Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School
Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ School or MGD is located in Jaipur, India and was established by and named after Her Highness Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. It was the first all-girls school to be established in the state of Rajasthan.
History
The school was founded on August 12, 1943. In the summer of 1940, the Maharaja of Jaipur Sawai Man Singhji Bahadur brought home Princess Ayesha Gayatri Devi, of Cooch Behar, as his bride. She was the daughter of the Maharaja and Maharani Indira Deviji, of Cooch Behar. Her concern for the education of the local court women lead her and Bahadur to found the school. Bahadur ordered the Prime Minister Sir Mirza Ismail, and the Education and Finance Minister, Rao Bahadur Amarnath Atal, to allot land and plan the school. It was started with 24 girls and Lilian G. Lutter as Principal[1] on the lines of the British public school pattern.[2]
MGD was the first girls' public school to be accepted as a member of the Public School Council of India' Conference (IPSC). In 1950, MGD became a center for the Cambridge Examination for Jaipur. In 1962 the school shifted to the Indian School Certificate Board.[3]
The school follows the Central Board for Secondary EducationCBSE curriculum. The founder principal of the school was Ms. L.G. Lutter. The principal of the school is Mrs. Suniti Sharma. The school completed 60 years of its existence in 2003 which was marked with a ceremony of the founder Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur.,[4] Shiv Kumari of Kotah is vice president of the school.
School campus
The school is situated on the Sawai Man Singh Road, in the heart of the city and sprawls over 26 acres (110,000 m2). Today it has over 3000 students from all parts of India of which 400 are resident on campus, studying from Classes I to XII.[5]
The campus consists of buildings, gardens, lawns, sports fields, tennis courts, a stadium cum auditorium and a swimming pool. There are eight boarding houses, each for age groups - Anand, Lillian Hurst, Ashiyana, Gitanjali, Deepshikha, Maharani Indira Devi Bhawan, Rani Vidya Devi Bhawan, and the teacher's residence - Nivedita House.
Boarding and hostel life
The students are divided in six hostels according to the house they are in.
- Standard 1 to 3 are housed in Lilian Hurst named after the founder principal, Ms. LG Lutter.
- Standard 4 and 5 are in Deepshikha hostel.
- Madame Curie house girls are in Aashyana hostel.
- Florence Nightingale house girls in VDB hostel ground floor.
- Helen Keller house girls in VDB hostel first floor.
- Sarojini Naidu house girls in MIDB hostel.
- Separate building for residential teachers, Nivedita.
Houses
The students are divided into four houses named after notable women achievers: Madame Curie: red, Helen Keller: blue, Florence Nightingale: green, Sarojini Naidu: orange.
Inter-house competitions range from cultural, art and craft activities to music and dance as well as debates and quizzes. In sport the students participate in inter-house and inter school sports competitions, and represent the city and state at national and international levels.
Sports and extra-curricular activities
MGDians participate in inter-house sports championships such as athletics, basketball, swimming, running, badminton, tennis, judo competition etc. The girls engage in 13 sports. A sports day with a marching parade is organised annually. MGD hosts the annual IPSC Sports Meet and other inter-school sports competitions.
Notable alumni
- Sandhya Mridul - actress
- Dharmendar Kanwar
- Meira Kumar - lok sabha speaker
- Apurvi Chandela - international shooter