St. George's Grammar School (Hyderabad)
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St. George's Grammar School was established by the Church of England to cater to the educational needs of the children of the British community serving the Government in Hyderabad.
When India gained independence, this school was handed over to the newly formed Church of South India that also incorporated the Church of England apart from other Church Societies of British origin.
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Background
St. George's Grammar School is located on Abids Road, Hyderabad. It is divided into three campuses, viz., the Boy's School (Containing the original 1834 St. George's Building), the Girl's School and the Preparatory School (Prep School for short). St. George's Church separates the Boy's School from the other two schools.
Till the last decade, the Boy's school had a playground annexed to it. Word was around at that time that it would house a shopping complex and was closed for the pupils. A graveyard could also bee seen from the vestry of the Church.
The Girl's school now has a big playground, with facilities for Basketball and [[Long jump ]]
Motto
Perseverantia Omnia Vincit is the school motto ( Latin for Perseverance Conquers All Things). The motto can be seen embedded into the school's main building right below the school's official emblem.
Administration
As of 30th June 2007, the Principals of the three schools are Mr Moses Paul for the Boy's school, Mrs Ether Jyotsna for the Girl's. The school is under the Church of South India diocese of Medak. The Bishop is Dr. B. P. Sugandhar.
School life
School uniform
St. George's Boys wear gray shirts with shoulder flaps and gray trousers, gray socks, black shoes, black belt with the St. George logo, a maroon tie with white double-diagonal stripes and a white school badge bearing the St. George logo and school motto. On Saturdays, a special sports uniform is worn. This consists of a white shirt, white trousers, white socks and shoes and the school tie, belt and badge.
St. George's Girls wear white shirts, gray jumpers(tunics), white socks, black shoes, a maroon tie with white double-diagonal stripes and a white badge bearing the St. George logo and school motto. On physical training days, a special sports uniform is worn. This consists of a white shirt, a maroon skirt, white socks and shoes and the school badge.
Morning assembly
Students gather on the main ground and stand in single files according to class and section. The Morning Assembly commences at 8:15 am and is conducted by the school principal. The principal updates the students on the latest events and announcements of the school and the assembly is closed with the Morning Prayer.
Hall system
Certain students are chosen as Prefects from Classes 9th-12th to take the responsibility of the school discipline. Each prefect is awarded a name plate and a Prefect Badge. The prefectship is inspired by the words Honour, Duty and Loyalty. All the prefects are answerable to The Chief Prefect and The Deputy Chief Prefect and are allotted certain areas of the campus to monitor during the recess. The prefects help in the smooth running of the student crowd during recess, prevent undisciplinary behavior and in other daily activities of the school.
Games
The students of the school are encouraged in various games and sports by the Physical Training department. The various games and sports include: cricket, basketball, football, table tennis, badminton, chess and Carroms.
The school has its official Cricket and Basketball teams which take part in various Inter-School Tournaments every year.
Sports day
The Annual Sports day is held once a year between the months of November and December. This event is preceded by competitions in various sports and games in which the students take part through the school's four houses. The four houses are: Clarence (Blue House), Bellingham (Red House), Williams (Green House) and Patricks (Yellow House).The four houses for the Girl's school are named as Smith (Yellow), George (Red House), Davidson (Blue House), Williams (Green House). All four houses have been named after the school's most respected principals and wardens from the golden age. Each house consists of a Captain and a Vice-Captain and the rest of the students are divided equally.
The competitions are held in various track & field athletics, cricket, football, basketball, chess, carroms, badminton and table tennis. The winners of each event are awarded the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively and each victory adds to their house's overall score.
On the day of the sports day, the event starts with an opening march past lead by the Chief Prefect followed by the Deputy Chief Prefect, General Captain, The Red House, The Blue House, The Green House and The Yellow House. The Marchpast is immediately followed up with various Drills performed by all the batches of students. The event progresses to the end with the Closing March Past which is followed by the declaration of the winning house, the principal's address, the chief guest's address and the closing prayer.
The winning house is awarded a shield and all the individual winners are awarded medals for their respective achievements.
Patron saint
St George was initially promoted to patron saint in 1061 when a church in Doncaster was dedicated to him. But our first reference to him in history comes from the Anglo-saxon prose writer, Aelfric, who reveres him in his Lives of the Saints (c.1000). George also appears in the Golden Legends, an English translation of Jacobus de Voragine's Saint's Lives published by Caxton in 1483.
The legend - in which George slays a fierce dragon, symbolising evil, and rescues an innocent maiden from death - is thought to have appeared as late as the 12th century and may have origins in the story of Perseus, who defended the virgin Andromeda against the monstrous Medusa. To Christians, George is a historical figure, an archetypal soldier made famous for tearing down Diocletian's edict against Christianity. For this act he is believed to have been beheaded in Lydda, Palestine (in AD 303), thus becoming an early Christian martyr.
At the Council of Oxford in 1222, St George's Day was declared a public holiday. It was Edward III who instituted the Order of St George and encouraged the battle cry 'St George for England!' St George's Day continued to grow in popularity and the 23rd April soon became an occasion for feasting in monasteries across England.
Stream
St. George's follows the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education pattern. Examinations are conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. Those completing their tenth grade through this school would be awarded the ICSE by the Council.
If one wishes to continue studies here up to the twelfth grade, then the Council awards the Indian School Certificate.
The various subjects taught in the school are: English language, English Literature, Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, History and Civics, Accounting, Commerce, Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Home Science, Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) and Moral Science.
Chief prefects
1995: Jignesh Buddhadev 1996: Salman Ahmed Siddiqui 1997: Zaheer Abbas Zaidi