Bishop Cotton Girls' school

Bishop Cotton Girls’ School (BCGS) is an all-girls private school in Bangalore, India. It offers academic scholarships to students from lower-income backgrounds. The school was also awarded the International School award by the British Council.

The school curriculum follows the ICSE format, offering teaching facilities from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

Bishop Cotton Girls’ school is one of the oldest established boarding schools in Asia, founded in 1865. It was named after Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, a scholar of Westminster School and a graduate of Cambridge. He was appointed Assistant Master at Rugby by Doctor Thomas Arnold, who helped to create the British public school system.

Bishop Cotton proposed to create schools in India and Bishop Cotton’s was founded on April 19, 1865. It opened for both boys and girls in a bungalow named Westward Ho. In 1871, the management bought 14 acres of land on St. Mark’s Road and separated the boys’ school and the girls’ school with a wall.

It was established in 1911 when the management acquired Stafford House and its surrounding land. Over the years, more buildings were constructed and the first Indian principal took charge in 1963. Extracurricular activities include sports, debate, creative writing, dramatics, declamation, verse speaking, and choir. The school is affiliated with Bishop Cotton Boys School which is located across the street on St. Marks Road.

The school motto, “Nec Dextrorsum – Nec Sinistrosum”, means “Neither to the right nor the left”. This phrase is taken from a Latin translation of a phrase in the Old Testament of the Bible. It reflects the spirit of being true followers of God’s law.

The school is divided into Junior, Middle, and Senior School levels. Students of Class X take the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSE) while Class XII students take the Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC). Both streams must take up English and Environmental Education. Other subjects offered include History, Civics and Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and a choice between Home Science, Computer Applications, Fine Arts, and Physical Education.

Bishop Cotton Girls’ school offers three streams of study: Science, Commerce, and Arts. Each stream has its own set of subjects, including English and Environmental Education as mandatory options. Bishop Cotton Girls’ school also provides language options such as Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Nepali, French, and German.