PAF College Lower Topa


Pakistan Air Force college Lower Topa is an all-boys military boarding school situated at PAF Base, Lower Topa which is located near Patriata in the Murree region of the Rawalpindi District of Pakistan. Placed on a mountain hilltop, the institution is made up of a series of buildings. These comprise the boarding lodgings, academic blocks, hobbies section, laboratories, administration, library, hospital, etc. The other buildings consist of a mosque, a general purpose hall, an auditorium and a messing block. It is considered as elite boarding institution of Pakistan providing quality education and training. The public school is serving as a nursery for the future leadership of the Pakistan Air Force. A new academic block has just been completed in 2010. Admission is open for all Pakistani students, however, one Bangladeshi student is admitted in the school in every intake.

History

The school was established in 1952. The initial name was "Royal Pakistan Air Force Public School Lower Topa", with the first principal being Mr. Shaw. The houses were named after the housemasters at that time.
In 1957, the school was renamed as Pakistan Air Force Public School, Lower Topa. The names of the houses were also changed. The new names were after the Indo-Islamic leaders Allama Iqbal, Zaheer ud-Din Babur, Aurangzeb, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Tipu Sultan, and Siraj ud-Daulah.
The institution trained three courses, or batches of students at that time. After a course completed its five years of schooling, it appeared before a board in the ISSB test and went on to enroll in the PAF Academy, Risalpur for further training. The school remained open till 1968, in which year PAF College Sargodha was made part of PAF Academy, and Lower Topa as a public school ceased operations.
In June 1998, the need for a feeder school revitalized and after a period of 30 years, the PAF College Lower Topa reopened. At the time, two student entries comprising 60 boys each were thus inducted, and each subsequent year saw a new student entry. The college started with two houses and then with each coming year, one more house was made functional. Finally, the college gained its full strength by having its all six houses occupied and functional by the year 2002.

Aims and objectives

The primary aim of PAF Public School Lower Topa is to educate and groom boys for intermediate examination of Federal Board. The mission is accomplished in a healthy environment. The effort is to mould the new entrants into confident and disciplined young men with a strong character and qualities of command and leadership, so that they become future officers of the Pakistan Air Force.

School administration

The school is run under a Principal. Additional administrative hierarchy includes a Vice Principal, an Adjutant, an Officer in-charge of the Progress Section, two Heads of Department, Six House masters, and an equivalent number of Assistant House masters to manage the administrative matters of the school. The current School Administration is led by:
Principal: Air Vice Marshall Syed Furqan Ahmed Zaidi
Vice-Principal: Gp Capt Muhammad Asim
HoD : Sqn Ldr S. Junaid Bukhari
HoD : Sqn Ldr Hafiz Arshad
Student Command System
There are six houses, each led by a house captain selected from the senior most entry. They are responsible for the house discipline and are answerable to the school head boy. Other school appointments include 1 College Prefect and 2 House Prefects for each house.
First three Head Boy of School were
1. Pre-Cadet Ammar Ali Zeb
2. Pre-Cadet Talha Yousaf
3. Pre-Cadet Ammar Iqbal

Academics

The students are prepared for the FBISE. The following subjects are taught:
Secondary School Certificate Examination: English, Urdu, Islamiat, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science.
Intermediate Examination : English, Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
The students from Bangladesh study geography of Pakistan instead of Urdu.
Achievements
The school holds a record of maintaining highest grade point average every year since its re-induction in the FBISE.

Routine and activities

Daily Schedule
The daily schedule is drawn up with a view to making optimum utilization of time. The routine program strives to ensure that adequate time is provided for the development of all facets of a student's personality and abilities. As such equal stress is laid on academic as well as spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical activities.
Commemoration of National Days
All important national days such as Independence Day, Quaid-e-Azam’s Birthday, Iqbal Day, Defence Day and Air Force Day are commemorated by holding meetings in which the entire student body participates.

Facilities and miscellaneous

Medical
For round-the-clock medical care, the school has a hospital headed by a qualified doctor with the necessary staff to assist him.
Uniform
While at the school, students have to be in the prescribed dress. They are not permitted to wear private clothes. The uniforms are provided to the students by the school. Any willful damage to the uniforms is charged to the parents. On initial joining, students are required to be in possession of clothing items as given in the joining instructions for the selected students. These clothes should be worn by the students prior to the issue of the School uniform.
College Mess
The mess is under the supervision of the president Mess Committee who is assisted by the Mess Secretary and the Food Member. Students are also associated with the management of the mess. One representative from each house is a member of Mess Committee which would meet regularly to draw up the menu and discuss ways and means of improving the food.
The Mess Committee meeting is presided over by the Principal. Meals include breakfast, lunch, evening tea or cold drinks and dinner. However, there is no provision for extra messing.
Allied Facilities
Support facilities include MI Room, Canteen, Barber Shop, Cobbler Shop and a tailor shop.

Notable alumni