Welham Girls' School
Girls' boarding school in Dehradun, India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Welham Girls' School is an all girls boarding school located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It was established in January 1957 by Hersilia Susie Oliphant, who had previously founded Welham Boys School in 1937.[1][2]
| Welham Girls' School | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Independent |
| Motto | Sanskrit: Artha shanti phala vidya (The aim of education is to bring peace) |
Religious affiliation | Secular |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Founder | H.S. Oliphant |
Current Principal | Vibha Kapoor |
Founder Principal | Grace Mary Linnel |
| Gender | Girls |
| Age | 12 to 18 |
| Enrollment | 540 |
| Campus | 12 acres |
| Houses | 5 |
| Colours | Blue and White |
| Mascot | Kingfisher |
| Publication |
|
| Affiliation | ICSE ISC |
| Former pupils | Welhamites |
| Website | www |
The school accommodates approximately 540 students between the ages of 12 and 18. Its student body includes pupils from multiple Indian states and Union Territories, as well as from other countries. [3][4][5][6]
History
The school was founded by Hersilia Susie Oliphant, who came to India in 1920 as a companion to the Princess of Cooch Behar.[7]
In 1937, Oliphant established the Welham Preparatory Boys School (now Welham Boys' School) in Dehradun.[2]
The name Welham is derived from a village in Wales. The school's motto, Artta Shanti Phala Vidya, is in Sanskrit and translates to the aim of knowledge is to bring peace.[8]
The school began with an inaugural batch of ten students, later referred to as the First Ten.[2]
The name Welham is derived from Welham, Nottinghamshire, a village in Nottinghamshire, England. The village is the home town of Hersilia Susie Oliphant. [7]
She acquired a palatial estate called Nasreen adjacent to the boys' school to start a small boarding school for girls.[7] There were no funds, staff, or school buildings. There were originally ten pupils.[7] Oliphant recruited another English woman, Grace Mary Linnel, to run the boarding school for girls.[7] Linnel became the founder principal of Welham Girls School, which started in 1957.[9]
The school has been described in The Economic Times as one of a group of "old, rich and popular schools — the Eton equivalents in India ... These boarding schools are a state of mind in themselves, an attitude which can’t be duplicated".[10]
Extracurricular activities
The school hosts competitive events such as sports, craft, dramatics, music, dance and photography.[11] Sports include basketball, hockey, swimming, badminton, lawn tennis, athletics, table tennis, karate, shooting and aerobics.[12] The basketball team has won numerous tournaments and represented Uttrakhand at the national level. Several students have been chosen for the India camp as well.[13]
Notable alumnae
Art
- Madhu Jain, textile designer[14]
- Smriti Morarka, hand-weaving revivalist[15]
- Mrinalini Mukherjee, artist[16]
- Laila Tyabji, co-founder of Dastkar[17]
Business
- Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO, Ogilvy[18]
- Devyani Rana, vice-president of Coca-Cola India[19]
Film
- Kareena Kapoor, actress[20]
- Nitya Mehra, director and screenwriter[21]
- Deepa Mehta, film director[22]
- Shivani Rawat, producer[23]
- Sukhmani Sadana, actor and screenwriter[24]
- Priya Seth, cinematographer[25]
- Alankrita Shrivastava, screenwriter and film director[26]
Indian Administrative Service
- Neera Yadav, IAS officer[27]
Journalism
- Radhika Roy, co-founder and co-owner of NDTV[28]
- Tavleen Singh, non-fiction writer, journalist and columnist, Indian Express[22]
- Madhu Trehan, journalist and co-founder of Newslaundry[22]
Law
- Malavika Rajkotia, lawyer and activist[29]
Literature
- Advaita Kala, novelist and screenwriter[30]
- Deepti Kapoor, novelist[31]
Politics and activism
- Subhashini Ali, activist, president of the All India Democratic Women's Association[32]
- Renuka Chowdhury, MP Rajya Sabha[33]
- Priyanka Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (House of the People)[10]
- Brinda Karat, Member of Parliament, Communist Party of India (Marxist)[34]
- Meira Kumar, ex-presidential candidate and First Lady speaker of the Lok Sabha[35]
- Mala Sen, writer and activist[36]
- Ambika Soni, politician[37]
Sports
- Jyoti Ann Burrett, footballer[38]