The school accepts students from standards (grades) 4-12 (UK years 5-13) in about 21 boarding houses. It is known for focusing on a more holistic approach to education which includes developing an appreciation for nature, art and music. The schools goal is to help its pupils to become sensitive citizens. The school also runs the Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER) program and a rural school and health center.
With a large campus spread over 350 acres in the Rayalseema area of southern Andhra Pradesh, Rishi Valley was chosen by Krishnamurti for its atmosphere of peace and serenity, centred around a large banyan tree, one of the oldest in India. Unfortunately, the magnificent tree is now in decadence, and has already lost several of its main branches. The school is nestled in an ancient valley under the Rishikonda hill where, as folklore has it, a well-known sage ('rishi') used to meditate. The Rishi River, a rain-fed stream, that flowed down the hill has long since dried up, but Krishnamurti retained the name for his first school. Rayalseema Andhra is an arid region located in a rain-sheltered area of the Deccan Plateau. Rishi Valley is surrounded on all sides by ancient granite hills with striking formations. In recent years, the school launched a reforestation and conservation drive that transformed the school campus into a veritable forest area and the once-barren hillside bordering the campus is now covered with a green cover of young trees. Conservation and enhancement of the natural environment remains one of the school's core values. In July 1991 Rishi Valley was officially declared a Private bird-preserve, and was cited by the International Council for Bird Preservation (now BirdLife International) as one of the sites where the endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul is found. The campus hosts over 200 bird species. The Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History in Rishi Valley is offering a six-month "Home Study Course in Ornithology - Intermediate Level" at a highly subsidised rate and even offers Kalpana Chawla Memorial Scholarships for deserving students. Over 950 students have enrolled for this course since 1997.
Founder's Philosophy
Education was always one of Krishnamurti's chief concerns. He felt that if only the young and the old could be awakened to their conditioning of nationality, religion, prejudices, fears, and desires, which inevitably leads to conflict, they might bring to their lives a totally different quality.
In his own words, " A school is a place where one learns about the totality, the wholeness of life. Academic excellence is absolutely necessary, but a school includes much more than that. It is a place where both the teacher and the student explore, not only the outer world, the world of knowledge, but also their own thinking, their own behavior. "
His concern found expression in the establishment of schools in India and abroad. In addition to the schools managed by Krishnamurti Foundation, many other schools like Vikasa vidya vanam in India were inspired by his philosophy.
While his philosophy is an integral part of the school's culture, students are not exposed to it until their senior years. This mainly happens during assemblies or in-class discussions.
Rishi Valley Education Centre
Nestling among ancient hills (altitude: 2500 feet) that form the south-eastern fringe of the Deccan plateau, the Rishi Valley Education Centre (RVEC) derives its name from Rishi Konda, a hill which marks the west face of the valley. The area enjoys salubrious climate. The campus (about 250 acres) with its gardens, orchards, fields and woods, has an extensive green canopy of trees planted since the Centre's inception. The Rishi Valley Land Care Project involves the staff, students, and interested visitors in afforestation, water conservation and soil regeneration programmes, besides protection and documentation of the plant, bird, and animal life of the valley.
The RVEC comprises the Rishi Valley School (RVS) and the Rural Education Centre (REC).
The Rishi Valley School is a residential, co-educational, English medium school affiliated to the ICSE/ISC Board, New Delhi. The school has about 350 students from standard IV to XII, and a teacher-student ratio of 1:9. It has a well-developed fine arts section, and a sports department which offers a range of activities and regular coaching.
The dormitories, which are for about 20 students each (vertical age grouping), are managed by resident house parents/teachers who oversee the children's physical and emotional needs.
A guest house accommodates visiting parents and guests of the school.
School sessions: Mid-June to mid-October; late November to late March.
The Rural Education Centre is located on fourteen acres of land adjacent to the RVS campus. It has a free day-school for around 100 students from the surrounding countryside, a teacher-training programme for rural youth, and a small rural dispensary. REC also runs satellite schools; each is a one-teacher-one-class school of about thirty students, vertically grouped, situated in small hamlets around the valley and run by teachers trained at the REC.
Environment regeneration schemes have transformed this corner of the drought-prone Chittoor district into a green zone. The REC nurseries distribute saplings to the villagers. Students from the RVS and the REC undertake tree planting every monsoon.
Weather: Rishi Valley enjoys good weather all through the year-- summer (March-June), monsoons (July-Sept./Nov), winter (Dec-Feb).
How to get there: Rishi Valley lies on the Madras-Bombay trunk route, 17 km from Madanapalle towards Anantapur. Madanapalle is well connected to the important towns and cities of the region.
1. By air: Reach Madras and Bangalore.
2. By rail: Reach Bangalore; or Anantapur (on Bombay/Hyderabad-Bangalore line); or Madras; or Katpadi (on Bangalore/Kerala-Madras line); or Cuddapah/Renigunta (on Madras-Bombay line); or Madanapalle Road railway station (on Dharmavaram-Tirupati metre gauge line).
3. By road: Buses regularly ply from Bangalore, Madras, Tirupati, Cuddapah, Katpadi and Anantapur to Madanapalle.
4. From Madanapalle: A two-hourly shuttle (Madanapalle-Thettu-Madanapalle) from the Government bus stand comes on the campus. Autorickshaws are also available. On prior request, the school vehicle can be arranged for pick-up from Madanapalle.
For details, write to
The Director, Rishi Valley Education Centre.
The Principal, Rishi Valley School.
Address:
Rishi Valley P.O.,
Madanapalle, Chittoor District,
Andhra Pradesh-517352. India
Tel: (08571) 280622, 280582, 280044
Fax: (08571) 280261
E-mail: office@rishivalley.org
External links
- Rishi Valley School Website
- Rishi Valley School Alumni Website
- Rishi Valley Rural Education Project Website
- Friends of Rishi Valley Website
http://www.kfionline.org/schools/rv.asp
http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=151
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishi_valley_school
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