Shrewsbury School UK (esb 1552), a leading boarding school in Shrewsbury, England and ranked among top 50 residential schools in UK has tied up with Bhopal-based Jagran Social Welfare Society to set up a ‘clone’ school in India in a franchise/licensing arrangement. Jagran Social Welfare Society already runs four schools and a university (Jagran Lakecity University) in and around the Madhya Pradesh capital city.
The new school, which will be a boarding school with a capacity of 800 students on 150-acres in Bhopal will commence in 2025 as per the joint announcement made by the two partners in New Delhi on August 24. Hari Mohan Gupta and Abhishek Mohan Gupta of the Jagran Social Welfare Society, promoters of the Shrewsbury School in India along with Tim Haynes, Governing Chair, Shrewsbury School, UK and Dr. Maghin Tamilarasan, Director International Development from the Shrewsbury School, UK, were present at the press meet.
Shrewsbury India will be a co-education boarding school for ages 11-18 and will have 800 students at its full strength. The students will study the English National Curriculum leading to Cambridge International IGCSE examinations undertaken in years 9 and 10 to qualify students for entry into A Level course with final examinations at the end of years 12 and 13.
Hari Mohan Gupta, Chairman Governing Body, Jagran Social Welfare Society, speaking on the occasion said, “This is a momentous development both for our society as well as India in our quest for transformative education. Through this collaboration, we aim to bring a world-class educational experience to India, where students can thrive academically, culturally, and socially. The school while embracing the rigor, culture, quality and holistic education of Shrewsbury, will consciously promote Indian values and ethos to enrich the students.”
The school being built at a cost of Rs 600 Cr will have a built area of about 10 lakh sq feet, will be energy green as it will be powered by solar electricity. It also have two separate centres for performing arts and visual arts besides all sports and recreational infrastructure including indoor sports facilities.
Tim Haynes, Governing Chair of Shrewsbury School, UK, expressing his enthusiasm about the upcoming school, remarked: “We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter in Shrewsbury School’s rich legacy. The introduction of our offshore Indian campus enables us to share our storied educational heritage with the wider global community and the young, developing minds of Indian students. Rooted in academic excellence, coupled with a commitment to inclusivity, diversity and personal growth, we are one of the great boarding schools in the world where we have been empowering young minds to thrive in an ever-evolving world. We’ll also learn from India as we go in this exciting journey. ”
The governance structure will resemble more or less DPS way where representatives from Shrewsbury in the management committee and the close engagement will also include inspections and student exchanges as in practice of other offshore campuses in Bangkok and Hong Kong. The launch of this international school heralds an opportunity for Indian students to experience a highly-acclaimed British education without leaving their homeland. It may also be the beginning of a trend for internationalization of school education in India.
