Coimbatore: Not many schools in the city boast of 100 years’ history. And that’s what makes the corporation elementary school at Kalapatti, which celebrated the centennial year last week, stand out among the other schools. Over the years, the school has also churned out many notable personalities.What started as a boys’ school in 1917 by the British in a tiled building, the school has been today upgraded to concrete buildings and the traditional classrooms have given way to smart ones. More importantly, it now admits girl students also.“Earlier, the school had a strength of only 40 boy students and three male teachers, including the headmaster. Today, it has more than 260 students (half of them girls), and eight teachers, including a headmistress. The school was converted into a co-education school in the 1960s and it was accorded the English medium status in the academic year 2006-07,” said the school headmistress, C Sindhu.Remembering the first headmaster, Chinnasamy, the alumnus of the school recollected that the salary of the principal was just Rs 12 a month, while a peon earned a meagre Rs 1. “The school has a record of all the students and teachers since its inception,” said 68-year-old C Muthusami, former president of CODDISIA, while reminiscing his days as a student in the school.A lot of things have changed over the years, Muthusami, a notable industrialist in the city, said. “Apart from the infrastructure, the teaching methodologies and the quality of education have improved and it’s now on par with the private schools,” he said.The headmistress pitched in by saying about 70 private school students had sought admission to the school in the last academic year. “We motivate the students to participate in sport activities and special yoga and karate trainings are given to interested students,” she added.Muthusami said more than the government, alumnus were interested to upgrade the school. Pointing to the RO water purifier, water tank and two smart classes, the headmistress said they were contributed by the alumnus.“We are planning to upgrade the school further,” said K K Rajan, president of Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association (SIEMA). He was a student of the school in 1968. “We owe a lot to the school for what we are today,” he further said.Meanwhile, the school education minister, KA Sengottaiyan, has announced an additional building along with a community hall for the school.

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