St. Joseph's College, Curepipe

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For other schools of the same name, see Saint Joseph's College (disambiguation).
Saint Joseph's College
SJC
File:St. Joseph's College, Curepipe (logo).jpg
Ad Altiora Cum Christo
To The Heights With Christ
Address
Commerford Street
Curepipe
Mauritius
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Information
School type Private Aided, Boys-only secondary school
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Founded 1877
Founder Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
Status Open
Rector Mme. Marie Dominique Seblin
Key people Brother Anthony Furniss(former rector)
Medium of language English, French, Mauritian Creole
Colour(s)             
Song Joseph, 0 Gardien Fidele...
Nickname SJC

St. Joseph’s College (located in Curepipe, Mauritius) is a publicly funded Roman Catholic all-boys secondary school.

History

Exterior view of a partition of SJC.JPG

Founded in 1877 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the administration was transferred to the Diocese of Port Louis in 1985. The college has been providing free education since 1977. The school forms part of the Elite colleges in Mauritius. The college obtained its first laureate in the year 1947 named Boulle Bernard and his brother Boulle Michel succeeded him in 1948. The Rector Mr Serge Ng TaT Chung, former student and teacher at the college received the insignia of Member of the Order of the Star and the Key of the Indian Ocean for his contribution in the sector of education.

In the early 1930s, the wooden buildings were replaced by reinforced concrete ones. Physics and Chemistry labs were built in 1939, a gymnasium in 1970, and five classrooms and an amphitheatre in 1994. A pre-vocational department was created in 2001. The college enrolls only students at form 1 level who scored 22 units or more.

The motto Ad Altiora Cum Christo and the badge were created in 1940 by Max Boulle, a former student.

During World War II, the college was requisitioned as a war hospital, although there was no actual fighting in Mauritius. During that time St. Joseph's College students had to study at the Royal College of Curepipe along with their teachers.

Facts

Exterior view of the compound of SJC.jpg
  • The college hosts its Mass on 19 March, the annual Sports day, Music day, Fancy Fair, and Debate competitions.
  • During the celebration of the 120th birthday of the college in 1997 a bust of St. Joseph – sculpted by Mr. Karl Hervet – was unveiled in the school yard.
  • St. Joseph's College has set up a pre-vocational department, aiming to train children that have been unable to pass the CPE exams twice.

Infrastructure

The college has a school compound, two football grounds, three basketball courts, eight volleyball courts, one gymnasium, one tennis court and an amphitheatre. These components are fully exploited during recess time.

File:Partial view of a portion of the compound of SJC.JPG

Other activities

Crowded fancy fair in 2011

The end of year period at St. Joseph's College features the leavers Mass followed by the Leavers Dinner and the end-of-year party, otherwise known as Prom Night. The college organises events such as the Fancy F.

Chronology

1877

  • Opening of Saint Joseph's College
  • The registration of the first pupil (France Plaideau) took place on January 15, 1877.
  • The pupil lived within the compound of the school.

1883

  • The first gymnasium opened.

1899

  • Used stamps were collected and sold and the proceeds used to purchase a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. A very large stone was procured from a nearby building site and installed in the middle of the interior yard.

1927

  • The college celebrated 50 years of existence. Most of the students were catholic and very few students were of colour. Bro. Gordien in 1929 put aside ethnic considerations from their recruitment criteria.
  • During the cyclone on 23 January the building was badly damaged. Therefore, a building made of re-enforced concrete was planned by a former student, Max Boullé, an architect.

1933 → The school chapel was inaugurated on 17 November 1933.

1939 → The Science block – Physics and chemistry – was added as a separate building in 1939. → The 1939-1945 war caused difficulty to St. Joseph's College and Mauritius in general. Although there was no fighting on the island, communication, exports and imports – especially of food – suffered. The military requisitioned the building and transformed it into a hospital.

A Man of Legend
Bro. Ignatius (Jean Schmitz) was from Germany, born in a militant catholic family. He entered the scholastic of the Brothers of the Christians Schools and was appointed to Mauritius. He arrived in 1913. Not yet acclimatized, he had to face the difficult years of WW1 (1914-18). He was the only German among Italian, British and French religious in the community and only teacher teaching to young children in enemy territory!
Between the two wars, Bro. Ignatius, deputy rector during the time of Bro. Augustus and director as from 1934, gave all he had between the two wars. He restored the college so as to meet the requirements of the regulations. The college was opened to coloured boys in 1929. The college created the commercial section in 1939 under his investigation.
Arrest: On May 20, 1940, the police summoned the director. Some days later, a military vehicle came to the college and arrested Bro. Ignatius. Strangely, an hour later, they brought him back in Curepipe and the Brother resumed his work. Yet, the British thought his presence awkward. On June 7, the authorities pressurized the Archbishop, Mrg. Leen, to signify their decision. Bro. Ignatius should resign from his function as Rector of the College and had not the permission to leave the college premises.
Post war: The Education Ordinance, 1944 came into being. It offered more liberty to teaching and corrected the privilege of state schools over private ones.
The new Code needed secondary school teachers to have at least the Cambridge School Certificate. Brothers from Mauritius and Réunion performed well in the College of Preceptors examinations of the London Chamber of Commerce and the University of London and Cambridge. From this point, the college would present students for the Higher School Certificate examinations and satisfy the demands of the Department of Education so that its Form VI students may be eligible for the English Scholarship. To achieve this, more qualified personnel was required, the only solution was link the community to an English speaking Province.
  • As from 1940, the College made its contribution to the war effort. A rescue office and more than fifty beds, under the Red Cross responsibility, monopolized many rooms. In addition, two Home Guards fixed the place as their rally point and Brothers were part of those two organizations. Also, the playgrounds were used as exercise fields.
  • In June 1942, the military authorities put forward their intention to transform the College into a war hospital. Arrangements were quickly made. Fortunately, it was suggested that buildings be shared with the Royal College of Curepipe. The Brothers moved to Leclézio Avenue, in Curepipe, in a house lent by one of the College's benefactors, André Robert.
  • As from 1 July 1942, the new school system came into being. The Royal College had classes from eight to noon and St. Joseph's College from half past twelve to five. Parents and teachers were getting used to the half day of work. As such, the Préparatoire and Classe V ceased to exist in 1943, parents preferring their children to attend schools in which ladies were in charge. The older students worked better and had more time for personal work. The studies, in general, were not affected by the war.
  • The Royal College's rector, T. B. Barnes, showed himself conciliatory: he shared his resources with the Brothers. The science teachers could use the laboratories. Paradoxically, the war brought the two institutions together.
  • St. Joseph's College was in exile for four years and came back to its original premises on 28 June 1946. The college received Rs 37 500 as compensation from the military after deducting expenses for rebuilding after the cyclone of 1945.
  • The motto Ad Altiora Cum Christo – Towards Heights with The Christ – as well as the badge are born. They were created by a former student, Gaëtan Boullé.

1946

1947/1946

  • As soon as the Scholarship of England (HSC) was available to private institutions, St. Joseph's College produced laureates. The firsts were Barnard Boullé (1947) and his younger Brother Michel (1948).

1955

  • Creation of the Old Boys Association by Gustave Rey.

1970

  • September 24: inauguration of the new gymnasium.

1975

  • The first scholarship for Economics was taken by a student at St. Joseph's College. In addition to government scholarships, there were also students who won others given by the Collège d'Agriculture, the Fondation Mauricienne, the Alliance Française, the British, French, New Zealand, Russia and India amongst others.

1977

  • Since January 1977, the government took in charge the schooling of all secondary school pupils in Mauritius and Rodrigues. Mauritius was the first country in the third world to make free education at second and third levels available to its people.

1985

  • Mr. Daniel Koenig, former laureate of the College in 1951, became the first lay Director, or Rector in 1985. When he retired, he was replaced as Rector in 1992 by Mr. Serge Ng Tat Chung, another past pupil. Mr. Daniel Koenig was recently the manager of St. Joseph's College until his decease.

1994

  • 19 Jan: Inaugural of a new block comprising five classrooms and an amphitheater.

1997

  • The college celebrated its 120th birthday in 1997. On 19 March, a bust of St. Joseph – sculpted by Mr. Karl Hervet – was unveiled in the school yard.

1999

  • Opening of the new computer room, Espace Informatique St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle.

2001

  • 19 March: St. Joseph's College's pre-vocational department was inaugurated. It trains children that have failed twice the CPE exams and gives them the opportunities they need.

2009

  • Mr. Veerapen, Assistant Rector and formerly teacher at the school retired. Mr. Karl Tat Chin was entrusted with the title of the new Assistant Rector.

2010

2011

Notable alumni

Image Gallery

  • Partition of SJC

  • SJC Fancy Fair 2011

See also

References

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External links

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