St. Joseph Higher Secondary School

The school section admission goes through three levels; interview, written test and final selection. Admission into class 3 is held officially, around 2500-6000 competing for only 180 seats. Other classes (4-9) may offer admissions if seats are vacant.[4]

The college section usually selects only 600-700 students out of approximately 7000 applicants.[9]

The school follows the National Curriculum of studies. Upon establishment, it was an English Medium Cambridge school. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the school abridged itself along with the national curriculum. In the year 2004, it introduced the English Version first in grade 6, gradually adding one English version section to each grade.[2]

The school was initially named "St. Joseph High School". In the year 2001 Higher Secondary Education (equivalent to college) had also been introduced in Saint Joseph, changing the name of the institution to "Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School". The school is recognized by the Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The average graduating class from Saint Joseph each year has 160 to 180 students. The secondary level offers S.S.C (equivalent to O level) examinations and the higher secondary level offers H.S.C (equivalent to A level) examinations. The curriculum includes both Bengali and English versions (not to be confused with English Medium). The institution is recognized by the Board of Intermediate and Higher Secondary Educations.[10]

Instead of Section 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C etc. St. Joseph uses names for its sections of grades. There are three sections for grades 3–10, and there are six sections for grades 11–12. In the school section, each class contains 50-60 students.[11]

(The Italic ones show the English Version Sections.)

The uniform consists of white shirt, dark grey trousers and black shoes.[3]

The school has a 3.5 acre campus. It has grounds for association football, basketball, cricket, and volleyball, amidst other sports.[4] The school basketball court, built in the 60s and modified in 2008, also serves as a multipurpose auditorium. The main field is used as the football pitch and beside the main ground, the mini field is used as Volleyball court. There are Badminton Courts beside the volleyball court.[12][13]

The South Building, viewed from the school football ground.

The School Campus viewed from the first gate

A composite of two four-storey buildings with a two-storey building in the annex for teachers and office is located in Dhaka City. The four-storey buildings are known as north and south building. The ground floor of the south building serves as a table tennis court. The school has three main entries. The first and the second one serve as the entry for students and teachers, the third one is for official purpose.[14]

One of the chemistry labs

Facilities include two computer labs equipped with multimedia projectors, a separate internet lab, two advanced chemistry labs, two physics labs and two biology labs. Of each of the chemistry, physics and biology labs one is used by the secondary students and the other is by higher secondary students.[15]

Library of Saint Joseph Higher Secondary School

The library was founded in 1954. It has approximately 10 thousand books and magazines. The library works with the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra and British Council to arrange book reading programs.[16]

National Math Olympiad 2013 at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School

The southwest corner of the school holds a small hostel for the brothers of Holycross. Since 2004, the school has been hosting the national occurrence of Bangladesh Mathematical Olympiad.[17]

• During the ten years of Cambridge, 233 boys took the overseas examination and 98% passed with over 60% in the first division.
• Ranked as A+ category college in the country.[18]
• 1st positions (including the first position) in the merit list among approximately 100 graduating students in 1980.
• 2nd positions (including the first position) in the merit list among approximately 100 graduating students in 1992.
• Five positions (including the third position) in the merit list among approximately 80 graduating students in 1995.
• Highest percentage of GPA 5.0/5.0 in S.S.C.

and H.S.C. Examination in 2004-2023.

• Introduction of Basketball in Bangladesh.
• Introduction of Parliamentary Format Debate in Bangladesh.
• In 2023, Dhaka Education Board ranked the institution in A+ category.[9]
• Established the first High School Level Science Club of Bangladesh in 1957.
• Formed the first High School Level Debating Club in Bangladesh in 1969.
• Venue partner of first ever All-Asians university debate competition held in Bangladesh in 2008.
• Pioneer school in the British Council's global schooling scheme partnered with the Park View Church Community School of the UK since 2006.
• Highest number of Chess Grandmaster from the institution in the country.
• 13 Gold medals won in the 2007 IAS exam held by University of New South Wales, highest in the country.[19]
• In 2018, Josephite Math Club won the best math club award.

Extra-curricular and co-curricular activities include the Scintilla Science Club, Josephite Debating Club, Josephite Language and Reading Club, Josephite Business Club, Josephite Chess Club, Josephite Eco Earth Club, Josephite Interact Club, Josephite Cultural Forum, Josephite Film & Drama Club, Josephite IT Club, Josephite International Understanding Club.[22][13]

Scouting was introduced in St. Joseph in 1964 with a view to creating among the students a sense of sensitivity, sympathy, fellow feeling, camaraderie, benevolence, generosity and rationality towards the deprived, distressed, underprivileged and the marginalized. It teaches an individual to become self-reliant by honest means. It instigates good human qualities in the individuals to make them prepared for people in their times of crying need. The scout groups of St. Joseph have participated in numerous camps, rallies, jamborees at home and abroad. Many of the scouts have camped in countries like Australia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.[4]

As a part of its continued strides towards humanitarian and social services, St. Joseph runs a Literacy School at its premises in the afternoon to impart free primary education to the underprivileged children of the slums and Geneva Camps around Mohammadpur area. This Literacy School was founded in 1978 by Brother Nicolas Thiemann, CSC. Students can get free education up to class-V from this school. The classes are held on every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The school starts at 2:30 p.m. and breaks at 5:00 p.m. Besides basic literacy skills, they are taught discipline, good manners, moral and social values.[2]

"The Josephite" is the yearbook of St. Joseph published annually to record the activities of the institution all the year round. The contents of the yearly magazine include massages from the Archbishop, Principal, Vice-Principal, Counselor and Students’ Guidance, editor and student editor, photographs of the teachers, photographs of all students (III-XII), photographs of the activities of the students, events and programs, individual writings of the students in both Bengali and English and so on. "The Josephite" is thought to have been first published in 1967 and since then it has been published every year.[22]

Football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, chess are the most common sports and games held almost regularly on the ground.The institution has an extraordinary chess club in the country. St. Joseph has produce players such as Shahriar Nafees (cricketer) and all Grand Masters of Bangladesh like Niaz Murshed, Reefat Bin Sattar, Ziaur Rahman.[23][24]

On the annual sports day, a number of traditional track and field events are organised for both the students and teachers. These include long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, discus throwing, relay race, 100-metre sprint, 200-metre sprint, 400-metre sprint, 800-metre sprint, 1500-metre sprint, dress as you like and tug-of war.[21]

Ananta Jalil

Chanchal Chowdhury

Tawsif Mahbub

Arun Saha

• Arifin Shuvo, Bangladeshi film actor and television personality.[25]

• Ananta Jalil, Bangladeshi businessman, actor, director and producer.
• Arun Saha, Bangladeshi actor and musician.[26]
• Chanchal Chowdhury, Bangladeshi actor and producer.[27]
• Jeetu Ahsan, Bangladeshi actor.[28]
• Niloy Alamgir, Bangladeshi model and actor.
• Tawsif Mahbub, Bangladeshi actor who has performed in many of television dramas, music videos and short films.[29]

Education

Mohammed Omar Ejaz Rahman

Fakrul Alam

• Mohammed Omar Ejaz Rahman, adjunct professor of demography and epidemiology, Harvard[30]
• Mushfiq Mobarak, professor of economics, Yale University[31]
• Asif Azam Siddiqi, space historian, currently serves as an assistant professor of history at Fordham University.[32]
• Tanweer Hasan is a Bangladeshi academic and vice-chancellor of the Independent University, Bangladesh.[33]
• Imran Rahman, Bangladeshi singer and member of Renaissance.
• Jalal Alamgir, academic and an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.[34]
• Fakrul Alam, Bangladeshi professor, Dept. of English of Dhaka University.[35]
• Kabirul Islam, Bangladeshi professor of Civil Engineering Department in BUET.

Tahsan Rahman Khan

Shafin Ahmed

Manam Ahmed

qbal Asif Jewel

Balam

• Tahsan Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, actor, composer, model.[36]
• Shafin Ahmed, Bangladeshi rock bassist, singer-songwriter, record producer.[37][38]
• Khairul Anam Shakil, awarded Ekushey Padak in Music[39]
• Iqbal Asif Jewel, Bangladeshi singer and vocalist.
• Manam Ahmed Bangladeshi singer and member of Miles.
• Balam Bangladeshi singer, guitarist, composer, and music producer.[40]
• Babna Karim (Ex-Member of Warfaze)
• Ibrahim Ahmed Kamal Bangladeshi singer and member of Warfaze.
• Russell Ali (Ex-Member of Warfaze)
• Meraj (Ex-Member of Black).
• Saimum Hasan Nahian Bangladeshi singer and member of Powersurge and Severe Dementia).

Reefat Bin-Sattar

• Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer, who plays all formats of the game and also a former Twenty20 International captain for Bangladesh.[23]
• Fazley Rabby, is a Bangladeshi cricketer & entrepreneour.
• Tushar Imran, Bangladeshi cricketer and former test captain.[41]
• Reefat Bin Sattar, Bangladeshi chess grandmaster.[42]
• Niaz Murshed, First Bangladeshi chess grandmaster.[24]
• Ziaur Rahman, a Bangladeshi chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster in 2002.[43]

Anisul Huq

Tarique Rahman

Mohammad Sadique

• Anisul Huq, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician who has been the Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the Cabinet of Bangladesh since 2014.[44]
• Tarique Rahman, Bangladeshi politician and son of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia.[45]
• Andaleeve Rahman is the President of the Bangladesh Jatiya Party, a ex Member of Parliament and the Principal of British School of Law in Dhaka.[46]
• Muhammed Sohul Hussain, former Election Commissioner of Bangladesh during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis.[47]
• Mohammad Sadique, Bangladeshi writer and public official.[48] He served as 13th chairman of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC).[49]

Omar Ishrak

• Omar Ishrak, chairman of Intel, chairman & CEO of Medtronic.[50]
• Mirza Ali Behrouze Ispahani, businessman from the Ispahani family and the chairman of M. M. Ispahani Limited.[51]

• Dr. Rashid Uddin, Bangladeshi neurologist.[52]
• Dr.Abdur nur Tushar, Bangladeshi medical officer.

• Naveed Mahbub, Bangladeshi comedian and columnist.[53]
• Abu Mayeen Ashfakus Samad, was an officer of the Bangladesh Army from its first Batch. He was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War and was awarded the second highest gallantry award of Bangladesh, Bir Uttam.[54]
• Shahidul Zahir, Bangladeshi novelist, short story writer and government bureaucrat. He is known for his unique practice of magical realism in modern Bengali literature.[55]