A symbol of service
The School was founded in the name of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton of Calcutta in 1865, and it adopted the Cotton family crest as its own — a design whose features reach far back into medieval English history.
The crest is divided vertically down the centre, the right-hand side known as Dexter and the left as Sinister. The Dexter half bears the arms of the Bishopric of Calcutta — the Bishop’s Mitre, the Bishop’s Staff, and the open Bible. The Sinister half carries the arms of the ancient house of Cotton of Combermere, England, to which Bishop Cotton belonged. The white figure-of-eight shapes on this side represent the skeins of Cotton, while the chevron — the inverted V — represents the gable of a house, traditionally granted to a family for distinguished service in a siege. One of the Bishop’s ancestors was, it is said, a famous General, and it is surmised that the chevron may have been a reward for his military service.
The crest that Bishop Cotton Boys’ School proudly bears today is not so much a reward as a symbol of service to the field of education — the pastoral authority of the Church and the valour of a distinguished lineage, joined in a single, unified calling.
“Neither to the right, nor to the left — but straight on!”
This motto in Latin is taken from the Book of Joshua in the Bible, and was the family motto of Rev. G. U. Pope, Warden of the school from 1871 to 1886, under whose stewardship the school grew from strength to strength.
In Scripture the injunction is one of absolute fidelity — to keep the eyes fixed on the path appointed and to waver neither toward comfort on one side nor expediency on the other. Brought into the life of the School, it acquires an equally practical force: the Cottonian is expected to pursue whatever he undertakes with undivided purpose, whether in the classroom, on the field, or in the wider world beyond these walls.
The motto embodies a sense of morality, energy, vigour, clarity and purpose. Living their lives by this simple credo, Cottonians can hold their heads high, knowing that every moment is worthwhile — a sentiment echoed in the words of the School Song: On, straight on, On Cottonians on!
The School Chapel
For the first 40 years of the School’s life there was no building set aside for worship, and the new Chapel was not dedicated until St. Peter’s Day in 1911. It remains, to this day, the spiritual heart of the School — a place of quiet and reflection for every generation of Cottonians.
The School Song & the Founder’s Hymn
Two texts every Cottonian carries for life — the School Song, “On! Straight on!”, which sets the motto to music, and the Founder’s Hymn sung at Chapel, “We build our School on Thee, O Lord.”