Queen Mary School, Mumbai

The Queen Mary School, founded in 1875, is a private school for girls in Mumbai, India. It operates under the management of the Christian Medical Educational Fellowship (C.M.E.F) Trust and prepares students to take the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (I.C.S.E) Board examinations. English is the medium of instruction throughout the school for all subjects, except the regional languages. Miss Grace Mathias is the current principal.

The Queen Mary School in Mumbai, India, was started in 1875 by the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission, an Anglican Mission, to provide education for girls. The school was called Queen Mary High School even though it had classes from Nursery (typically age 4) until the 11th standard (grade) which was equivalent to the "O" levels in Great Britain.

The monthly tuition fees were higher than the schools which taught in the local languages and the "convent" girls' schools run by nuns associated with Jesuit societies. The medium of instruction was English and the examination papers for the 11th standard final school exams were set in Cambridge, England and initially were sent there for evaluation. Until about 1964, students were required to take both the Cambridge exams as well as the local SSC (Secondary School Certificate) exams.

Most of the teachers were of British origin who came to India under the auspices of the Mission to teach. These were gradually replaced by local Indian teachers, primarily Parsis, followed by other Indian ethnicities. All of the teachers were female with the exception of one elderly gentleman who taught Persian to the couple of girls whose parents wanted it for their daughters. The student body came from a range of income levels as the school subsidized the fees for certain students.

As it was a girls' school with all female teachers, there were a number of Muslim girls. In order to qualify for both the Cambridge and SSC exams, a range of subjects were offered. A choice of French, Sanskrit or Persian was mandatory from standards 5 though 8. For the latter, students had to elect courses either in the Sciences or the Arts in the 9th standard. There were other mandatory subjects like English (language)and Hindi. As per local state regulations, students had to pass the 9th standard Marathi or Gujarati exams, and the 10th standard History and Geography exams. Science subjects included Higher Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Arts subjects included English Literature, any of the languages, regular Mathematics, History, Geography, Physiology/Hygiene and Domestic Science. In addition, there was Physical Education. Extracurricular activities included dramatics, elocution, sports including swimming.

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