Our History

Our Origin

Immaculate Heart of Mary Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Puducherry

The first School for girls in India – 1844

Its inception and growth

1. Synod of Puducherry and its purpose:

Puducherry, in the mid 19^th century was gaining importance for the French MEP missionaries in India. In 1844 a Synod for the priests was held there, for which the programme was drafted by Fr.Louis Savenien Dupuis. The President of the Synod, along with the participating priests, discussed at length, the pathetic condition of women in India. During these days Indian women had to endure extreme oppression.  Education was denied to girls and was viewed as a curse to the family. A school for girls was unheard of.

The Synod agreed that empowering the women through education was the only means to uphold their dignity and to pull them out of the darkness of ignorance. The Synod also proposed to establish a Congregation of indigenous sisters with the sole responsibility of imparting education to women. The forum entrusted the noble and arduous task to Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis, who accepted it whole – heartedly.

2. Immaculate Congregation and the Immaculate School – 1844:

The journey in that direction was not smooth Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis had to encounter numerous oppositions. But he tackled them with courage and ingenuity. His strenuous efforts and perseverance led to the founding of the congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As a sequel to the synod’s decision, Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis founded this congregation on 16^th October 1844 and the Immaculate Heart of Mary School for girls on the very next day 17^th October 1844. This is the first school started for girl children in India on 17th October, 1844.  It is conspicuous from the letter of Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis to Fr. Jean Tesson, the Procurator for Missions of India, Paris.

3. The initial days of the school:

The school initially started functioning in the convent at St. Therese Street. The native nuns ran the school. The initial days of the school did not attract many girl students. As Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis himself puts it in his letter “For several weeks no girls turned up. Then 2 or 3 came and their examples brought in others, so much so after a few months, the attendance was fairly good. By the end of that academic year, thestrength of the school rose to 20”.

The news spread far and wide. The school focussed on rejuvenating the upcoming generation of girls. Dupuis established the system of awarding prizes to toppers inorder to motivate them. He once invited Lalande de Calan, the Frencg Governor of Pondicherry (1849 -50) to be the chief guest and gave away the prizes.

Besides day scholars, the school also attracted many boarders from various places. In 1851, Joseph Marie Bordouil sent two girls from Viriyur and Eraiyur Parish to be educated in the school as boarders. They were in the care of the nuns in the convent. They started attending the primary school which was a part of the convent.

In 1853, during the annual distribution of prizes, the French Governor Verninac Saint – Maur , highly appreciated the works of  the nuns and went a step forward to give financial assistance to the school for imparting education to girls. It gave a grant of Rs.400 to the Congregation of Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Some Tamils who migrated to overseas also evinced interest in admitting their children in the boarding school. Thus the first school for girls which was begun in Pondicherry gradually grew very steadily and by 1857 it was catering to 25 boarders and 100 day scholars.

Due to the rising demand there arose a need for a bigger campus for the school and hence Dupuis started looking out for a new place to shift the school. Recognising the great service of Dupuis and the nuns of Immaculate convent, in 1928 Mrs.Saradhambal, a resident of Pondicherry donated a land for the construction of the school. The building that stands huge today at Mission Street was the place donated by her.

4. Servant of God – Our Founder Rev Fr. Louis Savenien Dupuis:

Louis Savenien Dupuis was born at Sens on 18^th August 1806. He was the second child to his parents Edme Lois Dupuis and Victoire Remy. As a child he was sent to attend the Jesuit primary school at Sens and he received his secondary education at Ecole de‘Societe St. Sebastian. Louis Savenien Dupuis aspired to become  a Catholic priest and so he joined the Seminairie of Diocese of Sens and received religious formation. He did his studies in Philosophy and theology. He was thereafter ordained a priest on 24^th May 1829.

But after two years he felt that he should serve as a missionary in the overseas particularly the Malabar mission and so joined the Missions étrangeṙes de Paris (MEP) on 25^th March 1831. Therefore Dupuis sailed from France to India for seven months in a ship and reached Pondicherry on 9^th February 1832. He did his apostholic work in various places viz Bangalore, Hosur & Ballapuram. He returned to Pondicherry in 1840. He was appointed professor and director of Petit Seminaire in Pondicherry. He chaired the post of Vicar – General for 34 years under three consecutive Bishops.

5. Historical Events :

17^th August 1928     The land for the construction of building at Mission Street was

donated by Mrs. Saradambal.

1^st July 1955                         School was upgraded to high school which was a French

medium school. An English Section was opened on 1^st July to

the existing French Medium.

10^th July 1955                       The school received Grant – in – Aid from the Puducherry

Government.

31^st January 1957    Nursery Section was inaugurated.

6^th July 1957                         SSLC system was introduced.

30^th June 1959         The school received approval for conducting SSLC

Examinations in Pondicherry itself from the Government of

Madras.

7^th June 1978                       The school received permission to start Higher Secondary.

1^st June 1983                        Immaculate School was converted completely to an English

School.

14^th June 1999                     Inauguration of the Annex block in Nethaji Nagar.

04^thAugust 2013      The new School building was inaugurated [Demolished &

rebuilt]

17^th October 2018    Inauguration of the 175^th Jubilee Year [2018 – 2019]

6. Milestones of Immaculate :

The school did not take a giant leap but progressed in its growth gradually.

Students Strength of the School in the early period.

1845 – 20 Students

1850 – 48 Students

1855 – 63 Students

1860 – 87 Students

1865 – 100 Students

1870 – 135 Students

1875 – 199 Students

1880 – 226 Students

1885 – 236 Students

1895 – 298 Students

Today this Institution stands up with a whooping 7000 students at various levels inclusive of KG , High School and Higher Secondary.

History of Development

17-Oct-1844

Birth of the school

01-Jul-1955

A section with English as Medium was started – Upgraded as high school

10-Jul-1955

Received grant-in-aid

06-Jul-1957

S.S.L.C. Pattern was introduced

07-Jun-1978

Started 10+2 system of education

04-Jun-1986

Second group with Computer Science was introduced in Higher secondary section

12-Jul-2000

Commerce group is introduced in Hr. Secondary