Good Shepherd International School is a full-time residential school located in Ooty, or Ootacamund in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu in south India. It has a 188-hectare campus with indoor sports complexes, rifle ranges, fields and courts for tennis, football, cricket, hockey, squash, basketball, volleyball. There are stables and equestrian facilities, two swimming pools, and a medical centre. Good Shepherd International School is a private residential school. It was started when India imposed Emergency in 1977. The school in Ooty fostered internationalism in a town that fostered colonialism. Truth, trust and triumph is the school’s motto, and aims to instil: caring for individual needs even as we live in the community, belief in the goodness of the individual and the human race, developing empathy and rapport amongst members of the community, being active listeners and critical thinkers before being judgmental
“The relationship between information, knowledge and wisdom was highlighted beautifully by T S Eliot written long time ago and I think it’s appropriate to cite this when we are honouring the work of a former English teacher. And these are the lines: ‘Where is the Life we have lost in living? / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? / Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’ All these are important but there’s an ascendancy in information, knowledge, wisdom and I am very pleased to see these key words figure in the motto of the Trust. The pedagogy of the Good Shepherd International School and the Good Shepherd group of knowledge institutions as I understand springs from a deep understanding that opening the minds of high aiming boys and girls, young women and young men and motivating and educating them to be humane, compassionate, just and socially responsible citizens in our society is as important as training them in the various specialized fields.” –N. Ram on the occasion of the inauguration of Dr P C Thomas Initiative Trust on 24 August 2018
INTERNATIONALISM:
The school fosters internationalism among its students – ‘an ethically and culturally diverse learning environment wherein students transcend barriers through communication and mutual understanding which inspires them not only to become courageous leaders but also responsible citizens in the service of local and global communities’.
MOTTO:
Truth, trust and triumph is the school’s motto. And also aims to instil: caring for individual needs even as we live in the community, belief in the goodness of the individual and the human race, developing empathy and rapport amongst members of the community, being active listeners and critical thinkers before being judgmental
VISION: in pursuit of a holistic education, envisages inspiring and fostering a community of caring, progressive, lifelong learners to embrace and celebrate all creation’
MISSION: endeavours to prepare each student for academic, social and personal success by creating a community of empowered and diverse learners striving to be a globally-minded citizens in an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding and trust’.
The school is accredited by COUNCIL OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS.
International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Grades IX to X) is offered to all students seeking future international education (the Science section and the Commerce section). The subjects offered at the science section are biology, chemistry, physics, Math, English language, composition, languages – French, Spanish, Thai or Hindi; and and an additional subject (English Literature, Geography, or Business Studies)
The school also offers the Cambridge Primary Programme at Primary School (Classes up to VI), the Cambridge Lower Secondary Programme at Middle School and the IGSCE Curriculum of the Cambridge International Examinations (classes 4 to 10) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (classes 11 and 12).
It was founded in 1977. The tenth class student study the syllabus of ICSE and one can study languages ranging from Hindi, Tamil, and French. The twelfth class or grade students take the Indian School Certificate Examination (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics; Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology; Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science; Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Economics; Accounts, Commerce, Economics, Business Studies; Accounts, Commerce, Economics, Mathematics; Accounts, Commerce, Economics, Psychology).
The school takes part in the Duke of Edinburg Award Scheme. The school has a unit of the Sea Cadet Corps, and is a registered centre of NASA for field study and leadership training. 65 students go every year to the NASA Space Center, Huntsville, Alabama, United States.
The school is a recognized examination centre for the Trinity College of Music. Trinity Guildhall offers a range of grade examinations for all instruments and voice across nine levels from Initial to Grade 8 and beyond. Students choose from instruments ranging from piano, violin, keyboard, guitar, drum kit, snare drum, saxophone, trumpet, flute and xylophone.
Address: Good Shepherd International School
Good Shepherd Knowledge Village
Palada P.O.
Ootacamund – 643 004
Tamil Nadu, India
PUBLIC SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOL, BOARDING SCHOOL:
What is a public school? Generally, public refers to people, and also to the government. For example in India and the USA, the public schools are the schools run by the government or government bodies, and many provide afternoon meals to the students.
Public schools in England (the United Kingdom) are fee-charging endowed schools originally for older boys which were public in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination, and paternal profession, and were usually boarding schools. Because these public schools are fee-paying schools and are associated with children of privileged backgrounds, ruling classes or elite or high-income groups. Historically, children of officers and senior administrators of the British Empire were educated in England while their fathers were on overseas postings.
According to a report, in 2019, two thirds of British cabinet ministers had been educated at fee-charging schools or public schools. The public-funded or government-run schools in the UK are called state schools. There are many schools in India that are private schools (but public schools in British English) and are also called boarding schools because they provide boarding for the pupils.