Layout 1

22-23 / 64

JANUARY 2015 23 22 JANUARY 2015
The founder of my college at
Cambridge, Sir Walter Mildmay,
when questioned by a slightly
suspicious Queen Elizabeth I as to
why he had established an academic
institution, answered that he had “set
an acorn, which when it becomes an
oak, God alone knows what will be
the fruit thereof.” He added that it would be dangerous for
the students to regard it as “a perpetual abode” – they were to
look forward to spreading outside the knowledge they had
acquired within its walls.
With respect to the Assam Valley school Mr B.M.Khaitan
has shown the same visionary commitment as Mildmay. It is
difficult now, after twenty years of achievement, success and
national recognition of its excellence, to recapture the
pioneering spirit of the first year. Here was a residential,
co-educational, secondary school in...Assam! Many were
suspicious of the venture – it was too risky, the scope was too
expansive, the examination results would be compromised by
the breadth of activities that were being offered, Assam wasn’t
ready for such a school. Mr Khaitan would have none of it.
Quietly but firmly he put his faith in the project and
supported it exhaustively. More than that, he supported and
encouraged those many people who were working to bring
the dream to life.
On his visits to the school I was always impressed with the
connection he made with the students, allowing them to say
what they felt about their school and listening intently and
carefully to them. His real legacy will be found in the lives of
those who have seized the opportunity of what this special
school offers and who have gone out into the world to bring
their talents, gifts and skills to the service of the communities
in which they live.
Instead of Mildmay’s analogy of an acorn, Mr Khaitan might
have employed the image of a tea bud, but whatever the picture
the truth that cannot be denied is that the crop has been a rich
and abundant one. Generations of students, teachers, parents
and staff owe him a great debt of gratitude.
~ Paul Carling
Founding Headmaster of AVS, 1994-1999
Twenty years down the road, AVS, the brain child of Mr B.M. Khaitan, Chairman of the Williamson Magor Group of Companies,
ranks among the top few residential schools in the country and continues to impart the best all round education, turning
impressionable children into responsible, confident young adults.
ASSAM VALLEY SCHOOL – Celebrating 20 Years
“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves
throughout their lives.” ~ Robert Maynard Hutchins
People with vision, dedication and
commitment work not merely for daily bread,
power, affluence and opulence but for
posterity; they look far into the future. In so
doing they leave the world a better place to
live, a place where boys and girls can learn, unfettered by the cares of this
ever changing and complex cosmos yet grow up as confident, happy and
productive young men and women instilled with values that will hold true
in the 21st century and beyond.This is howThe Assam Valley School was
born – the Founders were indeed men of vision and the school as it stands
today is testament to nothing short of a labour of love. Mr. B.M. Khaitan,
Mrs. Julia Magor and Mr. Richard Magor decided to turn their dream
into a reality in 1989 and The Williamson Magor Education Trust
pumped the necessary funds to start the project.
Mr. B. M. Khaitan together with his immediate family and his extended
family in Tea then worked tirelessly over the next two decades to give to
all Indians an educational institution that continually strives to be at the
cutting edge of modern educational practices and pedagogies.The journey
no doubt has been fraught with challenges but that has only spurred the
team on to achieve greater success with each passing year.
“Education should be the biggest and best adventure in a child's life.”
Based on this belief our education is committed to nurturing the children
to develop to their full potential so that they are well-equipped to face the
challenges in the future, with confidence, grit and determination.
AVS opened its gates to about 150 children of the North East and beyond
on the 1st of April 1995 with Mr. D.P.K. Carling as its founding
Headmaster. The school has never looked back. With the first phase of
infrastructure and facilities completed, every year saw numbers soar,
essential infrastructure like the library, the WM Hall, the Infirmary, the
Sports Complex and more boarding houses spring up, services got better
and just a decade down the road AVS was already on the national
educational radar.
It is not by accident or by acts of faith but by sheer dint of hard work that
the school has been represented at the NDTV debates, the India’s Got
Talent Show and regularly participates in State and National
Championships in a number of sporting disciplines. Our alumni walk
through the hallowed portals of many premier institutions in India and
abroad to enjoy quality tertiary education as a result of grooming and
superlative board results.
I believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring,
and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally,
intellectually, physically, and socially. It is my desire to prepare students
for life in an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a
sharing of ideas. In our ever changing world, it is crucial for education to
constantly reinvent itself. What was relevant even 5 years ago might not
be so today. Our education system is still deeply entrenched in the
philosophy of the industrial age whereas now this is no longer relevant.
The Assam Valley School will help our students walk into the 21st
Century with their head held high.
~ Ms Sonya Ghandy Mehta
Head of School
A SCHOOL WITH
A DIFFERENCE
“The four years I spent at AVS were the
most eventful and adventurous of my
life. I moved into School in the year
1995 as the pioneer batch of students
who would graduate Class 12 ISC in
1999. We were a small batch of seven,
who started as classmates and became
friends for life.These were our formative
years, and a lot of what I am today I owe to the school, and its
teachers, especially Mr &Mrs Carling. From the Carlings, I learnt
my values and that the most mundane things can be made
interesting, and every waking minute we were encouraged to think
and be engaged in activities that broadened our perspectives.”
~ Karishma Mahanta (neé Masood)
Alumnus, 1st Batch ‒ ICSE & ISC
The Assam Valley School will always
hold a special place in myheart.Myson,
Norman, my wife, Vinita and I joined
the AVS family in the year 1995.Twenty
years on, the road is strewn with memories worth cherishing.
Although we joined as trained teachers with a number of years of
experience already under our belt, the school provided the platform
for us to grow and so enhance the learning experience for teacher
and taught. It has been both a pleasure and a privilege in forging
a partnership with scores of parents to help young people grow
into happy adults.
The Assam Valley School has taken on the mantle of responsibility
of educating young Indians and guiding them to live fruitful and
enriching lives in the 21st century. While the school endeavours
to be global in its approach, to respect all human beings irrespective
of gender, race, caste, creed or colour, it has not dispensed with our
Indian heritage and culture.
Education, it is said, comes from the Latin word ‘educere’ which
means ‘to lead’ and this is what we have tried to do. We expose
students to rich and varied experiences knowing full well that the
path they choose as adults will be of their own volition and not
dictated by narrow or popular schools of thought. Having given
our students the ‘snowflake on the tip of the iceberg’, it is our
fervent hope that they will go on to becoming autodidacts, for,
what is life without learning!
~ Leslie Peter Watts
Head of Hospitality, Event Management,
Public Relations & Alumnus Affairs
AVS – VIBRANT,
DYNAMIC …
DIFFERENT