Cool school
In Deepthi Reddy's Pioneer World School, children are not in a race to come first, but to learn.
The Indian education system is marks centric. Not all children are cut out for such stiff competition. Which is why alternate syllabi like Montessori, Woldorf, and Cambridge and the likes are gaining popularity.
One such school in Hyderabad is the Pioneer World School, which follows Common Core, an American Syllabus. With a student to teacher ratio of just 9:1, the speciality of the school is that they are inclusive of students with special needs, within the classrooms along with the rest of the students.
Deepti Reddy, daughter of a prominent business family that owns Pennar Cements, is the founder of this school. Telling us how the idea to start a school came about, she said, “For my children, I was looking for a school that understands the importance of meeting the developmental needs of children that would also help them build skills and enable them to adapt better to a fast-changing world. There aren’t many in Hyderabad. So, I decided to start one myself. I did a lot of research and came across Fielding Nair International, an architectural company that also implements change management strategies as a part of the school reform agenda, which has developed many successful projects in the US.”
Adding further, Deepti says, “When selecting teachers too, we look for people who have the passion for teaching, commitment to working with children and the capability to innovate. I’m confident we are on a path to create what will be the best school in Hyderabad. This is our first year, and our current facility can accommodate up to 200 children. We are excited about our new campus which is being built. We want to keep our numbers small to ensure that we continue providing individual attention to each child.”
Explaining further, Prakash Nair, founder of Fielding Nair International, who helps and guides the Pioneer World School’s teaching faculty, says, “We act as instruments for change. Our methodology of teaching and upbringing of students is very personalised and practical. Our ideology is that each child is different and learns differently. We try to cater to each child’s pace of learning. We don’t follow the text-book form of learning. Here, students learn more about useful skills.”