Website
Website : http://stjamesschoolkolkata.com

Address
Address : 165 Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Entally, Kolkata, West Bengal 700014
Contact : +91-33-2284 1546
Email : sjskolkata1864@gmail.com

St James’ School is affiliated with the CISCE and administers the ICSE(10) and ISC(12) examinations.

Facilities

Academics Junior School
Junior school has the system of grading to judge the students' academics Each class is under the supervision of a single teacher who teaches all the subjects and interacts with the students for their betterment in academics. Educational field trips are undertaken once a year to a certain place. Once a week the boys go to the school library which has a sizable collection of books to satisfy every student’s needs.

Nursery-Transition: Introduction to alphabets and numbers and extended playtime for the aid of developing the students.

Class-1: Introduction to the study of a vernacular language of the choice of the student. The students choose between Hindi and Bengali.

Class 2: Introduction of General Science, practical analysis of the trees in the school compound for better understanding of the Environment and English literature.

Class 3: Introduction to Social studies as a subject which includes History, Civics and Geography

Class 4: The students are given their 1st chance to show their abilities as the best students from the past 6 years are chosen to be Junior School Leaders to lead their fellow students.

Middle School (Classes 5-8) Introduction to the students to half-yearly and annual examinations Introduction to the concept of separately specialized teachers teaching separate subjects to improve their knowledge and concepts.

Class 5-6: Introduction to higher level of study of the subjects already being taught. Higher level of mathematics by bringing distinction between arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Introduction of 3rd language.

Class 7: Introduction of Physics, Chemistry and Biology as separate subjects. Weekly visits to the Science Labs for practical demonstrations are scheduled.

Class 8: Students who have excelled in academics as well as extracurricular activities are given the chance to be Middle School Leaders to lead their juniors.

Senior School (Classes 9-12) Seminars, Presentations, Workshops and counselling are organized for enriching the skill sets of the students. 3rd Language classes end.

Class 9: Students choose either the Science or Commerce stream. English, 2nd Language(Vernacular), History Civics and Geography and Mathematics are compulsory Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) is offered to the Science students along with Computer Applications, Economic Applications, Art and Physical Education (any one as the sixth subject). For the Commerce section- Commercial Studies, Economic Applications, Physical Education, Art (any one to be chosen).

Class 9-12: Weekly trips to the lab are made for practical experiments with practical examinations.

Class 10: Students have their 1st Board examination. The school gives 2 pre-Board examinations for students to improve on their academics before their examination.

Class 11: Science students choose other than English which is compulsory, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and any one of the following Biology, Computer Science, Economics; Commerce Students settle for Commerce, Accounts, Economics, Physical Education, Art, Mathematics or Business Studies.

Class 12: Students who have worked for the school for the past years in the field of academics as well as sports are given the chance to be Prefects and they have the highest powers assigned to students. Preparations for the ISC examinations in the last year of their school life.

Sports
St James’ School has one of the largest playgrounds among schools in Kolkata. It has a covered regulation size basketball court. It holds its Annual Athletic Meet where students participate and win medals and certificates for their performance. Junior School has their sports on a different day. Junior School Events (Each Class Has Different Events).

Middle and Senior School (The Events Are Dependent On the Age of the Participant):
The boys are placed in divisions depending on their age. Participants represent their respective Houses:
Red: Westcott,
Blue: Lefroy,
Green: Cotton,
Yellow: Copleston

The school provides the following where any talented student can join and excel
• Cricket
• Football
• Hockey
• Tennis
• Rugby
• Rowing
• Basketball
• Swimming
• Gymnastics

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
• St James’ School is known for its fests including
• Jacosynthesis and
• JacoMUN
• vernacular inter-school festivals
• JacoJosh- in Hindi
• JacoSanskriti- in Bengali
• Elocution-English, Hindi, Bengali
• Debate- English, Hindi
• Bengali School Rock Band
• School Dance Team
• Quiz-Inter class and inter-school
• Chess Team
• Drama Team- arranges plays once a year

CLUBS OR GROUPS
These are managed by students and presided over by respective teachers. These clubs hold meetings every week where each member must attend:
• Aalok Club
• Cookery Club
• Debating Society
• Drama Club
• Fresco-Art Club
• Interact Club
• Jagoran Club
• Math Club
• Montage- Film & IT Club
• Music Club
• Nature Club
• Quizobean- Quiz Club
• Science Club
• Space Club

Infrastructure
• Junior School building with the School Hall and Annexe
• Main building where the Middle & Senior School are housed
• Air-conditioned computer room with 40 modern standard computers
• Covered basketball court
• Labs-Physics, Chemistry, Biology
• Large grassy field
• Large hall for morning assemblies
• Large library with huge collection of books
• Playground for Junior School children including swings, jungle gym etc

Computers and IT facilities
St James’ School Information Technology Centre, sponsored by ITC was inaugurated by the then Bishop of Calcutta, the Rt Rev (Dr) D C Gorai on 18 December 1997. St James’ believes in the introduction of computers to students right from the very beginning. Students of classes 3 to 8 are provided elementary knowledge of applications like word-processors, spreadsheet editors, Power-Point presentations etc. For students who opt for computers in class 9 to 12, the school offers Java as a programming language, as per the regulations of the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations. Classes 9 and 10 have Computer Applications as a sixth subject, while 9’s and 12’s undertake Computer Science.

History
Not much is known about our founding fathers, but this much is certain that it began with a vision - a vision for children who, irrespective of language, creed or colour would grow up in an institution devoid of racial prejudices, would be able to express themselves fearlessly and be taught by teachers totally committed to the cause of sound, all-round, value based education.    St James' School was established in 1864. It was inaugurated by the then Most Rev. George Edward Cotton- the Bishop of Calcutta, on 25th July 1864. Almost from its inception, reports show that these were years of stress and struggle. In the first twenty years of its existence the school faced intensive financial difficulties and had to be closed in December 1904. According to reports, there was an upsurge of sentiment on the part of parents, well wishers and old boys at the closure of the school.

Mr F P Pakianathan
Succeeded Mr L N Bird in 1971 and the numbers of pupils on rolls now increased from 640 in 1971 to 1200 in 1977. Mr. Pakianathan gave a much needed face-lift to the school.

Mr J A Mason
Joined this institution as Principal in 1978. The scope of academic, cultural and extra-curricular activities was greatly increased, the school buildings renovated and the gardens nurtured with care. In this phase the school enjoyed increasingly, the goodwill and respect of the people of Calcutta. The expansion programme initiated by Mr. Pakianathan required additional accommodation, which was provided in December 1979 with the opening of the Schunker Block constructed over the school hall and annex, consisting of fourteen large and airy classrooms to accommodate the Junior School. Numbers during this period rose to 1800 with as much as ten per cent of the pupils studying at concessional rates or on freeships.

Mr D L Bloud
Took over from Mr. Mason in 1992. The number of qualified teachers rose to 70 and there was a steady all round development of the school. The school began to receive recognition at the national and international levels.

Mr T H Ireland
Joined as Principal in April 2000 and is still (year 2021) guiding the school with dedication and bountiful enthusiasm. Major structural changes have taken place under his stewardship. The school now has a covered basketball court, a state-of-the-art sports facility with 2 swimming pools and well equipped science laboratories and computer centre. Today, our school enjoys not only an excellent profile among the educational institutions of the city, it preserves a spirit of vigour and participation in life and a refusal to give in to the vicissitudes it has faced in the 148 years of existence. Over this period, this institution has shown a remarkable ability to bounce back in meeting the uncertainty of changing times, and its spirit of commitment and faith which characterizes the ethos of our school.