A school caters to women’s empowerment

Lady Willingdon Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Triplicane empowers students through education and sports, preserving a rich legacy.

At Lady Willingdon Government Girls Higher Secondary School at Triplicane, the teachers are all praise for their students. “We are truly blessed to teach children who are gentle and very attentive to anything that we teach,” says K. Annamalai, a history teacher.

It was founded in 1922 with the help of Lady Willingdon, wife of the Governor of Madras, Lord Willingdon, with the sole purpose of empowering girls and women through education. In 1915, to improve the livelihood of widows, a school for them, called the Kuppam school, was started, along with a graduate teacher training institute, by Sister R.S. Subbalakshmi. “She was running a Brahmin Widows Hostel when she met Lady Willingdon in the Mylapore Women’s Club and requested for a building for the students. Simultaneously, a Widows Teacher Training Institute was also established by Lord Willingdon to train teachers in teaching. Subbalakshmi was the first principal of the school,” says Mr. Annamalai.

The school at the time was catering to students from the fishermen community and the children of widows and migrant workers. In 1978, the school transitioned to higher secondary and in 2019, it was converted into a model school. “This has been one of the few schools in Tamil Nadu to impart education in English since its inception,” he adds.

There was great emphasis on home science, embroidery, art and culture when the school began functioning. Built in a ‘W’ shape, the school is now undergoing restoration in three phases as it was in a dilapidated state about a year ago.

The campus boasts a playground where students have emerged stars in throwball, Kho Kho, and football. This year, a volleyball court and a tennis court will be inaugurated. “Students show a great interest in sports. There are also Silambattam classes,” says principal Hema Priya.

Though the school has the capacity to accommodate over 4,000 students, it now has only 500. Ms. Hema Priya says efforts are being made to boost admission this year. “We plan to deploy a bus so that students from Kannagi Nagar, Perumbakkam, and nearby areas can come here to study.”

The school also serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to Class IX, X, XI and XII students as they are not covered by the welfare schemes introduced in the State.