Welham Girls' School

Welham Girls School
Location
12 Circular Road
Dehradun-248001
India
Information
School type Independent north Indian boarding school
Motto Artha shanti phala vidya (The aim of education is to bring peace)
Religious affiliation(s) Secular
Founded 1957
Founder Principal Grace Marry Linnel
Gender Girls
Age 10 to 18
Number of students 600
Campus 12 acres
Houses 5
Colour(s) Blue and White          
Mascot Kingfisher
Publication
  • News and Views
  • Chrysalis
  • Delphic
  • Kshitij
Affiliation ICSE
ISC
Former pupils Ex Welhamites
Website www.welhamgirls.com

Welham Girls' School (previously known as Welham Girls' High School) is a traditional boarding school for girls at the foothills of the Uttrakhand in Dehradun, India.[1] Established in 1957, it has progressed from being a school for privileged local girls to being a school that educates students mostly from North India.[2][3] It was identified as one of the top performing schools country-wide based on academic performance,at the Indian School Certificate Examinations for 2013, the Indian school leaving examination conducted at the end of the K-12 system, by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations.[4][5]

History

Welham was named after the little Welsh village from where its founder, H. Oliphant hailed. A retired English head mistress, Oliphant started Welham Boys School in 1937. She was struck by The Lawrence School, Sanawar and lack of schools of similar quality for the girls around Dehradun.

She acquired a palatial estate called Nasreen adjacent to Welham Boys School to start a small boarding school for girls. There were no funds, staff, or school buildings. Oliphant recruited another retired English woman, Grace Mary Linnel, to run the boarding school for girls. Linnell became the founder principal of Welham Girls School, which started in 1957.[6] Welham Girls’ High School, as it was known then, established itself as a full-fledged boarding school. From its initial crop of 10 students, it has grown to over 600 students.

Houses

The houses—Bulbuls, Flycatchers, Hoopoes, Orioles and Woodpeckers—were named after popular birds that were widespread in Dehra Dun when Welham was established. There are regular competitions amongst the houses, which compete on the sports field and in other disciplines such as dance, music, debating, quizzing, dramatics. Each house is looked after by a house mistress and a matron and headed by a two student officials — a house captain and a vice captain. Junior and senior girls have separate hostels.

Extracurricular activities

Students volunteer at local charities, such as Cheshire Home for the Handicapped and Raphael, a school for the blind and other charitable organizations. There is also an organized social service program on campus run by campus officials.

The school hosts competitive events amongst the five houses throughout the year in the sphere of sports and arts. Career counseling and life-skills programmes are offered.

Each student is expected to take up two activities each term. These include musical and creative activities such as craft, dramatics, sitar, tabla, vocal music, western music, bharatnatyam, kathak, folk dance and photography.[7]

Sports

These include basketball, hockey, swimming, badminton, lawn tennis, athletics, table tennis, karate and aerobics. The basketball team has won numerous tournaments over the years and represented Uttrakhand at the national level. Several students have been chosen for the India camp as well.[8]

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme is a programme that the school offers to its students.

Clubs and societies

There are multiple opportunities for girls to explore. Being involved in activities is an essential aspect of being a Welhamite. Students get involved in these activities from their first day in school. The activities on campus are:

  • Nature Club
  • Quiz Club
  • English Debating
  • Hindi Debating
  • Music: Indian Classical (vocal), Sitar, Western Vocals, Western Instrumental
  • Dance: Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Folkdance, Contemporary
  • Craft
  • Photography
  • Computers
  • French
  • Dramatics

Publications

The school newspapers, News and Views in English and Kshitij in Hindi, are published every month, as well as a science magazine, Delphic. Two issues of the magazine, The Wall, are published each year. Additionally, the school publishes an English literary and art publication, Chrysalis, twice a term. The School Annual is published in summer each year.

Exchange program

Welham has an exchange program with the Millfield School in England, a co- educational residential school and recently, with Groton School in Massachusetts. These programs are an important part of the school's educational program to expose the girls to different cultures.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rishi Valley ends Doon's legacy as best boarding school - India News - IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Award India: Gold completion in Welham Girls' School the largest in India: a peek into their Residential Project with HESCO". Gahs.in. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  3. ↑ http://educationworldonline.net/index.php/page-article-choice-more-id-2369
  4. ↑ Top ranked ISC and ICSE Schools: http://www.thelearningpoint.net/home/examination-results-2013/top-icse-and-isc-schools-based-on-academic-performance
  5. ↑ Welham Girls' School of Uttarakhand tops in country in academics!: http://hillpost.in/2013/08/welhams-girls-of-uttarakhand-tops-in-country-in-academics/95305/
  6. ↑ "History".
  7. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Dehradun Plus". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "YPS, Mohali cagers shine - Times Of India". Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Old school skirt". Indian Express. 24 June 2006.
  10. ↑ "Business Standard". Business Standard. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.

Coordinates: 30°18′59″N 78°03′23″E / 30.3163°N 78.0564°E / 30.3163; 78.0564

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