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KARACHI, May 07 -- Two presidents, two prime ministers, three governors, five chief ministers, three mayors. the list of leaders produced by St Patrick's High School in Karachi reads like the who's who of Pakistan and is too long to decently fit into a newspaper article's introduction. For a school that began with just three students in 1861, that is no mean feat. Thus there is much for the school to celebrate today as it turns 150 years old.
It was initially named St Patrick's English School when it was founded on May 6, 1861 by Rev Fr J. A. Wily of the Society of Jesus. Its very first student was one Master Caldeira later remembered as Captain Caldeira. School records state that St Patrick's was recognized as the second Catholic school of Karachi; one had previously been established by the Discalced Carmelites in 1845.
During its first year, St Patrick's was a co-educational institution but in March 1862 five Sisters of the Daughters of the Cross along with Bishop Steins arrived from Europe and started a separate convent school for girls. Both schools continued to function directly under the management of the St Patrick's parish priest till 1893 after which the girls section was made entirely independent, and named St Joseph's Convent High School.
St Patrick's English School was registered a high school in 1867 and the first student to be sent for Matriculation was one Thomas Duncan in 1869 who eventually stood First Class First in the Bombay Presidency. The Society of Jesus remained in charge of the school for 74 years till June 4, 1935. It was then taken over by the Franciscan Order for 15 years from June 5, 1935 to October 6, 1950. Since then it has been administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi and has been led by Pakistani principals now under the Catholic Board of Education which also...