The Stanes High School on Avinashi road at Coimbatore is a school that is testimony to the good that the Raj brought to India. The school now in its 148th year of existence is a tribute to the Raj and the men who were the sinews of that period. I had attended this school decades back when my father was posted at Coimbatore. Thus I have fond memories of this school.
Inception
The Stanes High school was the brainchild of Sir Robert Stanes a coffee planter who had his plantations of coffee in the Nilgiris. In those days Robert Stanes used to take his coffee seeds for processing to Kerala. But once he happened to visit Coimbatore, he liked the place immensely as it had a salubrious climate that reminded him of Manchester.
The school saw shape in 1862, making it one of the oldest schools in India. In fact it is older than the Daly College and Doon School.
The school was set up with help from the church. But by the turn of the twentieth century the school opened its doors to all categories and classes of people. The name European was dropped and the school renamed as 'Stanes High School'. However in keeping with the wishes of Sir Stanes the school even now carries on with reservations for the minority Anglo Indian community. .
The School Today
The Stanes High School will soon be celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2012. This will be a rare achievement as hardly any school in India is that old. Presently the school has over 3000 students and the medium of instruction is English.
When we look at the school now, we must all spare a thought for Robert Stanes who had the vision to set up this school. For his services to India and the people of Coimbatore Henry Stanes was knighted by the King. He was also awarded the Kaiser-e-Hind medal by the Governor General. Sir Robert Stanes breathed his last in 1936. But he left behind a splendid monument of all the good that the Raj brought with it.
For me it will always remind me of one the best period of my life.
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