# City Montessori School

City Montessori Schools (CMS) is a co-educational English-medium private school that offers education from Pre-school up to 12 (Grade 12) level in Lucknow, India.
It is mentioned as the world's largest school by the Guinness Book of World Records which reported 61,345 students as of 10 August 2023.
In 2014, CMS society was accredited with the United Nations Department of Public Information as affiliated NGO.

## Background

In 1959, Jagdish Gandhi and his wife Dr. Bharti Gandhi founded the City Montessori School in a room at their home. They began with just five children and ₹300 . This first campus is now known as the Station Road Branch.
The UNESCO Prize for Peace Education was awarded to City Montessori School in 2002. The school has also received the 'Hope of Humanity' Award from the spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama.

## Campuses

The campuses of the school are spread all over the city of Lucknow. The campuses include:
* Aliganj Campus I
* Aliganj Campus II
* Anand Nagar Campus
* Asharfabad Campus
* Ayodhya Road Campus
* Chowk Campus
* Gomti Nagar Campus I
* Gomti Nagar Campus II
* Golf City Campus
* Indira Nagar Campus I
* Indira Nagar Campus II
* Jopling Road Campus
* Kanpur Road Campus
* Mahanagar Campus
* Rajajipuram Campus I
* Rajajipuram Campus II
* Rajajipuram Campus III
* Rajendra Nagar Campus I
* Rajendra Nagar Campus II
* RDSO (Research Designs & Standards Organisation) Campus
* Shalimar OneWorld Campus
* Station Road Campus

## Cambridge Campuses

These campuses share common boundaries with City Montessori schools, but they are totally independent, working separately with affiliations to IGCSE BOARD Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE)
* CMS CAMBRIDGE (Gomti Nagar Extension Campus)
* CMS CAMBRIDGE (Rajajipuram Campus I)
* CMS CAMBRIDGE ( Aliganj Campus I)
* CMS CAMBRIDGE (Gomti Nagar Campus I)
* CMS CAMBRIDGE (Golf City Campus)

## In the news

In 2013, CMS became a centre in Uttar Pradesh for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (popularly known as SAT), the major test used for admission in US universities.
In 2015, CMS refused admission to 31 students of economically weaker section of the society under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act on the grounds that they were ineligible according to the state's own Right to Education (RTE) rules. The school's rationale for not admitting the children was that either they were below 6 years of age (definition of child as per RTE act is a person aged between 6–14 years), or they resided beyond a 1 km radius of CMS, or they had other private schools nearer to their residence than CMS. Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey staged a hunger strike against CMS and other private school's refusal to admit children of economically weaker backgrounds. A meeting was arranged between the city administration, Sandeep Pandey, and the school management but neither side was prepared to compromise. CMS challenged the state's order in the Allahabad High Court. Following an interim order by the Supreme Court on the school's appeal, CMS admitted 13 children who were found eligible by the apex court.
The activities of the school have made an impact during testing times, like in 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished and religious riots had cost hundreds of lives. The school also initiated an Indo-Pak children's pen friend's project to promote friendship between children of India and Pakistan.
For the session 2017–18, school management increased the children's fees by 12%. In 2013, it increased its fees for all classes by 10% and for nursery and kindergarten classes by up to 16% in comparison to the previous year's fee. The school's reputation was challenged when one of its teachers was blamed for slapping a child hard. Reportedly, a student of class 10 at the school's Mahanagar branch committed suicide in 2011, after his principal Nalini Sharad, allegedly, threatened to shame him before the whole school. After the student's suicide, upon his parents insistence, the court took cognizance, rejecting the police enquiry and ordered in 2013 that a case should be registered against Sharad. Nalini Sharad was relieved of her services as Principal of CMS in 2013 when she retired. The matter is sub-judice since then.
The school uniform, including socks and belt, were changed by the school management after 33 years. On receiving complaints by guardians who reported that the uniform was being sold at higher prices than the fixed price, the school established a helpline for parents to check the prices.
Students have also performed yoga at the United Nations in New York to mark International Day of Yoga on 21 June 2017. Children's films are showcased at the International Children's Film Festival. An international music concert was organised at City Montessori School on 20 April with musicians from 17 countries and 11 states of India ABRSM.
There are a number of students from the school who have managed to secure distinction in recent CISCE Examinations.

## Notable alumni

* Celina Jaitly – actress
* Gopal Bagley - High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka
* Acharya Prashant – Vedanta teacher and author
* Sudhanshu Trivedi - National Spokesperson BJP