User:Ashutosh.singh1/Mayo College - Eton of the East

Mayo College

It is based in the city of Ajmer,and was known as the Eton of the East. It was founded in 1875 by Lord Mayo, the British Viceroy and modelled closely on England’s public schools. Its role was to prepare the young Princes for their royal duties, in a mould that would fit them comfortably into the British Empire.

Given the futures for which the pupils were destined, subjects like shooting and riding inevitably loomed larger in the curriculum than more conventional academic priorities. But the emphasis began to change after Independence when many members of the aristocracy were forced to consider the necessity of gainful employment. Indeed, the intake began to change as well - with a willingness to admit pupils from the Brahmin and business classes alongside the Rajput core – as long as their parents could afford the fees.

In the college’s heyday, however, many of the princely pupils lived in the most exclusive of lives. Their families built them lavishly appointed mini palaces and staffed them with huge retinues of servants. The first pupil, the Maharaja of Alwar arrived with an entourage of horses, camels and elephants and a fanfare of trumpets and drums. A very far cry from the austerity of the English dormitory!School Campus

The college sprawls over 300 acres. The splendid and imposing main building of white marble stands out in the middle of the estate. Spread over the campus are the boarding houses, the old mess-cum-auditorium, the new mess, the college temple, the houses of the staff, the new Guest House, blocks of class rooms, Science laboratories, Museum, Art School, Workshops, the college farm, Library, Junior School and numerous subsidiary buildings. The college is divided into three sections- Junior, Middle and Senior. Boys of class 8 to 12 live in 8 boarding houses while class 7 is housed under a single roof, “The Oman House”.

There is also the Junior School under the supervision of a Headmaster and staff which has its own building, auditorium, dining hall, a swimming pool, separate games fields etc. and three boarding houses.

Pupils

Mayo offers the students a unique opportunity to develop both the mind and the body through various activities. Being primarily a boarding school, with a handful of day scholars, the campus is self sufficient and has the facilities and opportunities for each student to excel in some sphere or the other.

Affiliation

The college prepares boys for Secondary School Certificate Exam (Class X) and Senior Secondary School Certificate Exam (Class XII), conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi. The medium of instruction is English.