“Immaculata” echoes through the halls here. That is the motto of St. Mary’s High School. It translates to perfect commitment or total loyalty. It sums up the ideals that St. Mary’s hopes to instill in each pupil. These are ideals they carry into the world.
St. Mary’s School was founded in 1864 by the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits are a Roman Catholic religious order. St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the order in 1540. The school stands adjacent to St. Anne’s Church. The church was established four years prior.
Initially, St. Mary’s was a Catholic school and a military orphanage. Later, it opened to the Catholic population. This expansion led to the construction of the senior school building. Lord Linlithgow laid the foundation stone. He was the Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. Today, the school has four Gothic-style buildings. It is divided into senior and junior sections.
In 1933, St. Mary’s High School SSC was formed. It branched out from the main school. At the time, the main school offered the British General Certificate of Education. This change allowed students to focus on the Secondary School Certificate. In 1958, St. Mary’s adopted the ICSE curriculum. It was among the early adopters of this system. In 2021, the school began offering the Indian School Certificate diploma again. This is equivalent to the Cambridge A-Level.
The Chief Postmaster General for Maharashtra released a special postal cover. This commemorated the school’s 150th anniversary in 2013. St. Mary’s has consistently been ranked among the top schools in India. In 2021 to 2022, Education World ranked it second nationwide. This was in the category of Day School for Boys.
Students are encouraged in arts and sports. Many alumni have flourished in theatre, music, and Bollywood. The school badge has an azure and white background. Blue symbolizes peace, harmony, and serenity. Education at St. Mary’s aims to harmonize a student’s life with all experiences. The badge displays Mary’s monogram in gold. This symbolizes her perfect commitment to God.
The golden crown signifies a victorious life. It represents the victory of Jesus. The monogram of the Society of Jesus reminds us that the Jesuits run St. Mary’s. They believe in personalized education. They strive to build young men for others.
Three small ships represent Mumbai. Mumbai is a metropolis with an excellent harbour. They also stand for moral, intellectual, and physical development.
The school has a rich history of notable alumni. Azim Premji. He is the Chairman of Wipro Limited. Zubin Mehta. He is an orchestral conductor. Boman Irani. He is an actor.
Fr. Jude Fernandes is the current principal. St. Mary’s strives to develop imagination, feelings, conscience, and intellect. It encourages learners to see new experiences as opportunities for growth. The school sees service to others as more fulfilling than personal success. Jesuit education moves learning beyond rote knowledge. It emphasizes understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
St. Mary’s continues to evolve. It adapts to modern times. It integrates new technologies and methodologies. This enriches classroom teaching and provides a well-rounded education.