Little Flower,Hyderabad

"Results are a priority but not our only focus. We believe in the all-round development of children, not just their intellect," says principal Brother Franky Noronha. From elocution and drama to music and flower arrangement, the school encourages a variety of extra-curricular activities. Quizzing is another forte here and its students have won several prestigious national and international competitions. On the sports front, the school has three modest-sized playing fields but the space crunch means students play indoor sports like basketball, table tennis and gymnastics rather than games such as hockey or football.

Run by the Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel, Little Flower opened as a branch of the neighbouring All Saints School in 1953. Even today, applicants sit for a common entrance examination for the three Montfort schools in the city. Invariably, there are several hundred more applicants than vacancies in the school and a selection committee decides which student goes where. Little Flower has 75 teachers and some 2,300 students and is gradually turning co-ed—girls can study here up to Class 4.