240 years on, a school strives to provide quality education

Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School focuses on improving admissions, offering various activities to attract students.

The teachers at the Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School at Egmore are focussing on improving admission.

“There was a time when there were queues around the school for a seat during the admission season. We had recorded over 5,000 admissions those days. Today, the number has come down to just 700-odd students,” says principal M.M. Ramalakshmi.

Established in 1783, it was formerly known as P.T. School and was later renamed as Presidency High School for Girls in 1939. According to The Hindu Archives, the school started out with just 10 students and three staff members at George Town. At its inception, it was the Government Normal School for Women with the Tamil and Telugu medium of instruction. Admission was restricted to caste Hindus.

Soon after, students of other communities were admitted. Later, it was renamed as The Presidency Training School for Mistresses and offered training to pupils in the English, Tamil and Telugu sections.

As the English section increased, the pupils were prepared for the matriculation examination. From 1913, the school functioned as a teacher training institution, under the name Government European Training School for Women. Later, the school was renamed as the Presidency High School for Girls, according to The Hindu Archives.

“Only about five years ago did we stop classes in the Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi medium of instruction as the teachers retired. However, there are students even today who have opted for the Malayalam and Hindi medium. They are tested through other minority schools in the area for the first language,” the principal says.

Only in 2018 did the school begin admission of boys and introduced a kindergarten section as it was upgraded as a model school. “The school is invested in women empowerment and had Classes 6-12 for women in the beginning. As it was made into a model school, it became a co-ed and kindergarten classes were introduced. But, from this year, we will remain a girls school for Classes 6-12. Boys are admitted only until Class 5,” the principal adds.