Revisiting St Aloysius Anglo Indian High School- An exclusive asset to Vizag

Over a hundred and seventy years old and still as popular as ever…the St Aloysius’ Anglo-Indian High School in Vizag is a unique blend of the glories of the past and conveniences of the present day. The imposing grand north-facing structure by the seashore is a heritage building with influences of the Gothic style of architecture. The school recently received an award from the INTACH for the best-preserved heritage building.

The oldest missionary school on the Coromandel Coast between Kolkata and Chennai, this school was founded by Fr. Tissor, a priest from the Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (MSFS) in 1847 in a small two-room house jutting the sea in the Old Town Area; in fact, those rooms are still a part of the main school building on the eastern side. Over the years the school expanded, and today, the stone cast three-storeyed U-shaped building with a spacious quadrangle in the centre is host to almost 2000 students from all over Vizag.

The Gothic architecture of the Structure is another special attraction at St Aloysius’ Anglo-Indian High School. The school follows the I.C.S.E stream of the syllabus, The only hassle they face is in the months of November to January, when the northern winds blow coal dust towards the school. In fact, the port authorities are after the management to shift out, but a sentimental attachment to the school, the heritage value of the structure and the fact that so many of the alumni scattered all over the world come back to visit the school has enthused the management to defer any plans of shifting.

The first English medium school, the first to offer boarding facilities, the first to start an industrial school for the poor under the aegis of M.S.F.S. in 1890 (the Brother’s Workshop) … with so many firsts, the institution is truly an exclusive asset to Vizag.