Born out of the sagacious vision of the 'Servant of God', Archbishop Mar Ivanios, St. Mary's Higher secondary School has been a paragon of academic excellence in the seven decades of its existence. The school girdles the hillock where the St. Mary's Cathedral stands majestically at Pattom in the teeming metropolis of Thiruvananthapuram. Well shielded from the din and bustle of the city, St. Mary's is one of the largest schools in Asia in terms of student strength. St. Mary's HSS has attained great heights of glory from its humble beginnings in 1940 with 12 teachers and 260 students in 9 classes. The institution was originally called 'Sachivothama Shashtyabadhapoorthy Memorial English High School'. Shri A. Sankara Pillai was the first Headmaster.