De Britto Hr.Sec.School located at Ramnagar, Devakottai in Sivagangai District of Tamilnadu, South India is one of the pioneering institutions of Jesuit Madurai Province. It is located in a town environment surrounded by a number of villages. The School was established in 1943 with a view to cater to the needs of the people in the low rung of the society.

History

Rev.Fr.Bonoure, S.J., was a Jesuit priest. When he was the parish priest of Koothalur, he used to visit Devakottai often. The tiresome bullock cart journey made him rest for a while under tamarind tree along the road in Devakottai.

one day while he was returning to his parish from Devakottai to Koothalur, he got a bright idea of establishing a school for the rural children of this area in memory of the Jesuit martyrs namely St.John De Britto. So he requested the then parish priest of Saruganei Rev.Fr.Planchard,S.J., to buy a suitable land for the same.

In 1940, he bought 24 acres of land and in 1941, he built a chapel, a presbytery, a school and finally a hostel. But he could not get recognition of the school until 1942 due to some reasons and Rev.Fr.Stanislaus Chockiah,S.J., with the influence of the then governor Sir Arthur Hope, was able to succeed in getting the recognition. Finally, the school was inaugurated on 8th June 1943.

Initially De Britto “Middle School” had the maximum strength of 228. Later on the school got permanent recognition in 1947 and the first batch of 25 students appeared for the SSLC exam in 1948. When Fr.Mathai was the Headmaster, the school was upgraded to a higher secondary school in 1978. The Golden Jubilee was celebrated in 1993 and the Diamond Jubilee in 2003.

This year, 2300 students (1200 dayscholars and 1100 Hostelers) are studying in our school and most of them are from in and around Devakottai. More than 60 teachers and 12 office staff are rendering their valuable service. The school consists of airy class rooms, well equipped labs, hostels, Language Resource Centre, well furnished exam halls and canteen. The students are mostly from rural areas and they are made to participate in various movements like NSS, NCC, SCOUT, LASAC, JRC, SUPAM, RRC, KWC, TLA etc. The school plays a vital role in shaping and moulding the character and lifestyle of the students. Our school is run by the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits.