Year 1887. While the children of the bureaucrats trudged to the local Zilla School, other children in the village simply ran wild on the fields, much to the envy of those trudging to school perhaps, but certainly not to the delight of parents or Jesuit fathers, who were present there.

But there were hardly any schools the parents could afford to send their children to. They were happy that a group of Jesuit fathers would pull these children away from their games and teach them a few vocational arts, which could give them some career options, at least.

Much to the delight of the fathers, the children didn?t just imbibe the courses themselves, they actually started teaching the courses to the others in the villages, too.

With the desire to learn already there, it?s not surprising that when the fathers started a school for the children, the response to it was encouraging.

St John?s first opened as an English-medium school, it was made a Hindi-medium one on August 15 in 1947, by Rector Nicholas Kujur, a decision not much welcomed at the time. But with time, the strength of its students continued to grow steadily, with its numbers increasing from 458 to 640 in 1959. And from then onwards it has steadily risen.

Today there?s no doubt that from the time it first started under principal L. Cazet, it has come a long way and has managed to contribute to the state?s intelligentsia.

House rules

The school has six houses named after the past principals ? Nicholas, Naurangi, Sevris, Pius, Tucker and Brijnart. Besides the six houses, there are well-equipped physics, chemistry and biology laboratories. Whatever topics may be there in the syllabus, there is no escaping computer science in this age. Techo-challenged individuals go nowhere in today?s world and keeping this in mind the school also takes special classes in computer education. Though, for now, it runs only till Class X, the future plans of the school include the construction of a Plus Two level. And if space and finances permit, plans are on the anvil to shift the middle school to a new building, that would mean more space for higher classes.

There are 200 students staying at the hostel. Some of them get education free of cost and it also provides free lodging to those students who reside in the remote villages.

Sports star

Sports is not just relegated to the status of a pastime at St John?s, it is very much a way of life for the students.

A healthy body means a healthy mind, that?s what the management believes, as a result the school students have always had a strong presence in all tournaments and meets that are held in the state. The school team has participated in the Subroto Cup and a few students of the school are also a part of the prestigious Tata Football Academy.

St John?s provides adequate infrastructure to boost different types of games but the focus is mainly on football and basketball. Many students from the institute have also participated in the National Junior Football Tournament and Basketball tournaments.

Forward march

The school also has an NCC wing with naval and army training for pupils who get an opportunity to take part in different camps. There are 100 members in the scouts wing. The camps, the administration believes, help instill a sense of camaraderie and patriotism in the participants. Besides, being NCC cadets, also gives them better opportunities at different professional fields at later stages. An NCC cadet gets a 20 to 25 per cent concession in jobs.

Clubbed together

St John?s has an active eco club, called ?Tarudaya?, which is part of the environmental education programme. The club regularly plants trees, cleans the school premises and works towards the prohibition of the use of plastic. The school follows a ?Dharma Bharati ? Universal Solidarity Movement? wherein students spread the message of tolerance and peace. Besides, there is a Church League Community for Catholic boys, as a part of the character formation programme. One of the most prominent features of this school, and all others in the area, is that on every Republic Day schools on Purulia Road come together to celebrate the day. The result: a better connectivity among the student community.

Alumni

The ?Old Boys? Association? also plays an active role in imparting career-based tips to students regarding the nitty-gritty of professional life. They are the ones who have been given the responsibility to counsel the present generation of students and in the process return a little back to society and the school that has gave them new hope.

FACT SHEET

name: St John?s School, Ranchi

what is it: A Hindi-medium, Jharkhand Board-affiliated, boys? school

address: Purulia Road

Phone Number: 2314602, 2200908

PRINCIPAL: E. Minz`

NUMBER OF TEACHERS: 38

NUMBER OF students: 2,000

classes: Class I - Class XI

aDMISSION: Written tests

FEE STRUCTURE: No fees are charged from the students.