Mayo College

Mayo College
Mayo College Coat of Arms
Location
Srinagar Road Near Mayo College Girls' School Ajmer – 305008 India
Information
School type	Public Boarding School
Motto	Let there be Light
Founded	1875
Founder	Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo
School board	CBSE
Authority	Board of Governors Mayo College Special Service
Head of Governors	HH Maharao Brijraj Singh of Kotah
Director	Lt. Gen (Retd) Surendra Hari Kulkarni PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Founder Headmaster	Col. Sir Oliver St. John
Faculty	85
Gender	Boys
Age	9 to 18
Pupils	850
Student to teacher ratio	10:1
Medium of language	English
Campus	336 acres
Houses	12
Colour(s)
Mascot	Peacock
Nickname	Mayo
Publication	Mayoor
Affiliation	Mayoor School Noida Mayor World School, Jalandhar
Former pupils	Mayoites
Annual fees	₹514,000 (Home Students) ₹1,028,000 (International Students)
Website	www.mayocollege.com

Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. It is one of the oldest public boarding schools in India. The present principal is Lt. Gen. (Retd) Surinder Kulkarni, who has occupied the post since January 2015 as the 17th principal.

The idea for the college was proposed in 1869 by Colonel Walter. It was founded in 1875 and Colonel Sir Oliver St John became its first principal. The founder's intention was to create an 'Eton of India'. The 1st Earl of Lytton, Viceroy of India, said in a speech on campus in 1879:

It had a view to providing the leaders of the princely states with an education similar to that given by Eton College. The British built Mayo for the sons of the Indian upper classes, particularly the princes and nobles of Rajputana.

The school houses 850 pupils aged between 9 and 18.

The coat of arms was composed from the design furnished by Lockwood Kipling, a former principal of the School of Arts, Lahore and father of the famous Rudyard Kipling.

In the upper centre of the shield are Mayo Arms and Quarterings, a Lion Rampant and an open hand. On the right and left are the sun and the moon, typical of Suryawanshi and Chandrawanshi, the two great families of Rajputs. Below are the Panch Rang, the five sacred colours of the Rajputs, Red, Gold, Blue, White and Green. In the centre is a Rajput fort – two towers connected by a curtain. The supports are on the right: a Bhil warrior with string bow and full quiver of arrows. On the left a Rajput, armed at all points, wearing a steel helmet with three plumes, a shield on his back, a dagger and Qatar in his belt, and a suit of chain covered with embroidered cloth and gauntlet on his hand.