The word ‘Andaman’ makes on shudder because of the existence of the Cellular Jail, which housed the convicts and freedom fighters. But our Superior General, Mother Theodosia, a visionary and missionary, had no hesitation to venture into this fearsome place. It was a God-given chance to meet the needs of the people. It Andaman, there was a dearth of English Medium School, because the Central School, which had this facility, had changed over to Hindi Medium. At the right time, when the Apostolic Internuncio, Monsignor James Knox, visited and surveyed the islands, he felt the need of such a school.
So it was on this soil, at Port Blair, that our Sisters – Constance, Irmina, Celine D’Souza, Vineeta, Annarita, Emerentia, Sabetta and Almina – landed, to spread the mission of our congregation, which our foundress Mother Veronica desired, “ A Carmel for the Missions.”
The Apostolic Carmel Sisters, well known for the caliber of their education and for their experience, began their mission on 16 July 1968. God favoured the zealous toil of the sisters and the Andaman Administration leased a plot of land to them in 1971, to construct the school building and convent.
Sister Constance, the first Superior-cum-Headmistress, saw the school upgraded to a Higher Secondary School, and the batch of sisters, with missionary zeal, forged ahead to excel in the field of education. Sister Irmina A.C., a very dynamic person, with a broad vision, also saw to the growth of the school in the early stages.
The school is situated in the lush green islands and now has the status of a Senior Secondary School. It has a unique history of producing some of the best citizens in the country. IAS officers, scientists, technicians, expert doctors, teachers and environmentalists. The school is recognized by the Central Board of Secondary Education (New Delhi) and empowered by that body to prepare students for the All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE-X) and All India Secondary School Certificate Examination (AISSCE-XII).
The motto of the school is ‘To know, to love, to serve, its vision, ‘rootedness in God illumines lives’. The sisters aim at rendering loving service to God, the Church and the Country, by educating the youth of today’s India. They believe that education is the most effective means of promoting national integration and the development of the human person for a just and honest society.
