La Martinière College, Lucknow
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

La Martinière College is an elite educational institution located in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
, the capital of the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n state of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
. The college consists of two schools on different campuses for boys and girls. La Martinière College (for boys) was founded in 1845 and La Martinière Girls' College was established in 1869. La Martiniere Boys' College is the only school in the world to have been awarded royal battle honoursDeefholts, Margaret. 'History's ghosts in Old Lucknow'
accessed June 2007
for its role in the defence of Lucknow and the Lucknow residency during the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
. The two Lucknow colleges are part of the La Martinière family of schools, founded by the French adventurer Major General
Claude Martin Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French Indies Company, French and later East India Company, British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of ...
. There are two La Martinière Colleges in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
and three in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. La Martinière provides a
liberal education A liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free () human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment. It has been d ...
and the medium of instruction is the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
. The schools cater for pupils from the age of 5 to 17 or 18, and are open to children of all religious denominations, the boys' school has a Chapel, a
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Temple and a Mosque on its campus and has remained a non-denominational school since its inception, unlike the two La Martiniere Schools in Calcutta which are Christian schools, controlled by the Anglican Church of North India. Both the schools have day scholars and residence scholars (boarders). ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' has described its Constantia building as "perhaps the best-preserved colonial building in Lucknow".


Major-General Claude Martin

La Martinière Boys' College was founded by an endowment from the wealthy eighteenth-century Frenchman, Major-General
Claude Martin Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French Indies Company, French and later East India Company, British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of ...
(1735–1800), who was an officer in the French and later the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
. Constantia, the palatial building which now houses the Boys' College, was built in 1785 as Martin's country residence, but was not completed until 1802, two years after Martin's death on 13 September 1800. Historians believe that the house takes its name from the school motto ''Labore et Constantia'' (Work and Constancy) which represents Martin's personal philosophy. There is a more romantic, though unproven, notion that the building was named after Constance, a young French girl who was supposedly Martin's first love.An article by the Lucknow historian Ms. Rosie Llewellyn-Jones in ''Taj'' magazine
accessed June 2007
Martin never married and he had no heirs. In his will, dated 1 January 1800, he left the bulk of his estate to provide for the establishment of three schools to be named La Martinière in his memory. The schools were to be located in
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
,
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
and at
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, his birthplace in France. The residue of his estate after bequests had been made to be used for the maintenance of these schools. He directed that the school in Lucknow should be established at Constantia and that the house should be kept as a "school or College for teaching young men the English language and Christian religion if they found themselves inclined".A synopsis of the history of La Martinière College, Lucknow
accessed June 2007
Martin instructed in his will that his 'body be salted, put in spirits or embalmed', and placed in a lead coffin in a vault beneath the house.Extract from "Quest for Kim – In search of Kipling's Great Game" by Peter Hopkirk. London: John Murray, 1996.
Transcribed by Tony Mooar in a posting on the India-L Rootsweb Mailing List on 23 April 1999
accessed June 2007
It is popularly believed that Martin was motivated not just by vanity but by a desire to protect his property after his death and to prevent his friend, the nawab, from acquiring it. By having himself, a Christian, buried beneath Constantia, he knew that the building would be permanently desecrated in the Muslim nawab's eyes. Chandan Mitra, in his book ''Constant Glory'', thinks otherwise. He writes "Constantia's plans show that the basement mausoleum was part of the original scheme for the building and not included as an afterthought to guard against requisition."Mitra, Chandan. ''Constant glory: La Martinière jai mata di saga 1836–1986''. Calcutta: Oxford University jai mata di Press, 1987. Martin was duly interred in a specially prepared vault in the basement of the house. Thus, Constantia became both a school and a mausoleum. It is the largest European funerary monument in India, and the historian William Dalrymple has described it as "The East India Company's answer to the
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
".Prachi jai mata di Pratap, "La Martinière and the Mutiny", on Tornos India
accessed July 2007


Early years

After Martin's death there were protracted disputes in the Calcutta High Court and consequently his will was not proved until 1840. In the interim the Constantia building was used as a guest house for visiting Europeans. The school finally opened on 1 October 1845 with some seventy boys on roll. The first Principal was John Newmarch. Unlike the Calcutta La Martinière, the Lucknow school was technically established outside British territory so right from its inception its interaction with local society was frequent. There was also a native branch of the school in the Maqbara Umjid Ali Shah at Hazratgunj in the centre of Lucknow. There were plans to move the native school to a different location, although it is not known whether this actually took place. The first major challenge for the La Martinière School was the events of 1857 when it had to leave its premises and assisted in the defence of the Lucknow Residency.


La Martinière during the 1857 uprising

In the events of 1857, eight staff members, sixty seven boys and one ensign (old boy) participated.


After 1857

La Martinière Lucknow, like its counterpart in Calcutta, expanded rapidly after the rebellion of 1857 There were 148 students on its rolls in 1859, but the number had increased to 277 by 1862. Boarders came from all over the province from districts like Pratapgarh, Mirzapur,
Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...
,
Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
,
Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
and
Etawah Etawah (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Iṭāvā''), also known as Ishtikapuri, is a city situated on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawa ...
. The records show that in 1865 over 120 boys qualified for admission to the higher department of the Civil Engineering College at
Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī; ) is a city and Municipal Corporations in India, municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar, the district headquarters. It is spread over a flat terrain under the ...
. In 1869, the La Martinière Girls' School was founded and in 1871 it moved to its present location in the compound of Khurshid Manzil. Initially the Girls' School was under the management of the Boys' School. The La Martinière College Principal was in overall charge of both the Boys' and Girls' Schools, with the Girls' school headed by a Lady Superintendent. In 1945, the college celebrated its Centenary. In wake of threat of invasion by the Japanese during the Second World War, the Calcutta Schools were re-located to Lucknow. After Indian Independence, the curriculum was changed in 1947, with
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
being dropped as a compulsory subject and replaced by
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. Many Anglo-Indians both students and Masters left for Britain and Australia. This trend was to continue till almost the mid-seventies. In 1951, Meredith Doutre was appointed as the first Indian principal of the college. He was succeeded by Col HRH Daniels in the 1960s and then by Mr. DEW Shaw in the mid-1970s. The bulk of the students were drawn from the upper middle and middle classes. In 1960, there was flooding of the grounds by the Gomti River resulting in the evacuation of staff and boys to higher ground. In 1962 and 1971 again major floods occurred which threatened the building. The Government constructed a protective bund in 1973–74 which separated the school lake from the main vista thus substantially reducing the earlier picturesque setting. In 1976, the school was affiliated to the Indian Council for Secondary Education system of education. This entailed the exam for the Certificate of Secondary Education (class X) and the School Leaving Certificate (class XII). In 1995, the school celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, a history of the college, ''Bright Renown'', was released, an exhibition on the history of the school was organized, and for several days the Constantia was lit up in the night. The President of India released a postage stamp to recognize the contribution of La Martinière Lucknow. In 1997 one of the teachers was murdered in the early hours of the morning on 7 March. Thirty-year-old Anglo-Indian Frederick Gomes, the college's assistant warden and physical training instructor, was murdered in his bungalow on the perimeter of the school grounds. Two people were seen firing shots through a broken window at the back of the building, but the culprits were not identified and the murder remains unsolved. However, the murder created a sensation in India at the time, especially when it was found that the school's students had access to guns.East of Eton
William Dalrymple TravelIntelligence.net accessed June 2007
Newspaper columnist Saeed Naqvi, Ashank Mehrotra former pupils at the school commented: "The killing is a metaphor of our times. For such a level of violence to reach the sacred precincts of La Martinière is symbolic of the way that Lucknow, like so much of India, has completely ceased to be what it once was."


History of the Girls' School

Unlike the schools in Calcutta and Lyons there had been no provision to found a girls' school in Lucknow. However funds were found from a ''female education fund'' and a school was started at Moti Mahal. The Lucknow Girls' School, as it was then known, was run by Mrs. Saunders Abbott. Following a land grant from the government the school was moved to its present location at Khursheed Manzil in 1871 and incorporated and established as a branch of La Martinière College.


Principals


Boys' School

Source: * John Newmarch was the first Principal of La Martinière, Lucknow, in 1845. * Leonidas Clint (1845–1855), was the Principal of La Martinière, Lucknow, from about 1845 to 1855. He was a graduate of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
. After leaving Martinière Clint returned to the UK to take up holy orders. He was ordained as a deacon in 1859 and as a priest in 1861 (St David's). He was curate of Lamphey,
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
(1859–1861),
Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
(1861–1863),
Presteigne Presteigne (; : the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community (Wales), community on the south bank of the River Lugg in Powys, Wales. The town is located on the England–Wales border, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. Nearby ...
,
Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
(1863–1865), and Brockhampton,
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
(1865–1874). He was the vicar of Lingen,
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
from 1874 to 1893. He was the editor of Dryden's ''Flower and Leaf'' and the author of ''Conic Sections''. He died in
Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, aged 85. * George Schilling (November 1855 - December 1855) Previously assistant master at La Martiniere Calcutta. He was the Principal during the siege of Lucknow in 1857. *James W.H. Stobart (1855 - 1859) *Thomas Gaskell Sykes (1859 - 1879) * Lieutenant Thomas Percival Wood (1879 – 1909)- Wood was educated at
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and Peterhouse College,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. He was English 'Proviseur' at the Lycée Ampere in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
s from 1906 to 1907. He was appointed Principal of La Martinière Lucknow in 1910. Wood was an officer of the Lucknow Volunteer Rifles, and offered his services in August 1914. He was promoted to the position of lieutenant in the Indian Army reserve in February 1915. After spending four months with the 1/7th Gurkha Rifles in
Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
, he was drafted to the Expeditionary Force in France, where he joined the
3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha Gorkha regiments (India), regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars an ...
in September 1915. He was killed at the
Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...
while gallantly leading his men in action. His name is commemorated on the Neuve-Chapelle memorial in France. * CLS Garnett was the Principal from 1915 to 1920. *Lt. Colonel Ralph S. Weir (1920-1926) * Lt. Colonel William Edgar Andrews, Principal of the Boys' College from 1926 to 1951. Andrews moved to India in 1914 to take up a post as senior history and geography master at La Martinière Calcutta. In 1921 he was appointed Headmaster of the Boys' High School and College in
Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
. He was appointed Principal of La Martinière Lucknow in 1926. * Meredith Doutre (1951-1964), the first Indian Principal. * Colonel Hector R H "Danny" Daniels. (1964-1973) *Frank J deSouza (1974), in post for only a month (Jan-Feb). He built his retirement home in the college, which is now used as the college guest house. * Desmond Shaw was a former pupil of La Martinière Boys from 1974 to 1986. * Terence Phillips (1986-1990) was also a former pupil and was briefly Principal of the school. * Elton Stein deSouza (1990-2011) was a former pupil who headed the school for around 20 years. He started raising funds for restoration of Constantia through College Souvenirs, Bollywood Film shootings. * Carlyle Andre' McFarland (Macky) (2011-2024). *Gary Dominic Everett (2024-present) was appointed Principal-Designate on 01 February 2024 and took over as the full-fledged Principal on 01 April 2024.


Girls' School

In the early years the Girls' School was led by a Lady Superintendent who reported to the Principal of the Boys' School.


Lady Superintendents

* 1869–1870 Miss Dixon * 1870–1871 Mrs Marshall * 1871–1872 Miss Wilson * 1872–1878 Miss Auld * 1879–1882 Miss Pennington * 1883–1884 Miss Brenan Hayes * 1885 Miss Mathews * 1886–1889 Miss Granger * 1890–1894 Miss Greenwood * 1894–1897 Miss Young * 1898–1901 Edith Annette Gow * 1902–1906 Miss Stephenson Jellie


Principals

* 1907–1908 Miss Lavinia Teasdale was the first Principal and Honorary Secretary of the Girls' School. * 1909–1915 Miss Ida Williams * 1916–1923 Miss D. B. Oolving * 1924–1937 Miss M. Chick * 1937–1948 Margaret Grayhurst * 1948–1950 Ellen Howe * 1948–1950 Annette Gresseux * 1951–1977 Mary Annette Gresseux was the first Indian Principal. She was responsible for the expansion of the school and the building of the infrastructure. * 1978–1997 Florence Keelor * 1997 – 12 February 2016 Farida Abraham * 2017–present Ashrita Dass


In popular culture


Film

The Boys' College has been the setting for films, including: *'' Kim'', a 1950 MGM adventure film starring
Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
, Dean Stockwell (as Kim), Paul Lukas and Robert Douglas. *'' Shakespeare Wallah'', the 1965 Merchant Ivory Productions film loosely based on the real-life adventures of
Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...
's family. *'' Shatranj Ke Khiladi'' (''The Chess Players''), the 1977 film by
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
. *''Stones of the Raj: The French Connection'', a 1997 documentary for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
television by William Dalrymple. *'' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'', a 2001 Bollywood movie starring Sunny Deol, Amisha Patel, and
Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
. *''
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
'', a 2002 Tollywood movie starring Chiranjeevi and Sonali Bendre. *'' Anwar'', a 2007 Bollywood movie starring Nauheed Cyrusi. *'' Always Kabhi Kabhi'', a 2011 Bollywood movie starring Ali Fazal (a former pupil) Giselle Monteiro, Zoa Morani, Satyajit Dubey, a directorial debut for Roshan Abbas and was produced under Shahrukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment. A film by Roshan Abbas, also a Martinian. *'' Jaanisaar'', a 2015 film by former pupil Muzaffar Ali. When Raja Amir, an Indian prince raised in London, returns to India, he falls for Noor, a revolutionary courtesan. However, while her loyalties lie with India, his lie with the British Raj. * Prassthanam, a 2019 Indian Political action film. Another film where ex-Martinian Ali Fazal played an important role. * *'' Gunjan Saxena'', A 2020 film that stars Janhvi Kapoor as
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
pilot Gunjan Saxena, one of the first Indian female air-force pilots in combat, alongside Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi in supporting roles. * '' Madam Chief Minister'' is a 2020 Indian
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language
political drama A political drama can describe a Theatre, play, film or TV program that has a politics, political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written p ...
film directed by Subhash Kapoor. The film stars Richa Chadda in the lead role. The film's official announcement was made by Chadda on 12 February 2020.


Literature and fiction

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's 1901 novel Kim tells of the adventures of Kimball O'Hara, the orphaned son of a British soldier. Kim is given the chance to go to St Xavier's School in Lucknow, the most prestigious school in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
. St Xavier's is a fictional creation but Kipling authorities believe that the school is modelled on real-life picturesque La Martinière College, Lucknow. The Indian writer Allan Sealy, a former pupil of the school, set his first novel ''Trotter-Nama'' in the old house, which he renamed as ''Sans Souci'' (carefree). The school has also featured in short stories.


Postage stamps

The two La Martinière schools in Lucknow are one of the few educational institution in India, and possibly in the world, depicted on postage stamps. On 1 October 1995, on the 150th anniversary of the school's opening, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President of India, released a two-rupee postage stamp in the school's honour. In 2007 when the girls' school celebrated its 138th anniversary, it was given a similar honour and a first-day cover was issued by Department of Posts with a picture of Khursheed Manzil on it.A first day cover of the girls' school
accessed June 2007


Curriculum

The academic curriculum includes Mathematics, both English Language and Literature, History and Civics, Geography, Principles of Accounts, Commercial Studies, Science, Art, Craft and Woodwork, Choral Singing, Hindi, Sanskrit and the French language (both up to Class VIII), Computer Studies and Physical Education (three times a week until Class 10). Class 10 students are prepared for the
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) is an academic qualification awarded by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, a private, non-governmental board of education in India. The CISCE conducts these examinati ...
and for the Indian School Certificate Examination when they are in Class 12. The four streams at 10+2 stage are Humanities, Commerce, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences.


Sports facilities

The college has extensive facilities for sports. There are two sports fields, known as the Polo Ground and the Fairy Dale Ground. The polo ground, as its name suggests, was originally used for
polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...
games. Today it plays host to
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and athletics. It is also the venue for the physical training displays on Annual Sports Day. Cricket and
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
Hockey is still played (Carrots & Sticks) Kolkata Newsline 9 August 2007
accessed 10 August 2007.
are played at the Fairy Dale Ground. There is a large gym for gymnastics, a skating rink, an indoor shooting range, a Rugby field and an indoor swimming pool. The college also has a
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
court, a
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
court, a
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
and lawn
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
courts. In all there are 10 Football fields, 8 Hockey fields, 2 Basketball courts, 2 Swimming Pools, A Paddock, 2 Cricket Arenas, The college has five combative sports:
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
,
taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
,
Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...
,
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
and
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
. The school has
stables A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
for horse-riding, and an archery range. The college has an Aviation Club where aviation sport is taught. The boys assemble aero model kits both control line and Remote Controlled. The Aeromodelling club is equipped with a simulator, a briefing room, test benches and a host of other equipment. The boys are prepared to appear for the Student Pilot Licence for Fixed Wing Aircraft. Power flying on Cessna 152B is scheduled to commence shortly.


Coat of arms

The La Martinière coat of arms was designed by the founder Claude Martin.La Martiniere history at Tripod
accessed 10 August 2007
The coat of arms and the motto ''Labore et Constantia'' are now shared by all the schools founded by Martin. The La Martinere College flag consists of the coat of arms on a blue and gold background. The flag is flown above the buildings, and used for formal events and celebrations, such as the annual Founder's Day.


Notable Martinians


Further reading

* Chandan Mitra. ''Constant glory: La Martinière saga 1836–1986''. Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1987, 95pp. . * Edward H Hilton. ''The Martiniere boys in the Bailey Guard''. Lucknow : American Methodist Mission Press, 1877, 18pp. *''Rules and Regulations of La Martiniere, founded in Calcutta under the will of Major General Claude Martin with an extract of the will of the testator, the decree of the supreme court with regard to the same and other documents. Published by order of the Governors.'' Calcutta: La Martiniere College, 1835, 103pp. * Rosie Llewellyn-Jones. ''A very ingenious man: Claude Martin in early colonial India''. Delhi:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1993, 241pp. . * Bright Renown


See also

* La Martiniere Calcutta * La Martiniere College * La Martiniere Lyon *
Claude Martin Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French Indies Company, French and later East India Company, British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of ...
* :La Martinière College, Lucknow alumni * Martin Purwa * The will of Claude Martin * Vive La Martiniere, the school song by Frederick James Rowe * Claude Martin Wade, a Colonel named after Claude Martin *
Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...


References


External links

* {{Lucknow Education in Lucknow Schools in Lucknow Educational institutions established in 1845 La Martinière College Private schools in Lucknow 1845 establishments in British India Tourist attractions in Lucknow