Hare School
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Hare School is one of the oldest existing schools in Kolkata, and one of the best schools in India, currently teaching grades 1 to 12 under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. The boys-only school was established by the Scottish watch-maker David Hare with the help of legendary social reformer Ram Mohan Roy. The actual establishment date is difficult to ascertain and not universally agreed upon, but the official year is 1818. The school is an important landmark in the history of western education in India under the British raj. It is currently situated opposite the Presidency College, Kolkata, College Square and Hindu School, Kolkata and next to the University of Calcutta.
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History
After establishing the Calcutta School Book Society and the Hindu College, Kolkata (now Presidency College) in 1817 and the Calcutta School Society in 1818, David Hare established the school exactly opposite Hindu College in the heart of College Street (Kolkata). After its initial beginnings as Arpuli Pathshala and later as Kalutola Branch School, it came to be known as Hare School in 1867.
Campus
The combined campus of the Hare School and Presidency College is one of the largest in Kolkata. The ownership of the campus is a contentious issue, leading to frequent conflicts about which parts of the ground the students can access, whether they can play in the College's field and whether they can use the gates of the college. This situation was escalated some time ago after a widely-publicised incident of eve-teasing in the college campus,[1] though restrictions have again been brought down to a normal level.
The white school building is of Victorian architecture, having rooms with very high ceilings, very high doors and no windows. A third floor was later constructed on top of the original two story building that maintains the architectural style. More recently another adjacent, smaller building has been constructed in a modern architectural style, much to the displeasure of the students. Initially the school had two very large playgrounds, but later the larger of these was given to Presidency College, though it continues to be used casually by students of the school.
Students
As of March 2006, a total of around 1000 students currently study in the school. Each of the classes from 1 to 10 are divided into two sections A and B, each of which contain around 40 students. Class 11 and 12 are divided into three 'streams' known as Science, Arts (Humanities) and Commerce. Current notable students include
- Arijit Saha (XI) - Bengal champion in Badminton
- Upamannu Maitra (VIII) - Given numerous honours and awards from NASA
- Soham Karmakar (XI) - came eighth at the Madhyamik examination 2006
Faculty
As of March 2006 around 35 teachers are teaching in the school. Teachers with a doctorate are
- Dilip Kumar Deb (Biology)
- Tarapada Santra (Geography)
- Sushanta Charkrabarti (Chemistry)
- Biswarup Ghatak (Philosophy)
All current teachers except the three teachers of Computer are permanent, the computer teachers being under contract. Past notable teachers include
Extracurricular activities
Every year, an extensive football tournament is held during the summer. Intra-section competitions as well as inter-section and inter-class ones ensure that almost every willing student gets a chance to play at the official tournament. During the winter, a cricket tournament of somewhat smaller scope is also held. The annual sports competition is held in two stages, a Heat followed by the Finals. The various events include running of several lengths and One-Legged Race. Apart from such official chances, the students utilise every type of space including classrooms, corridors, grounds etc to engage in sports (mostly football with some cricket and table tennis) during the recess (commonly called the tiffin period) which lasts for 20 minutes from Monday to Thursday and for an hour on Fridays. There is no recess on Saturday (it's a half-day), while on Sunday the school is closed is closed.
The annual prize distribution ceremony sees one or more plays enacted by the students as well as other cultural programs held at the nearby Derozio Hall. During the year other smaller cultural programs take place in the school at various occasions, mainly featuring Rabindra sangeets.
The school is known for its participation in various quiz contests. It has won among others the Seventh Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Calcutta Foundation Better Calcutta Contest 2005 Science Quiz and Acharya Satyendranath Basu Smarak Biggyan O Prajukti Mela 2004.
The largest festival is the Saraswati Puja, which is organised by the students of the school. A science exhibition usually accompanies the two-day festival. During the meeting of the executive council before the puja, decisions regarding budgets and donations are taken by the teachers with input from a body of class representatives. The visits from girls of other schools wearing saris cause the students to look forward to this day with eager anticipation. There is a controversy over whether the school should celebrate a basically religious festival like Saraswati Puja as it is under a constitutionally secular government, however students have mostly tended to support holding the puja. As with most major religious festivals of Bengal, the puja can be said to transcend religious boundaries and become an almost secular signature of Bengali culture as a whole.
Notable alumni
- Ramtanu Lahiri - noted researcher on Bengali language, member of the Young Bengal group.
- Krishna Mohan Banerjee - educationist, linguist and Christian Missionary, member of Young Bengal group.
- Dinabandhu Mitra - famous Bengali writer of British India, works include Neel Durpan
- Jagdish Chandra Bose - polymath, physicist, plant physiologist,inventor of Radio and discoverer of life of plants - studied in Hare School for 3 months before joining St. Xavier's School and College at Kolkata.
- Akshay Kumar Baral - poet
- Prafulla Chandra Roy - pioneer chemist, founder of Bengal Chemicals
- Jatindramohan Sengupta - politician, freedom fighter
- Pramathesh Barua - actor
- Pyari Charan Sarkar- writer
- Radhanath Sikdar - eminent mathematician, first ever person to calculate height of Mount Everest and member of Young Bengal group.
- Charuchandra Chakrabarti - writer
- Ziaur Rahman - freedom fighter, and President of Bangladesh 1977-1981
- Rajnarayan Basu- writer, intellectual, and prominent Brahmo
School uniform
The uniform of the school is a white shirt with black shorts or trousers, white socks and black shoes. Physical education days require a white trouser and white cades instead and in winter black sweaters are allowed. There is also a school badge that should be pinned to the shirt.
Contact information
Hare School
87, College Street
Kolkata-700073
West Bengal, India
Phone: 91-033-22413868
