Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar Higher Secondary School

Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar Higher Secondary School is a Government-aided higher secondary school in Ambattur. This school was established to preserve the memory of Sir Arcot Ramaswami Mudaliar, who was closely associated with the birth and growth of Tube Investments of India as its Founder - Chairman and later as the First President of the Company. Hence the first school of the AMM Charities Trust started in 1958 was named after him. The initial infrastructure of the school was created at a cost of Rs. 60 lakhs on a 13-acre plot in Ambattur. The school was later upgraded into a co-educational Higher Secondary School in 1978. Today the school has a strength of about 2,400 pupils including 87 qualified teachers and other staff members. It offers quality education through Tamil and English medium and has a fair degree of success in its examinations. It has been consistently maintaining a good record in both academics and extra-curricular activities.

History

Initial Seeds

The primary school, started by Natesa Iyer in Venkatapuram, Ambattur may be regarded as the nucleus of the present school. From its humble beginning the school has grown from strength to strength to become a leading higher secondary school of Ambattur.

In 1927, a registered society called the Ambattur Educational Society had taken over the management of the school and had developed it into a higher elementary school, which was called Sri Maha Ganesa Vidya Sala. The members of the society were very sincere in their efforts and thanks to them, the record of the school was one of steady growth. Due to their continuous efforts and the generosity of the public, the school was able to maintain a steady growth. The society then put up a permanent building for the school in 1953 at a cost of about Rs. 15,000/-. In the same year, after obtaining permission from the Department, a secondary school was started in the new building.

In the latter half of 1950 India began to industrialise. Thanks to the efforts of industrial pioneers like A. M. M. Murugappa Chettair, Ambattur became an important centre on the industrial map of India. The hectic industrial growth in and around Ambattur led to a need for providing A. M. M. Murugappa Chettiar greater and better facilities for education. There was also a growing demand from the public for a High School in this locality because students at that time had to go a long way either to Villivakkam or Tiruvallur for High School studies. C. R. Ramanathan, Retd D. E. O. and Headmaster, Sri Maha Ganesa Vidya Sala and V. Swaminatha Iyer, President, Ambattur Educational Society met A. M. M. Murugappa Chettiar and A. M. M. Arunachalam and impressed upon them the need for a High School and convinced them to take up its management. The Ambattur Education Society willingly agreed to transfer the management of the Sri Maha Ganesa Vidya Sala school to A. M. M. Charities Trust. The formal transfer of management took place on 12-09-1957.

Soon after the take over, the management of A. M. M. Charities Trust effected several improvements and took steps to upgrade the school. Our first Correspondent, M. M. Muthiah, and the first Headmaster, C. R. Ramanathan, spared no efforts in developing this school into a model institution.

After obtaining permission from the department of public instruction, Fourth form was opened in 1958 and V & VI forms followed in the next two years. In June 1959, the whole school was shifted from its old site to the three sheds put up on the new site, specially acquired by the management for the school. The new site consisting of 22.03 acres, situated on an elevated ground in the Madras Trivellore High Road, was amidst calm and picturesque surroundings.

Chief Minister's Visit

The construction of the permanent buildings for the high school was entrusted to M/s.Coromondal Engineering Company - pioneers in building construction - and this was completed by K. Kamaraj, C Subramaniam and Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar June 1960 in a record time. A special colourful function was held in the school premises on 22-06-1960, in which Honorable Chief Minister of Madras State, K Kamraj presided and the then Minister of Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, C Subramaniam declared open the new buildings and unveiled a portrait of Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar. On 4-07-1960 Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar visited the school along with A. M. M Murugappa Chettiar and M. M. Muthiah. That was the beginning of Sir A Ramaswami Mudaliar Higher Secondary School as it stands today.^[1]

The school became a full-fledged High School and the department accorded permanent recognition to Stds. VI and X in the following years. The management then took a progressive step by introducing English Medium in one section of each standard. Bifurcated courses of study with Secretarial and Engineering sections were also introduced in order to give equal importance to vocational education and training.

Today, the school has earned a good name in academic as well as extra curricular/sports activities. This record of performance by students has naturally created a great demand for admissions into the school and the management has been increasing the school strength in keeping with the demand. The school was upgraded into a Higher Secondary school on 12 July 1978 and a permanent recognition was accorded by the Education Department.

The school now has a big, renovated auditorium where 3000 students can gather at a time.

Golden Jubilee Celebration

The school celebrated its golden jubilee in October 2008; the chief guest for the occasion was A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.^[2]

Library & Laboratories

The school has a large Library with a collection of nearly 12,000 books with open access system to students. The school has separate laboratories for Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. It has a Junior Laboratory too, for High School and Middle School students. The School has a modern air-conditioned Computer Lab, a Junior Computer Lab and a Multimedia Library with Internet facility. The computer Labs are well-equipped with the latest technology.^[3]

Playground

The School has a 5-acre play ground with a 200-metre track, well laid out and well-designed courts for basketball, Ball badminton, volleyball, Tennikoit, Throwball and Khokho. The SRM School play ground has been recognized by the Department of Sports and Physical Education.

Management

• M.V. Subbiah, Managing Trustee—AMM Foundation

Managing Committee

• A.A. Alagammai, Chairperson
• A. Rajagopal, Secretary—AMM Foundation
• N. Rajasekaran, Correspondent & Secretary
• M. Venkatachalapathy, Headmaster ^[4]

Academic Performances

The school has been consistently performing above average in the government-aided school category. In the SSLC results in April 2010, Anbuchelvan stood first in the Tiruvallur district.

2015-2016

The school is one of the top schools in the government-aided schools category, as is evidenced by this year's Plus Two performance; some statistics:

• Average Mark—860.9 (This is much higher than last year's average mark of 810.3)
• Pass percentage—96.3%
• Highest marks—1169 ^[5]

Achievements in Sport

An old student of the school, R. Mohan Kumar will be representing the Indian athletics 4 × 400 m relay team in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He is the fifth member of the relay team.^[6]

Co-curricular and Extra curricular Activities

The school has many clubs and other programs for the co-curricular and the extra-curricular activities of the children. Foremost among them are the NCC, NSS, Film club, Nature club, Little Drops.

Film Club

The school has a new club called the SRM Film Club (குறும்பட மன்றம்) inaugurated by the AMMF Managing Trustee. Short films carrying important values are shown to the club members after which they discuss and interact freely; this may lead to the imbibing of certain values in the young minds.^[7]

References