Lawrence School, Lovedale

The Lawrence School, Lovedale (formerly known as Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School), the namesake of its founder Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence KCB, is a co-educational boarding school located at Lovedale, which is a little town on the Nilgiri Mountains in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[1]

The Lawrence School, Lovedale
Location
Lovedale
,
Tamil Nadu
,
643003

India
Coordinates11.379191°N 76.699258°E / 11.379191; 76.699258
Information
Former namesThe Ootacamund Lawrence Asylum, Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School (L.M.R.M.S.)
School typePublic school Co-Educational Boarding School
Motto"Never Give In"
Established6 September 1858
FounderMajor General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence
School boardCentral Board of Secondary Education (C.B.S.E.)
School districtNilgiris
ChairmanKeshav N Desiraju
HeadmasterK Prabhakaran Nair
Number of pupils700 (approx.)
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.thelawrenceschool.org

Lawrence had mooted the idea of establishing a chain of British Raj military-style boarding schools at the hill stations of India to educate the children of the deceased and serving members of the British Indian Army.[2] Although Lawrence was killed at The Residency, Lucknow during the First War of Independence in 1857 his dream took shape and four such schools, known as the Lawrence Military Asylums, were established: at Sanawar in 1847, and at Mount Abu in 1856, both during his lifetime; then at Lovedale, Ootacamund in 1858 and at Ghora Gali, Murree, in present-day Pakistan in 1860.

Name, emblem and motto

In 1913, the name of the school was changed from The Ootacamund Lawrence Asylum to Lawrence Memorial School. After being accorded royal patronage in 1922, the name of the school was changed to the Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School in 1925. In 1949, soon after Indian Independence, the school was handed over to the civilian authorities of the Government of India; subsequently, the name of the school was changed to The Lawrence School, as it is known today. As the school is located in Lovedale, the school is also simply referred to as "Lovedale".

The school's motto is "Never Give In" and is common to the sister schools.

The school's logo is a heraldic crest with a historical heraldic description:

ARMS : Ermine, on a cross raguly gules and eastern crown or; on a chief azure two swords in saltire proper, pommels and hilts gold, between as many leopards' heads argent. CREST: Out of an eastern crown or, a cubit arm entwined by a wreath of laurel and holding a dagger all proper.

The campus

The Lawrence School, Lovedale has its campus on 750 acres leased from the Ministry of Defence[3] in Lovedale, which is 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from Ootacamund. Located at a height of 7200 feet above mean sea level, it is slightly lower than the Dodabetta peak (altitude: 8650 feet), which is the highest peak of the Nilgiris mountain range. The school campus is divided into Preparatory School (classes 4-6 ), Junior school (classes 7-8) and Senior School (classes 9-12). The classrooms and dormitories of the schools are housed in their respective buildings. However, the girls above class 6 are accommodated in the Girls School building but attend classes at the Junior school and Senior school buildings. The rest of the campus includes facilities for sports and other extracurricular activities.

Many notable personalities, such as former Prime Ministers and Presidents of India Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Zail Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, APJ Abdul Kalam, and others such as Sam Manekshaw and Kiran Bedi, have visited this campus to grace the school's Founder's day and other special occasions.[4][5]

Architecture
Main Building, The Lawrence School, Lovedale

The Senior School (often referred to as Boy's School) is housed in a magnificent two-storey building with a towering campanile (clock tower) of 130 feet, built in Italian Gothic style and designed by Architect Robert Chisholm.

On May 31, 1988, a commemorative postage stamp was issued by India Post to commemorate 130 years of its existence showing the towering campanile .[6]

Student Body

The student body is from all over India and overseas, and is led by prefects headed by a head girl and head boy.[7] The school also has a 40 percent reservation of seats and a 20 percent fee subsidy for children of Indian Defence Personnel.

Management

The school is governed by an autonomous body, the Board of Governors, which is appointed by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, and is managed operationally by the headmaster or headmistress, who is an ex officio member of the Board as well as the Member Secretary. Additionally, the General Officer Commanding - South India (GOC) Indian Army is also an ex officio member of the Board. The Board also has representation from a member of the Old Lawrencians Association (OLA), a member of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and any other nominees of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Alumni Association

The school's alumni association, the Old Lawrencians Association, has chapters and branches in several major Indian and international cities. Alumni are generally referred to as "OLs", "Old Lawrencians" or "Old Laws". This body is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act and is run by a Managing Committee consisting of an elected team drawn from registered alumni of the association.

Notable Alumni

Public Service and Government Awardees

Law & Justice

Professionals, Industrialists, Entrepreneurs

Performing & Visual Arts, Published Authors

Sport

Pageant Winners

  • Gul Panag - Miss India 1999, Actor, Politician
  • Meher Castelino - Miss India 1964, Author[11]

Affiliations

See also

References
  1. Ramadas, Rati (5 May 2008). "Lawrence School Lovedale celebrates 150 years". NDTV. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  2. "The Magic Mountains". publishing.cdlib.org. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. "Army lays claim to land held by Lawrence". www.sunday-guardian.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  4. Ravichandran, B. "Ooty Lawrence school rolls out red carpet to President". Deccan Chronicle.
  5. ravichandran, b (30 July 2015). "Kalam had fascination for birds, say greens". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. "A commemorative postage stamp on the 130th anniversary of the Lawrence School". iStampGallery. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  7. "Country needs honest people: AVM Rai". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 5 April 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 January 2021.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil, NM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  9. "Soldier2ndLife". soldier2ndlife.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  10. News Network, NetIndian. "Vice Admiral Anil Chopra appointed as FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval Command". NetIndian. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  11. "Author - Meher Castelino". www.authorsupfront.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  • Official website of The Lawrence School, Lovedale
  • Official Website of the registered alumni body - Old Lawrencians Association
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