School History

In July 1965, at the invitation of His Grace, Rev. Dr. Eugene D'Souza, the then Archbishop of Bhopal, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ferdinand More, S.J., a Spanish Jesuit belonging to the Jesuit Province of Mumbai established a School, which he named Campion School after St. Edmund Campion, a sixteenth century English Jesuit who was also the Patron of the School.

The predominant aim of the Historical Backgroundal system is to inculcate into its students the ability to use their minds and become thinking persons; to develop in its students the ability to judge rather than take things lying down. This system of education laid stress on the academic performance of the students but emphasized more on the human growth and all-round development. It offered the School climate that encouraged its students to strive for excellence.

In order to achieve the above objectives, the School moved from place to place to find a suitable location, which could provide the necessary School climate. The School was held first at Seva Sadan, which had no room for expansion for the increasing number of students. Therefore Fr. More, who was the first principal of the School, negotiated with the Government for leasing a larger piece of land and was allotted about a 10-acre patch near No.10 bus stop. He built the School in a ‘barracks’ fashion and extended the classes from Std IV to Std XI. This School was occupied on 17th July 1967. This School, today known as ‘Old Campion’, was handed back to the Government in 1974. On February 21, 1969. Fr. More acquired 48.54 acres of land in Shahapura, the present site of Campion School, in the name of Bombay Xaverian Corporation. ‘The Campion School Society’ was registered on 1st April 1972. In 1971-72, the formalities for the present site were completed and the construction of the building started in late 1972.

Campion School was moved into an incomplete building of the present site on 1st July 1974. In the same year classes from KGI to Std. III were added. It so happened that St. Mary's School, run by the sisters of PSOL (Poor Sisters of Our Lady), Bombay, merged with Campion and its students both boys and girls were inducted into this School. Sr. Eleanor, PSOL, was the Headmistress of the Primary section. The girls studied at Campion for a year or two before they got admitted into St. Joseph’s, Idgah Hills or Carmel, BHEL.

In 1979, the Bombay Jesuit Province handed over the administration of Campion School Society to the Ranchi Province. When Madhya Pradesh became an independent Province, Ranchi handed over Campion to the Madhya Pradesh Jesuits. When the Poor Sisters of Our Lady (PSOL), who had been co-workers with the Jesuits from the year 1974, decided to have their own independent School, St Mary’s' School, at Seva Sadan, the M.P. Jesuits invited the Sisters of the Mercy of the Holy Cross to work with them in the Primary School which they are doing from 1982. In 1993, the School switched over from the M.P. Board of Secondary Education to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Fr. Alphonse Tirkey, S.J., the current Principal, started a Hindi Medium section of the School, in July 1993 for those who find instructions through English medium difficult and especially for those who are economically challenged.

The Campion School has a large playground, an auditorium, ample space, modern facilities including a well-equipped computer laboratory and classrooms surrounded by a landscape, which is lush and green. It is a forward looking and innovative institution adopting relevant modern pedagogical and administrative technologies. It continually strives for excellence in studies, in personality formation and in interpersonal and inter-communal harmonious relationship.

The School has a rich past in terms of the Management, which has been very efficient and effective; in terms of the staff which has been and is very experienced and dedicated to the School and students; in terms of students who have continually excelled in all-round development and are very well placed in various careers all over in India and abroad. The School is steeped in the golden tradition of its past and is also dynamic and forward-looking. Thus, it is one of the most sought after institutions in Madhya Pradesh and in India.

Though the founder-Principal and some of his successors are no more, Campion School, a dynamic and a vibrant institution, has come to stay and has dug its roots deep into the hearts of many at Bhopal.