| The Modern School New Delhi | |
|---|---|
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Naimatma Balheenien Labhya
"Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak" |
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| Location | |
| Barakhamba Road New Delhi, India |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1920 |
| Founder | Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh |
| President | Major General Virender Singh, (Retd) |
| Principal | Lata Vaidyanathan |
| Faculty | 130 |
| Enrollment | 2800 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Area | 27 acres (110,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Blue |
| Nickname | "The Modernites" |
| Website | www.modernschool.net |
Modern School, commonly known as Modern, is a co-educational private school in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1920 by Lala Raghubir Singh and Sir Sobha Singh. Modern is also referred to as the Eton of India. [1]
It is the first private school established in Delhi under the British Raj. It has a 27-acre (110,000 m2) campus on Barakhamba Road, near Connaught Place. The Junior School, also known as Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School, is located on Humayun Road. There is a sister campus in Vasant Vihar.
It has a long list of distinguished former pupils, including former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[2]
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The school is headed by a Board of Trustees, who appoint the Principal (Barakhamba Road and Vasant Vihar) and the Head Master (Humayun Road). It has 15 houses in the Barakhamba branch and eight houses in the Vasant Vihar branch, each headed by a housemaster.
In 1932 there were about 125 students.[3]
The words of Rabindranath Tagore are embodied in the philosophy of the founding fathers of Modern School. The Modern School was started in 1920 in Daryaganj.
The school motto is "Naimatma Balheenien Labhya" (in Sanskrit) meaning "Perfection cannot be achieved by the weak".
Modern School was started in 1920 in a building located in Daryaganj, New Delhi. It was a mansion that belonged to Rai Bahadur Lala Sultan Singh. He donated it to the school to fulfill his son's dream of establishing a school which would combine the traditions of Indian education with modern educational techniques. Sultan Singh was a prominent businessman in British India in the early 1880s. His son, Lala Raghubir Singh, founded the school.
Lala Raghubir Singh was the spirit and the soul of the school. The primary founder, he worked for the improvement of the school and in this endeavour he teamed up with Sardar Sobha Singh. Sardar Sobha Singh was the co-founder of the school. A builder during the height of the Raj, he was involved in the construction of buildings in Delhi like Connaught Place, National Museum, Modern School, South Block and India Gate. His own two sons, Bhagwant Singh and Khushwant Singh (the noted writer) were amongst the first students of Modern School.
The crest signifies the circle of eternity crossed by the three elements in human development of body, mind and spirit, the sun shining between the triangle and the circle. Inside the triangle, there is a banyan tree to represent stability and firmness of character, the swan and the lotus represent refinement, culture and the arts which are fundamental elements of progress in life. The Sanskrit quotation, Naimatma Balheenien Labhya, the English translation of which may be, "Perfection cannot be achieved by the Weak."[4] Besides the school motto, there are four words, Truthfulness, Unselfishness, Frankness and Self-Control which guide each child in his daily life.
Barakhamba Road
Vasant Vihar
The football team is sponsored by Shiv-Naresh and the swimming and table tennis team by Reebok. The school has started a golf academy after the success of Shreya Ghei, an international golf player and a student of the school.
The Sandesh (Barakhamba)and Vasant Parag (Vasant Vihar) cover events organized by the schools and features students articles, poems, jokes etc., published in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and French.
Under the guidance of Mrs. Usha Nair and Mrs. Vijai Singh the Model United Nations Society members have won at MUN Conferences at the international level, winning the Best Delegation Trophy at every Conference they have been for including AIMUN, ACMUN, MUNQS, HMUN and SLMUN. The MUN Society also organized the largest International MUN Conference in Asia in 2011. Members of the society regularly take part in intra-school simulations of international bodies. The MUN Society of Modern School has formed a constitution and its aims and objectives include educating the school children about international affairs and politics.
Under the guidance of English department staff, Debating Society members have won debates at the city and regional level. Tournament victories include the Raghubir Singh Inter-school debate, the Pratap Singh Inter-school debate, the DPS R.K.Puram Annual Inter-school debate and the MSOSA Annual Inter-school debate.
The Illuminati Physics Club was founded in 2007 as a means for students interested in the discipline to ask questions, share ideas, thoughts and organize events. Illuminati organises an annual inter-school physics symposium "Cyclotron".
With a commitment to India's less-privileged, the Modern School Interact Club was inaugurated in 1983 by the Vice President of India, Muhammad Hidayat Ullah. Among its activities have been donations to orphanages, recycling drives, anti-piracy drives and blood donation camps. The club has been awarded a certificate in recognition of its services to the community by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit.
This club, founded in 2006 is a platform for students to showcase their talent in electronics and robotics. In line with its objective of involving school students with technology, the club organizes an annual robotics symposium with more than 40–50 participating schools.
SPIC MACAY is a national society for promotion of Indian classical music and culture amongst youth. Modern School has hosted SPIC MACAY events, featuring Indian Classical Music and classical Indian dance exponents such as Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Sonal Mansingh, Sitara Devi, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Birju Maharaj.
There is an alumni club called Modern School Old Students Association or MSOSA which works to bring together old Modernites.