This is the story of Sarah tucker in whose name there was a school started in palayamkottai. - By Cynthia Stephen
Her brother John tucker was an official working in the area and she lived in her home in England.. he used to write to her every week. He mentioned to her that the women of the area were hardly seen outside, and one day when he went to a village and felt thirsty he knocked on the door of a house to ask for water. A little girl opened the door and seeing him, fled from him in fear. He asked why, and was told that they were not allowed to move about and were kept only within their own houses, and were not allowed to study.
He wrote to Sarah about this and she was very dismayed, and collected as much money as she could - about 40 pounds - to send to him to start a school.for girls. Accordingly the brother started the school and somehow they ran it for 13 years with support that she raised and with other money he was able to manage. At last he confessed that they could no longer keep them open. Sarah who was in frail health began to pine away at the loss of her dream. One.day three of her friends came to visit her and asked why she was so sad...she related the story and said that she was heartbroken that her dream school had to be closed down, she felt her life was not worth living as a result. Shortly thereafter she passed away. Her three friends were determined to see that Sarah 's dream would not die, so they took up the challenge, raised over 300 pounds and sent it to revive the school. It still survives and in the districts of palayamkottai and Tirunelveli at last 10 lakh - one million girls have passed out of the school and college. What a legacy.