Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School
Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School is a school in India, in the southern city of Chennai. Founded in 1956 by M. Subbaraya Aiyar, R. S. Subbalakshmi and Padmini Chari, the school recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016. It follows the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) pattern of education with the medium of instruction being English. With just a handful of boys in 1956, studying at the Mylapore Ladies' Club premises, the school now has about 2200 students, 119 teachers, three school buildings in the same location and a branch called VidyaMandir located inside the Estancia Township on GST Road, Vallancheri.
| Vidya Mandir | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
124, Royapettah High Road, Mylapore Chennai - 600004 , India , Tamilnadu 600004 India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private school |
| Motto | Saha Veeryam Karavavahai (Sanskrit: May the teacher and the taught work together with energy and vigor to acquire knowledge") |
| Established | 1956 |
| School board | Central Board of Secondary Education, India |
| Principal | Shoba Raman |
| Staff | 119 |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Enrolment | c. 2200 |
| Houses | Nilkant, Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, and Kailash |
| Colour(s) | Green and white |
| Publication | Darpan, Dhwani |
| Website | https://www.vidya-mandir.edu.in/ |
History
The MLC School Society (Mylapore Ladies’ Club) established a Kindergarten Section on 3 February 1956 to accommodate the boys in Mylapore and its environs. The first president of the society was R. S. Subbalakshmi, supported by M. Subbaraya Aiyar, a leading lawyer, and Mrs. Padmini Chari who was an educationist. Thus the school was born through the efforts of these three, and Vidya Mandir Matriculation School was formally opened in 1960. R. S. Subbalakshmi and Mrs V.K.T Chari served as the Founder President and School Correspondent respectively. M. Subbaraya Aiyar became the Secretary of the school.
In 1960, once the school was formally opened as a boys school, the first batch of students took the exam. In 1963 a small building was constructed and the matriculation section was opened. The school followed the matriculation system until 1975 when it became affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). 1978 was a significant year as the first batch of students took the 10th Standard examination and the school became a co-educational school.
In 1981, to commemorate the 25th year, a Silver Jubilee Kindergarten Block was constructed. In 1989, the school established a branch school located in Gandhi Nagar, Chennai which later became an independent school called Bala Vidya Mandir.
In 1993, a new primary block was constructed and in 1997 a new administrative block was constructed. In 2001, a new open air theatre was built to host the school cultural activities and other school events and a library was built in the same year.
In 2010 the school introduced a filing system and shifted to a two term year from a three term year as prescribed by the CBSE.
Curriculum
KG
Classes LKG and UKG have 5 sections with a student : teacher ratio of 30:1. The focus is on all-round development follows the play way method of instruction.
Primary
Primary sections (Classes 1-5) have 4 sections each with a student : teacher ratio of 38:1. No exams are conducted for Classes 1-5 to make the classroom experience interesting and stress-free. A system of units test is followed to monitor conceptual understanding.
School Activities
Events
The school hosts a variety of cultural and educational events annually. Some of the events are
- Entre-Nous (Inter-Class cultural event)
- Reflections (Inter-School cultural event)
- Inter-House Dramatics (House-wise dramatic presentations)
- School Day
- Sports Day
- Fun-Fest
- Project Day
Clubs
The school has a number of clubs that the students can participate in such as Martial Arts, Mathematics Music, Environment, Commerce, Reading, Trekking, Study Circles.
Notable alumni
Sports
Arts
Motto
The motto of Vidya Mandir is "Saha Veeryam Karavavahai" which means "Let the student and teacher perform great acts of strength together".
