Aitchison College

Aitchison College
File:Aitchison-logo.jpg
"Perseverance Commands Success"
Established	November 3, 1886
Principal	Shamim S. Khan
Location	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Homepage	Aitchison.edu.pk

Aitchison College is a semi-private boys' boarding university-preparatory school located in Lahore, Punjab, in Pakistan. Aitchison College is the lineal descendant of the wards’ School at Ambala and the Chiefs’ Colleges. Currently led by principal Shamim S. Khan, the college sprawls on a 186 acre campus, located in the heart of the city of Lahore.

History

Aitchison College was established on November 3, 1886, when the cornerstone of the school was laid by Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Earl of Dufferin, at the time Governor-General of India. The college was named after Charles Umpherston Aitchison, lieutenant governor of the Punjab at the time of the college's establishment. Starting off as a purely boarding school with one main teaching block, the college has evolved into a renowned institution with a multitude of facilities and opportunities.In terms of scenic splendour, the college provides a beautiful scenario and has the potential to evolve into a charming tourist attraction, should the Pakistani government permit public access to it.

Addressing the boys in 1888 Sir Charles Aitchison said

...much, very much, is expected of you. I trust you will use well the opportunities here afforded of you both for your education and for the formation of your character ... This is an institution from which you will banish everything in thought and word and act that is mean, dishonorable or impure, and in which you will cultivate everything that is virtuous, true, manly and gentlemanly

In undivided India,along with Colvin Taluqdars' College in Lucknow and Mayo College in Ajmer,it was regarded as the most prestigious public school in the Indian plains.Present day Aitchison strives to keep faith with the vision and ideals of its founder, and it is in this context that the College motto reads:

Perseverance Commands Success

(For an idea of day-to-day life in its early days see Historical log of Aitchison College )

The Old Building

Barry Block, the senior school building

Organization and curriculum

Aitchison College is divided into three schools:

• Junior School (Grades 1-5)
• Prep School (Grades 6-8)
• Senior School (Grades 9-13)

Each school is subdivided into houses that have members from each grade of that school. Houses are designed to promote inter-house competitions and mentor ship opportunities, led by prefects and house masters.

The Senior School offers two types of diplomas/certifications, following the British UCLES system. These are the School Certificate/O-level (grades 9 through 11) and the Higher School Certificate/A-level (grades 12 & 13).

Alumni

The Aitchison College Old Boys Association (ACOBA) is the prime body that keeps track of Aitchison alumni. The ACOBA sport fixtures and get-togethers that take place all round the year are of prime importance to the old boys community. The old boys get a chance to re-live the college days by playing a friendly match with the various college teams and get to find out just how 'old' they have become!

Recent old boys who are pursuing their education in Pakistan have their own Aitchisonian clubs in each prominent university including, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Lahore University of Management Sciences and Agha Khan University.

Past Aitchisonians are spread all over the world, whether studying at MIT, Stanford, Yale University, Princeton University, Harvard, University of Western Ontario, University of Pennsylvania, College of Wooster, Middlebury College, Wesleyan University, McGill University, University of Melbourne, Oxford University, Purdue University, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Trinity College Dublin, London School of Economics,University of California Los Angeles, University of Manchester, University of Warwick , University of Michigan ann arbor National University of Singapore,UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, Williams College, Amherst College, Northwestern University,Brown University, Rice University and many other prestigious universities of the world, the members form a closely-knit society in these universities. They often come to visit Aitchison, whether to only see the college or just to enjoy the ever-popular Deans Hot Dogs.

Noted alumni

Performers:

• Shah Aneeq Khan-bin-Ali: Best Hairstyle ever!

Teaching staff

Aitchison College (all three schools)used to have the best teaching staff in Pakistan,lately however  

many senior teachers including the headmistress of the junior school have left the college for other 

private schools and colleges, perhaps due to low salaries.

Current teachers of the Senior School

1. Biology Department:

  Head Of Department - Ms. Seemeen Zulqurnain
  Head of Wildlife Club Affairs - Ms. Satia Tazyeen

2. Pakistan Studies Department:

  Head of Department - Ms. Rabia Mansoor ( Geography Teacher ) - Head of Co- Curriculars
  Mr. Tariq Yasin - History
  Mr. Haider Hassan - History
  Mr. Muhammad Tariq - History
  Mr. Iqbal Haider - Geography
  Mr. Khizar Hayat - Geography

3. Mathematics Department:

  Mr. Mian Mohammad Asif
  Mr. Zahid Hussain
  Mr. Waseem Riaz

4. Chemistry Department:

  Ms. Neena Sohail - Chemistry Teacher
  Mr. Mohammad Arsalan Afgan Teacher

5. Urdu Department:

  Mr. Khalid Mehmood Ata - Head Of Urdu Department
  Ms. Abida Parveen - Urdu Teacher

6. English Department:

  Ms. Hina Fatima - Head Of Department - 
  Ms. Farzana Munawar - Eng. Teacher
 

7. Islamiyat Department:

  Mr. Hafiz Shaukat(Electrician) - Islamiyat Teacher
  Mr. Tarar - Islamiyat Teacher

External links

• Official website

General H.H. Nawab Amir Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan V Abbasi Bahadur, Nusrat Jung, Amir of Bahawalpur