Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane

In the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2012 conducted by the Delhi-based market research agency C fore, SSS is ranked the No.6 day school all-India and No.2 in Maharashtra

Sited on a tranquil 13.6-acre campus in Thane (pop. 2.4 million) — one of the fastest growing suburbs of Mumbai — the Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School (SSS) provides an idyllic learning environment for the 6,500 students of this state-of-the-art K-12 school affiliated with the Delhi-based Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). Founded in 1969 by the late Shri Gopalkrishna Singhania (1933-1980) and named after his wife, the late Smt. Sulochanadevi, this 43-year-old school has matured into a globally benchmarked excellent institution.

In the recently released Education-World India School Rankings 2012 (EW September) conducted by Delhi-based market research agency C fore, SSS is ranked the No.6 day school all-India and second in Maharashtra (pop. 112 million) rising from No. 8 in 2011. On the parameter of quality of leadership, it’s ranked first all-India.

Nor is this the sole encomium SSS has received recently. In November last year (2011) the school was conferred the British Council’s International School Award (ISA) for the second year in succession which makes it eligible to participate in international projects with schools worldwide. Academically as well, SSS, has notched up excellent results in CISCE board exams. This summer, its 355 students who wrote the class X ICSE boards averaged 89 per-cent with the class XII batch (science and commerce streams) averaging 87 percent. Moreover, 47 percent of the batch averaged above 90 percent with Shalaka Kulkarni being awarded first rank all-India in the class X exam with an average of 98.8 percent.

“Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School was promoted to graduate a community of well-rounded students capable of learning independently. Our highly qualified teachers supported by exceptional resources, enable all students to reach their full academic potential. The objective is to create an environment of high achievement without antagonistic competitiveness, where academic rigour and creativity are celebrated side by side,” says Revathi Srinivasan, director and prin-cipal of the school. An alumna of Kerala and Alagappa universities, Srinivasan signed up with SSS in 2004 as head of the senior school. After serving as vice principal for two years, she was appointed principal in June 2007.

The SSS management has identified IT (information technology) as a driver of accelerated learning and empowerment of students. The school’s success in wiring up and introducing ICT (information and communication technologies) was acknowledged at the World Education Summit 2011 con-vened in New Delhi, when it was conferred the Best ICT Enabled School Award for implementing School Excel, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system which digitally connects teach-ers and parents. “Through our School Excel system, parents can view lesson plans and attendance status daily, send mail to school authorities, apply for leave, order school event photographs, enroll their wards for hobby clubs, view PTA activities, result sheets etc. Moreover, availability of every book in our library can be searched real time by parents and students. An integrated library system featuring OPAC (online public access catalogue) software helps students research the bibliographic database and find specific information online. In addition, students in classes V-XII are regularly tested online through this platform,’’ she says.

Unsurprisingly, the school’s five-storied building with a built-up area of 87,120 sq.ft, comprising 147 classrooms, six state-of-the-art science laboratories, two computer labs with 440 personal computers, nine multipurpose audit-oriums and three large libraries stocked with more than 100,000 volumes and 60 journal subscriptions, offers excellent academic infrastructure. Co-curricular education facilities include music rooms and carpentry and engineering workshops. Hobby clubs offer drama, performing arts, art and design, debating, music, military training, civil defence, NCC, and scouts and guides. “We believe that involvement in co-curricular activities enhances academic learning. Students who are busy and active outside classrooms also develop important life skills, such as time management and the ability to commu-nicate with others,” says Srinivasan.

Extra-curricular educ-ation is also given high importance by the SSS management. Sports facilities include football and cricket grounds, an indoor gymnasium, and volleyball and basketball courts. Indoor games include carrom, table tennis, chess and scrabble. A unique civil aviation course introduces students to the science and art of flying on a flight simulator with successful students awarded course comple-tion certificates.

Little wonder that SSS which provides well-rounded holistic education has risen high in public esteem and receives over 5,000 admission applications for the 300 seats it offers annually.

In the run-up to its golden jubilee year in 2019, this Top 10 day school is internationalising its curriculum. “To prepare our students to engage with the newly emergent globalised world, we are focusing on developing a truly international programme. In September, we initiated our first international students exchange programme by sending 34 class XI students to Cambreur College, Dongen (Nether-lands) and the Hoejene Skole, Denmark. We are negotiating several other international exchange programmes to enable our students to experience and understand varied cultures, traditions, languages and history. By the time we reach our golden jubilee milestone, we intend to establish SSS as a highly respected school not only in India but internationally as well,’’ says Srinivasan.

Praveer Sinha (Mumbai)