History of the school at a glance
St. Mary’s High School is a premier Catholic Missionary Educational institution situated in Peshawar, the Provincial capital of the North West Frontier Province. St. Mary’s is a component of the Diocesan Board of Education of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi. Dr.Joesph Arshad, Bishop of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi is the proprietor of the school and serves as the chairman of the Diocesan Board of Education. At Present the school is administered by the Marist Brothers who took over the administration in the year 1970.
Marist Brothers are a group of religious men originating from Lyons, France, who dedicate their lives to educating the youth, and now working in over 70 countries throughout the world.
St. Mary’s conducts classes from Prep to Class 10 (SSC – Senior School Certificate, conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar) in English Medium.
St. Mary’s celebrated the Golden Jubilee of its foundation in the year 2007-2008
The idea of an English medium school for boys in Peshawar was conceived in the mind of Bishop Nicholas Hettinga and the task was entrusted to Mill Hill Missionary, Fr. Thijssen, who was the Parish Priest at St. Michael’s Church.
1957 – Started in the Presbytery of St. Michael’s Church, with 14 boys who have passed Standard III from Convent School in March 1957.
1959 – School was moved to Air Force Barracks, on Roberts Road in September 1959. The accommodation was offered at Air Force by Air Marshal M. Rehman. Classes from Prep to Five
1962 – The first batch of 10 students sat for the Martic (SSC) Examination and got 100% results.
1963 – With the help of Lt. General Altaf Qadir, the present site was acquired for the school by Fr. Grant the second principal of the school. Foundation stone laid by Lt. Gen. Altaf Qadir on 29th October 1963.
1964 – The building was blessed on 3rd June 1964.
1970 – Marist Brothers take over the administration of St. Mary’s from Mill Hill Fathers. Br. Patrick Faulkner take over as the first Marist Principal.
1977 – Br. Francis Sales Fernando took over as the 10th Principal of St. Mary’s. During his tenure as the principal, many new additional buildings were added. The fully equipped auditorium, library, Squash courts, Hall for indoor games, children’s park and mini zoo are some of those additions the St. Mary’s enjoys today. Technical education was introduced with fully equipped workshops during this time.
1993 – Br. Charles Fernando takes over as the Principal in September 1993. He was replaced by Br. Shanthi Liyanage who led the school till August 2005. During the tenure of Br. Shanthi a new spacious staff room was added to St. Mary’s.
2005 – Students of St. Mary’s secured the First position, third position and sixth position in the BISE SSC examination held in March 2005. A great achievement under the leadership of Br. Shanthi Liyanage.
2007 – St. Mary’s Completed 50 years of service to the people of Peshawar.