Koppa is famous as ‘Kashmir of Karnataka’ and is also well-known for areca nut, coffee and tea estates. The famed Sringeri Matt is in the north and the Bhadra reservoir is in the east of Koppa. Once upon a time known as a breeding place for malaria, any posting here of Government officials was considered a punishment. ‘Thappu madidavanige Koppa’ was the common saying among them. Coffee estates covered thousands of acres of land around Koppa and so were the labourers scattered with minimum transportation and communication facilities. The children of the labour class could not think in terms of getting enrolled in a good school.
Sisters of St Joseph of Tarbes were running the school in Koppa since 1954 and for some personal reasons known to them pulled themselves out. At this juncture Fr K.A. Mathew who knew the Ursuline Franciscans in Hunsur invited the Sisters to render their service to the people. Sisters of Tarbes readily handed over the school with four acres of land to the Ursuline Sisters. It is learnt that the Sisters of Tarbes had no residence of their own. The pioneers, Sisters Eliza Pinto, Severine Barrows, Raphael Pinto, Placid Saldanha, Anecitus Souza, and Cletti D’Costa had to take a rented house from Mr Jerry Pinto a coffee planter.
The Girls’ boarding house that was not in use was temporarily converted into classrooms to accommodate the pre-primary as well as primary classes. In the year 2005 an order from the Department of Education to withdraw permission to the School came like a thunderbolt the reason being – two Kannada Medium schools cannot be permitted in the same campus. To save the situation without wasting any time the coconut grove of the Convent was demolished to construct the school building and playground. Sr Dulcine not only masterminded the project but also personally supervised the construction work. Simultaneously she started knocking at the doors of the concerned officials for revoking the order. A mention of Mr Abdul Gafar should be made at this juncture who helped to resolve the issue. In the year 2006 alongside the fresh permission to start the School, the new school building was inaugurated. On April 29, 2006 permission was granted for Class VI and VII English medium sections.
From then on there was no turning back for Sr Dulcine. She approached the Department of Education to start the high school. Having noted the steady and successful progress of the School the department granted permission for high school in April, 2008. The occasion was marked by admitting a new batch of 44 students on June 2, 2008. This batch and the following two batches have successfully completed their SSLC with 100% results.
When the Management transferred Sr Dulcine to Jayapura in 2008, Sr Laveena D’Souza took over. In the following year Sr Irene D’Souza with all her past experiences as a teacher, headmistress and Secretary of the Ursuline Franciscan Educational Society took charge of the School. For three years Sr Cosess Gonsalves (2010-12) and Sr Gracy Pinto (2012-13) assisted Sr Irene by taking charge of the High School section. Sr Irene D’Souza established the School to the admiration of all and at present the School is much sought after in Koppa.
The School has good infrastructure. There are two floors and a very spacious and well-equipped hall in the school building. The students have a conducive atmosphere for study and extra-curricular activities. Facilities of good toilets for boys and girls, a large playground, computer education and smart class are made available. 655 students frequent the campus every day.