hyderabad
state = Andhra Pradesh
country = India
campus = Urbanenrollment = 590 (total), 406 (9-12)
faculty = 102
colors = Blue & Gold
mascot =
homepage = [http://www.hps-begumpet.com/hpsbegumpet/home.htm Official site]

The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet or HPS, Begumpet, is one of the oldest and most prestigious public schools in Hyderabad in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

It was established in 1923 as a school for the members of the then Indian aristocracy. It is situated on a lush convert|160|acre|km2|sing=on campus with majestic buildings. Children are schooled from pre-primary school through the 12th standard (age 3 to age 17). Instruction is provided on a wide range of subjects. The school is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certification Examinations (ICSE, ISC). Its administrative body is the non profit organisation called as "Hyderabad Public School Society", which also runs The Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur, The Hyderabad Public School, Kadapa.

History

The Institution was first established in 1923 in the erstwhile Princely State of Hyderabad due to the initiative of Mr. H. Wakefield under the Nizam of Hyderabad (the erstwhile royal family of Hyderabad) and was meant exclusively for the education of the sons of the Jagirdars. Its first Principal, Mr. Shawcross, might be called the founder of the Jagirdar's College. It was the first residential school catering to the sons of the Jagirdagrs and Zamindars in those days.

After the abolition of the Jagirdari/Zamindari system in 1950, the Indian Government decided that the Jagirdar's College should be converted to an Independent Public School, thus throwing open its portals to all, irrespective of class or creed. The Jagirdar's College was reorganised in 1951 as The Hyderabad Public School and was affiliated as a member of the Indian Public Schools Conference (IPSC). In 1952, the Hyderabad Public School Society was formed with the Late Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India, as the first Chairman of the Society. Mr. John W. R. Kempe was appointed the first principal of the school. Till 1988, the school was an all boys school, and subsequently from 1989, it became a co-educational institution.

The school has grown immensely in strength since then and today, it has about 3000 boys and girls from diverse backgrounds on its rolls. It boasts an excellent library, well-equipped science and computer laboratories, art rooms, carpentry and book-binding workshops, a music room, and numerous sports facilities.

Since its inception in 1923, the school celebrated its Golden Jubilee in December 1973 and its Diamond Jubilee in December 1984. Its Platinum Jubilee was celebrated in 1999.

Insignia and motto

During the Jagirdar's College Days, the flag had three colours — Dark Blue to signify Oxford University, Light Blue to signify Cambridge University and the yellow band in the centre to signify the House of Asaf Jah.

Today, the school flag is Dark Blue and Light Blue with a golden eagle at the centre with the school motto "Be Vigilant" emblazoned across the lower part in bold calligraphy.

The school emblem is the Shaheen (which literally mean 'Royal White Falcon'). The Shahenn was chosen by the then Principal Mr. Kempe for its sharpness of vision and its innate ability to soar to great heights. The main building of the school which houses the 'Turner Library' and 'The Shawcross Hall'is also called the 'Shaheen Block'.The Eagle has evolved as the local school emblem due to the large number of Eagles which inhabit the dense forest areas of the school.

The school motto is "Be Vigilant". These words exhort young students to be mentally and physically alert, to be discerning of life and the challenges it has to offer, and to demonstrate sharpness of vision and character to overcome them.

Important buildings and halls

The Shaheen block, named after the school emblem, houses Shawcross Hall (the senior school assembly hall) and Turner Library one of the best libraries , both named after principals of the Jagirdar's College.

The Kuruvilla Jacob(Science) block houses the majority of the Senior school classrooms and science and computer laboratories.

The John Kempe block, named after the first principal of the Hyderabad Public School, houses most of the Primary school classrooms and the Primary school library.

The Purohit block, named after a former principal of the Hyderabad Public School, houses the remaining Primary school classrooms.

The Durand block, named after the second principal of the Jagirdar's College, houses Middle school classrooms.

The school song

These words were exclusively composed and set to music by the staff members when Mr. A.S. Arnold-Brown was the Principal. Today, the School Song is sung every Monday morning at assembly.

It goes thus:

God, keep this school and all who herein dwell
Safe from all harm and evil's mighty spell
Teach us to live so one and all may be
Proud of this land and man's equality
God grant that we may live in liberty

Lead us along the path of good and right
Lead us to greatness always in thy sight
All in the school who grow from year to year
May know the truth that thou art always near
And give their best without regret or fear

So in the end this school may grow in fame
All who are here may loudly sing its name
And through the years and from each day to day
May we have cause to rise and proudly say
God bless this school and all who herein dwell

The house system

The entire student body is divided into four houses named after renowned and ancient Indian universities and empires. Initially, they only had two houses, the East and West Wings but today there are four:

*Nalanda - The blue house
*Nagarjuna - The Red House
*Taxila - The Green House
*Vijaynagar - The Yellow House

The prefectural system

The prefectural system is a distinctive tradition of the school. A select body of students is invested (in a grand Investiture Ceremony which includes, among other festivities, a parade) with defined powers and privileges. The prefects serve to provide inspiration to the student body, and endeavour to lead it into realms of achievements.The heads of the student body are the Head Boy and the Head Girl. These posts in The Hyderabad Public School are highly regarded throughout the city. Some of the noteworthy Head Boys were Maulana Jannat Hussien (1979) and Ishan John Chatterjee (1997). These students are chosen not only based on their academic and leadership skills, but also for their sense of integrity and honour.

The school uniform

Boys must wear khaki shirts with navy-blue shoulder-tabs with a stripe of their house colour across the tabs. Boys are required to wear khaki shorts till the ninth standard, and senior school boys must wear khaki trousers with their shirts tucked in and a black belt. The footwear consists of khaki socks and black shoes. Girls are required to wear cream-coloured blouses under olive-green pinafores with olive-green cloth belts and white socks in black school shoes. Prefects are given stars and/or extra stripes and badges (2 inch by 1/2 inch gold-coloured eagles) each depending on their duties and are thus accoladed. School Blazers (dark navy blue) and ties (dark blue with a white eagle insignia in the middle) are given to prefects. The blazers can be worn by any student (usually on special occasions).The boys' Physical Education/games uniform consists of a white t-shirt with the eagle insignia (printed where the left breast-pocket would be) and shorts in the official house colour. Girls wear plain white button-down shirts and skirts coloured in their official house colour.

Notable alumni

* Harsha Bhogle, journalist and cricket commentator
* Akkineni Nagarjuna, actor
* Gaddam Vinod, Minister of Labour, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India
* Kanumuri Bapi Raju, ex-member of Indian Parliament
* M M Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence, India
* Sanjiv Sidhu, Chief Executive Officer, i2, Dallas, Texas
* Satya Nadella, Corporate Vice-President, Microsoft Business Solutions
* Shantanu Narayen, Chief Executive Officer, Adobe Systems
* Talat Aziz, Ghazal singer
* V. Prem Watsa, Chairman, CEO, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Canada
* Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar, actor
* N. Ranga Prasad, Ex-President, Hyderabad Stock Exchange
* Nikhil Chinapa, MTV VJ
* Ranjit Pritviraj, COO, Intelligroup.
* C.V. Anand, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, AP
* Dinesh Reddy, IPS, Former Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad
* Pavan Malvay
* Karan Bilmoria, CEO Cobra Beer

List of principals

Principals of the Jagirdar's College
1. Mr. H.W. Shaw Cross: from June 1924 to October 1928
2. Mr. P.F. Durand: from October 1928 to March 1937
3. Mr. E.E.S. Peight: from March to April 1937 (officiating principal)
4. Mr. K.A. Lateef: from April 1937 to July 1938
5. Mr. F.W. Turner: from August 1938 to February 1947
6. Mr. K.A. Lateef: from February 1947 to September 1951

Principals of the Hyderabad Public School
7. Mr. J.M.R. Kempe: from September 1952 to August 1954
8. Mr. R. Shivraj Bahadur: from September 1952 to August 1954
9. Mr. A.S. Arnold Brown: from September 1955 to June 1958
10.Mr. R. Shivraj Bahadur: from June 1958 to July 1960
11. Mr. J. Wellington: from June 1960 to July 1962 (in charge Principal)
12. Mr. K. Kuruvilla Jacob: from September 1962 to October 1968
13. Mr. M.C. Watsa: from January 1969 to June 1972
14. Lt. Col. Y.R. Puri: from June 1972 to June 1975
15. Mr. N.R.K. Murthy: from July 1975 to June 1976 (in charge Principal)
16. Mr. H.L. Dutt: from June 1976 to April 1979
17. Mr. D.P. Purohit: from April 1979 to April 1984
18. Mr. V.K. Raman: from May to June 1984 (in charge Principal)
19. Mr. S.K. Bose: from July 1984 to September 1986
20. Mr. O.P. Pathak: from October 1986 to June 1988 (additional charge)
21. Mr. S.K. Bose: from July 1988 to March 1990
22. Mr. K. Sambasiva Rao: from April 1990 to March 1991 (in charge Principal)
23. Mr. M.R. Jadeja: from October 1991 to March 1992
24. Mr. R. Sathyanarayana: from August 1992 to April 1993
25. Mr. K. Sambasiva Rao: from May 1993 to June 1999
26. Major-General K.N. Sardana: from April 2000 to June 2002
27. Mr. H.L. Chopra: from April 2003 to May 2004
28. Mrs. Shobhana Nair:
29. Mr. S.R.S. Bhandari(From June 2007 to May 2008)
30. Capt(IN) Alokesh Sen(Retd) (From June 2008 to present)

External links

* [http://www.hps-begumpet.com/ Official alumni website]