In the 1950s and 1960s, the school was a centre of activity for "leftist" students and teachers.

[3] In November 1957, more than a hundred students staged a protest against the government's educational policy.

After meeting in the basketball ground, the students locked the gates and kept the keys.

Riot squads arrived at the school within minutes and encircled it to break up the protest.

[4][3] A few years later in 1959, two students were arrested and jailed for possessing "subversive documents".