Housing one of the best known schools in The Nilgiris for well over a century, a heritage building at Charing Cross on the threshold of this hill station is now glowing thanks to an all round face lift it has been getting for about a month now.
Facilitated by a few students of the 1976 batch the facelift estimated to cost about Rs. one crore is now in focus since the building steeped in history was badly in need of attention and the management headed by The Nilgiris Collector as ex-officio president was finding it difficult to generate funds.
For long known as the Breeks Memorial School and re-christened a few decades ago as the Breeks Memorial Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School it is one of the most prominent landmarks here. The school came into being around 1874 and was named after James Wilkinson Breeks, the first commissioner (Collector) of the Nilgiris (1868-72).
Having been started in another heritage building, which now forms part of the Nilgiris District Court Complex, it moved into the present imposing heritage structure at Charing Cross in 1886. The building was put up at a cost of Rs. 38,180 and has special architectural features.
The school was the outcome of the steps taken by the people to gather subscriptions to raise a memorial for Mr.Breeks in the shape of a school.
Pointing out that the renovation works were being carried out by the old students after an inspection by the Nilgiris Collector
P.Sankar, headmaster Alexander Barnabas told The Hindu here on Monday that efforts would be made to acknowledge the gesture of the old students in an appropriate manner.
Not only was the heritage building being strengthened but new ones were also being provided.
When the school with 550 students and 40 teachers re-opens about a month from now it will have a spacious lunch room and convenient wash rooms.
K. Krishnakumar, a member of the 1976 batch who is coordinating the face lift said that all the requirements of the school were carefully gone into before a plan of action was drawn to strengthen the main structure and upgrade facilities.
He added that those behind the project were committed to keeping alive the legacy of the heritage institution.
