schools in shimla

Auckland House School

Auckland House School has a long history of 134 years. Founded in 1866, it's the oldest school for girls (now it also has young boys as its students), and was initially called Punjab girls Schoo. The idea of starting this school was conceived by Rev. J. B. D'Aquila in 1864, and the ladies' group associated with the Church in Dalhousie collected funds for it.
At the instance of the wife of Bishop Cotton, it was earlier housed in the Holy Lodge at Jakhu. The school began with 32 girls, most of them being Europeans. The school authorities bought the Auckland House (originally the residence of Lord Auckland, the then Governor-General) in 1868 and shifted there on November 6, 1869. But unfortunately, the building was damaged in an earthquake in 1905. The entire structure was pulled down and rebuilt by January 1921.
A separate building, Belvedere, was bought for the junior school in 1960. While, the Belvedere has 498 day-scholars and 81 boarders at present, the strength of the senior school is about 326 day-scholars and 150 boarders. The school is affiliated to ICSE up to plus two, and has 53 qualified and experienced teachers. It functions under the management of the Diocese of amritsar and has its own governing body of which Bishop of Amritsar is the Chairman.
Auckland House lays emphasis on the development of over-all personality of students. They take part in games, dance, debate and eluciton competitions and various extra-curricular activities. They are also the members of the world wildlife organisation and participate in many environment-related programmes. The school has a paper recycling plant and a loom for recycling polythene, at which the students work during the SUPW (Socially Useful Productive Work) classes.
The school has got a well-equipped library, a science laboratory and a computer room. Some valuable books have been obtained from the British Council Library, of which it is a member. It started publishing its annual magazine, Auktimus, in 1969. It began the Auktimus merit scholarships in 1984, which were given on the basis of the performance of the girls in the competitive tests.
The money was generated out of Auktimus funds. Now, the number of scholarships have been raised and other concessions are also given to the deserving students.        Besides giving donation to the Central Army Welfare Fund during the kargil war, the Auckland House contributed money for the Orissa Cyclone Fund and the Drought Relief Fund.       The school aims to impart the best possible education, with emphasis on "quality" rather than "quantity". Its students and the staff-members make an effort to live up to its motto "Altiora peto", meaning "I seek the higher things.

Bishop Cotton School

Bishop Cotton School is a blend of old world cherm & modernity. It is is situated on the southern spur of the Shimla hills about four kms from the centre of the city. Far from the madding crowd, it stands in its own estate of 35 acres. Part of the estate is a deodar forest. The school buildings look out to the scenic beauty of the wide panorama of the Himalayas.
The school is one of the oldest boarding schools in Asia, having been founded on July 28, 1859, by George Edward Lynch Cotton, son of an Army Captain. He was consecrated Bishop at Westminster Abbey by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Queen Victoria, personally selected Bishop Cottonas the Bisho of Calcutta and Metropolitan Bishop of India, Burma and Ceylon around 1857. As the Bishop of Calcutta, he conducted a service for the foundation of a public school at a hill station.
Collections were made in most of the churches of the diocese for this purpose. The collection was utilised tofound B.C. School at Jutogh, Shimla. The land and buildings on it were a gift from the Viceroy. The school opened for students on March 15, 1863. As the Jutogh site was divided by a public road, it was deemed necessary to change the site. Finally,the South end of Knollswood spur, which belonged to the Rajah of Keonthal, was selected. The foundation stone for the new buildings was laid on September 26, 1866 by H.E. the Viceroy Sir John Lawrence. A fortnight after laying the foundation Bishop cotton died in an accident on October 6, 1866. To perpetuate the memory of its founder the name of the school was changed to Bishop Cotton School in 1867. On May 7, 1905, almost the whole school caught fire except the Headmaster's Lodge. It was rebuilt and occupied in July 1907.
The school chapel originally consecrated on September 1871, was rebuilt and used from April 3, 1908. The school had visitors like the Viceroys, like Sir John Lawrence, Lord Minto, the Marquis of curzon, Lord Chelmsford and the Earl of Reading. The school suffered a big setback in 1947. The partition was a sad event for the school, as nearly 100 Muslim boys left the school. Their memories are still alive and the second exit door of the school hall reminds of their departure as Hasan Agha, the then school captain led them in an emotionally charged atmosphere. Since then, this door of the school is usually kept closed. BCS strives to provide a sound general education toboys from 6- 18 years of age.
It is a private boarding school for boys only. The enrolment of students is kept under 600 and the staff is carefully chosen, keeping in mind their academic qualifications and the ability to guide the students through boyhood and adolescence to maturity. The main school building has most of the senior classrooms, the box room, offices and dormitories for seniors. The dining hall is spacious and well-furnished to accommodate the whole school at meals. The school has a library and audio-visual room and an infirmary. The school also has a cricket ground, a modern all-weather basket ball court, squash courts, boxing gym, swimming pool and weight training room.

Chapslee School

The growth of the Chapslee school stands true to an apt saying, from a small seed, a big oak tree grows The school, founded by Satanjit Singh, began as a nursery school on September 1, 1973, in one small room with three children. For many years it was a preparatory school, for children seeking admission to established institutions, like St. Edwards and Lore to Convent and Tara Hall
Later in 1988, it graduated to a primary school, and then finally, because of public pressure, a high school was set up. From its inception, new buildings were constructed in stages, to accommodate the growing number of student. The school caters to students from nursery up to class X. presently, the school has two campuses, the junior school at Chapslee Estate, situated near the circular road, close to Lakkar Bazaar
The junior school comprises of 27 classrooms, a library and a computer room, with ten computers.The senior school is situated at North wood between Kelston and Barari. It comprises of 16 classrooms and 3 fully equipped laboratories, a library and a computer room, with fifteen computers.
A co-educational school, it has a total strength of 1120 students and 48 teaching staff. A day-scholars school, it has regular bus service for its students. Affiliation of the council for the Indian School Examination was accorded to the school in 1996. So far three batches if Class X students have appeared for the ICSE examination. Permanent affiliation was granted this year. In spite of the limitation of space, time and resources, effort has been made to give an all round education to the children. Apart from aiming for high academic standards, emphasis is also laid on extra-curricular activities, such as sports and games, debating, dramatics, arts and crafts.
Chapslee Schoolis an English medium school, and aims to make the students aware of their rich heritage and to take pride in traditional Indian culture and values. The school has regular dance and music classes. The school has art and craft as well as gardening for SUPW. Recently the school has also adopted trekking in its curriculum. The boys and girls have trekked and camped out at various places like Shaili peak, Hatupeak,and Choordhar.The school has decided to take the students for a trek to Pin valley.
The school is also in the process to start a school magazine soon. The infrastructure of the school has been built entirely from the income of the school. Without any form the income of the school, without any form of aid, donations or a building fund. As far as the future, the aim of the school will be to keep striving for improvement and perfection.

Dayanand Public School

Dayanand Public School, situated near Artrac (Army Regional Training Command), above the Cart Road, was established in 1988 under the aegis of the DAV management committee, New Delhi. In 1989,the Class X was affiliated to the CBSE. Later, the school got the approval from CBSE to start higher secondary classes in science and commerce streams.The school is housed ina six storey building with a good library, well-equipped physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, a computer room and large airy classrooms.
The school has a strength of 1,700 students and has 54 qualified and committed teachers. The institution aims at comprehensive development of students and makes them responsible and contributing members of the society. For the development of the students in academic and co-curricular activities, they participate in innumerable programmes and activities. Learning through activities like seminars, presentations, workshops, quizzes, extempore eeches, mental games, reviews and role-play help students to acquire extensive knowledge, gain confidence, develop leadershipqualities and organisational abilities.
The house system is operative for students of Class V to XII. Students help in maintaining discipline, cleanliness, organising functions and conducting the morning assembly. Inter-house competitions provide good opportunities to students to showcase their talents. In addition, students upto the Class VII join different clubs such as, those of music, dance, art, literature, sports, science and environment. For the senior students, an eco-club under the name "Green People's Club" has been instituted and is registered with the World Wildlife Fund, India. This club is actively involved in local environmental activities, including the collection of waste paper from the school for recycling. Students also organize awareness programmes for local people such as anti-smoking drives and checking the pollution level of various vehicles. Information about the environment is disseminated by club members through skits, video films and posters. The science and literary clubs organize various activities which give practical exposure to students in different fields like general health, alternative medicine, yoga and meditation.
To guide students properly in choosing a career, counseling lectures are given by eminent personalities from various fields and information about various careers is given to students from time to time. Hampered by the lack of a large playground, the school hires grounds to give students practice in games so that they may be able to participate in various sports events at district and state levels. The students also participate in various competitions and contests organized by other schools and organizations.
To encourage bright and talented students, scholarships, awards and fee concessions are given every year. The school has also started awarding a "colour blazer' to the student who stands first in his class for three consecutive years and a "colour tie" to those who stand first for two consecutive years. The school being a DAV institution, due emphasis is given on inculcating respect for our cultural and moral values. "Thought for the day" is discussed at every morning assembly.
Every effort is made to foster feelings of compassion and sympathy for the less fortunate. For this, the senior students have taken the initiative by saving a part of their pocket money every month which is utilised for the welfare of orphans. A visit is organised once a month to the Bal Ashram Orphanage and sudents spend the afternoon playing, eating, chatting with them, by bringing them gifts. Students donate for causes like natural calamities.

The Government High School, Bharari.

The Government High school, Bharari is located near Shimla and caters to the needs of Students hailing from surrounding villages. Most of their pupils come from underpriviledged families. The school initially started as a primary school and was gradually upgraded to middle school level and in 1989 to High School. The Primary Secton and the senior sections are placed under separate heads. The hight school catering to classes IV-X has a strength of 260 students, managed by 10 qualified teachers.
It is a co-educational day scholar's school ti disseminates education in Hindi medium and is affiliated to the HP board of School Education. The school now has five classrooms and well equipped science laboratory with proper fencing around the school campus. The Academic effort is made to promote extra curricular activities which include debate, recitation of shloks poems, cooking, art and craft.

Hainault Public School

Established onMarch 9, 1986 by Hainault Educational Society, Shimla, is situated amidst lush green deodar forest of Jakhoo hills. The school started with 18 students on its rolls. In a short span of 17 years, the school has increased in strength to become a full-fledged senior secondary school. The honorable chairman of Hainault Public SchoolRaja Yogendra Chandra (MLA) belongs to a family of philanthropists which has contributed a lot toward the spread of education. The school has a strength to theICSE boardand its first batch of students appeared in March 1993. The school is catering to students from nursery to plus two offers different streams of subjects like commerce, as well as, medical and non-med-ical groups.
This institution is the fulfillment of the vision nurtured by an educationist,Raja Yogendra Chandra Jubbal for providing quality education and disciplined value-based outlook of life. This institution prepares the students irrespective of sex, caste or creed to face all the tough times in life and to struggle hard to succeed. Character building is amply taken care of here. The house-system is followed to unfold the individual merits to the maximum, stress being laid on self-confidence, creative thinking and leadership qualities. The object of overall development of the personality of the child is carried out by laying stress on both academic as well as co-curricular activities.
The school has separate physics, biology and chemistry laboratories and a separate computer science laboratory to impart computer education from classes III to XII. It has got 25 computers on the network with a computer course stressing on 'C' language right from class VI onward. The school has an open field to conduct events like High jump, Long jump, Discuss throw, Javelin, badminton, Volleyball and Cricket. Besides this, training in physical education is a regular feature of the school and the school has recently introduced Judo and Karate under the guidance of an internationally trained instructor.
There is a group of 60 students belonging to the school's nature club named 'Snow Leopard'associated with WWF. Different activities, awareness programmes are arranged in the school and outside too under the guidance of the resource person of WWF to create awareness in the society about the environment. The school offers career counnselling and has a guidance cell of which senior teachers are members. People, expert in their fields, are invited for counnselling the students. These members of the cell, monitor and guide the students to fill application forms regarding various career opportunities.
The students are also provided with latest information on various courses and career for students. The school is associated with the Indira Gandhi National Open University. This school is now a programme study centre for computer science courses. The school has parent-teacher meetings at regular intervals to keep close watch on the performance of the students. Open criticism is appreciated and is taken in the right spirit to enable improvement in the overall conduct of the school.

Modern Public School

A modern education institution Modern Public High School,an upcoming public education institution, is situated in Sanjauli, about 100 meters from the main bazaar of Sanjauli. The School runs in two separate newly constructed buildings, comprising the junior and the senior school. The school was started way back in 1987 by the Monal Public School Society.
This society is headed by J C Sharma, retired.Director health Services, HP, as its chairman and K J Gautam, a retired officer, as its general secretary. The school was initially started with junior classes and with the growing demand of local public, the school was raised to middle in 1994, and to class X in 1997. The school is a co-educational, English medium school, having day-scholar only. At present the school has around 800 students and 45 dedicated teaching staff members. The school's aim is to inculcate such values among the students that they can participate actively and successfully in the entire socio-economic development of the country.
The school is affiliated to Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, both for the middle and the metric level. There are two principal's for the school, one for the senior section and the other for the junior section. The junior school comprises of classes from pre-nursery to the fourth standard. The senior section consists of classes from fifth to tenth, with facilities like a library and computer and science laboratories.
The computer classes are included in the curriculum of the students, from third class onward. Besides academics the school pay equal attention to extra-curricular activities. Declamation contests, group discussions, paper reading and quiz contest are organized throughout the year, in order to promote general knowledge, communication skills and to create confidence. The students are divided into houses in order to promote a healthy atmosphere of competition among the students. The school regularly participates in quiz, painting and writing competitions at the government level or the inter-school level.
Annual art, craft and science exhibitions are organised twice in a year. The school has a trained music-teachers. Under the guidance of these teacher, students, both girls and boys, learn folk dances and songs of the state. These students also participate in the functions which are organised by the government, in local festivals and functions of the state, like summer festival, independence and republic day. The school specifically aims at promoting healthy environment. Certain issues are concentrated upon for the whole week.
There are regular flower arrangement competitions held within the school. For the gardening competition, a pot is provided to each class to grow any plant. Prizes are given for best and the most exclusive plant. Fancy dress competitions are also held, pertaining to the occasions which are observed throughout the year. Inter house creative competitions are held for talent hunt. This year focus is on inter house regional dance competition. The junior school has an auditorium and senior school going to get one soon. By acquiring the nearby land. The students are taken out for educational tours to nearby areas like scientific research institute. Nature clubs and Eco-club students often go around telling people about cleanliness. The school awards a runner shield for the most disciplined class.

Regal Public School

Regal Public School is situated in Lakkar Bazaar in the historic Prince of Wales building, which later came to be popularly known as Regal cinema building. This historic building was built in the year 1925 by a famous German engineer Goldstein, who also built even the Gorton castle which now houses the A Gurdwara Office in Shimla. Keeping in view the fragile geological strata of the Shimla hills, foundation of the building were a major cause of concern the German engineer so the building was made to stand on well shaped pillars filled with pure lead, which went deep down to a solid rocky base. Moreover, wide and strong retaining stone walls were erected, which even to this day provide a saving support.
Regal public school, a primary educational centre, was started in the year 1991 by Dr Shivakshy Khanna, Ph.D. in Psychology and a ex-lecturer of St Bede's College. The school is duly recognised by the directorate of primary education Himachal Pradesh. The school is a co-educational day boarding school, catering for students from pre-nursery till the fifth standard. The ratio of the strength of students and teachers is 10:1. The school is well equipped with modern techniques like, audio-visual equipment, other educational aids and computer. The computer classes are in the curriculum of students from classes are in thee curriculums of students from class III onward.
Play-way methods are adopted for pre-nursery students for their better understanding and mastering their subject. Apart from studies, particular stress is laid on the inculcation of moral values and teaching about duties towards, society, country and the world.The formative years of a child are most important as the child carries through his life whatever he learns during this short period.
Effort is made to build confidence in the child and bring out and develop the potentialities that lie hidden inside the young ones. Equal care taken to teach and develop proper eating habits table manners, etiquette and discipline. The principal gives counseling to students and their parents. Play-way methods are adopted for pre-nursery students for their better understanding and mastering their subjects. Besides the daily routine of prayers, with holders taking part in new reading equal stress is laid on the extra curricular activities.
The school has a play ground with swings and slides for fun loving children. Other activities like the welcome party for the new students, fancy dress competition, sports days, environment awareness programme and exhibitions on latest events are regularly held in the school premises. The school has no-house systems class wise competition are held for the gradual mental and physical growth of the students. The school takes part in the Independence Day celebrations held at the ridge maiden every year. The school is contemplating of upgrading the school till plus two with affiliation from the CBSE board at new premises.

Shimla Public School

At Shimla Public School, we believe in thinking big. In spite of having hordes of reputed missionary schools in town, this School has over grown its humble beginning and has become a full-fledged school. The school was founded in 1979 by Pritpal Singh who worked with unmost care and dedication. Singh seeked to provide worthwhile education to the children of middle class families who failed to get admission to the elite schools of Shimla.
The school had a humble beginning. It started as a Montessori school which grew in strength and reputation over the years as a consequence of the hard work put in by Pritpal Singh and her team. She continued to be the principal of the school till 1995.Shimla public School provides education from Class I to Class X. the co-education school is affiliated to ICSE. It has 650 students and a staff of 55 members. There are 90 boarders, 75 percent of them are either from Thailand or are NRIs.
The school lays ample stress on both academic as well as extra-curricular activities. Inter house debates, elocution's both in English and Hindi, flower arrangement competitions, painting competitions, sports activities like badminton, sports activities like badminton, chess, basket ball, table-tennis feature regularly in the school events and instill a competitive spirit in students.

Government Senior Secondary School

A disciplined education for all In the suburbs of Shimla, situated in Kusumpti Government Senior Secondary School Chotta Shimla . The school was established about 115 years during the Raj days. The school initially started with the primary section and was later on upgraded to the middle level. In 1973 the ninth and tenth standard were added to the school. In 1995 it was a full-fledged senior secondary school. The school, affiliated to HP Board of School Education having both English and Hindi medium, offers humanities and science streams at the plus two level. A co-educational day-scholars school has 1,100 students on its rolls, with 42 well-qualified teaching staff. The school has a primary and a secondary section, each placed under different heads. The school, having an old and new block, has twenty rooms and a hall. Due to the constraint of classrooms the school runs in two shifts. The new block has well equipped library, separate laboratories forBiology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography and Computer. The school had earlier been providing computer education for plus one and two but has discontinued this due to lack of a computer teacher. Yoga has also been included in the syllabus of students of class vi to x. a large play ground is another salient feature of the school. To promote a competitive approach amongst the students, the school has adopted a house system. Besides the academic teaching, the school principal, Champa Ronta, who is also a volunteer, assistant state commissioner for guidance has also established the scouts and guide wing last year. Debates, quiz, painting also add to the extra-curricular activities. Various, socio-scientific actives have also been undertaken with a view to develop the child into a good citizen. Science teacher, Anita, who is also a counselor of DOST. Other teachers often conduct lectures concerning drugabuse, environment, and all spheres concerning the school students to promote awareness amongst them. Projects on these topics are also undertaken by the students under the able guidance of teacher to promote awareness amongst the local masses. The school won the district level science and technology project held at on October 19 and 20. Their topic was harnessing non-conventional sources for better tomorrow. Equal stress is also laid on the cultural and sport activities of the school. Dance teams and play teams have also won at various competitions organised by government and local bodies. Rohit Sharma, a student of plus two, this year represented the HP State in the National Bal Vigyan Sammelan at Goa and he also took part as a child scientist of HP. The seminar of Indian science congress Held in Pune on February 2.Vikas dogra of plus one student won a silver medal in National. Boxing Championship in 1999. This year the overall result of plus two, science stream was 86 per cent, in humanities. It was 68 percent and the tenth result was 78 percent. The school is preparing for the annual function, art and craft exhibition to be held in the month of December. The major problem the school is facing is the constraint of classes which can be curbed by demolishing the old building, to give space to new building. The old building is in bad shape and is in a risky condition, but due to lack of accommodation, classes are still being held.

DAV School

Swami Dayanand, the founder of Arya Samaj and a religious reformer of the modern India, believed that superstition and evil social practices, which had become a curse on our society, were the outcome of ignorance and lack of knowledge. These could be removed only through a national system of education and by the revival of vedic knowledge. With this end in view, the Dayanand Anglo Vedic College Trust and Management Society was founded in 1885. The first DAV school was set up in Lahore in 1855. Since then, the growth of DAV institutions has been phenomenal. It is a non-government organisation which provides a happy blending of western scientific education and Indian culture and tradition.
The DAV Public School, New Shimla, was started in 1984, in Sanjauli by the DAV College Managing Committee, INA rented building. The founder principal P. Sofat is the recipient of the best citizen award and has been honoured twice by the DAV College Managing Committee. Last year, the school shifted from Sanjauli to New Shimla, where it is housed ina commanding five-storey building, standing on four acres of land. The school has well equipped art, science and computer labs. The school is affiliated to the CBSE.
There are about 300 odd students on its rolls and a highly qualified staff of 49 teachers. A co-educational school, it offers both boarding and day schooling facilities. The school functions with the objective of inculcating the knowledge of Indian philosophy, religion, cultural values in the students. Emphasis is laid on moral and spiritual development of the child. During the assembly prayers, stress is laid on chanting mantras and the thought for the day" for students. News is also read at the morning assembly.
The school has a student's council where the representatives of the houses meet the school authorities regarding the problems of the school. A counselor, usually a teacher, looks into the problems of the students.

There is an ultimate reporter's club" whose members are students from Class VI to XII. They provide campus news events and the forthcoming events on every Friday.

Laureate Public School

A school far from the madding crowdway from the maddening crowd of the town is Laureate Public School, situated at Bharari in the North of the Shimla, at a distance of 3 km from the town. LPS is locted amidst the sylvan surroundings and the view from it is really panoramic.The school is run by the Laureate Educational Society, which is registered under the Societies Act. It caters to the needs of the students from nursery to class XII. It got affiliated to CBSE for class X in 1993 and for class XII in 1995. At present, it offers science and commerce streams for senior secondary classes. Its total strength is around 650, with 34 well - qualified staff members.
A co-educational English medium school, LPS has 45 boarders. There are separate hostels for boys and girls. The school aims at harmonious and all-round development of the students so that they excel in all the fiends. It has good laboratories for science practicals. And computer science is a compulsory subject for all the students. Besides a well-equipped library, there is a computerized audio and video library too, with Internet facilities.
LPS lays equal stress on academic as well as extra-curricular activities, like painting, dance and music. Fifteen students have been invited for the painting competition to be organised by the Avantika Group of Indian Contemporary Artists, Delhi, on June 15. Besides, there are special hobby classes for them like making of soft toys, jelly, pickle, jam, etc. The school pays special attention to the children's health. They are made to undergo periodical medical check-ups.
LPS has a basketball court and facilities for other games too. For major sports events and cricket (for both boys and girls of junior as well as senior classes), it uses the police ground adjacent to its building. The school also provides facilities for judi, karate and gymnastics. It has earned a name at the state and national-level with eight students getting scholarship from the Sports Authority of India since 1995 for their outstanding achievements in judo.
all the Houses of this school get their turn to conduct the daily morning assembly, which has prayers, moral lectures, thought for the day and shloka recitation. The latter is also done during the short break and last period. One day every week, students of class 1 take part in news reading. The Japanese and Thai boarders also sing the artist and recite shlokas, and that too very well. For these students, there are special classes in both English and Hindi.
All the Houses are very environment conscious. In a surprise check on the World Environment Day, the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment gave the second prize to LPS for cleanliness. This school provides free education to the handicapped and poor students, and also to those scoring more than 95 per cent marks in Board exams. At present, 23 poor and two handicapped students are being given the scholarships. LPS has also offered to provide free education to the children of Kargil martyrs.

Himalayan International School

Education in the lap of nature away from the maddening crowd of the town, Himalayan International School, is situated 12 kms far, on seven acres of land, in the lap of the deodar forests. The school was established in 1977, by its founder chairman, Major General (retd) Jagjist Singh after 30 years of front-line soldiering. He is also a writer of repute of books like "Saga of Ladakh 1962" and "Indian gunners at war-1971" and is currently engaged in writing another book on the Kargil war and India's Defence preparedness. The school has been run by Sarita Singh, MA, M Phil, Ph D, in Educational Psychology, for the last 15 years.
The school prefers to restrict it student strength to about 350, with the student teacher ratio of 30:1 and affiliated by Hp Government, the school runs classes from nursery to class XII. The school has a well-equipped science laboratory, library and a computer room. The computer training commences from class I. Besides normal academic studies, as laid down in the syllabus, the school lays special emphasis on inculcating team spirit amongst the students. Public speaking and acquisition of general knowledge are also encouraged. The school's student strength has been divided in four houses, with a member of the staff acting as the house master.
Extra-curricular activities like Athletics, Football, Hockey, Cricket, Basketball, Air gun shooting etc are practiced. The only school to have introduced golf coaching, it has nine small play fields rather than the conventional one big filed for catering to every child. For the 60 odd boarders the school has well-furnished dormitories, provided with homely environ ment each dormitory has a small secular prayer corner, representing all religions.
The school has its own well-equipped medical room under the charge of an expericened-nursing sister. A medical card of each student, especially, the boarders, is also maintained, which is enclosed with the annual academic report card at the end of the session. Students from abroad are escorted (if desired) till the New Delhi airport at the commencement of the winter vacation and likewise are received at New Delhi or Shimla Airport on return from home. In 1997, the school participated in an educational exhibition named education, Training ad Career,Kathmandu, Nepal. Madhu Sudhan, a teacher in the school has donated her blood 55 times, to become the first woman in the state in this noble endeavor.
The former President of India, R Village Venkatarman on his visit to the school had said, "I am very much impressed with the boarding school and its bright and lovely children. The arrangements are very satisfactory and I am sure the children will benefit greatly from their schooling here." There is an annual school magazine. "The rising star" which highlights the year gone by besides the children's contributions.

Arya Girls Senior Secondary School

Learn in the Hindu way Arya Girls Senior Secondary School, Lower Bazaar, is located in the heart of the town and it was there since the last 114 years. The school was set up in 1886, during the days of the Raj. They believed that education of girls is the only way to improve the backward Indian society. And felt that it will improve the society. To meet this challenge, they first started with a primary school for girls, and was the only school of its kind to be started by an Indian society. The school gradually became a higher secondary school.
The school though, exclusively catered to girl students, also provides education to boys till the Class V. It is managed by the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Sundernagar. A day scholars school, it is affiliated to the HP Board of School ments are made for instructing students in Vedic philosophy. Vedaacharya's and rishis are invited twice or thrice a year to facilitate such teachings. Every morning, 7am to be precise, the school begging with a havan preformed by the members of Arya Samaj. Apart from that there are yajna performed twice a week. Children participate in this and learn about the ancient Indian culture. Every Sundays and Saturday there is a havan. On Sundays, parents and outsiders participate in it. The school has a temple in its premises and a separate hall for performing yajna. Havan etc.
The school assembly prayer is conducted teachers who chant mantras. The school has a library dance, cultural classes are also held here. The school is divided into four houses to promote healthy competition amongst student. Regular inter-house competitions such as, debate, declamation, elocution, painting contests are being held in the premises. The annual function, cultural programmes, Nari Sammalan, Kavi Sammalan etc are the regular features of the school. The school has its own band which has students from class VII to X participating in it. They take part in the annual shobha yatra of the Arya Samaj.
Apart from this, the students actively take part in the inter-school competitions conducted by the government and local bodies. The summer festival, the Independence Day, Republic Day celebrations are other places where one can see them participating. The motto of the school is krinvanto vishva Aryans. It means make the entire Universe, the best.

Chalet Day school

Chalet: Towards a better future ECI Chalet Day school is situated in the heart of the town opposite to the Shimla Club between the lift and the road leading to Chotta Shimla. In 1909, the told chalet was demolished and replaced by a large modern building in which club dances were held on Tuesdays and Fridays during the time of the British. During the Second World Warthe Chalet was used as an office. After that it housed the junior wing of the Loretto Convent in 1982, the premises was taken over by the ECI Chalet Days school. D F Das was the founder principal of this school, and the school flourished under her leadership till she retired in April 1998. The school is a recognised unaided co-educational, Christian school. It operates under the direction, control and guidance of Rt Rev Dr Ezra Sargunnam, Bishop, President, Evangelical Church of India, through the management board of ECI Chalet day school. The present principal B Rathour took over the reigns from Das and has efficiently steered the school since then. A day-scholar's school it caters to the students from nursery till standard VIII. The school, till 1999, used to run in -two shifts, now it runs in one shift. The school at present has about 650 students on its rolls with children from all strate of society welcomed without any discrimination. There are 28 well-qualified teachers and efficient staff. The school also has a house system. At theChalet Day school curricular co-curricular activities run along with academic subjects. While a lot of stress is laid on the syllabi, written and oral work, activities like quiz, elocution's competitions, craft work, socially useful and productive work etc are not ignored. The school holds an annual fete, inter-school painting competitions and annual concerts too. The school is an active member of AHEMS and the children take part in the annual athletic meet and inter-school competitions. In accordance with the facilities available the children have been performing well in such activities.
Technical education is behind in the school as one can see for oneself in the computer classes. The school has a big hall where the children carry out their activity periods like PT, yoga, aerobics, singing etc. Dance classes are also held in which both boys and girls take part actively. Folk dances like paharis, dandia etc are also taught so that the children get an opportunity to take part in such dance competitions within and out of the school. Every year the children actively take part in planting plants in the forest with plants provided by the forest department. In the month of October, a craft exhibition is also held to exhibit various cultures.
Each year one culture is selected and the whole year the students prepare exhibits of that culture, like last year the culture of Rajasthan was selected, the craft teacher helped the students to make'Jaipuri' items, like hand bags, cushion covers etc. Before closing the school for winter vacating, the school celebrates Christmas day in which each and every student takes part. In the near future the school is looking forward to expand the school to accommodate classes ninth and tenth too. It is also coming up with a school magazine for which students have started contributing.

Loreto Convent

Set against a back-drop of sparkling snow-capped peaks, the distinctive grey and scarlet of Loreto Convent, Tara Hall, whether kissed by the brilliance of a summer sun, or veiled by the frosty whiteness of winter snow or bathed in the deep hues of a vivid monsoon sunset, is ever a source of pride and joy to all associated with it. But let us turn back the pages of time to 1892 when, in response to a pressing request from the Archbishop of Agra, Dr.Van Den Bosch, O.C. for a school to provide a good education to Catholic children, Mother Gonzaga Joyce and a few Sisters arrived in Simla, the summer capital of the Viceroy, to plant Loreto's banner in this hill station.
The journey had been fatiguing and arduous, the roads winding perilously round cliffs or along ridges with an abyss on either side but the elderly Superior was a soul of prayer and had all the gifts or organization which mark a pioneer. The only comment left by her companions reads : "Those who travel first on any road get all the hardness bumps and jolts, but they have the honour of leaving beaten, smooth tracks for those who come after them. At first the Sisters took up the day school below the Bazar which had formerly served as the Catholic Church and had been managed by lady teachers. Some time later "Firewood" was rented and the nuns took in boarders as well as day pupils. Later again, the "Mythe" a larger house with more extensive grounds, was rented for a year.
Finally it was in Kaithu, on the edge of the town, that Mother Gonzaga found what she wanted - the two properties of Tara Hall and Belle Vue offered for sale together. Here the Sisters established themselves on 30-11-1895, overcoming the hazards of space, restraints of finance, problems with domestic help, inclement weather. The early Nuns owe a debt of gratitude to their good friend Fr. Callistus, O.C. who was always at hand and never missed a Mass. If the Franciscan spirit of poverty and simplicity left its mark on Tara Hall so did the Franciscan spirit of Joy. Plays and concerts did their shares in fashioning. The young minds and in a short time the pupils were distinguishing themselves in the Music Examinations of Trinity College and the Royal Academy, London. Debating the literary clubs flourished and games were played with zest Of special delight were picnics to places of scenic beauty.
The school population was largely Catholic and the Sodality of our Lady flourished among the Senior Girls. In 1889 the Mother Superior opened "St. Joseph's Day School". For six years the two schools ran side by side but when Tara Hall sought recognition, the Ministry of Education granted it on condition that the two schools should amalgamate and be known as "the Loreto Boarding and Day School". This benefited both sets of students and enabled the nuns to be used far more advantageously.
St. Patrick's Day School was opened in March 1946 at Willoiw Bank, The Mall, with 4 pupils. We transferred to the Chalet in July 1947. Numbers grew, improvements were made in the house. Finally in 1977 the Sisters withdrew and it was disposed of to the Evanmgelical Church. Meanwhile Tara Hall advanced from strength to strength, additions being made in the form of classrooms, laboratories, a Concert Hall and a Library. It advanced from the High School Examination of the Punjab to the Cambridge Overseas Examination. However, December 1975 witnessed a dramatic change - gone were the days of dormitory chatter and dining room clatter, of splashig in washrooms and excitement at favourite puddings for, regretfully Tara Hall was compelled to close the residential school, bringing to an end a very special era of its history.
With this began a new epoch - As a day school Loreto Convent could accommodate larger numbers till today we have 1150 on the rolls. This points to the veried social spectrum represented, to the variety of children and to the variety of opportunities, from Computer Sciences to Social Service, which Tara Hall affords them. Loreto Convent, now a hundred years old, stands as a monument to the perseverance and success of those pioneers who paved the way for generation upon generation of young women to become fully human persons, with a sense of personal worth, a good relationship with God, self and other - women of honesty and integrity, agents of change in a changing world - a mission as immense as a mightly Himalayas that stand guardian to Tara Hall, Shimla.
TARA HALL" A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE TARA Hall celebrated its centenary on a grand scale with an Old Girls' Reunion. Five years ago,in 1995, the daughters of the Sacred Heart took over the management of this institution with the same objective as that of the Loretto nuns - to educate the girls child and to mound her into a responsible citizen. Over the years, Tara Hall took the identity of Sacred Heart Convent School. But its basic values of sincerity, justice and freedom - the path on which the educational tradition were set up - remain as before. They maintain the motto - "Those who travel first on any road get all the bumps and jolts, but they have the honour to light the torch, to lead those who come after them. The student strength is around 1,300 with 42 qualified teachers who are supervised by the nuns. The School was converted into a day scholar's school in 1976.
Affiliated to ICSE,the school is divided into two sections within the campus. One is the junior section of students from KG upto class V with a separate sister in charge. The other is the senior section till Class X. The subjects taught include science, social sciences, English, Hindi and Computer Science. The school has a well-stocked library and has well-equipped laboratories. The students are encouraged to participate in academic as well as co-curricular activities.
The latter comprise competitions in athletics, quiz, education, debate, dance, drama, flower arrangement and the annual function. The school is continuing its endeavour to improve the infrastructure. New course as well as modern facilities are also being ushered in. The school plans to have its own auditorium in the future.