ST Mary’s school seems to have got it’s reputation reaching far and wide the globe!

Everyday I get atleast one mail about reviewing St Mary’s school, Pune.

When I got my son’s admission, I did not know anything about schools in Pune. I was not ready to leave my son to go from a nearby play school to the conventional schools. So I delayed and let him finish LKg too. I was planning to make him do his UKg too at the playschool as I was very happy with KiderBrook at Kalyani Nagar. But when I called a few school then, I got the shock of my life.

I was facing the harsh reality of no schools willing to hear me out as all schools were packed with kids to their brimming capacity.

Then I went to St Mary’s and was relieved that at least there was one school which was still open for us. I got the online form filled and got the news of my son’s first level selection. Later he wrote his written exam and did extremely well. The, then principal, Mrs Mathews, just said, “Oh your son has done extremely well. You can leave.”

After he got through, and people started congratulating me, did I realize, that it’s difficult to get through St Mary’s school.

No doubt the school is great. The results do prove the academics. We have the Pune topper from last year 2009, in my society, from St Mary’s girls school.

The school is a convent with good discipline. Boys and Girls sections are demarcated by a garden cum play area. The Boys and Girls have two different entrances. Though for me co-ed makes more sense as I am from a co-ed school, I think it does not matter, as long as the school is good.

The school teachers are very experienced and most are there for 15-25 years. The current principal Ms Simoes has given 25 years to this school as Vice Principal and now as Principal. Though I heard that in Dec 2009, she submitted her resignation. Hope the management, is quick to replace the position with an equally dynamic principal. My good wishes to the principal and the management, as the reputation of a school is totally dependent on the principal and the teachers. A good, principal not just brings disciplined environment but also makes a school look like a school. Else it turns out like DAV.

The Girls and Boys have different timings.

Boys starts at 7:15am and finish the day at 12:00 noon.

Girls start at 8:30 and finish the school by 3:30pm.

The timings have changed a number of time in the past one year due to swine flu, kindly check their site for current timing.

The school follows  ICSE board and is nearly 140 years old. The age has given it immense maturity and goodwill

The school fee is I think the least I have heard till today amongst all Pune schools. Its around 21ooo/- now after being increased from a mere 14000/- . The books and uniforms are all very nominal too. No wonder parents are going crazy after this school.

The school follows the traditional teaching methodologies and is extremely strict on disciplines. Even the watchmen are very diligent in diverting the traffic during the rush hours.

The pressure in the school will ensure that the kids learn to take the pressures of the life from early age. All kids must study and revise a maximum of one hour every day to keep the good position. I think the school has never professed this amount of pressure. Its the by product of taking brilliant kids.

The kids are screened and scrutinized to such an extent during the entry time, that the whole class has studious and high IQ kids. And when this is the level of the entire class, the difference in the result will be based on the practice put in. So any child who is studying at home regularly, will show better results. And obviously, its the moms who have to take this responsibility.

So its not about your kid being intelligent any more, its more to do with the amount of hardwork a mother is putting behind her kid. I was quite shocked when I was told that most moms actually prepare homework other than the ones given by the school. ! So, it’s the moms who have become paranoid in producing another paranoid individual. 🙁

I wish I could shake all of these moms heads and release some of the pressure out, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 🙂

If anyone is looking for an extremely good academic oriented school, St Mary is the Best school in Pune, ICSE board. But mind you ONLY STUDIES, NO Sports can make your kid dull.

There are two huge playgrounds. The girls’ have bigger grounds but the boys have to do with one basketball ground and a small kid play area. There is a swimming pool too, which starts from 1std only up to 4th std. After that the boys cannot swim as girls have more privilege.

The school is great in building confidence and communication skills in a kid. The St Mary’s kids actively participate in concerts every year. My son has taken part in both the concerts and was given the role of bear and lion each time. May be by the time he finished 10th , he will become a one boy zoo. :). Since the kids come back home early (boys), there is a good amount of time to engage in any other activity.

But there is no extra curricular activities. The boys just roam around in the school, with a few playing basketball. The school really needs to do something for making the over all development as focus instead of only academics.

I must tell you that, unlike Bishops, these kids from St Mary’s who go for tuitions is rare. The studies are taken care of in the school. And even if there is something that needs special attention, the school teachers on their own take the responsibility, just like DPS, Pune or DAV, Pune.

The school being right near the camp is a boon to me, as I just have drive and reach in 10 min time to his school.

So all you moms who are interested in a good ICSE all boys / all girls schools, try St Mary’s school, Pune.

As of now, the Boy’s UKg online admission form is out. Now the lucky ones will be getting their calls on 20th Jan 2010. There will be slight change in the exam system this time, as written may be scrapped off. So the emphasis is more on the orals.

Girls online forms can be downloaded now till the 20th Jan. The rest you can check on www.stmarysschoolpune.org.

Oh and by the way the school does not have it’s own school bus.