Campion School, Mumbai


Campion School is a Christian public school for boys located at 13, Cooperage Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Established in 1943 by Jesuit Fr. Joseph Savall, the school is named after St. Edmund Campion, a 16th-century English Roman Catholic martyr.
The school is housed in Wellesley House on Cooperage Road in the Fort neighbourhood of South west Mumbai. The school is across the street from Cooperage Ground, which is a major soccer stadium in Mumbai, as well as Oval Maidan a city landmark. The school has over 800 students and offers classes at elementary and secondary levels, ranging from preparatory to grade 10. It is affiliated with the ICSE school syllabus and has English as its primary language of instruction.
Campion school ex students are Praful Patel, Rajdeep Sardesai and Shashi Tharoor
Campion school has been taking part in most of the interschool events organized by the Government, and often has prevailed. In a 2009 pan-India survey of day boys schools, conducted by Education World magazine, Campion was ranked first in the country, and in 2013 it garnered the penultimate place

History

Foundation and early years (1943 to 1956)

Campion School was founded on 20 January 1943 by Father Joseph Savall, S.J. He had been the principal of St. Mary's High School, Mazgaon, for many years. In 1942, the Society of Jesus purchased Wellesely House on 13 Cooperage Road to house Campion School. But opposition from tenants delayed occupancy for 5 years, during which time the school was run from a ground floor rented at 45 New Marine Lines. It moved to Cooperage Road on 19 January. Within nine months the Department of Education recognised and registered Campion School under the Code of European Schools. It was authorised to teach up to Standard IV and to add one standard every year until the highest form was reached.
The school grew steadily in the late 1940s, but lacked a full-time principal, and Fr. Savall retired and returned to Europe in June 1949. Fr. Conesa, the director of the Technical Institute at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, served as principal until December 1950. Jesuit authorities appointed Fr. E.F. More first full-time principal. More oversaw major renovations to Wellesely House including the acquisition of the second floor in 1954 and the addition of a fourth floor.
In 1956, Campion School attained the stature of a full-fledged high school with an enrollment of 382. It was recognised by the University of Cambridge as an A-certificate school and by the S.S.C. Board, Pune. In the same year, the first batch of students appeared for the Senior Cambridge Overseas Examination and all eight of them passed, five secured Grade I, one secured Grade II, and two secured Grade III. According to a rating in the Hindustan Times, the school's highest ratings are in "attitude towards learning, sports, social engagement, governance."

Academics

The school year consists of two terms from May to April, with October as mid-year. The course of school studies extends from the Preparatory Class to Class 10. It is designed to prepare students for the ICSE Examination, conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.
In addition to English which is the primary language of instruction, Hindi is taught from Class 1 and Marathi, the regional language of the state of Maharashtra, is compulsory from Class 1 to Class 8.
In 2016, Campion emerged first in both the junior and senior divisions of the 16th Hindu Young World Quiz. Also, a student from Campion won the gold medal in a mental abacus contest sponsored by UMCAS.

School badge

The school badge is in the form of a medieval shield. The shield has three major divisions, each with a different colour background, and a scroll containing the school motto "Joy in Truth". This motto is symbolically expressed by each of the three main divisions on the shield.
On the left side, against a red background is a rope shaped like a noose. It stands for the death of St. Edmund Campion, professedly for the love of Truth. On the right side, against a white background are three birds that stand for Joy while the star stands for Truth. Finally, at the base of the shield is to be found the logo of the Jesuits. It consists of the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek. Contrary to the popular belief, the divisions and their background colours do not represent the colour of the four school "houses".

School anthem

Campion calls, Campion calls to courage and high chivalry

Campion calls, Campion calls to shared responsibility

To peace, love and charity; To honour truth and loyalty

Campion calls, Campion calls, Campion calls to You and Me.
Fair school, thy gracious gifts for mind and soul let me not miss

We pray that all thy sons may reach their goal eternal bliss

There is a challenge every man must meet who walks by day

But Campion steers me, lest my wandering feet from grace should stray.
Campion calls, Campion calls to courage and high chivalry

Campion calls, Campion calls to shared responsibility

To peace, love and charity; To honour truth and loyalty

Campion calls, Campion calls, Campion calls to You and Me.

Principals

Fourteen people have held the position of principal at the school.

All students are assigned to a house. There were three houses until the 1990s when Berchmans was added:
Since 2016, the junior school has different names and colors for the houses. The names are Gandhi, Raman, Nehru and Tagore and the respective colors are orange, purple, green, and white.
The School Council is a body established to put into practice the aims and objectives of the house system. The Council is made up of the School Captain and his Assistant, the House Prefects and their Assistants, the Leaders, the Class Monitor of the upper classes, and representatives of activities and organisations. It serves as an advisory body to the administration.
School organisations include:
Business and Industry
Politics
: film actor
Film and Fashion
: prominent Indian journalist
Literature, theatre and journalism
Science
Sport
Military
Police