Krishna Bhupathi, founder-director of the state-of-the-art Bhupathi Tennis Village, Bangalore and Shirley Madhavan Kutty, founder principal of The Magic Years, Delhi, the national capital’s top-ranked pre-school (estb.1978).
Newspeg. Bhupathi and Kutty are all set to launch Magical Years, a Montessori pre-school sited on the two-acre Bhupathi Tennis Village campus in Kodigehalli, a suburb of Bangalore. The first batch of 60 children will begin classes in June.
Unique proposition. Magical Years will offer a combination of the globally famous Montessori system of early childhood education and a specially designed Speed Kids sports training programme to children aged two-six years.
Direct speech. “We have invested heavily in providing play materials required to deliver a genuine Montessori education and all our teachers are Montessori-trained and certified. While we concentrate on developing children’s mental, technical and social skills, we strongly believe that introduction to physical education in their early years is crucial. Speed Kids will offer our children not just physical well-being but help them develop psycholo-gically and socially,” says Kutty.
Krishna Bhupathi — better known as the sire of 11 tennis doubles grand slam titles winner Mahesh Bhupathi — is equally excited about introducing sport to children in their early years. “If India is to develop a sports culture we have to start early. All children love to play and our programme will introduce them to directed play and ensure the basics of athletic development are learnt early,” adds Bhupathi.
Tuition fees. Rs.8,000 per month.
Future plans: “We are committed to constant upgradation and improvement and are designing an infancy curriculum for 18-month-olds,” says Kutty.
Summiya Yasmeen (Bangalore)