View source for Loreto Convent, Darjeeling

{{For|other schools of a similar name|Loreto College (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox school
 | name                    = Loreto Convent Darjeeling
 | seal_image              = 
 | image                   = Loreto Convent Darjeeling West Bengal India.JPG
 | image size              = 
 | logo                    = LoretoCrest.PNG
 | motto                   = Maria Regina Angelorum Cruci Dum Spiro Fido
 | motto_translation       = Mary, Queen of the Angels. As long as I live I put my faith in Christ who died for me.
 | established             = {{start date and age|1846}}
 | founder                 = [[Sisters of Loreto]]
 | type                    = [[Private school (UK)|Private]]
 | head_name               = Principal
 | head                    = Sr. A. Arockia Mary Dass
 | city                    = [[Darjeeling]]
 | state                   = [[West Bengal]]
 | country                 = India
 | campus                  = Urban
 | enrolment               = 1600–1700
 | website                 = [https://www.loretodarjeeling.org/ Official Site]
}}
'''Loreto Convent''' is an English-medium girls' primary and secondary school located in Chauk Bazar, [[Darjeeling]], West Bengal, India. It is run by Loreto Education Society of Darjeeling. The school is affiliated to the [[Indian Certificate of Secondary Education|ICSE]] and [[Indian School Certificate|ISC]] boards of Delhi.

==History==
The [[Sisters of Loreto|Loreto Sisters]] came to India in 1841 at the invitation of the then Archbishop of Calcutta, Dr. Carew. The school was established during the [[British Raj]] by a group of [[Sisters of Loreto]] at 1846 to begin their work of 'quality education'. with the assistance of some lay gentlemen the land arrangements were made. Two choir [[Religious sister|sisters]] and a lay Sister with their chaplain came to start on 2 October 1846, '''Loreto House Branch Boarding and Day School'''. The party consisted of Mother Teresa Mons, Superioress, Mother Mary de Chantel Kelly with two novices. They were accompanied by Fr. John Me Girr.

The Sisters began with two students, Miss Ryves and Miss Emma Moran.  The sisters moved from their first residence "Snowy View" to the new Convent building on 1 May 1847 and the school building was added in 1853 which had particularly large playgrounds.

The sisters continued their work of education under Bishop Carew but in 1848 they were brought under the Vicariate of Patna and Bishop Hartman. The Capuchin Ecclesiastical Superior paid his visit to the convent in April 1848. This brought Loreto Convent to a new phase where it ceased to be connected with the parent house in Calcutta- this state of things lasted till 1881. The girls were getting quality education and were proficient in English, French and had a good taste for music and drawing. The numbers went up slowly, in 1852 there were 19 pupils and in 1855 there were 30 pupils. By 1875, there were 107 and by the Golden Jubilee year, there were 173 pupils.

The convent also had a small orphanage for mainly soldiers' children which existed till 1887 when the orphans were transferred to Calcutta, i.e., Entally. In 1903, a new concert hall was built. In the same year, a new Novitiate was canonically erected and the novices came from [[Asansol]] in 1904. Mother Antoinette played a major role in the lives of the soldiers' and nurses during the [[World War II]] as they were housed in the Novitiate building.

To keep in step with the educational developments, the Cambridge examinations were introduced in Darjeeling (1905) and the first three candidates presented were successful. From the turn of the century, the number of boarders grew and by 1917, there were 211 students out of which 117 were boarders.

By 1926, Mr. Arthur Forbes of Purnea had set up a line of fine buildings as the children began to grow in numbers. The dining room, dressing rooms, the skating rink and the Lytton hospital were completed. the school expanded and developed and provided holistic education. The hostel was the home of children for many South-Asian children and those from Calcutta, Purnea and other places.

In 1988, the school hostel had to close due to the threats of agitation. Loreto is presently a neighborhood school with 1600 pupils from every strata of society with the same benefits of 'all round education'.

==Notable alumni==
* [[Sri Aurobindo]] (1872–1950), Indian nationalist, scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru<ref name="darjeelingGovSite">[http://darjeeling.gov.in/edu-institute.html School profile]</ref>
* [[Vivien Leigh]] (1913–1967), British two-time [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-winning film and stage actress<ref name="darjeelingGovSite"/>
* [[Leila Seth]] (1930–2017), first female Chief Justice of an Indian state<ref>{{cite book|last=Seth|first=Leila|authorlink=Leila Seth|title=On Balance, an autobiography|year=2003|publisher=Viking Penguin|isbn=0-670-04988-3}}</ref>
* [[Princess Shanti Singh of Nepal]] (1941–2001)
* [[Princess Sharada Shah of Nepal]] (1943–2001)
* [[Princess Shova Shahi of Nepal|Princess Shobha Shahi of Nepal]] (born 1949)
* [[Princess Jayanti of Nepal|Princess Jayanti Shah of Nepal]] (1946–2001)
* [[Jetsun Pema (activist)|Jetsun Pema]] (born 1940), activist, sister of the [[14th Dalai Lama]]

==See also==
* [[List of schools in West Bengal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.loretodarjeeling.org/ Official Website]

{{Loreto schools|state=collapsed}}
{{Darjeeling|state=collapsed}}
{{coord missing|West Bengal}}

[[Category:Sisters of Loreto schools|Darjeeling]]
[[Category:Catholic secondary schools in India]]
[[Category:Catholic boarding schools in India]]
[[Category:Schools in Colonial India]]
[[Category:Christian schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Boarding schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Primary schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:High schools and secondary schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Girls' schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Schools in Darjeeling district]]
[[Category:Education in Darjeeling]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1846]]
[[Category:1846 establishments in British India]]