Sister school The Doon School Gender Girls Former pupils Ex Welhamites Founded 1957 | Founder Principal Grace Marry Linnel Number of students 600 Age 10 to 18 Founder H.S. Olyphant Religious affiliation(s) Secular | |
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Current Principal Mrs. Padmini Sambasivam Motto Artha shanti phala vidya (The aim of education is to bring peace) | ||
Welham Girls' School (previously known as Welham Girls' High School) is a traditional boarding school for girls located at the foothills of the Himalayas in Dehradun, India. 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. The school 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.
Contents
- History
- Houses
- Extracurricular activities
- Sports
- Clubs and societies
- School Publications
- Exchange program
- Notable alumni
- References
History
Welham was named after the little Welsh village from where its Founder, Miss 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 lady, Miss Grace Mary Linnel to run the boarding school for girls. Ms.Linnell became the Founder Principal of Welham Girls School, which started in 1957. 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 residents in Dehra Dun at the time Welham was established. There are regular competitions amongst the five Houses, which compete on the sports field and in a variety of 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 5 houses throughout the year in the sphere of sports and arts. Career Counseling and Life-skills Programmes are also 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.
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 National Level. Several students have been chosen for the India camp as well. The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DEAS) scheme is also a programme that the school offers to its students.
Clubs and societies
There are multiple opportunities for girls to explore themselves. Being involved in activities is an essential aspect of being a Welhamite. Students get involved in these activities right from their first day in school. The existing activities on campus are:
School 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, Massachussettes. These programs are an important part of the school's educational program to expose the girls to different types of cultures.