Our History
(The British started establishing schools in India by the end of the 17th Century)
The Christ Church Cathedral was built in Jabalpur or Jubbulpore as it was known then in 1843 and it was consecrated in 1862.
The School was set up in 1870 by the Rev. William Barker Drawbridge who was a chaplain in the Christ Church with a grant of just Rs.20 per month. The school began operating in the vestry of the Church with just a handful of students. Subsequently land was allotted to set up the school separately. Initially there was only one school but later separate schools were started for Girls and Boys.
The Girls school had just the old tiled roof building to began with, with a few classrooms, a gymnasium and hostel block.
Another building referred to as 'New Building' now, was built in 1964. Besides a few classrooms it had an auditorium, the "Mary George Hall" which is used even today for the entire school program.
The Science Block, with the new office was completed in 1995 to mark the 125th anniversary of the school.
In 1992 there was a addition to the primary block under the Relocation Expansion program.
In 2004, a new Kindergarten block came up in the place of the old one which was damaged in the earthquake of 1997.
The School is built on an area of approximately five and a half acres. After the CNI was formed and the Jabalpur Diocese came into being on 29th November 1970. The school came under the Diocese of Jabalpur. It is run by the Board of Education, Church of North India, Jabalpur Diocese under the Chairmanship of the Most. Rev. Dr. P.C. Singh, Moderator of CNI Synod and Bishop of Jabalpur Diocese. It is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (C.B.S.E.) since the year 1994.
The school has a hostel which was set up somewhere between 1909-1912. It was the first hostel to be built in the city of Jabalpur and one of the first in Central India.
The motto of the School is "PALAM QUI MERUIT FERAT ", meaning 'Let be who Merits the Palm Possess it', or in other words, 'If you wish to gain recognition', work hard for it.
Christ Church Girls' School has a long history of a hundred and fifty four years. The British started establishing schools in India by the end of the 17th century for the military and civilian personnel working in the East India Company, in the Presidency town of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. These English schools were mostly either Catholic or Protestant.
Jabalpur (Jubbulpore as it was called) was an important Military and Railway base of the British and had a growing population of British and Anglo-Indian officers posted here.
The Bishop of Calcutta visited Jabalpur in the year 1841 and decided to build a church here, which was christened as the 'Christ Church'. Even though service began in the Christ Church somewhere around 1843, it was consecrated only in the year 1862.
Jabalpur, which was then a part of the Central Provinces and Berar was connected to Calcutta by the East India Company (EIR). The railway had already reached Allahabad. The work in the Naini - Jabalpur section began in 1864 and was completed in 1867. Jabalpur was connected to Bombay by The Great Peninsula Railway (GIP). It lay en route between Bombay and Calcutta. It was here, near Platform 1, where the two railways EIR and GIP were joined.
Christ Church Girls' School has a long history of a hundred and fifty four years. The British started establishing schools in India by the end of the 17th century for the military and civilian personnel working in the East India Company, in the Presidency town of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. These English schools were mostly either Catholic or Protestant.
Jabalpur (Jubbulpore as it was called) was an important Military and Railway base of the British and had a growing population of British and Anglo-Indian officers posted here.
The Bishop of Calcutta visited Jabalpur in the year 1841 and decided to build a church here, which was christened as the 'Christ Church'. Even though service began in the Christ Church somewhere around 1843, it was consecrated only in the year 1862.
Jabalpur, which was then a part of the Central Provinces and Berar was connected to Calcutta by the East India Company (EIR). The railway had already reached Allahabad. The work in the Naini - Jabalpur section began in 1864 and was completed in 1867. Jabalpur was connected to Bombay by The Great Peninsula Railway (GIP). It lay en route between Bombay and Calcutta. It was here, near Platform 1, where the two railways EIR and GIP were joined.
Mr. G P Thomas, the then Resident Engineer wrote to the eastern Indian Railway Board that there were no schools in 'Jubbulpore' where the children of the company's employees could study, except for some funds for building a school. It was at this time that the school was started on June 1, 1870 by the Rev. William Barker Drawbridge, who was Chaplain at the Christ Church, in the vestry of the Church, with the aim of educating the children of the Protestant families of the Railway employees and civilian authorities. Later, a grant-in-aid of Rs. 50 /- was received from the government in 1872. Both the GIP and EIR had their represtatives in the school committee. Separate land was allotted later to set up school in 1876. Initially there was only one school, but later separate school were started for girls and boys.
When the Girls School was started it had a large classroom / dining room block, a dormitory block , with accommodation for the headmistress and other teachers, a block containing the common room and more teachers' accommodation, a building containing a Gymnasium / stage / Music Room and a Kindergarten block,. This building is now referred to as the old building and most of it stands tall even today. The middle and high school assembly is still conducted in the Gymnasium, only the pianos in the Music room have been replaced by a synthesizer. Miss Cox, Miss D Clement, Mrs. E Cowell, Mrs. Mary Paul, Miss Harmony Prajuli and Mr. Cubbins have played the piano or the synthesizer for the school assembly.
The New Building was constructed much later in 1964 under the Principalship of Ms George. This ' new building originally had four class rooms and Auditorium - the Mary George Hall'. The top floor which has classrooms for 7and 8 was added later and was dedicated on 2nd November, 1956 by the Rt. Rev. F. C. Jonathan under the Principal ship of Mrs. W. Nair. The Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Prof. K. M. Chandy graced the school with his presence for this inauguration function.
As the number of students continued to grow, the need for expansion was felt by all. It was at this time that a Master Plan was conceived for the expansion of the school by Bishop Rt. Rev F C Jonathan, called the 'Education Expansion Programme' of the Jabalpur Diocese in 1991. The first phase of this programme began with the addition of the Primary Block.
In the second phase, the Science Block was completed on 10th July, 1995 to mark the 125th Anniversary of the school. In the third phase, a part of the old kindergarten building was brought down to damage in the earthquake of 1997 and a new KG Block was built in its place in 2014.
The new office was completed in 2009. The school is built on an area of approximately five and half acres.
The dedication and countless efforts of many Chaplains, Bishops, Headmistresses, Principals and Teachers have made the school one of the best in central India today.
| Rev. W B Drawbridge | Founder |
|---|
| HEADMISTRESSES | YEAR |
|---|---|
| Miss Donaldson | 1986 - 1903 |
| Miss Stewart | 1903 – 1905 |
| Miss G A Stevens | 1905 – 1906 |
| Miss Grey | 1906 – 1907 |
| Miss Alice Levi | 1907 – 1946 The Levi Hall & the Levi House are named after her. |
| Miss O'Brien | 1946 – 1947 |
| Miss D. French | 1947 |
| Miss I. Hullsmith | 1947 – 1950 |
| PRINCIPAL'S | YEAR |
|---|---|
| Miss M George | 1950 – 1972 |
| Mrs. A Vashisth | 1972 – 1977 |
| Miss V P Titus | 1978 – 1984 |
| Mrs. W Nair | 1984 – 2012 |
| Mrs. Preeti Thangadurai | 2012 - ...... |
| BISHOPS | YEAR |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Nagpur | |
| Eyre Chatterton | 1903 – 1926 |
| Alex Wood OBE | 1926 – 1937 |
| Alexander Ogilvy Hardy | 1937 – 1949 |
| George Sinker | 1949 – 1954 |
| S A Pathak | 1954 – 1957 |
| J W Sadiq | 1957 – 1970 |
| S K Patro (1st Bishop of Jabalpur) | 1970 – 1976 |
| F C Jonathan | 1976 – 1996 |
| Sunil Cak | 1996 – 2004 |
| Dr. P C Singh | 2004 – 2021 |
| Ajay Umesh James | 2023.......... |
Management of the school
When the school began, it functioned under the Bishop of Calcutta who headed the (Anglican Church) CIPBC or Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon.
Then the Christ Church and the schools functioned under of Nagpur and later when the CNI was formed in 1970 and the Jabalpur Diocese came into being on the 13th of December 1970, it came under the Diocese of Jabalpur. The Bishop Rt. Rev. Patro was the first Bishop of the Diocese under the CNI and was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. F C Jonathan.
Presently the school is run by the Board of Education, Church of North India, Jabalpur Diocese, under the Chairmanship of the Rt. Rev. Ajay Umesh Kumar James who is the Bishop of the Jabalpur Diocese.