Mussoorie - Institutions

Institutions

These schools include Convent of Jesus and Mary,Waverly,(1845), St. George's College (1853), Woodstock School (1854), Oak Grove School (1888), Wynberg-Allen (1888), Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary (1969),Convent of Jesus and Mary Hampton Court.

St. George's College, Mussoorie (founded in 1853) is amongst the oldest and most reputed schools in the country. It has been run by the Patrician Brothers since 1893. Spread over 400 acres (1.6 km2), the school is also popularly referred to as 'Manor House'. Over the years, its alumni have made distinguished contributions in several fields, especially in serving the armed forces of the nation. The school's imposing facade stands out as one of the main architectural attractions of Mussoorie.

Woodstock School is a Christian, international, co-educational, residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India. The school traces its origin to the 1850s when a group of English ladies were enlisted by British officers and American missionaries to provide a Protestant education for girls.

Woodstock is among the most well-known boarding schools of the Indian Subcontinent,it is currently the best international school in India. (Others are the Kodaikanal International School and the Hebron School, Ooty, both in South India). The school has a campus spread over an area of about 250 acres (1 km2), and is located in a forest region with a variety of flora including pine, rhododendron, and oak. The terrain of the campus has an altitudinal range of 350 meters from its lowest point to the highest point. Classes at Woodstock begin from ECP (Early Childhood Program) and follow up to grade 12.

Oak Grove School stands out from the other notable institutions of Mussoorie because of two reasons - first of all, it is affiliated to the CBSE, New Delhi, which is rarity amongst the residential schools of Mussoorie. Secondly, it is a secular government aided school, run by Northern Railway. The school was founded in 1888 by East Indian Railway (EIR), and passed to the Indian Railways when railways were nationalised after Independence. It has three separate semi independent wings, and is situated on two hills in Jharipani, 8 km from Mussoorie town, near the famous Jharipani fall.

Wynberg Allen School, established in 1888, is a well known school which ranks amongst the finest in the country. In Kanpur, during the year 1887, a group of friends, Mr. Alfred Powell, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Foy and Brig. J H Condon met and decided to set up a school in Mussoorie. The school was built at Jabarkhet along the Tehri road and was later shifted to the present Wynberg Estate. The object was to provide for and give to children, wholly or partly of European descent, an education based on Protestant Christian principles; to maintain such children and to give them an academic and practical training conducive to economic welfare and happiness. It now accommodates students of all descents.

The school consists of two branches - the Junior branch (Wynberg) and the Senior branch (Allen) and accommodates around 700 children. The school has four houses - Allen, Powell, Foy and Condon. A student from the institution is referred to as an " ALWYNIAN "

The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Waverly, was established in 1845 by the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary Mussoorie Educational Society. The school is conducted by the Religious Sisters of Jesus and Mary. It is an all-girls school and perhaps the oldest Convent school in India. Waverley is situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level on one of the healthiest, most extensive and well wooded hills of Mussoorie. The Jesus and Mary Congregation was the first Congregation of Sisters to come to the north in 1842 at the invitation of Bishop Borghi the Vicar Apostolic of the Agra Mission. The Archbishop requested the sisters to come to Mussoorie to start a school for girls. In 1845 the sisters came to Mussoorie.The Estate of Waverley belonging to an Italian gentleman had just come into the market and the nuns bought it. That year saw the commencement of one of the most important Catholic educational institutions in the North of India. Thousands of girls Catholic and Non-Catholic alike have since passed through Waverley the small inadequate bungalow which was all the accommodation at first offered, has given place to a group of tastefully conceived buildings which dominate the town of Mussoorie.

Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School Mussoorie (GNFCS) is one of the well known schools in Mussoorie and one of the best boarding schools in India like many other Mussoorie schools. Founded in the sacred memory of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, on the occasion of His 500th birth anniversary, celebrated in November 1969. The girls are housed at Shangri La situated at 6,750 feet (2,057 m) above sea level on an 11-acre (45,000 m2) plot, wooded with cypress, cedar and oak, on the south and west, facing the snow clad Himalayan peaks, to the north. The boys are at Vincent Hill, it is situated 3 km from the Library Chowk. Surrounded by picturesque scenery, Vincent Hill comprises a campus spread over 45 acres (180,000 m2). The GNFCS prepares students in accordance with the 10+2 formula for school education, for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (10 year course) examination and the Indian School Certificate (12 year course) examination.

Other schools in Mussourie include Mussoorie International, Mussoorie Modern School, Tibetan Homes, CST Mussoorie and St Clares Convent School.

Mussorie also has the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, the premier training institute for officers of the Indian Administrative Service and other civil services. This unique institute is located about 2 km from Gandhi Chowk.

The library area also houses the premier academy of the Indo Tibetan Border Police Force, an elite central Police organization of Government of India. It is a venerated institute for dispensing comprehensive training for ITBP officers recruits patrolling the porous borders.The Academy was moved to this location in 1978, consequent upon reorganization of the force and located at two separate patches of land known as Cainville Estate (Adm wing) and Astel estate (combat wing) The Academy has grown over the years so as to take even friendly foreign countries officers as its trainees. State of the art facilities have been established here in order to provide latest modern training to its trainees. Academy has a helipad, synthetic tennis courts, modern computer labs and simulators besides one of the best library in town. The Academy also serves the local inhabitants as the first responder in any major or minor rescue and relief work. Be it the traffic Accidents, or the cable car mishap, ITBP has provided much needed relief immediately. They have also been instrumental in assisiting local administration in preserving the green cover of this exotic hill station.Academy is headed by Sh M.C.Bhatt, IG, at present, with Sh Satyendra kumar as Commandant.