Institution Profile

P.S. Senior Secondary School, Chennai

Favoured by culturally conscious citizens of Chennai as a preferred day school for their progeny, P.S. Senior has built itself an enviable reputation for scholarship and academic excellence

Sited in Mylapore, the arts and culture hub of Chennai (pop. 4.2 million), P.S. Senior Secondary School enjoys a fine reputation for academic achievement and holistic education. Promoted by the P.S. Educational Society (estb: 1905), named after the founder of P.S. Charities, Pennathur Subramania Iyer, the CBSE (Central Board for Secondary Education) affiliated P.S. Senior Secondary admitted its first batch of students in June 1976.  

One of four institutions (three schools and a Sanskrit Patshala) promoted by the P.S. Educational Society which celebrated its centenary last year, P.S. Senior is located in a modest 3.2 acre campus with an extensive playground as its epicentre. Favoured by culturally-conscious citizens of Chennai as a preferred day school for their progeny, the co-ed P.S. Secondary’s enrollment has grown steadily from 265 students and 13 teachers in 1976 to 3,200 students instructed by 140 teachers today.

"Our specialisation is transforming average students into academic achievers, besides moulding them into good citizens by developing attributes of the head and heart. We place strong emphasis on inculcation of values and have integrated value education with other learning activities in school. We believe in well rounded personality development through moral, cultural, intellectual and physical education," says Vijayalakshmi Srivatsan, who served P.S. since its inception as a teacher and vice-principal, before taking charge as the principal in 1999. An alumna of Madras and Annamalai universities, Srivatsan received the national ‘Best Teacher’ award from President Abdul Kalam in 2003, and is a member of the governing body of CBSE, Delhi.

While the incumbent management of P.S. Senior (pre-KG to class XII) attempts to strike a balance between academics, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, the school’s reputation is built on scholarship and academic excellence. In the academic year 2004-05, its class XII science and commerce stream boasted 16 all-India toppers in each group (in different subjects) and the prestigious A1 grade (awarded to the top one-eight students) for different subjects was secured by 90 percent of the school’s students. In the same year, 12 students were admitted into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), three qualified for admission in medical colleges through the All India Pre Medical and Pre Dental entrance examination, and nearly 30 students enrolled in the National Institutes of Technology (NITs). Moreover P.S. Senior students have consistently bagged awards in the annual International Maths Olympiad. Last year, one of its students won a gold medal at the 16th International Biology Olympiad held in Beijing and another won a silver medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad staged in Taiwan.

The consistently excellent academic performance of P.S. Senior students is widely ascribed to its well qualified and committed teachers, who follow the school’s unique teaching and evaluation methodologies. "We focus on activity and project-based teaching of all subjects and insist that teachers do proper lesson planning. Classroom sessions are interactive with special emphasis on student participation, as self-learning is the ultimate objective. We also follow a system of continuous internal evaluation. Every year, there are eight formative tests to assess students’ understanding of subjects, and three longer summative tests. These tests keep children of all ages clearly focussed on their studies," says Srivatsan.

Yet perhaps the single factor which distinguishes P.S. Senior is its early identification and nurturance of gifted students. For instance to prepare students for the International Science Olympiad and other contests, the school conducts special enrichment classes by eminent subject specialists. It also offers career guidance and counselling by experts in heterogeneous fields, conducts social awareness programmes and provides life-skills training to students. A long and varied menu of arts education programmes including dance, drama, quiz, vocal and instrumental music, painting, veda and shloka chanting classes, and yoga are an integral part of the school curriculum. Every year the school hosts ‘Scintillations’, an inter-school cultural fiesta which attracts participation from nearly 25 city schools. Sports facilities include cricket, volleyball, throwball, badminton, table tennis and athletics.

Though tuition fees at P.S. Senior are modest, the school management has ensured that students are supported by state-of-the-art academic infrastructure. There are well-equipped science and maths labs for junior and senior students, an environmental science laboratory for primary classes, an English lab, separate senior and junior computer rooms with LCD projectors and audio-visual equipment, internet and multimedia facilities. The school library is well stocked with a collection of 18,000 books, 33 periodicals and encyclopaedias.

Unsurprisingly, given the school’s distinction in academics as well as arts and culture, there is an annual stampede for admission. The school receives over 500 applications for 180 seats in the pre-kindergarten section every year and over 260 for just 30-40 seats in class XI. Alumni include Ashok Giri (software professional), S. Sowmya (leading Carnatic vocalist), Ajit Pai (doctor), D. Venkataraman (winner of the Young Scientist award from a reputed US university) and Shankar Srinivas (doctor and eminent Carnatic vocalist), among others.

The school’s management ascribes this enviable record for excellence to continuous training and education of its 140 teachers. "We organise regular in-house as well as inter-school seminars and workshops for teachers. Moreover given that CBSE is a progressive board and places special emphasis on teacher innovation, our teachers have to be well-equipped to practice new pedagogies," says Srivatsan.

Over the next few years, the priority of the school management will be to strengthen its English department for which purpose it has identified resource persons to train teachers. Infrastructure upgradation and renovation of the ground floor block is also on the cards. Not content with the laurels it has already earned, P.S. Senior Secondary School’s mantra for the future is continuous improvement.

Admission & fees

Admission into classes I-X is on the basis of an entrance test.

Tuition fee (per term): Classes I-V: Rs.1,930; classes VI to VIII: Rs.2,470; classes IX and X: Rs.2,560

Plus Two (per term): Commerce/ computer science: Rs.3,930; economics: Rs.2,430 per term; biology: Rs.2,830

For further information write to the Principal, P.S. Senior Secondary School, 15, Alamelumangapurm, Mylapore Chennai 400 004; Ph: 044 24940656.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)

Promoted as recently as 1991, the University of South Australia (UniSA) has developed into one of the sixth continent’s fastest growing and most innovative institutions of higher education. Established following an amalgamation of the South Australian Institute of Technology and the Magill, Salisbury and Underdale campuses of the South Australian College of Advanced Education, UniSA offers more than 300 academic programmes and boasts a student enrollment of 30,000 — perhaps the largest in Australia. Sited in the port city of Adelaide, UniSA has the fifth largest number of international students who constitute almost 30 percent of gross enrollment — as against the national average of 21 percent.

Among the many encomiums UniSA has received since its registration 15 years ago are: Institutional Award for university teaching in 2004; South Australia Export Award in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004; IDP Education award as Australia’s # 1 university for off-shore students (2001) and the Prime Minister’s Award for University of the Year (2000).

"UniSA offers a broad range of study options and a wealth of talented, experienced staff. The Australian Universities Quality Agency, an independent organisation that audits the quality of each Australian university every five years, recently commended UniSA for good management, high quality assurance standards for off-shore education programmes, flexible degree programmes delivery, strong support for students, positive focus on innovation and contribution to the community. This endorsement together with European Quality Improvement System accreditation of our on-shore and off-shore business programmes reinforces our reputation for quality," says Dr. Denise Bradley, vice chancellor and president of UniSA.

Adelaide. Located between sandy white beaches and the Mount Lofty range, Adelaide (pop. 1.2 million) is South Australia’s capital. The fifth largest city in Oz, it is renowned for its parklands, which ring the city and make up 45 percent of the total area. Adelaide is also a popular venue for international and national sporting events such as test cricket at the Adelaide Oval, the SA Open Golf Championship, the Classic Adelaide car rally, and the Tour Down Under cycling championship.

Widely acknowledged as the gastronomic capital of Australia, 50 percent of all Australian wine is bottled here. Numerous department stores, shopping centres, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and entertainment facilities are conveniently located within the city and outer suburbs. Adelaide boasts more restaurants per head of population than any other major Australian city, over 70 pubs in the city centre and the largest fresh produce market in the southern hemisphere.

The city’s four distinct seasons offer comfortable temperatures in summer to crisp winters. Summer temperatures range from 15oC-35oC, while in winter the mercury dips to 5oC-19oC.

Campus facilities. UniSA administers four campuses in metropolitan Adelaide (City East, City West, Magill and Mawson Lakes), one campus in the regional city of Whyalla and a new study centre in Mount Gambier. All campuses boast libraries offering an extensive range of online and hardcopy resources. Students are free to use any campus library. U-shops, operated by UniSA students association dot each campus offering books, stationery, art materials, snacks, drinks, bus and discounted movie tickets. The association also runs cafes/ bars on all six campuses.

For instance the Mawson Lakes campus offers a wide range of sports facilities including a fitness gym equipped for sports such as basketball, indoor soccer and badminton. Outdoors are the tennis courts, ovals, cricket nets and a golf course. The Magill campus houses three volleyball, six badminton and three basketball courts, indoor soccer and netball courts, a swimming pool and health and fitness gym.

Moreover students have the option of enrolling in any one or more of the university’s 40 clubs and societies.

Admission. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into UniSA’s undergrad programmes is successful completion of Plus Two (class XII) with an average of at least 65 percent in best four subjects (excluding local languages). Moreover overseas students are required to demonstrate proficiency in spoken and written English. An IELTS test score of 6 or a TOEFL score of 550 is generally accepted. Completed application forms should be accompanied with certified copies of academic transcripts and degrees, English language test scorecard and academic references.

For further information contact the manager, International Prospective Students Office, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia; e-mail international. office@unisa.edu.au or visit www.unisa.edu.au. Students can also contact any of the six IDP Education Australia offices in India (www.idp.com).

Accommodation. UniSA offers numerous residential accommo-dation options. Among them: East West Apartments, located in the heart of Adelaide and within easy access to the university’s City East and City West campuses which offer one and three-bedroom furnished apartments, complete with air-conditioning and phone connections. The Whyalla Student Village provides housing for students studying at UniSA’s Centre for Regional Engagement at Whyalla.

Moreover UniSA accommodation services offer students assistance on a number of modern and comfortable properties conveniently located close to campuses where they are enrolled. For further information visit www.studenthousing.unisa.edu.au.

Degree programmes. UniSA offers more than 300 undergrad, postgraduate and doctoral degree programmes and is the only South Australian university to offer degrees in medical radiation, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, environmental toxicology, marketing and journalism. Its four divisions offer business; education, arts and social sciences; health sciences; information technology, engineering and environment study programmes.

Designed in consultation with industry and the professions, UniSA programmes include fieldwork, industry guided simulations and projects. Says a university spokesperson: "This real-world experience whilst studying means UniSA graduates are equipped with the qualities employers look for, thereby becoming significant contributors to their chosen professions — people who are instrumental in reshaping the nature of contemporary Australian and regional society."

Scholastic options at UniSA

University of South Australia offers a wide range of undergrad, postgraduate and doctoral programmes through its four divisional academies. They include: