The Fort Girls’ Mission High School will enter its 150th year on November 3. The school is celebrating the event on November 4, steering committee member for the celebrations, Achuth Shankar S Nair, said here on Wednesday.
The Fort Girls’ Mission High School did much to promote women’s education in Thiruvananthapuram, thereby setting an example for the rest of the state, he said.
“History says that the Zenana Mission activities led by Augusta Mary Blandford were a milestone in the academic history of the state, especially in the capital. Her aim was to liberate girls trapped inside the four walls of their homes by providing proper education. A large palace in the Fort was set apart for a Girls’ School, which was opened in November 1864, with the consent of the then Maharaja, Rama Varma, and Diwan T Madhava Rao,” Achuth Shankar said.
Fort Girls’ Mission High school is the first girls school in Thiruvananthapuram and the staff here used to discourage social evils like child marriage and isolation of Brahmin widows.
The sesquicentennial celebrations will start with a ‘Guru vandanam’ and an alumni meet. Additional Chief Secretary Dr K M Abraham will inaugurate the function. Dr J Lalithambika, B Arundathi and headmistress Helen Violet R will also attend the function.