History

Bankura is a district lying to the west of West Bengal. The region is remarkably distinguished for its rough terrains, extreme climate conditions, dense tribal population and rich folk-art. Bankura Zilla School, an educational institution that has always been revered as one of the prime centres of excellence for learning in West Bengal, is situated in the heart of the town.

Established in 1840, the school is still carrying the flame with the same zeal and commitment that it started with- to impart knowledge to the students coming from within and beyond the borders of Bankura. The school has pioneered the concept of ‘school-based educational system’ in the district since the days of the British Raj and changed itself according to the changing times of the post independent country into a modern educational institution.

Access to modernized education besides the traditional modes of learning for the mass, turned out to be a reality only in the first quarter of the 19th century with the establishment of a number of schools in the Bankura region(“Zilla” in Bengali, literally meaning “the district”) which was initiated by the Wesleyan Missionaries and a few private enterprises.

In 1821, Dr.G.N.Chick, an educationist and a philanthrope, arrived in Bankura as Asstt. Civil Surgeon. Dr.Chick and the then District Session’s Judge Mr.Francis Goldsbury, backed by the local intelligentsia, opened in the town the first ever English medium school of the district, “Bankura Free School”, in 1840. The name of the school was changed to “Bankura Zilla School” in 1846 after it was given the status of a Government School.

The Main building of the school is an invaluable memoir of the past. Before becoming an integral part of the school, the Main Building, which was constructed in 1809, was used as a military hospital, named the “Sepoy Barrack Hospital”, until 1840. The Main building standing tall for two hundred years is a remarkable specimen of architectural greatness, a piece of history moulded in bricks.

Having started with a single room and a handful of students, Bankura Zilla School has come a long way in course of time as the number of its successful alumni in the country and worldwide is ever on the rise.

The school humbly celebrates the glory that the students have achieved in myriad fields- be it academic, creative or contemplative; it urges to carry the legacy forward in times to come.