The Beginning

The Lady Irwin School for Girls was established in 1927, under the leadership of late Shri S. R. Das, the Law Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, for the purpose of making quality education available under the same roof to all the children of Central Government servants, irrespective of their status. This welcoming dream of Shri Das in the service of children was fostered and nurtured by many more – a galaxy of Educationists and the school kept expanding till 1947 when it proved itself to be an integral part of the community. It absorbed more than it had on its rolls and its student strength galloped from 400 to 1400.

Originally the school was directly under the administrative control the Ministry of Education, Government of India and received grant from the Central Government. Later it was transferred to the Delhi Administration in 1949. It is a composite School housed in three separate buildings viz. Primary at Defence Colony and Middle and Secondary at Canning Road, New Delhi.There are about 3200 students in the school and team of 120 dedicated staff members. The results of the school at the Board’s Examination as well as in Class to class promotion is cent per cent. The School has the following distinctive features.

Collecting innumerable honors in Debates, Speeches, Recitations, Paintings and Essay competitions.

  • • Bagging prizes in Inter School Sports and Athletics meet. The record worth mentioning is that for fifteen consecutive years it once retained the championship.

To know the Lady Irwin School one must know the following:-

  • The high aspirations of the Institutions;
    • The steady pace of its growth and success in all spheres;
    • The solidarity of its human force giving it a firm footing higher;
    • The enthusiasm existing through all time of one and all, and their devotion to duty;

Finally, the commitment to the idea of bringing within the reach of the middle income group, type of education, which hitherto, only the more fortunate could give their children in public schools.

Shri Satish Ranjan Das was born in a well to do Bengali family on 29th February 1872. He was the second son of Shri Durga Mohan Das. For his schooling, Satish Ranjan Das was sent to England where he studied in a Grammar School in Manchester. Thereafter, he went to the University College in London. He started his career as a Barrister- at-Law at the Middle Temple. He returned to India in 1894 and worked as an advocate in the Calcutta High Court.
In 1905, he married Bonolata, daughter of Shri Bihari Lal Gupta, ICS, CSI. They had two sons.
In 1917 he became a Member of the Standing Council, Government of India. He rose step by step in his profession to become a lawyer of great eminence and made his name in Calcutta. In 1922 he was appointed as the Advocate General of West Bengal. He became a member of Governor General’s Executive Council in 1925.
Two of his publications are ‘A Letter to My Son’ and ‘A New Policy of India’. He enjoyed playing tennis. He was the Treasurer of the Boy Scouts of Bengal and the Lodge of Good Fellowship. He was also a prominent member of the Brahmo Samaj
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Life Sketch Of Late Kamala Sengupta , Principal Lady Irwin School 1944 to 1973
by Mita Majumdar nee Chakravarty Student Lady Irwin School(1950-61) Teacher-1967. Ms. K. Sengupta daughter of Dr. S. Sengupta was born on 20th August,1910. She worked as Vice Principal, Gokhle Memorial Higher Secondary School at Kolkata. Ms. Sengupta joined the Lady Irwin School at Simla in 1944 and retired on24th December,1973 after getting extension in service from 21st August,1970.
All over India four school Principals were selected as field advisors of the All India Council for Seondary Education, set up by the Government of India.She contributed valuable service as field advisor from April 1956 to 1959. This council was fore runner of N.C.E.R.T. and on its recommendation, the N.C.E.R.T. was established.
As field advisor she was mostly in charge of the Council’s Examination Reform Programme and organised workshop for training college lecturers and subject teachers for prepration of test material of problem solving type. Organising National and State Seminars for improving Secondary School Education programmes was also her duty. These seminars involved training college lecturers, Principals and subject teachers.

She received National and State award for Teachers in the year 1967 from the Government of India and Delhi Administration respectively in recognition of her meritorious service for the cause of education. The Governing Body of the Lady Irwin Higher Secondary School ( now Senior Secondary) for girls place on record their deep and grateful appreciation of the services rendered to the school by Ms. K. Sengupta as Principal for nearly three decades.
She served with unflagging devotion till her retirement. It was due to her high qualities of leadership that she succeeded in building up a team of teachers devoted to the service of the pupils entrusted to their care, in the best academic traditions of our country. the premier posItion which this school has attained among the girl’s school in Northern India is a tribute not only to Ms. Sengupta’s leadership as Principal but also to her constant upholding of the high traditions of the scholastic life and her passionate concern for the maintenance of academic disciplines and standards. On the eve of her retirement from active service, the Governing Body of the school conveyed to her their best wishes for a long happy and active life in the years to come and expressed the hope that her counsel and guidance will continue to be available to the school and its staff on all occasions.
Miss Sengupta was one of the pioneers of the Parent Teacher Cooperation movement in the country. She continued to be Hon. General Secretary of the Delhi Parent Teacher Association till the last day of her life. She was also very actively connected with many educational forums and was member of the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi.
In 1962, she visited London and other European countries to make on-the-spot study of the workings of the Secondary Schools in those countries. Her visit was sponsored by the British Council.
Ms. Sengupta was also associated with several other organizations like :
1. South Delhi Literacy Unit of Bharatiya Gramin Mahila Samiti – Supervisor
2. Child Guidance Society – as member
3. Bengal Association – as Vice President
4. Vinay Nagar Bengali Sr. Sec. School – as President
5. Education Forum as member
I have remained in the warmth of her personality for 14 years, first as a student for 11 years, and then as a teacher for 3 years. Whatever are my achievements today, I owe them to the values I could build up during my stay in Miss Sengupta’s Lady Irwin School.
She would not allow for short cuts. When certain things annoyed her – there was no pretension about that, she made sure that all of us understood. Same was true when she was joyous or happy, her beaming face flashed a big smile often bursting into boisterous laughter- so infectious that nobody could remain unaffected. Even when she was confused about some matter, she lost no time in getting things cleared up. She would send for us (this situation I have faced as a teacher) ask for an explanation, get annoyed maybe, but thrash it out and come to a decision. In a peculiar manner difficult to understand, she was so much with us, each one of us, and yet – so much above us!