Petit Seminaire CBSE School, the premier institution in Puducherry State, has its origin two centuries ago. It was started as a seminary-cum-college in 1792. The foundations for the present elaborate structures were laid in 1844 and were completed and blessed on the 19th of March, 1846.
Strictly speaking, our school in its present form originated 175 years ago. In 1904, one English section was opened, and three classes, namely 6th, 7th, and 8th standards, were introduced. In 1932 the school was upgraded to matriculation level and was affiliated with Madras University. In 1934 the first batch of students was sent for the Matriculation Examination, and all came out successfully. Since the public took much interest in English education, there was a decrease in the strength of the French section, and so the Baccalaureate was given up in 1960, and finally French became only a second language in the school. In 1978, when the government introduced the 10+2 system, Petit Seminaire High School was one of the first institutions to be transformed into a higher secondary school. Started with a strength of 100, the present strength stands at 7646 with a staff strength of 220.
Petit Seminaire is known for its discipline, character formation, and excellence in academics, sports and games, cocurricular and extracurricular activities. It is also known as a professional school wherein most of the higher secondary students who pass out get into many professional colleges.