The Lawrence School - Sanawar, established in 1847, situated at a height of 1750 metres and spread over an area of 139 acres, heavily forested with pine, deodar and other conifer trees, is the fruit of the vision of Sir Henry Lawrence, and his wife Honoria. Sanawar is a co-educational boarding school, affiliated to CBSE and has students of varying backgrounds from different parts of the sub-continent. It provides an environment that encourages a questioning mind and gives students many avenues for expressing their creativity and building their skills.
History
Founded by Sir Henry and Lady Honoria Lawrence, Sanawar is believed to be the first co-educational boarding school in the world. On the 15th of April 1847, a group of 14 boys and girls camped at the top of the foothills of the Himalayas. They lived under canvas for some weeks, anxiously waiting for the first buildings to be completed before the arrival of the monsoon. Thus did Sanawar come into existence. By 1853 the strength had grown to 195 pupils and it was then the School was presented with the King's Colours. It was one of the only six schools and colleges ever to be so honoured in the entire British Empire, the others being Eton, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, the Duke of York's Royal Military School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Sanawar has held its Colours for the longest unbroken period. From its Foundation the financial burden of the School was borne by Sir Henry until his death in 1857, when the government assumed responsibility for the finances as a mark of esteem to his memory. Under these arrangements, control of the School passed from the 'Honourable Board of Directors' to the Crown. This is the most unusual arrangement, not repeated in any English Public School.
The tradition of military training at Sanawar has always been strong and of such a high standard that several contingents of boys were enlisted from the School and sent straight to the battlefields of the Great War. In appreciation of this, the School was redesignated in 1920 as the "Lawrence Royal Military School". In 1922, the Prince of Wales personally presented the School with new Colours. The School Colours continue to this day to be trooped at the Founder's Celebration in early October. Sanawar pupils continue to make a major contribution to the defence of the country.
The Centenary year (1947) was crucial to the development of the School. With Independence, the bulk of the staff and children at Sanawar returned to the UK. However, the then Governor General, Lord Louis Mountbatten, presided over the Centenary celebrations of the school and read out a special message from King George VI. Thereafter, control of the School passed from the Crown to the Government of India, Ministry of Defence. A further transfer in 1949 brought the School under the control of the Ministry of Education and subsequently, in 1953, to the autonomous Lawrence School (Sanawar) Society. However, Sanawar retains strong links with its past. The Chairman of the Society is the Secretary for Education, Government of India and at the sesquicentenary celebrations in 1997, a message of congratulation was received from the current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.
The first Principal of the School was the Rev. W. J. Parker, (1848 - 1863). Notable events during his period include the first Founder's Day in 1849 and the opening of the Chapel in 1851. Parker was followed by the Rev. J. Cole (1864 - 1886), the Rev. A. Hilldersley (1886 - 1912) and by the fourth Principal, the Rev. G. D. Barne (1912 - 1932) who developed Sanawar into a major public school along English lines with House and Prefectorial systems, games on an organised basis and a curriculum working towards Cambridge University Examinations.
The School continued to evolve and modernise throughout the middle and later years of the last century. In 1956 Mr. E. G. Carter retired as Principal and was succeeded by Major R. Som Dutt (1956 - 1970), the first Indian Headmaster of the school. He laid the foundation for the school, as it is today, India's foremost residential co-educational public school. Developments have continued since then time, most notably under the leadership of Mr. S. R. Das (1974 - 1988).
VISION STATEMENT
“To produce a well-rounded, selfconfident, positive young person with an inquiring and fearless mind,one who respects the view points of
others and believes in the values of social justice and equality, one who has the skills and knowledge to assume responsibility of leadership in all fields of endeavor, be it social,political, industrial or cultural and one who has the ability to stand for herself / himself and for the others.”
Academic Objectives
In pursuance of the aim, the school has set the following Academic Objectives:
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To achieve excellence in the CBSE class XII Board results.
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To provide a progressive teachers support system to the students for quality education.
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To provide academic, cultural, social, moral and psychological guidance support.
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To provide diverse learning resources and supportive infrastructure in the form of hardware, software, laboratories and other material.
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To provide a maximum variety of academic choices for the students in consonance with the latest changes and developments around the world.
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To achieve academic excellence through innovative and interactive methods of teaching and by having a good staff.
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The eight Faculties are under the guidance and supervision of the Dean of Faculty (DoF) and each of these faculties are headed by the Head of faculty (HoF) who is responsible for administering and directing the staff of the faculty. There are 92 staff members teaching in various faculties. Female staff members including two Resident Counsellors are 48 and male staff members are 44. Faculty members are also expected to perform pastoral duties after the school hours. Hobbies and Sports departments are headed by an HoF each, who supervises the work of the well-trained and qualified instructors. In Sports, there is a lady instructor for the girls too. For the In-door Swimming Pool there is an Instructor and life guard. Staff Room is the place for the teachers to interact during the school hours which has 10 computer systems on the LAN with internet facility. All these possess Intel Core i3 processor based technology.
