The School
St Xavier’s School, Durgapur, is an English Medium Catholic School (ONLY FOR BOYS) established by the Jesuit Fathers in 1963 with the sole and exclusive purpose
of educating the children of Durgapur and its immediate surroundings. It is a Christian Unaided Minority School.
Besides the teaching and learning of academic subjects, personal care is taken to prepare the students to be good and loyal citizens of India.
The school, through the lips of its students, ever prays to the Almighty God to help it gleam LIKE GOLD IN A FURNACE” and be a peace haven… a home of freedom and joy where the spirit of love matches none.
The entire student populace is divided into four houses: Loyola, Gonzaga, Berchmans and Britto, as a tribute to the quartet of Jesuit saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Berchmans and St. John de Britto
The campus covers over 160000 square meters of land, one-third of which is full of dense greenery.
The Background in Brief
The Society of Jesus, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, gave the world the present system of schooling and is active in the field of education through its 1865 educational institutions in 65 countries, engaging approximately 98,000 teachers. In South Asia alone the Jesuits educate approximately 17,92,000 students in 153 High Schools, 378 University Colleges and 14 Technical Institutes, in addition to other dedicated works and services. This vast educational enterprise is only part of the Catholic Church’s larger efforts towards service to all people throughout the world.
On How the Ignatian Vision is Realized
The Ignatian vision is to transform the students into men for and with others – into persons of competence, conscience, compassion, character and faith. This is accomplished in collaboration with teachers and parents for building a better community for all beings in this world. More specifically, special efforts are made to help the students achieve Human Excellence over Academic Accomplishments.
The Background in Brief
The Society of Jesus, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, gave the world the present system of schooling and is active in the field of education through its 1865 educational institutions in 65 countries, engaging approximately 98,000 teachers. In South Asia alone the Jesuits educate approximately 17,92,000 students in 153 High Schools, 378 University Colleges and 14 Technical Institutes, in addition to other dedicated works and services. This vast educational enterprise is only part of the Catholic Church’s larger efforts towards service to all people throughout the world.
On How the Ignatian Vision is Realized
The Ignatian vision is to transform the students into men for and with others – into persons of competence, conscience, compassion, character and faith. This is accomplished in collaboration with teachers and parents for building a better community for all beings in this world. More specifically, special efforts are made to help the students achieve Human Excellence over Academic Accomplishments.
History: A Saga of about Sixty Years
In 1960, Mr Bell, the then General Manager of Hindustan Steel Ltd (or HSL, now known as Durgapur Steel Plant), requested the Jesuit Provincial Fr R. Antoine SJ, to establish a school in Durgapur. He offered a small plot of land at the crossing of Sarat Chandra Avenue and Kalidas Road, for the purpose. However, finding it inadequate, the Provincial declined the offer. But the real efforts to start a Jesuit School in Durgapur began in 1961. The Fathers of the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, decided to start separate schools for boys and girls respectively in the HSL Township. Fr Antoine SJ was to come to Durgapur, to finalize the acquisition of land, in January, 1962. Things got delayed by the exchange of letters during this process. An impatient Fr Antoine decided to drop the idea if he did not get a definite answer by August, 1962.
In any case, a simultaneous search was on to find an alternative site for the school. Mr Lahiri, the General Manager of Heavy Engineering Corporation (or HEC, later renamed as Mining and Allied Machineries Corporation or MAMC), was eager to provide space for the school in the MAMC Township. Fr Antoine was invited to come and inspect the new site in November, 1962. Mr Lahiri proposed Block-3 of Opthalmic Glass Project (later renamed as Bharat Opthalmic Glass Limited, controlled by MAMC) as a temporary location and later on, a permanent place “as and when” necessary. But the Jesuit Provincial was determined not to put a final seal on it unless he was given a guarantee on two points, the first being that it will be a school of the Jesuits with full authority and not a government school run by them and the second that the school may be started at the present site but a permanent place must be given for it to develop. Mr Lahiri readily agreed to both these points.
The school was to start from January, 1963. But the “Chinese War” and the subsequent emergency conditions delayed the start. Fr Antoine visited the site on 12.02.1963 and was satisfied with the arrangements there. He appointed Fr Dubois SJ as the Headmaster, to oversee furnishing, appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff and so on. Mr Lahiri made available the formal documents of the transfer of space for the school in Block-3 and the permission to use some of the A-type quarters of MAMC for the staff. It was decided that the school would be English-medium, affiliated to Senior Cambridge Board, with boys and girls up to class-4 and from class-5 onwards, for boys only. Thus began the journey of St Xavier’s School, Durgapur, from a shed in Opthalmic Glass Project, on the first day of May, 1963 – the Workers’ Day. It soon overcame the ignominy of its origin in a factory shed. The school was transferred to a permanent primary school building in MAMC on 14.09.1963. Fr Dubois SJ, along with Sch. A Crasta SJ, began the stabilizing process, living in a block just across the road.
This was followed by a frustrating period of looking for an appropriate plot of land where the school could grow unhampered. It was so frustrating that at one point the Jesuit Provincial declared that the Fathers would pull out of it if no land was made available to them. But, in mid 1964, Mr L Donnelly, the Deputy Managing Director of ACC Vickers Babcock Ltd (or AVB, later renamed as ABL Ltd, Alstom and eventually GE Power India Ltd. these days) contacted the then Jesuit Provincial, Fr A Wautier SJ to inform him that, if the Jesuits agreed, he could request the Government of West Bengal to hand over ten acres of land for a school run by them. Accordingly, AVB Ltd. surrendered the land on lease to the Jesuits for 997 years. On 18.02.1966, the foundation stone of the present building was laid by Dr Dharamsey M Khatau, Chairman, AVB Ltd, on a plot of land, adjacent to its residential township. In January, 1967, the school was transferred from the primary school building of MAMC to its new and permanent abode.
A parallel section (for the primary students only) was started with the main section (to be overseen by a Prefect but under the same Headmaster), for the children from DSP township. It started in 1964, in “Tagore House” and after a few months, was shifted to a primary school building. In 1971, the school was transferred to its own building. However, on the expiry of the thirty-year lease in 2001, the Jesuit Fathers decided to move out of the DSP township after another five years of “grace” period. Fr K K Devasy SJ, the then Headmaster, tried his best to acquire some land close to the present building, for the relocation of the Mirabai section and eventually a ten-plus-two section, without success. Finally the construction of a new building began in June, 2004, in the main campus itself and in 2006, the primary section at Mirabai Road was shifted to the current new building.
The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1988 in grand style, under the supervision of the then Headmaster, Fr A Wavreil SJ. It culminated in a colourful three-day cultural programme on the last three days of December, 1988. The milestone was graced by the blessings of all the available Headmasters of the yesteryears. As the Golden Jubilee of the school drew near, it wore a “brand new” look. The face-lift consisted of an entirely paved walk, an impressive gateway, purified drinking water system installed at appropriate places, fire-extinguishers, a new basketball court, a multi-gym, an indoor room for meditation and floor gymnastics, a separate library for the primary section and so on. An extension of the present auditorium with galleries and a fully equipped audio-visual room, were also on cards. Fr M S Arockiasamy SJ, left no stones unturned to commemorate the milestone year with programmes throughout the year that began on 01.05.2012 and ended on 01.05.2013.
The campus underwent further refurbishment under the flagship of the succeeding Headmaster, Fr Zenith William SJ, between 2013 and 2015. The school was accessorized with a paved parking lot, a children’s park, a lush green football ground, a new Computer lab and a Geography lab. This institution owes devout gratitude to all the former Headmasters, the present and retired staff members, the present and past pupils and the people of Durgapur who have helped in the germination and escalation of this temple of learning over the years. The present-day administrative team, comprising Fr KC Jacob SJ, Fr M Thomas Varghese SJ and Fr Zenith William SJ, eagerly looks forward to the Diamond Jubilee celebration of this highly acclaimed and adulated School of Durgapur in 2023.
In any case, a simultaneous search was on to find an alternative site for the school. Mr Lahiri, the General Manager of Heavy Engineering Corporation (or HEC, later renamed as Mining and Allied Machineries Corporation or MAMC), was eager to provide space for the school in the MAMC Township. Fr Antoine was invited to come and inspect the new site in November, 1962. Mr Lahiri proposed Block-3 of Opthalmic Glass Project (later renamed as Bharat Opthalmic Glass Limited, controlled by MAMC) as a temporary location and later on, a permanent place “as and when” necessary. But the Jesuit Provincial was determined not to put a final seal on it unless he was given a guarantee on two points, the first being that it will be a school of the Jesuits with full authority and not a government school run by them and the second that the school may be started at the present site but a permanent place must be given for it to develop. Mr Lahiri readily agreed to both these points.
The school was to start from January, 1963. But the “Chinese War” and the subsequent emergency conditions delayed the start. Fr Antoine visited the site on 12.02.1963 and was satisfied with the arrangements there. He appointed Fr Dubois SJ as the Headmaster, to oversee furnishing, appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff and so on. Mr Lahiri made available the formal documents of the transfer of space for the school in Block-3 and the permission to use some of the A-type quarters of MAMC for the staff. It was decided that the school would be English-medium, affiliated to Senior Cambridge Board, with boys and girls up to class-4 and from class-5 onwards, for boys only. Thus began the journey of St Xavier’s School, Durgapur, from a shed in Opthalmic Glass Project, on the first day of May, 1963 – the Workers’ Day. It soon overcame the ignominy of its origin in a factory shed. The school was transferred to a permanent primary school building in MAMC on 14.09.1963. Fr Dubois SJ, along with Sch. A Crasta SJ, began the stabilizing process, living in a block just across the road.
This was followed by a frustrating period of looking for an appropriate plot of land where the school could grow unhampered. It was so frustrating that at one point the Jesuit Provincial declared that the Fathers would pull out of it if no land was made available to them. But, in mid 1964, Mr L Donnelly, the Deputy Managing Director of ACC Vickers Babcock Ltd (or AVB, later renamed as ABL Ltd, Alstom and eventually GE Power India Ltd. these days) contacted the then Jesuit Provincial, Fr A Wautier SJ to inform him that, if the Jesuits agreed, he could request the Government of West Bengal to hand over ten acres of land for a school run by them. Accordingly, AVB Ltd. surrendered the land on lease to the Jesuits for 997 years. On 18.02.1966, the foundation stone of the present building was laid by Dr Dharamsey M Khatau, Chairman, AVB Ltd, on a plot of land, adjacent to its residential township. In January, 1967, the school was transferred from the primary school building of MAMC to its new and permanent abode.
A parallel section (for the primary students only) was started with the main section (to be overseen by a Prefect but under the same Headmaster), for the children from DSP township. It started in 1964, in “Tagore House” and after a few months, was shifted to a primary school building. In 1971, the school was transferred to its own building. However, on the expiry of the thirty-year lease in 2001, the Jesuit Fathers decided to move out of the DSP township after another five years of “grace” period. Fr K K Devasy SJ, the then Headmaster, tried his best to acquire some land close to the present building, for the relocation of the Mirabai section and eventually a ten-plus-two section, without success. Finally the construction of a new building began in June, 2004, in the main campus itself and in 2006, the primary section at Mirabai Road was shifted to the current new building.
The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1988 in grand style, under the supervision of the then Headmaster, Fr A Wavreil SJ. It culminated in a colourful three-day cultural programme on the last three days of December, 1988. The milestone was graced by the blessings of all the available Headmasters of the yesteryears. As the Golden Jubilee of the school drew near, it wore a “brand new” look. The face-lift consisted of an entirely paved walk, an impressive gateway, purified drinking water system installed at appropriate places, fire-extinguishers, a new basketball court, a multi-gym, an indoor room for meditation and floor gymnastics, a separate library for the primary section and so on. An extension of the present auditorium with galleries and a fully equipped audio-visual room, were also on cards. Fr M S Arockiasamy SJ, left no stones unturned to commemorate the milestone year with programmes throughout the year that began on 01.05.2012 and ended on 01.05.2013.
The campus underwent further refurbishment under the flagship of the succeeding Headmaster, Fr Zenith William SJ, between 2013 and 2015. The school was accessorized with a paved parking lot, a children’s park, a lush green football ground, a new Computer lab and a Geography lab. This institution owes devout gratitude to all the former Headmasters, the present and retired staff members, the present and past pupils and the people of Durgapur who have helped in the germination and escalation of this temple of learning over the years. The present-day administrative team, comprising Fr KC Jacob SJ, Fr M Thomas Varghese SJ and Fr Zenith William SJ, eagerly looks forward to the Diamond Jubilee celebration of this highly acclaimed and adulated School of Durgapur in 2023.