HYDERABAD: Hyderabad is the hotbed of history, culture, and modernity, all at the same time. It is no surprise then that the city proudly houses — apart from stunning ancient monuments and palaces — old educational institutions that have stood the test of time. One such school is St George’s Grammar School, which has been propelling its students to greatness since 1834. It recently completed its 190th foundation day and so, CE took a walk down history lane with school special officer R Satyanandam.
The prestigious institution has quite an interesting story too. “Established in the year 1834 by the British Army, the school was later handed to the Nizams, whose children studied here. Then it went to the Australians and subsequently to the Methodist Mission. In the 1960s, it was handed to the Church of South India Trust Association, and it remains under the association even today,” explained the special officer.
The school also boasts of several notable alumni who have contributed greatly to the country. “Sarojini Naidu, Rakesh Sharma, Suresh Oberoi, and KT Rama Rao, to name a few. Lieutenant Bhavana Kasturi, the first woman officer to lead an all-men Army contingent at Republic Day, is also from this school,” said Satyanandam proudly.
And just like it revels in its highs, every institution encounters its fair share of both changes and challenges. The special officer added that the pandemic especially caused the school to hit a rough patch. He stated, “We had around 3,800 students.
For nearly 21 months, we did not receive any fee from students. Around thousand students even left the school; their parents were working in Gulf countries and lost their jobs due to the pandemic. It was tough for us but we gave fee concessions and got all the students back. By God’s grace, we could handle the situation.”
The beauty of such an old institution is that it becomes a historical monument of sorts. The special officer revealed, “When the building was initially constructed, they coated it with lime paint.
We repainted it again to maintain the look. The building was also very old. But instead of pulling it down and constructing a new building, we chose to remodel. The front portion, constructed in 1834, is a heritage structure and the identity of our school. So, we chose to retain it.”
The school is ably run by Rt Rev Prof Dr K Ruben Mark, who is the bishop of the Medak Diocese, Church of South India. Prof Dr B Vimal Sukumar is the warden and correspondent.
St George’s Grammar school shines bright with many students and Satyanandam pointed out, “In preparatory school, which is nursery to grade 3, we have 1,600 male and female students. After grade 3, boys will go to the boy’s school and girls will go to the girl’s school. In the girl’s school, we currently have 1,300-odd students and in the boy’s school, we have 1,400-odd students. We have also established a junior, degree, and PG college.”
