Welham Boys

Welham Boys’ School started life as Welham Preparatory School way back in 1937, when Ms. Oliphant invested her humble capital and started the School in a leased structure, which she called White House. Later, she leased another structure Bethany that today is our feasting hall.

The first issue was that of finance and this was temporarily defeated when Ms. Oliphant’s mother offered her daughter financial assistance. Though the capital from her mother was in no way, shape or form large, it was adequate to start the school, and of great sentimental value as it came from Welham, Ms. Oliphant’s childhood village. It was perhaps the same sentimental attachment that inspired her to name the school after her village.

In the year 1920, Ms. Oliphant came to India. From Delhi, she moved to Dehradun, a tranquil town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. It was here that she resolved to start a preparatory school. The town had a pleasant climate and pure surroundings, and was an ideal place for children to grow up.

The first kid joined the School on 15th January 1937. By 1938, there were thirty boarders and twenty day scholars. In 1941, class V was presented. With the outbreak of the Second World War, numbers rose steadily and Welham wound up on a strong balance. In the early forties, the first school banner was carried at the School Games March Past. It bore the adage ‘From Strength to Strength’.

In the succeeding years, Welham came to be perceived as a preparatory School and acquired several buildings and many more children. The School ensured that the children acquired a sound foundation in English. The boys’ individual requirements were attended to and talents investigated. There was a lot of scope for self expression in drawing, painting, clay displaying, carpentry and craft.

In 1956, Ms. Oliphant donated all her assets to Welham Boys’ School Society which is presently administered by a Board of Trustees. Thanks to her vision and the efforts of the Principals who succeeded her, the School has carved a niche for itself in the realm of school education. The preparatory school she established was elevated to the Plus Two stage of Secondary School education in 1985. The vintage buildings and the playing fields have been the training grounds where generations of youth have learned, played, cheered, won and lost many a game.

Consistent with its witticism, Welham Boys’ has developed into an undeniable institution, and today prepares boys for the C.B.S.E examination. It is a child amicable school which combines the best of traditions with a cutting edge approach to learning.

Welham Boys’ boarding School in dehradun has four Senior Houses viz. Cauvery A, Ganga A, Jamuna An and Krishna A, four Middle School Houses viz. Cauvery B, Ganga B, Jamuna B and Krishna B, and three Junior School Houses viz. Narmada, Rispana and Oliphant.

Triveni is home for the Cauvery House and faces the Main Field.

Shikhar, the newest of the hostel blocks, consists of two parts, each accommodating the students of Ganga and Jamuna Houses. This square is situated between the Activity Center and the Squash Courts.

Krishna is one of the four Senior Houses and is situated in the north western corner of the estate, behind Bethany and the kitchen square.

The Rispana and Narmada Houses are on the eastern side of the Main Field and the Oliphant House is adjacent to the White House.