South Point School also known as SPS along with South Point High School also known as SPHS together constitute the South Point group of schools. It is Kolkatas first coeducational school.[5][unreliable source?] The school opened in the year, 1954 and introduced higher secondary level in 1960. The school split into two buildings with the high school shifting to Ballygunge Place in 1980.[6] The school is noted for its strong academic foundations and its alumni. South Point group of schools, consisting of the junior and senior divisions, made an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records[7] as the largest educational institute in the world in 1984 till 1992. The existing South Point school in Kolkata of the M.P Birla Group, which was, till recently, managed by R S Lodha, has around 13,500 regular students on its rolls, and is reported to be the second-largest school in the world.[8] The EducationWorld - IMRB International Survey ranked South Point High School at fourth in their 2007 list of Indias most respected schools.[6][9] The group has further plans of setting up a third institute between Rajarhat and Ruby General hospital on the EM Bypass with a similar capacity. The school offers education in English medium with Bengali and Hindi taught as vernaculars. Other subjects are taught as per the norms of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education. On 1 April 1954, Shri Satikanta Guha founded South Point School at 16 Mandeville Gardens in south Kolkata with Smt. Prityalata Guha as the associate founder. It began with only twenty students and a band of committed teachers. He drew his first faculty from the cultural, literary and artistic milieu of Bengal. The School soon made legendary progress in all fields by all standards. It is now run by the South Point Education Society. An English-medium and co-educational School, South Point has played a significant role in the social and intellectual history of post-Independent Kolkata. School in 1954 The School grew from strength to strength with new buildings and many more students and teachers. South Point High School was the first co-educational School in the city, to be affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. It sent out its first School Final batch in 1958. Upgraded to the Higher Secondary level on 1 April 1960, the High School shifted to its present home at 82/7A Ballygunge Place on 8 April 1970. South Point has the rare distinction of winning a place in the Guinness Book of Records (1984-1992) as the world’s largest School. It is now a large family comprising nearly 13,500 students, 325 teachers and 225 non-teaching staff-members. But the enormity of the institution in no way hampers the bonding between staff and students. Excellence is the buzzword down every corridor – excellence in academics, in co-curriculars, in creativity, in producing an impressive alumni. South Point School has Nursery, Transition and Classes I to V. Students then study in South Point High School from Classes VI to X under the Central Board of Secondary Education/ West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Thereafter, a majority of Pointers continue their studies in Classes XI and XII, under the Central Board of Secondary Education/ West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. An occasion for good cheer at South Point. The EducationWorld-IMRB International Survey (August 2007) which evaluated 250 schools in India and developed a league table ranking them shows South Point High School at the Fourth position in the top ten list of India’s Most Respected Schools, with an average score of 7.80. The school is divided into two campuses located close by: The junior section (South Point School (SPS) located at 16, Mandeville Gardens, Kolkata - 700 019, while The high school (South Point High School (SPHS) located at 82/7A, Ballygunge Place, Kolkata - 700 019. Classes between nursery and class five are taught in the junior section, while classes between six and twelve are conducted at the high school campus. Having started with only 20 children, the school has 13,500 students in up to 15 sections divided between morning and afternoon sessions for every standard. It has 405 teachers, and 245 members of non-teaching staff. The campuses are under CCTV surveillance with thirty-two cameras installed covering all the gates and the corridors. South Point held the record for being the world’s largest school from 1984 to 1994 according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Others who were instrumental to the success of this institution are Ashutosh Mukherjee, better known as Ashu Babu, Prithwish Kumar Kar, Anjan Baran Das Gupta (Anjan Babu), Prof. J. P. Bose, Prof. Biswanath Chatterjee and Gaur Hari Khara. The Bengali film and theater actor, Utpal Dutta was, at one time during his long career, a teacher of the English language at SPS. The quiz-master, Barry OBrien was in charge as assistant principal of South Point High School for seven years and also taught English.[10] The principals are: Junior school: Smt. D.K. Chadda High school: Smt. Rupa Sanyal Bhattacharya Timings: Vary from class to class - Morning session - starts from 6:40 am to 9:00 am and ends between 11:35 am and 12:30 pm Afternoon session - starts from 11:45 am to 12:30 pm and ends between 2:45 pm and 5:30 pm However, timings vary with the respective classes. For example, the primary school gives over at around a quarter to five, but classes end in the high school only at a half past five. The school motto is Courage to Know, as illustrated in the schools emblem. The emblem itself is that of a Paloma, symbolising the holy spirit. This is printed on all school shirts, sweaters, blazers, laboratory coats, Physical Education and athletic uniforms as well as school satchels, note book covers and other articles. The school song: Well never stop, Pointers one and all We have work at hand, and that is our call We will never turn away from those in need Well help everyone, that is our creed. We are the Pointers, ready to grow We are the Pointers, with Courage to Know We are the Pointers, challenges well face Well make our mark in the human race. Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for everything; Bless me and help me to be good, And to do my studies well. The two songs of South Point Sharing: Sharing, If we would all keep sharing, Sharing all the things we have Oh! What joy, what peace And contentment, if we would Keep sharing all we have Our god bids us shine: Our god bids us shine with a pure clear light, Like a little candle burning in the night; In this world of darkness so we must shine, You in your small corner and I in mine! Our God bids us shine, First of all for him; When he sees and knows it if our lights grow dim, He looks down from heaven, to see us shine, You in your small corner and I in mine! School magazine: The school magazine, Ascent is published annually by the South Point Education Society. Poems, articles and paintings of students of all classes are published in it. Newsletter: The Newsletter of the school is called the Pointer, which contains news of developments, picnics, and records of alumni. Biennial Art and Craft Exhibition: Its a three day arts fair that is held every year in mid December. All students are encouraged to take part and contribute their works for public display. It is not only limited to arts, but also houses various projects by the students on different topics of all subjects, including the sciences. Annual prize distribution: The Annual Prize Distribution takes place every year at the Science City Auditorium on the 4th of July. An exception was made in 2012, when the ceremony was held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. Students of all classes securing the first ten ranks and the highest scorers in subjects receive the awards. The school also recognizes pupils who have shown talent in spheres apart from the school curriculum. The MP Birla Smarak Kosh provides scholarships and recognition to deserving pupils. Among these, the all-rounder award (founders medal), the Braveheart Award and Special Talent Award deserve special mention. There is also the Puja Utkarsh Samman, awarded to the clubs with the best idol, pandal and ambience respectively in the durga pujas the previous year, as judged by a team of student judges from class IX and XI. This is followed by cultural programmes put up by the junior and the high schools students. Mostly, these are musicals or plays, each based on a different theme every year. Sports, exhibitions and excursions: The school organizes trips and sports events. An athletic meet is held every two years in winter. The athletic meet and art exhibition occur alternately. Special celebrations: Independence day is celebrated every year on the 15th of August in the school premises and so is the schools foundation day on 1 April. Christmas, Teachers Day, Childrens Day and Saraswati Puja are also celebrated Summer and Durga Puja vacations are about a month each and are in May–June and September–October, respectively. Winter recess is in the last week of December, just after the three day annual arts and crafts exhibition in mid December. There is an assortment of school uniforms, for different classes. students in Nursery classes are allowed to come to school in colored dresses, and the uniforms are very similar from Classes I to VIII, barring a few subtle modifications. The uniforms, however, are drastically different in for the Secondary and Higher Secondary sections, each of which has its own uniform. Boys: White shirts with blue stripes and the school emblem on the pocket, navy blue pants and a black school shoe. An navy blue tie with the school emblem and sweater or blazer is additional for winter. Girls: White shirts with blue stripes and the school emblem on the pocket and skirts which must reach the knees. A-line skirts are not allowed. Cardigans, sweaters and blazers are permitted as winter wear. For junior school students the shirt collar is blue. Special uniforms in white and a house color are worn for P.E. and special events. The houses and their colors are: Rabindranath Tagore - Red Sister Nivedita - Blue Ashutosh Mukherjee - White David Hare - Orange Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar - Green Derozio - Yellow For the students of classes 9 and 10, the shirt is white with wide dark blue pin stripes and the emblem on the pocket. For the students of classes 11 and 12, the shirt is again a white one with thin navy blue pin stripes and the emblem on the pocket. Prof. Jayanta K Bhattacharjee, Director, HRI Prof. Parthasarathi Mitra, Professor of Physics, SINP Prof. Amitava Raychaudhuri, Professor of Physics, CU Prof. Sumit Ranjan Das, Professor of Physics, Kentucky University, USA Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, Professor of Economics, MIT Amlan Das Gupta, scholar Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Filmmaker Antara Dev Sen, Journalist Koena Mitra, actor Kunal Basu, author Nandana Sen, Actor Rituparno Ghosh, National Film Award-winning filmmaker Sandip Ray, noted filmmaker (son of Satyajit Ray) Saswata Chatterjee, actor Snehashish Ganguly, cricketer Srijit Mukherji, noted filmmaker Subrata Sen, filmmaker Sucharit Sarkar, Professor of Mathematics, Princeton University Supriya Chaudhuri, scholar of English literature Tanmoy Bose, tabla player Tanusree Shankar, danseuse
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:40:54 +0000
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