Despite being a quasi-government or aided institution subject to considerable government interference, this pioneer school has established a reputation for innovation and progressive education

Sited in Chennai’s upscale Mylapore, the Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School housed in four compact buildings has established a reputation as one of the most innovative and progressive government-aided schools in the city.

Promoted in 1937 by Ellen Sharma and Dr. V.N.Sharma, the Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School was the first of five schools established by the Children’s Garden School Society to provide primary and secondary education in Tamil and English mediums to students from under-privileged socio-economic backgrounds. The other four are the Ellen Sharma Kindergarten School (Tamil medium); Ellen Sharma Nursery and Primary School (English medium); Ellen Sharma Primary School (Tamil medium) in rural Karapakkam and Ellen Sharma Matriculation and Higher Secondary School (English medium), a residential school in Sholinganallur on the outskirts of Chennai, which has a high enrollment of rural children.

Today, seven decades later, the aggregate enrollment of the five schools is 4,000. Their teachers follow the philosophy of the founder Ellen Sharma, who combined the best of Montessori and Froebel’s preschool systems and adapted it to Indian conditions.

While continuing the best traditions of Ellen Sharma’s philosophy and innovations, the state board affiliated Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School has made significant strides from the time it admitted its first batch of seven students in 1937. Till the 1950s it was a middle school, which expanded into high school in 1967 and finally into a higher secondary school in 1979. Today this class III-XII school has 1,800 students instructed by 58 teachers. Students of classes III-V (co-education) are instructed in the Tamil medium and classes VI-XII (only for girls) have two sections each for Tamil and English medium schooling. Over the years, the school has absorbed contemporary pedagogies and technological innovations to provide a modern, holistic education to its students.

“We believe in all-round personality development and seek to develop the natural talents and aptitudes of our students. To this end, education in our schools extends far beyond academics to include dance, music, art, theatre, archaeology, ecology, nature walks and other co-curricular programmes. Our objective is to incorporate values and life skills into our curriculum to produce honest, straightforward citizens,” says Sakunthala Sharma, daughter of the school’s founders and secretary of the Children’s Garden School Society. An economics, English and education postgraduate of Madras University, Sharma is a veteran with 33 years of teaching experience.

The school has taken keen interest in shaping a botanical garden on its Karapakkam farm, where nature walks are mandatory for all classes. “We focus on activity and project-based learning. Every class does projects on different subjects, participates in science exhibitions and the school regularly bags prizes,” says headmistress Saraswathi Raghunathan, a triple postgraduate with a doctorate from Madras University, who has served the school for over 30 years.

The school’s management prides itself that pass percentages in the state board examination are above 85 percent every year with many students scoring above 90 percent. The school also distinguishes itself by its extensive co-curricular menu which includes music, dance, arts and crafts, yoga, nature and science clubs, environment club, junior Red Cross, guides and scouts, National Service Scheme, road safety patrol, and English and Tamil literary associations. In sports, students have won championships and medals in national and international swimming meets, table tennis and chess, and Taekwando tourneys are specially mentored in the Sholinganallur school. The school boasts a Kung-Fu champion in class XII, who won a silver medal in the National Wushu Championship held in Hyderabad recently, and was selected for the South Asian games in 2005.

By the standards of quasi-government or aided schools which (because the state government pays teachers emoluments) are subject to considerable government control and interference, the attention to detail is remarkable. Support facilities include a creche for 146 children; a well-equipped healthcare centre; mid-day meal scheme, and provision of integrated education to physically and mentally challenged children. “Our school is a pioneer in mainstreaming differently-abled children,” says Sharma.

Children’s Garden has an equally distinguished record of inclusive education for socially underprivileged children, having provided free and subsidised education, food, clothing and shelter to poor and destitute children since 1937. Therefore, the school receives considerable support from philanthropists, corporates, charitable trusts, affluent parents and alumni who donate liberally to its development projects. Moreover, over 71 endowment prizes are awarded to meritorious students in academics and extra-curricular activities. Although tuition fees are heavily subsidised, the school management provides an excellent academic infrastructure for its students. There are four well-equipped laboratories, 34 classrooms, 30 computers, a bookshop, canteen and a well-stocked library with 27,000 volumes, encyclopedias and periodicals.

Unsurprisingly given the school’s sound credentials, there is an annual stampede for admissions. It receives 300 applications for a mere 100 seats in kindergarten every year, and 400 for 150 seats in class XI. Distinguished alumni include former president of India K.R. Venkataraman and S. Jagannathan, former Supreme Court judge.

To maintain its excellent reputation, the school’s management is seriously focused upon learning outcomes. “With a plethora of facilities available, our students can perform much better. But as the number of students needing free education increases, we need the support of more philanthropists so that we can continuously improve the quality of education provided to our students,” says Sharma, who through a life devoted to the school, has made it her raison dâ etre. 

Admission & fees

Application forms are issued in January for all classes. Admission into classes VI,VII and VIII is on the basis of an entrance test. 

Fees charged in the primary section are very nominal.

Tuition fee per year for English medium students: classes VI-VIII: Rs.200, classes IX-X: Rs.250 and classes XI-XIII: Rs.500 

Annual tuition fees for Tamil medium students: classes VI-VIII: Rs.34, classes IX-X: Rs.48.50, and classes XI-XII: Rs.75-105 

For further details contact The Children’s Garden Higher Secondary School, 2&4 Dr. Radhakrishnan Road, 7th lane, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Ph: 044 28473989.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)