St. Joseph's College, Calcutta

History

In 1830, a free school was established for the Goan community in Mr. Cooper's residence in 68 Bowbazar Street. This was later taken over by the Calcutta Brothers who built a single building in the present location of the school.

In 1842, Vicar Apostolic Monsignor Carew of Calcutta was keenly aware of the increasing number of British and European children made fatherless by disease or battle. He saw the need for Congregations of Nuns and Brothers to care for and teach these poor children who were termed 'war orphans'. His immediate choice was the Loreto Sisters and the Irish Christian Brothers, founded about forty years earlier by a Waterford businessman, Edmund Rice. However, while the Irish nuns arrived in India in 1844 and took up residence at Middleton Row, the Christian Brothers were unable to spare any Brothers for the Indian Mission. As an alternative, the Brothers offered to train men who would form the nucleus of the new Congregation in India. Accordingly, in September, 1847, two young men, Br. Francis Fitzpatrick and his cousin, Br. Alphonsus Tolan, having completed their short spell of training in Ireland, began their long and wearisome voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to Calcutta, arriving on 15 February 1848. They immediately set up the new community of the Calcutta Brothers in the Cathedral compound, Moorghihatta. Br. Francis took charge of the orphanage at Moorghihatta while Br. Alphonsus travelled each day to look after the boys Free School in Bow Bazar. The little Congregation grew slowly but received a setback when both, Vicar Apostolic Carew and Br. Francis died in 1855.

It was only in January 1890, that the Irish Christian Brothers were able to set up their mission on a firm footing when four Brothers (Vincent Casey, Fabian Kenneally, Edward Aherne and Ambrose Flynn) came to Calcutta from Ireland at the request of Pope Leo XII. Br. Casey was appointed Provincial Visitor and the amalgamation of the four Irish Christian Brothers and sixteen Calcutta Brothers took place.

St. Joseph's College

In 1894, a new building, the present red- brick structure, was erected under the direction of Br. Joseph Moyes and is now St. Joseph's College, Bow Bazar . This became the Head Office of the Christian Brothers till it was moved to St. Columba's, New Delhi, in 1980. The work that the Brothers were doing received recognition and requests came from several Catholic Bishops for the Brothers to open schools in their dioceses. At the turn of the century - there were nearly fifty Brothers in India, both Irish and Anglo-Indian, and a training house for Brothers (novitiate) was started at Mt Carmel's, overlooking Goethals.

St. Joseph's College was affiliated to the ICSE and ISC Boards in the year,1970. St. Joseph's was the Head Office of the Christian Brothers in India till it was moved to St. Columba's, New Delhi in 1980. In 1994, the Ashirvaad Vidyalaya, a bilingual school for the children of migrant workers, was opened on the St. Joseph's and St George’s campuses.

St. Georges is a free school which is run and managed by St. Joseph's college providing quality education to those who cannot afford it. The books the uniforms all are provided for by St. Joseph's College.

Value education

A programme for religious education of Catholic boys and a programme for imparting social values to non-Catholic boys is followed.

Education

In the primary school, the emphasis is on the acquiring of skills and providing experiences and activities that lead the child to respond to the world around him. The child's progress is assessed by evaluation of regular work. Promotion is automatic.

In the middle school, the boy's progress is assessed through routine work, unit tests and examinations. Promotion to higher classes depend on the child's performance in all assessments.

In the senior school, students must follow the curriculum laid down by ISC and have the option to choose between studying science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) or commerce (Accounts, Economics, Commerce, Business Studies) along with one second language (Hindi or Bengali). Students may also choose to take Computer Studies.

Extra-curricular activities

Apart from studies, students are also expected to take part in extra-curricular activities such as cricket, collage, painting and basketball. This is in order to make the Josephyte an all-rounder.

School Session

The School year is from April to March.Classes are held every Monday to Friday and three annual vacation periods are given - Summer Vacations, Puja Vacations and Winter Vacations.

During the School Session, several events take place such as Josephtsyna and Prize Distribution Ceremony. Students are expected to participate in these events.

School Uniform

House System

The students are divided into 4 Houses - Blue, Gold, Green and Red.

This system is in place to promote Intra-school competition. Participants from separate houses take part in Inter-School competitions representing the School as a whole. At the end of the year, the House which has contributed most to the School's reputation and won a majority of the events in the School year, is awarded the Cock House Award in the prize-giving Investiture Ceremony.

School Festival

"Josephtsyna" the annual festival held over 2 days between July and August invites students across the city from various schools to participate in various categories such as debates, elocution, music both solo and group, dance.

The annual competition provides a good platform for students to meet, socialise with other students and helps students present their talents build confidence to take on challenges that help later translate into the real world and brings.

The competition is organised and managed by a team of students from the senior school overseen by a faculty member.

Community

The teachers in a Christian Brother School share closely in the Mission of the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The Christian Brother School forms a community composed of students, teachers, parents, management and other staff. The community:

Notable alumni