Sophia High School is a reputed private school in Bangalore, India. The middle and high schools are girls-only while the primary school is co-educational.

History

Sophia High School is located on in central Bangalore overlooking the Vidhan Soudha and the Bangalore golf course.

In August 1948 when the Internuncio and the Apostolic Delegation shifted to New Delhi, his residence and grounds was taken over by a group of Catholic nuns called the Sisters of Notre Dame. In January 1949, three pioneers of the order, Mother Catherine Andersson, Mother Ivy Bourke and Sister Dorothy Bullen decided to open a school at the only residential building on the grounds, the old "white bungalow". A small Montessori class with 17 students and one qualified teacher was established. About 40% of the students admitted were not Indian nationals.

Since 1949 Sophia's has grown significantly. The old "white bunglow" was remodelled in 1998. The school's current enrollment is over 2,000 students. The school is not a religious organization and its students, who are chosen through a competitive interview process, hail from many different ethnicities.

Academics

Sophia's prepares students for the 10th grade national ICSE examinations. The school also prepares students for the 12th grade national ISC examination conducted by the Council for ISC Examination, New Delhi. The medium of instruction is English. It is also one of the hardest schools to gain admission to, with lines snaking outside the gates of the school during sales of admission forms.

As with any first-class high school, Sophia's has a superlative college placement record. The majority of graduates regularly attend some of the best colleges and universities in India and around the world, such as the IITs, NID, BITS Pilani, Delhi School of Economics, St. Stephen's College, the St Xavier's Colleges in Bombay and Calcutta, Lady Shri Ram College, the Ivy League universities in USA and many others.

Sophia has a history of excelling at cultural, literary and sports activities. Extracurricular activities and talents are encouraged enthusiastically as part of the regular school routine and Sophiaites are widely regarded as Bangalore's best in terms of theatre, music and dance. Sophia currently has Bangalore's best girls' basketball team.

The house system

Apart from academics, students are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of co-curricular activities. Activities and competitions within the school are conducted in cohorts or "houses".

• Andersson - golden house
• Barat - red house
• Bennett - lavender or purple house
• Julie - green house

Prominent Graduates

National figures

• Maneka Gandhi, social activist(not true) she studied in delhi
• Ravina Raj Kohli, CEO, Channel 9

Athletes

• Nisha Millet, swimmer who was the “wonder girl in Indian swimming” at the age of 15
• Shikha Tandon, swimmer who has represented the country at several prestigious competitions all over the world
• Nisha Ann Reginald, basketball player

Models and actors

• Deepika Padukone, Model and actress (Bollywood, Kannada film industry)
• Vaishali Desai,Model and Actress Miss International 2005
• Deepshikha Tandon, Model and Miss Bangalore
• Mariam Begg/Handa, Model
• Shonali Rosario, Model
• Bina Rajagopal, Actress (Kannada film industry)
• Mimi Parthasarathy, Model (one of the 1st Deepam Silks models)
• Sharmila Mandre, actress (kanadda film industry)

Activists

• Vidya Pai, PETA Activist, Animal Welfare
• Anjali Padmarajan, Lawyer (Min. Wage Earners)
• Dr. Shiela Rao, Founder, CUPA, Animal Welfare
• Sudha S Narayanan, CUPA, Animal Welfare
• Chitra Narayanan, CUPA, Animal Welfare
• Nandini Alva, Art
• Namita Kulkarni, Art

The Sophia Opportunity School

Sophia's Opportunity School branch educates mentally challenged children. This branch also undertakes social action out reach programs, such as work with a street children’s home in Chamrajpet, interaction with the women inmates of Bangalore's Central Jail, a day in rural schools in the Bangalore metro and visits to aged and orphan homes in the area.

Buildings and images

There are five main buildings; Cuvilly, Duschene, Julie, Barat and the ISC block. The Cuvilly building houses the enormous auditorium, a new venture which has proven to be hugely successful.

Principals

• Sr. Sandhya
• Sr. Naina
• Sr. Kripa
• Sr. Jesslin
• Sr. Joan
• Sr. Anima
• Sr. Vaune

See also

• List of schools in Bangalore

References

• School history