St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, Vizag, AP - first Catholic Mission school to serve European and Anglo Indian students till 1940s

Navrang India December 31, 2023

Happy New year greetings, 2024 sssamiti.org
  St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, first  Christian mission school in the city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh was started in 1847 initially to meet the educational needs of the  children of British army soldiers, Europeans and Anglo Indians. It was one among many schools to serve the European community in this country 

St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, vizag, en.wikipedia. org

St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, vizag twitter.com,

Above image: St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, Visakhapatnam, AP - First Catholic mission school to impart English education in this area. Till 1940. It admitted only European and Anglo Indian students. Last year it completed 175 years of it existence since inception........

St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School, vizag uniapply.com/
Founded during the reign of the East India Company rule, St. Aloysius' was the first English medium school in  in the city of Visakhapatnam, the Andhra Pradesh. - the only English-medium education school  came up between the capital of Madras (Chennai)  Presidency and and the capital of the English company Calcutta (Kolkata). The purpose of the St Aloysius' Anglo-Indian High School (run by a mission) was  to cater to the needs of  educating the children of British Indian Army  soldiers and Europeans.  Now 176 years old it is  located in the Old Town area of Vizag   Rev. Fr. Tissot acquired a small house near the beach and started the institution in 1847. 

Vizag St Aloysius school indiatimes.com

Fr. John Decompoix  was the first Principal of the school from 1847 til 1864 when the first batch of Catholic priests from Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales had arrived in India from France. In 1864 it got official recognition.and the school was named St Aloysius'. As the school enrollment was on the increase, new properties and new buildings were added in 1873. In 1901 a two-story building was built and until 1935 it was used as a Bishop's House. A Chapel named   St. Francis De Sales came for the first time in this city upon demolition of this structure.  In 1908 ground and first  floors facing the gate  second floor was built between 1929-1930 and the students were mostly Anglo-Indians. After  independence  St Aloysius' became and began admitting all section of students. 

Vizag St Aloysius school thehindu.com/

It is a U-shaped structure with a big courtyard at the centre which is good for natural light and air circulation. It is used as a playfield for children. Built with elements of Gothic design, this heritage has    two buildings one being the school building and the other is the Chapel. The school has  wide  corridors on the ground floor with  stone flooring and Madras ceiling supported by quality wooden rafters.  Huge semicircular arches with cut stones a the base open up in the corridor on either side. As for the first floor it has  cuddapah slate flooring. The chapel built,in 1935-36 can be accessed from the school building through a bridge connecting the school and the chapel. The chapel has stained glass windows and has  pyramidal structures in stone.

The school with big library facility and name was very much affected by air pollution particularly soot from the harbor area. Though the the shifting of the school to another location would affect he admission, plans were afoot to move the school after demolition of the old school. INTACTH and heritage lovers want the old structures of the school preserved  for the simple reason it was the first school in Andhra to introduce English medium education. 

The St. Aloysius Anglo-Indian High School – the first Catholic school in Visakhapatnam–started off as a modest educational institution in a small two-room house in 1847 in the present-day One Town area of Visakhapatnam continues its legacy. A gazette publication from Madras from 1907 revealed  that the 180 pupils of the schools were practically Europeans and Anglo-Indians. Madras government sanctioned funds in 1908-1909 to build new buildings, Madras Presidency  governor Murray Hammick on a visit to  Visakhapatnam visited two schools, one being St. Aloysius. In 2022 the school completed 175 years imparting moral values and disciplines.