Bishop Cotton School

Welcome to Bishop Cotton School, Shimla formed in 1859 by... Bishop Cotton ! 

Here he is in all his splendour in the main square of the school. He's accompanied by a myriad of pot plants and of course a fighter plane active in the 1971 Indo-Pakistanti War (conflict over disputed territory in the Indian province of Kashmir, about 250 miles from Shimla).

BCS is my work, rest and play from Mid-Sept to December 2011 as I am staying on the campus in lodgings under the music hall...but more of that later. For now it's time to concentrate on the school motto...

Now some have already noticed this motto and expressed a certain degree of mirth. I  however, would prefer to tackle the wily barbs of Satan with 'good' rather than a) vim b) anti-biotics or c) bad jokes. Bad jokes aside, India is a very religious country and BCS is a school built on Christian values. Boys have to attend chapel every morning except Sunday.

Many who leave these doors go on to become successful and famous. Not always for the best reasons. Reginald Dyer was a head of house at BCS. He became General Dyer of the British Army who oversaw the Amritsar Massacre of Sikhs in 1919, an incident in which he ordered British troops to open fire on a crowd of unarmed protestors. Almost 400 were killed.


Boys have their own desks in their own classrooms. These 14 year olds currently sporting tweed 'winter kit' - compulsory school uniform which is supposed to include a carefully folded display handkerchief poking out of breast pocket. I take great pleasure in quizzing any rascal who has omitted to display his handkerchief adequately. (Functional handerkerchief to be kept in trouser pocket.)

Key facts about BCS : all boys, all boarding, saturday lessons, ranked 3rd best boarding school in all India, high % of boys from the Punjab (Sikh country an one of the richest states in India). Around 450 boys in upper school (age 12-18), 150 in lower school (age 7-11). Virtually all boys will go on to University or the Army.

Hockey on the 2nd 'Flat' looking up at the main school on the 1st 'Flat'.

BCS is in the city of Shimla,  a well known 'Hill Station' which became the summer capital of the British administration during the rule of the British Empire (an effective escape from the 'infernal heat of the plains'). The Shimla hills are foothills of the Himalayas. As such though everything is steep and things tend to go up and down rather than left and right! These flat playing fields are extremely rare exceptions.