St. Mary's School, Mumbai

St. Mary's School I.C.S.E was founded in 1864 by members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), a Roman Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. The school is located adjacent to St. Anne's Church which was established in 1860. The school began as a Catholic school of education and a military orphanage. Later it opened to the Catholic populace in general, which led to expansion and to the construction of the building that now houses the senior school, whose foundation stone was laid by Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943.[4]

In 1933, St. Mary's High School SSC was carved out of St. Mary's School I.C.S.E to offer students the opportunity to focus on completion of the Secondary School Certificate.[5]

In recognition of its contribution in the field of education the Chief Postmaster General for Maharashtra released a special postal cover commemorating the school's 150th anniversary on 7 December 2013.[6]

The school used to confer the degree/diploma of a Cambridge University O level of education, and now confers the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) diploma. The school has four Gothic-style buildings and is divided into Senior School (grades 5 and above) and Junior School (grades 4 and below).

As per Education World's 2018 survey, the school is ranked 3rd nationwide in the category of 'Day School for Boys'.[2]

Students are encouraged in the arts and sports. Many amongst the school's alumni have flourished in theatre, music, and Bollywood.

The following individuals have served as principal of the school:

Business and economics

• Dilip Abreu – Princeton economist
• Azim Premji – Chairman of Wipro Limited[8]
• Gautam Singhania – Chairman & MD of the Raymond Group[9]
• Shailesh Haribhakti – Chairman of Blue Star Limited [10]

Law

• Joseph 'Kaka' Baptista – barrister, unionist, political activist, founder of the Indian Home Rule movement, and Mayor of Bombay[11]
• A. G. Noorani – lawyer, constitutional expert and political commentator
• Homer Pithawalla – leading expert in corporate law and competition law; Professor of Law at Government Law College, Mumbai
• Goolam Essaji Vahanvati – Attorney General of India[8]
• Iqbal Chagla - Senior Advocate [12]

Literature

• Homi K. Bhabha – professor at Harvard University[8]
• Dom Moraes – writer and poet[8]

Performing arts

• Sooraj Barjatya – Hindi film director[8]
• Tushar Hiranandani – Hindi film director[8]
• Boman Irani – theatre and Bollywood actor[8]
• Arjun Mathur – Bollywood actor
• Zubin Mehta – orchestral conductor[8][13]
• Freddie Mercury – singer, songwriter and lead vocalist of the band Queen[8]
• Sorabh Pant – stand-up comedian
• Farukh Sheikh – Bollywood actor
• Kunal Vijaykar – actor and director[8]

Medicine

• Ritam Chowdhury – physician, epidemiologist, biostatistician, writer, poet, Harvard faculty member
• Tehemton Erach Udwadia – gastroenterologist[14][15]

Sports

• Shishir Hattangadi – Bombay cricket captain[16]
• Vijay Mohanraj – Ranji Trophy cricketer for Mumbai[17]
• Rehan Poncha – Olympic swimmer (2008 Beijing Summer Olympics), Arjuna Awardee [8]
• Adille Sumariwalla – Olympic sprinter (1980 Moscow Summer Olympics), Arjuna Awardee

Science

• Vijay Balasubramanian – theoretical physicist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania[18]

• List of Jesuit schools
• List of schools in Mumbai
• Violence against Christians in India

• "IQBAL CHAGLA | Lawyers Update". www.web.lawyersupdate.co.in. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
• "Zubin Mehta to launch St Mary's School 150th year celebrations in Mumbai". India Today. Retrieved 20 May 2018.