Founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, the 6th Earl of Mayo, Mayo College is one of the oldest boarding schools for boys in India. Colonel Sir Oliver St John was its first principal with Maharaja Mangal Singh of Alwar its only student.
Mayo was established to provide British education exclusively to the sons of chiefs and princes. Often dubbed as the ‘Eton of the East’, the school was envisioned to emulate the English school’s philosophy of ensuring all-round development of its students.
Having nurtured personalities like two Sultans of Oman, Sawai Man Singh II (Maharaja of Jaipur), K. Natwar Singh, Indra Sinha, Tinu Anand and many descendants of the royal families, the school today co-opts students from all walks of life. Old Boys, as the alumni are dubbed, have made it to the top across professions.
Mayo has invariably stood tall among the boarding schools in India. Under the leadership of its 16th and present principal Maj. Gen. KVS Lalotra, Mayo continues to provide an enriching learning experience that fosters values like courage, fair play, humility, warmth and fellowship.
The school lays as much emphasis on sports as academics. It has fields for football, hockey, horse riding and golf. It has tennis courts, squash courts and a beautiful cricket ground with an old red sandstone pavilion.
Mayo houses a rather unique and also the largest school museum in the world with all the items on display donated by the alumni, parents and other well-wishers. The museum has arguably the best collection of invaluable rare antiques and an armoury ever collected or curated by a school.
Mayo also has a very rich and valued tradition of cultural activities. Various festivals and days of national importance in India like Independence Day, Republic Day are celebrated with gusto. The J. T. M. Gibson Award for Excellence was created in 2007 and is given to the old boys who have made a difference to society. Ravi Kant (former managing director of Tata Motors), K.C. Verma (R&AW, India) & Jaswant Singh (Member of Parliament, India) are among the few who have been awarded with it. It has its own set of publications written, edited and printed by its pupils round the year. The list includes a weekly ‘newspaper’ Mayo Mail, bi-monthly newsletter Mayoor, Hindi Magazine Paridrishya and student magazine Reflection among others.
Mayo also holds student exchange programmes with notable institutions across the globe that give intercultural exposure to the boys.
The school has a general council which, along with the teachers and the scholars, takes decisions on the functioning of the school. Mayo’s continued efforts towards all-round-development have been commended by government and private institutions alike. Mayo was given the “Computer Literacy Excellence Award” in 2005 by the Government of India. It was also awarded the Eco-Friendly Educational Institution Award in 2006 by the Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan, a registered organisation of the Schools affiliated with CBSE/CISCE.
