Modern School at the Barakhamba Road, one of the premier and foremost public schools of the City, and some may even say the country, has managed to be in the news for all the good reasons.
And why not, the list of all those who passed through its portals is a virtual ‘Who’s Who’ of the city. Among its famous alumni are ace cricketer Gautam Gambhir, former test player and now a BJP Member of Parliament Kirti Azad, cricketer Unmukt Chand, renowned cardiologist Dr Naresh Trehan, journalist and politician Arun Shourie, Sandeep Dikshit, politician and son of former Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit, Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and noted writer,
journalist, author, the late Khushwant Singh.
The School which takes immense pride in its motto ‘Self-realisation cannot be achieved by weak willed’ , stands tall on a sprawling 25 acre campus in the heart of the capital and shares its history with the Nationalist Movement of the country. The first branch was founded in 1920 in Daryaganj by Sultan Singh in his sprawling mansion and later the Barakhamba Road branch was built in 1935. Sardar Sobha Singh was the co-founder of the school. Sir Sobha Singh was one of the illustrious builders during British India and also the father of late Khushwant Singh.
The school, currently headed by Principal Lata Vaidyanathan, is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the foremost examining body of the country and offers a curriculum from Std VI-XII. The strength of the student community is 2,500 supported by a committed and qualified teaching faculty. It is part residential, providing hostel facilities for outstation students as well. Raghubir Singh
Junior Modern School at Humayun Road has classes from nursery to Std V.
Apart from an enviable reputation in academics the school is famous for encouraging students to take up sporting activities. And to enable them to so do so provides a sports-friendly environment and infrastructure. It has an Olympic-size swimming pool, six tennis courts, six basketball courts, a gymnasium with table tennis facility, squash courts, athletic track and large open fields with independent playing facilities for hockey, football and cricket.
According to one of the staffers of the school, “All round development of a student is the most important for us. Other than studies, we also focus on numerous extra-curricular activities for their overall growth as a person. Aapne dekha hi hoga ki hamara achcha haath hai cricket mein.”
“Our school is also a heritage property under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), built during the British era and we are successfully able to maintain this building with utmost care,” added the staff member.
The school boasts of state-of-the-art infrastructure with science, maths and computer laboratories. It also has two libraries, an audio-visual room and a CD library for the students as well. The teaching is supported by updated technology and teachers use LCD projectors, smart boards, internet access, computers and digital library having more than 1000 CDs.
Modern School also offers opportunities to students to showcase their talent through various exhibitions, annual celebrations and house functions all throughout the year. Dance, music, art, sculpture-making, woodwork, photography, paper technology are some of the engaging activities that are offered to the
students during their
schooling years.