The Hindu Senior Secondary School, Chennai

One of three schools promoted by the Hindu Educational Organis-ation, THSSS (I) has acquired an excellent reputation for providing a balanced mix of high-quality academic and co-curricular education

Promoted by the Hindu Educational Organisation (estb.1907), currently headed by retired IAS officer B.S. Raghavan, the CBSE (Central Board for Secondary Education) -affiliated The Hindu Senior Secondary School, Indira Nagar, Chennai (THSSS (I), estb. 1978), has acquired a good reputation for combining academic excellence with culturally-rooted, value-based K-12 education.

One of three schools — the other two being the state government-aided Hindu Higher Secondary School, Triplicane (estb. 1852) and CBSE-affiliated The Hindu Higher Secondary School, Triplicane (estb.1974) — promoted by the Hindu Educational Organisation, THSSS (I) has 2,100 students instructed by 60 teachers on its muster roll.

“We believe in providing secular, holistic education that follows a child-oriented approach and focuses on the overall development of children. Our emphasis is on developing every child’s reading, writing and communication skills. We also give high importance to value-based education to mould the personalities and character of children. Moreover our co-curricular and other programmes are designed for optimum intellectual growth and to inculcate leadership qualities,” says Padmini Sriraman, an alumna of Madurai Kamaraj, Kanpur and Madras universities who has 24 years of teaching experience in schools in north and south India, and has been serving as principal of THSSS (I) for the past decade.

Testimony of the school manage-ment’s commitment to co-curricular education is provided by THSSS (I) having nurtured some of the city’s best music groups, which have bagged medals and trophies in several state and national competitions. Under the expert guidance of music teacher Uma Balasubramanian, its top ten-member music group has performed in numerous concerts in the city, and was recently awarded Rs.50,000 by the government of Uttarkhand for winning first place in the national-level Sanskrit patriotic and folk song competitions held in Roorkee. The school is justifiably proud of its musically gifted alumni who include famous Tamil playback singers Chinmayi and Madhumita. Other distinguished alumni include successful edupreneur Isari Ganesh, founder of the Vels group of institutions and Chennai police commissioner R. Natraj.

Its reputation for dispensing excellent co-curricular education apart, THSSS (I) is highly favoured by discerning middle class parents for providing high-quality academic education. In the year 2008-09, 83 of its 128 students passed the pan-India CBSE secondary class X exam with distin-ction, while the rest passed in the first division. In the class XII school leaving exam, 57 out of 81 students passed with distinction and the rest were placed in the first division. Unsurprisingly every year a large contingent of THSSS (I) students secure admission into prestigious engineering and medical colleges countrywide. Moreover, in the recently concluded academic year, two students bagged cash prizes in the International Mathematical Olympiad; eight students won medals and certificates in the 8th National Cyber Olympiad conducted by the Science Olympiad Foundation; and five students were awarded certificates of excellence in the Third National Aerospace Olympiad held in Nagpur.

The school’s management ascribes THSSS (I)’s academic achievements to its highly qualified teachers who are regularly deputed for in-service training programmes, workshops and review sessions to update themselves on new pedagogies. “Our teaching is activity and project-based. Students are encouraged to make power point presentations from class VIII onwards to develop self-learning skills, and we supplement the classroom experience by imparting multimedia education. We follow the UK-developed KWL (What we Know, what we Want to know and what I’ve Learned) method which includes thinking and brainstorming sessions in the classroom,” says Sriraman.

A distinguishing feature of the school is its heavy emphasis on (Hindu) cultural education. In the evenings, classrooms reverberate with the sonorous chanting of the Bhagawad Gita, vedas, shlokas and bhajans. Moral and spiritual values are imparted in the school’s temple where students perform pooja (worship), and all festivals are celebrated in traditional style. A wide menu of co-curricular activities including music, dance, arts and craft, essay and poetry writing, drawing and painting, oratory and yoga are an integral part of the school’s academic calendar. Every year the school hosts an inter-school Kala Vaibhavam cultural festival which attracts over 90 schools and provides a platform for children to exhibit their skills in the performing arts. In sports, THSSS (I) boasts excellent throwball and basketball teams which have won several city and state-level tournaments, and many budding sports champions in athletics, cricket and tennis.

Though tuition fees at THSSS (I) are modest, the school has not spared any expense to provide its students with supportive infrastructure. The two storied building set within a 2.5 acre campus comprises four blocks with 45 spacious classrooms, well-equipped science and math laboratories, a computer lab with 35 terminals, audio visual room, conference hall and an open auditorium. The well-stocked school library boasts 15,000 volumes and 15 journal subscriptions. Sports facilities include three courts for throwball, basketball and net practice for cricket besides a large playground.

Over the next few years the school plans to improve its infrastructure by building a 700-seater auditorium, ten additional classrooms, a stadium for indoor games and special music rooms. “On our agenda is to improve the communication skills of our students and strengthen science education. We have hosted several science exhibitions and our aim is to produce scientists and future leaders. We are also currently working on securing the International School Award sponsored by the British Council. For us in THSSS (I), infrastructure improvement and the pursuit of excellence is a continuous process” says Sriraman confidently.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)