Gyanshree School, Noida

Founded in 2013 by the Haldiram Educational Society, this CBSE-affiliated K-10 school has established a reputation as one of Delhi NCR’s most high-potential schools   Swati Roy

Promoted in 2013 by the Noida-based Haldiram Educational Society registered by the sweets and condiments behemoth Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Ltd (annual revenue: Rs.3,500 crore), the new genre Gyanshree School, Noida (GSN) celebrated its third anniversary on April 15. Within a short span, this CBSE-affiliated K-X school has established a reputation as one of the national capital region’s most high-potential primary-secondaries. In the latest EducationWorld India School Rankings 2015, GSN is ranked among the Top 100 in Delhi NCR and #9 in Noida in the co-ed day schools category. The Times School Survey 2015 conducted by Times of India ranks GSN #1 in the ‘Innovators Category’ in Noida. Currently, GSN, which admitted its first batch of 35 students and 15 teachers in 2013, has 500 students mentored by 50 teachers on its muster rolls.

“Gyanshree offers a perfect blend of 21st-century internationally benchmarked pedagogies and values and ethics education rooted in Indian traditions. Our objective is to provide progressive high-quality schooling for children to discover and develop critical thinking skills and a global perspective in a non-stressful, happy environment. Our mission is to deliver individual attention and nurture their academic, artistic and emotional intelligences,” says Vandana Midha, principal of the school. An economics postgraduate of Delhi University with a diploma in special education from Roehampton University, UK, Midha has brought 22 years of rich teaching and administrative experience (Springdales, Dhaula Kuan, Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, CBSE, NCERT and IIT-Delhi) to GSN.

Constructed at a project cost of Rs.85 crore, Gyanshree’s thoroughly modern infrastructure is its outstanding feature. Designed by well-known Delhi-based architectural firm WeDesign, the campus, spread over ten acres abutting the Noida-Greater Noida expressway, offers 2.8 acres of wi-fi enabled built-up area housing 22 spacious classrooms; an open-air 600-seats amphitheatre; separate computer, science, maths, social science and language laboratories (French, German, Sanskrit, Chinese); music and dance rooms; a recreational centre; a library with 3,000 volumes, and an infirmary. An exclusive double-storey sports complex, designed by Design Atelier, offers basketball and volleyball courts, separate swimming pools for junior and senior students, a 10-metre shooting range and gymnasium. Outdoor facilities include a multipurpose sports ground for basketball, volleyball, cricket and football. Unsurprisingly, Gyanshree is ranked among the Top 10 day schools in India on the parameter of infrastructure provision in the EW India School Rankings 2015.

To realise the institutional objective of dispensing wholesome values-based education to its students, GSN offers a palette of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Science, astronomy, performance and visual arts, debate, drama, and cookery clubs help them develop their artistic and cultural interests.

Enabling infrastructure and a rich menu of co-curricular and sports activities apart, GSN’s predominant emphasis is on continuous professional development of its highly-qualified faculty (90 percent of whom are postgraduates). “Our teachers regularly attend training workshops to upgrade their skills and subject knowledge. Moreover, our in-house Research & Development centre is constantly working on how we can supplement the curriculum and incorporate latest best practices and pedagogy innovations in our classrooms while exploring academic partnerships with reputed schools abroad,” says Midha, who adds that a dedicated team of special educators helps children with special needs to integrate and realise their full potential.

GSN’s team of well-qualified teachers and top management is aided and advised by a high profile board of advisors comprising Dr. Ashok S. Ganguly, former chairman of CBSE; Lata Vaidyanathan, former principal of Modern School, Barakhamba Road; Atul Kumar Gupta, ex bureaucrat and incumbent chairman of the 4th UP State Finance Commission; former India cricket captain Kapil Dev; Padmashree Dr. Uma Tuli, well-known educationist and social worker; prominent Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan, and Dronacharya awardee and former India cricket coach Gurucharan Singh.

With GSN having rapidly established an excellent reputation and sailing smoothly, the school’s top management is focused on a student recruitment drive. “Our target is to attain a maximum capacity of 1,600 students within the next five years. We will also be applying for affiliation to CBSE to introduce higher secondary classes. But beyond numbers, our aim is to create a healthy learning environment and deliver 21st century teaching-learning skills to help children achieve academic excellence and develop into globally aware citizens rooted in Indian values and traditions,” says Rita Kapur, director (education) of the school.