Cathedral High School

Description

In 1860, Bishop Harding and the Cathedral Chaplain decided to open a 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. In 1875, a Choir School was established with the primary objective of providing choristers for St. ThomasÕ Cathedral.Meanwhile, the Bombay Scottish Education Society founded in 1866, put up a beautiful building on the Esplanade in 1881, naming it after John Connon, a well-known 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 blend of Gothic and Indian Architecture, was erected and occupied in 1896.In 1880, the GirlsÕ School was started under the supervision of Mrs. Evans, wife of the headmaster of the BoysÕ 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 sprang up. Finally, in 1922, at a public meeting held at the Town Hall the Principal of the Cathedral BoysÕ 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.In the 60s, co-education 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 co-education, 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 co-education if it so wished. The ÔmergerÕ surprisingly was processed smoothly.The New Cathedral High School was built by Khan Bahadur Muncherjee Cowasjee Murzban (1839-1917) and designed in an Italian Gothic style. This view of the school shows a four-storey structure articulated with arcades, balconies and a high roof.