Hebron School

The school traces its origin to 1899 when a group of Protestant missionaries, who had come to the hills on vacation and were staying at Brooklands Christian Guest Home in nearby Coonoor, decided it would be of benefit to their children to live year round in the temperate, clean and relatively disease-free surroundings of the Nilgiri hills. Due to the high altitude – Ooty being at 2,300 m (7,500 ft) above sea level – these hills enjoy year-round cool temperatures and abundant rainfall, and their climate has often been compared to Europe. Initially the school operated as a type of boarding house where children would stay, and either be home-educated in house or sent to one of the local schools. It was named Hebron School in 1902.

In February 1961, Lushington Boys School was started at Lushington Hall, Ooty – these premises had formerly been a hostel for boys from Breeks Memorial School. Hebron School, Lushington Hall's sister school for girls, was situated at the Silverdale campus in Coonoor, approximately 20 km away. As time progressed it was decided that co-education would be more beneficial to the children, and in 1974 the two schools were amalgamated, with the senior school at Lushington Hall, Ooty (the senior girls were housed separately at Selborne) and the junior school at Coonoor. In 1977(?) the junior school moved to Ooty so that the whole school could be together. The Silverdale campus (often referred to as Hebron Coonoor or Titch Heb) was sold to Christian Mission Service and is now a children's home and industrial training institute.

The present, amalgamated school is known as Hebron School and is situated in 20 acres (8.1 ha) of woodland around the former stately home of Lushington Hall. The Ooty Government Botanical Gardens and the school share a common entrance. It is sometimes known as "Hebron International School", as it was at least for some time recognised by the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) and because there are students from over 25 nationalities studying at the school.

The school is very small by Indian standards and consists of around 375 students.

The student body represents 26 countries and many cultural and religious backgrounds. 39% of present students are Indian and 61% are other nationalities. 90% of the students are boarders.

Many, but not all of students are Protestants. The school is not restricted to the children of Christian workers in India alone, but is open to those of Christian workers worldwide, with a special emphasis on Asia and Africa, as well as children of "business parents" based in India.

Students follow the British school system and study for IGCSEs, AS and A levels. These examinations are generally assessed by the CAIE and Edexcel education boards.[1]

There are 15 dormitories (or dorms), arranged vertically, i.e. by age and sex. All dorms are single-sex. All boys' dorms are on the Lushington campus along with the youngest girls' dorms (up to around 9/10 years of age). The girls' dorms (age 12 and upwards) are on the Selborne campus (about 1 km from Lushington), and girls travel to school by bus or on foot (older girls). [2]

Students are encouraged to take up leadership roles that will not only serve as a means to benefit themselves but also to act as the role models of the students. There are two major student-run events during the academic year. There are also a significant amount of fund-raising activities during the year. [1]

• Hebron School runs an International Guest (IG) system. The program takes on young people across the globe, primarily recently graduated students, and provides them with free lodging in exchange for their service. Usually IGs are responsible for helping in a particular dormitory and are given other subject related duties. IGs almost always commit to a single semester (6 months) in the school.
• Senior persons occasionally join the system, but are more often referred to as 'Senior Volunteers' than IGs.

• Mr. Timothy Wright has been appointed Principal. Senior Management and School Council serve as the main decision-making bodies.[1]
• Ms. Julia Coombs is the Head of Junior School, Mr. Benjamin Sampler is the Head of Middle School, Mr. Benedict Medhurst is the Head of Senior School, Mr. Graham Twigger is the Head of A levels. Mrs. Ruth Jacob is Vice Principal for Student Welfare and Mrs. Dagmar Baron is Vice Principal for Academics.

• Alastair Cutting (born 1960) – Archdeacon Alastair Cutting is a Church of England priest.
• Karan Faridoon Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria of Chelsea, CBE, DL (born 1961) — founder member and Chairman of Cobra Beer[3]
• Kalki Koechlin (born 1983) – French-Indian Hindi film actress[4]
• Serena Kern-Libera (born 1988) — Swiss-Indian singer and songwriter[5]
• Pranav Mohanlal (born 1990) – Indian Malayalam film actor[6]
• Gautham Karthik (born 1990) – Indian Tamil film actor[7]
• Apoorva Elizabeth Mittra (born 1991) — Indian model[8]

• 2007 – Sir Richard Stagg KCMG, British diplomat, the then British High Commissioner to India[9]

• St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Ooty
• St. Joseph's Boys School, Coonoor
• Breeks Memorial School, Ooty
• The Laidlaw Memorial School and Junior College, Ketti, Ooty
• Lawrence School, Lovedale, Ooty
• Woodside School, Ooty
• Stanes Hr.Sec. School, Coonoor
• Good Shepherd International School, Ooty

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hebron School.

• Official website
• Alumni section
• Hebron Highlights 2006–2007

11.418605°N 76.713973°E / 11.418605; 76.713973