Lawrence School, Lovedale

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The Lawrence School, Lovedale
The Lawrence School Lovedale Logo New.png
Location
Lovedale
,
Tamil Nadu
,
643003

India
Coordinates11°22′45″N 76°41′57″E / 11.379191°N 76.699258°E / 11.379191; 76.699258Coordinates: 11°22′45″N 76°41′57″E / 11.379191°N 76.699258°E / 11.379191; 76.699258
Information
Former namesThe Ootacamund Lawrence Asylum, Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School (L.M.R.M.S.)
TypePublic 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

The Lawrence School, Lovedale (formerly known as Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School), the namesake of its founder Major 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]

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 Indian Rebellion of 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" as that of its sister schools.

The school's logo is an armorial achievement with a historical heraldic blazon:

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 5 ), Junior School (classes 6–8) and Senior School (classes 9–12). Some of the classrooms and dormitories of the schools are together in their respective buildings, whereas the girls of class (5-8) are accommodated in the Preparatory School building and the girls of classes (9-12) are accommodated in a separate residential building called Girls School. Therefore, the girls of class 5 attend classes in the Preparatory School, girls of classes (6-8) attend classes in Junior School and girls of classes (9-12) attend classes in the Senior School building.

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[]

The Lawrence Asylum, Ootakamund, Madras Presidency, in 1873
Main Building, The Lawrence School, Lovedale

The Senior School (often referred to as Boys' School) is housed in a magnificent two-story building with a towering campanile 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 with an image displaying the towering campanile section.[6]

Student Body[]

The student body is from all over India and overseas, and is led by prefects headed by a .[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. This body is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act and is run by a Managing Committee consisting of an elected team drawn from the registered alumni of the association.

Notable alumni[]

Alumni are generally referred to as "OLs", "Old Lawrencians" or "Old Laws".

Public Servants and Social Workers

Justices and Lawyers

Professionals, Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

[7]

Artists, Academics and Authors

Sportspersons

Beauty Pageant Winners

  • Gul Panag, Miss India 1999, film actor, politician

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. ^ a b "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. ^ News Network, NetIndian. "Vice Admiral Anil Chopra appointed as FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval Command". NetIndian. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Soldier2ndLife". soldier2ndlife.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  10. ^ "K Raja Menon". National Maritime Foundation. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Rear Admiral Philipose George Pynumootil, NM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 25 December 2020.

External links[]

  • Official website of The Lawrence School, Lovedale [1]
  • Official Website of the registered alumni body - Old Lawrencians Association [2]
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