Dear members and friends,

For over 120 years, the Olcott Memorial Higher Secondary School (OMHSS) has been providing a solid education for underprivileged boys and girls in Adyar, a suburb of Chennai in India.

The need for English as a medium of instruction is increasingly felt. Plans are now underway for the school to look at this shift in a phased manner. Another area of transformation being studied is to orient the teaching style toward the theosophical education model outlined by Vic Hao Chin in his book Establishing Theosophical Schools. These steps forward bring with them additional costs, and the school needs our help in order to continue on the road to imparting its goals of providing a first class education based on theosophical values and principles.

In 2013 the decision was made to turn the school into a ‘Higher Secondary School’ by adding classes at eleventh and twelfth year levels.  An Arts and Commerce Stream was added in 2013 for year eleven students. In 2015 a Science stream in the English Medium was added for both eleventh and twelfth years. With their studies completed, students will be able to apply either to a university or for entry to a vocational training programme.  It is hoped that some of them will join the Vocational Training Centre, set up on TS land, which expanded in 2014 to include such skills as electrical and carpentry. 

We are also happy to announce that at the other end of the spectrum, a Kindergarten class was started in consultation with the Chennai Montessori Training Institute, and that 17 OMHSS teachers began training from the British Council in English Language Teaching and English Proficiency Building. This year will see the beginning of educating the staff and children on theosophical values.

As we can imagine, the administration and staff are very proud of these steps forward in providing needy children with superior educational and sound employment opportunities.

An Olcott Memorial Higher Secondary School student assembly on Olcott Day 2016.

Started by our TS co-founder, Col. H.S. Olcott, in 1894, the Olcott Memorial Higher Secondary School is located in the south-eastern part of Besant Gardens, land belonging to the Theosophical Society.  It provides free education in Tamil (transitioning to English Medium), along with textbooks, school supplies, school bags, uniforms, a nutritious breakfast and lunch, regular medical check-ups, and guidance and counselling for the children and their parents. A dental camp was also organised this past year. The government pays for the meals of the children in classes one through ten, the school adds a nutritional supplement (milk and a banana) and provides the meals for the new eleventh and twelfth classes and for the Kindergarten.