St. Paul's High School, Hyderabad
St. Paul's High School is a private, co-educational school It was established in 1954. It is a missionary educational institution based in Hyderabad, India. It has classes from lower Kindergarten to 10th grade level.
History
In 1954, All Saints High School, Hyderabad celebrated the completion of 100 years of education. Rev. Bro. John of God, the Rector of the school, decided to start a new school. A building was hired at King Koti Road, Hyderabad to accommodate the new St. Paul's High School, named after Bro. John of God's favourite saint.SPHS was lauded as the best school in the twin cities and one of the ten best schools in India according to a survey conducted by the Outlook magazine consecutively.The school has also been ranked consistently among the ten best schools in India. The school was rated as the country's second best school for excellence in computer education by the Government of India and the award was received by Rev. Bro. Franky Noronha from the then president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in an official ceremony. The school has alumni like V. V. S. Laxman, Arshad Ayub, Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, Suresh Reddy, Mithin Aachi,Dr. Mohd. Faheemuddin, Arvind Chenji, present Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E.S.L. Narasimhan and Nandamuri Balakrishna.
Admissions
Though the school is a Catholic Minority Institution, its admission is open to all students irrespective of caste, creed, religion or gender. For admission into Kindergarten, the school follows a joint admission policy together with Little Flower High School, Hyderabad and All Saints High School, Hyderabad, both of which are also run by the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel.Every year in January, one of the three schools conducts the admissions procedure for Kindergarten. It involves an interview of student and parents. The number of students who apply for admission far exceeds the number of positions available and hence it is a very competitive process. Students are allowed to state their choice among the three schools but their choice is not guaranteed. A twenty-percent quota is generally reserved for economically backward students.
Divisions
The school has four academic divisions- Pre-primary, Primary, Middle and Senior.The pre-primary division has four sections each of lower and upper Kindergarten. The primary division has four sections each of Classes I to IV. The pre-primary and primary divisions are housed in one campus, commonly called the "Primary School".
The Middle school has five sections each of Classes V to VI and the High School has five sections each of Classes VII to X. Both the Middle school and High School are housed in another building, commonly called the "High School Campus". The High School Campus and the Primary Campus are near one another on the same road.
Exams
The academic year starts mid-June and ends in early April and is divided into three quarters. Examinations are held at the end of every quarter and every month.At the end of Class X, the students take the State Government administered Secondary School Certificate Examination.
Houses
The school follows a house system. The student body is split into four houses with an aim to promote competition among the students.The houses are:
- Bro. Montfort House - named after St. Louis de Montfort, the Patron Saint of the school
- Bro. Stanislaus House - named after Bro. Stanislaus who captained the school for 18 years
- Saint Gabriel House - named after the Messenger of God
- John of God House - named after Bro. John of God, the founder of the school
Facilities
- Library – High School Campus
- Library – Primary School Campus
- Two auditoriums
- Science Laboratories
- Computer Laboratories
- Auditorium
- Dining hall
- Digital Library – High School Campus
- Alphonso Hall
- Basketball court
- Table tennis rooms
- Badminton courts
- Gymnasium
- Cricket
- Volleyball
- Subject clubs
- Ecology and Environmental club
- HAM or Amateur radio
- Interact club for social service
- NCC
- Dance
- Music
- Dramatics
- Drawing
- Robotics
- Scouts and guides
- English Language
Ceremonies and traditions
- St. Paul's Feast Day is observed in a solemn ceremony on 29 June every year. The Principal leads a prayer service with a reading from the scriptures and a brief message for the staff remembering the life and message of St. Paul, the patron Saint of the school.
- At the start of each academic year, the newly elected School Cabinet and Class leaders take the oath of office in a colourful Investiture ceremony. All students wear the colours of their houses and cheer as their newly elected leaders march past the dais. The Head Boy and the Head Girl make their maiden speech on this occasion.
- 5 September of every year is celebrated as Teachers' Day all over India in the memory of former President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. In what is probably the most festive celebration of the year, students show their appreciation to their teachers. Sports and games are held for the teachers and prizes are given away. Every classroom has an individual celebration for about an hour before the whole school assembles to celebrate the event. The organization of the event in its entirety is taken up by the School Cabinet and the Class Leaders.
- Independence day is celebrated very grandly. There are inter-house cultural competitions and each house is given a topic to perform- usually related to the theme "India" and then the winners are declared. This is the day for the Cabinet to show off their abilities.
- The Monfort Literary and Cultural Festival and the Monfort Sports Festivals are held alternate years. The competitions are held between all the Monfortian schools.
The most awaited event of the school, the annual day, is a very colourful and enthusiastic event. It is also called the prize night. The parents of the school head boy and head girl are invited as the guests of honour. The event starts with the prayer song by the school choir followed by a welcome dance. The head boy and head girl along with the other school cabinet present the annual report. Prizes in various fields are given to the students:
- Academic Excellence: Toppers of class
- General Proficiency: extraordinary participation in various competitions besides
- Young Achievers: Students who won various competitions in various fields
- Best outgoing student: Excellent Participation in Inter-School Competitions
- Best Science Student: Student of ninth standard who secured highest marks in science among all the sections is bestowed this award.
- Best Student: A gold medal sponsored by Justice Subhashan Reddy is bestowed
Principals
- Bro. John of God- Founder
- Bro. John of the Sacred Heart- 1954-55
- Bro. Martialis- 1956-57
- Bro. Stanislaus- 1958-76
- Bro. Dominic Mary- 1976-78
- Bro. John de Britto- 1978-79
- Bro. N. C. Mathew- 1979-85
- Bro. P. K. Joseph- 1985-89
- Bro. Thomas Reddy- 1989-95
- Bro. Lawrence D’Souza - 1995-2001
- Bro. P. T. Joseph- 2001-03
- Bro. Show Reddy- 2003-2010
- Bro. Sudhakar Reddy- 2010-2016
- Bro. Rayappa Reddy- 2016-Onwards
Notable alumni
- Sitaram Yechury- Politburo Member in the Communist Party of India.
- "Padma Bhushan" Prof. K. Srinath Reddy - President, Public Health Foundation of India and former Head of the Department of Cardiology at AIIMS. Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Medal by the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health.
- "Padma Sri" Pullela Gopichand- All England Open Badminton Champion for 2001, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee, Arjuna Awardee
- Rakesh Sharma Ahmed bin Abdullah Balala
- George Reddy, M.Sc Gold medalist, Osmania University.
- Vishal Kandukuri.