here - City Montessori School

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Lucknow, Sep 23 (IANS) Starting from five students and a Rs.300 loan, a
Lucknow school has travelled a long way to become the school with the
most number of pupils in the world, according to the Guinness Book of
Records.
The 57th and 2013 edition of the book says the City Montessori School
(CMS) in Lucknow had a record enrolment of 39,437 pupils on Aug 9, 2010,
for the 2010-11 academic year.
School authorities told IANS that the number of pupils now stood at 45,000-
plus.
The entry in the Guinness, which documents the world's most unique and
selective records, has enthused the students and staff.
"We are very happy that not only our size but also our philosophy of world
peace is being recognized at a global level," school founder Jagdish Gandhi
told IANS.
Tanmay Tiwari, a Class 12 student on one of the 20 branches the school
operates in the city, is equally estatic.
He said studying in one of the school campuses was an "enriching
experience" which "mattered a lot in the transition" in his persona.
Principal Vera Hazela says her association with the school has been a "great
one".
Talking of the exposure the school gives to its students, she said the school
holds 32 educational international events every year.
School spokesperson Rishi Khann said the management, staff and students
were overjoyed over the Guinness recognition.
The school was founded in 1959 by Jagdish Gandhi and his wife Bharti
Gandhi in a rented premises with just five students and a borrowed capital
of Rs.300.
The school was also awarded the prestigious UNESCO Prize for Peace
Education in 2002, becoming the only school worldwide ever to receive this
honour.
(Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in)
-- Indo-Asian News Service
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