The Druk White Lotus School

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Three children after morning roll call.

The Druk White Lotus School is located in Shey, Ladakh, high in the Indian Himalaya.

The School was started at the request of the people of Ladakh who wanted a school that would help maintain their rich cultural traditions, based on Tibetan Buddhism, while equipping their children for a life in the 21st century.

The masterplan and school buildings, designed by architects and engineers from Arup and Ove Arup & Partners, combine local building techniques and materials with leading edge environmental design to make them effective in the extreme climate.

The school offers a broad education, initially in the Ladakhi language and English. Residential blocks allow children from Ladakh's remote areas to attend, and a programme of sponsorship ensures that the poorest are not excluded.

Druk White Lotus school is being built in stages. The Nursery and Infant Courtyard opened in September 2001, and the Junior School in November 2004. You can get the latest news from the school here.

The school is managed by the Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society and financed with money raised internationally.

[edit] Founder, Patrons and Supporters:

His Holiness the 14th Gyalwang Drukpa, the spiritual leader of Ladakh.

Founder

• His Holiness the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa.

Patrons

• His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
• His Eminence the 2nd Thuksey Rinpoche.

Honorary Patrons

• Joanna Lumley OBE FRGS.
• Richard Gere.
• The Rt. Hon. the Dowager Countess Cawdor.
• The Viscount Cowdray and Viscountess Cowdray.
• The Rt. Hon. Lord Weatherill PC DL.

Supporters

• The Yardbirds.
• Donovan.

[edit] Awards

Solar panels for generating electricity, part of the schools award winning, eco-friendly, architecture.

• Australian National Association of Women in Construction, 2005:
  • Sinclair Knight Merz Award for Achievement in Development
• British Consultants and Construction Bureau - International Expertise Awards, 2003:
  • Large Consultancy Firm of the Year 2003 (Arup Associates)
• World Architecture Awards, 2002, (Arup Associates):
  • Best Asian Building
  • Best Education Building
  • Best Green Building (joint winner)

[edit] Trivia

The school features in Cisco Systems Human Network advert 'Stare Down'. The advert was design by for Cisco Systems by Ogilvy and Mather and @radical media.

A still from the Cisco Systems advert.

[edit] External links

• The Druk White Lotus School.
• Arup Associates article on the school and its awards.
• His Holiness the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, school founder.

• Read 'A Visionary School Takes Shape in the Himalaya' by the University of Buffalo.
• Visit Cisco Systems 'the Human Network' microsite.