50 Years of Burn Hall Institutions Abbottabad - (1943-1993)

Burn Hall traces its history back to 1943 when a team of missionaries from Mill Hill, London, known as the Mill Hill Fathers, established the School in Srinagar. It was a named after an English Manor House which had a Hall with a small stream (burn) running through it. The school was administered by the Fathers in English public school tradition.
After partition, in 1948, the Fathers, with a handful of students shifted the school to Abbottabad and set up it in a small hotel building, the Abbott Hotel. Khan Abdul Qayum Khan, a former Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province acquired this building and handed it over to the missionaries. The school was among the best in the country and soon more buildings were added to accommodate the increasing numbers of students. The school was under the control of the Diocesan Board of Education, Rawalpindi.
In 1956, a new school was constructed a few miles outside the town to provide more room for seniors and become known as Senior Burn Hall. The new school was designed to allow for adequate sports facilities and included playgrounds for all games, including a swimming pool.
Ideally located at 4300 feet above sea level in natural surroundings, coupled with the zeal and fervour with which the Fathers and school staff administered the school, it became one of the leading schools of the country. It excelled in academic and literary activities and encouraged competition in sports by having House Games between St. Michaels and St. Andrews (later St. Gabriels). The high standards achieved were in keeping with the School motto \"Quo Non Ascend um\" (To what heights can I not rise).
In 1976 the Fathers faced insurmountable problems in running the school satisfactorily and handed over the management of the School to the Pakistan Army. Since then it has been renamed as Army Burn Hall Institutions. The new management has not only maintained the traditions set by the Fathers, but also has added new buildings and facilities necessitated over the years.
Since the take over, what was the Junior School has become the Army Burn Hall School and College for Girls, and the Senior School has become the Army Burn Hall College (for boys).
Officially they are known as the Army Burn Hall Institutions.
At Burn Hall, students are taught by experienced teachers, dedicated to teaching. Many of them are not only highly qualified but they have had experience of teaching in foreign countries as well. With a broad vision and understanding they perform a missionary role; they are motivated by the desire to impart knowledge for no reward other than what they get for shaping the destiny of those who are given into their charge. The small scale of the College stimulates dynamic relationship between the students and members of the teaching staff; it promotes an education that goes on both inside and outside the classroom, and fosters an atmosphere where academic work is respected and ideas appreciated. Education is a complete discipline; it means mental and moral training. There is hardly another residential institution in the country which takes keen interest in the mental and moral growth of the students.
The College has a number of societies and clubs which provide opportunities to all the students to develop qualities of leadership and sportsmanship. Besides debating, Bazm-e-Adab, Fine Arts and Photo-graphic club, the college has a Computer club which in time will equip our students with the latest computer technology.
Burn Hall is not behind in sports. Special attention is given to the physical growth of the students. The early morning PT, followed by games in the afternoon enable our students not only to remain physically fit but also creates in them a spirit of sportsmanship. In victory and defeat the Hallians never lose their self-possession. They are known for a balanced approach to life. You can easily tell a Hallian from any other student.
Burn Hall aims at teaching its students how to think, how to analyze and synthesis. Out of such intellectual and moral growth comes the kind of self-confidence, self-reliance and sense of responsibility which one must have to become a good citizen.
(Contributed by: Burn Hall Institutions, Abbottabad)
To commemorate the occasion Pakistan Post is issuing a commemorative Postage stamp of Rs. 7/- denomination on October 28,1993.