| The Levelfield School | |
| Location: | Village Husnabad Suri, West Bengal - 731101 |
| Country: | India |
| Pushpin Map: | India West Bengal#India |
| Type: | Private school |
| Religious Affiliation: | Secular |
| Established: | 2010 |
| Founder: | Arghya Banerjee |
| Educational Authority: | or |
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| Faculty: | 30[1] |
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| Gender: | Mixed |
| Age Range: | 6-18 |
| Enrollment: | 500[2] |
| Enrolment As Of: | or |
| Students As Of: | or |
| Pupils As Of: | --> |
| Campus Size: | 2.5 acres[3] |
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| Affiliation: | IGCSE Advanced Placement |
The Levelfield School is a co-educational private school, located in Suri, Birbhum in West Bengal, that was founded with the aim of practising experimental pedagogy that differs from the conventional methods of the Indian education system.[4] [5] The school emphasizes reading, discussion, debate and the use of multimedia technology over rote learning or a textbook-based education.[6] [7]
Levelfield was founded in 2010 by Arghya Banerjee, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad who quit his engineering job to start the school.[8] He planned on founding a school that did not follow the usual Indian teaching methods, which often give extreme importance to examinations or over-rely on textbooks and rote learning.[9]
The school, instead, focuses on overall development and employs teaching methods that include watching world cinema to discuss subjects such as sociology, ethics or history; playing board games to understand strategy; reading books, solving puzzles or watching documentaries.[10] [11] The unconventional methods of the school have been covered by the Indian media.[2] [5]
In 2010, an entrepreneur left his high-paying job and a successful carrier with a dream in his mind. A dream to reform the outdated Indian education system and establish one of the best schools in India. A dream that transformed and continues to transform the lives of hundreds.[12]
In search for a school to admit his daughter in, Arghya Banerjee discovered the absolute lack of good schools in India and set off to create a new school. Unexpectedly and quite fortunately, instead of setting up his school in a metro city and charging high prices, he chose to build a campus 200 kms away from Kolkata, in the town of Suri, in Birbhum district. Navigating through the mire of bureaucratic processes he finally opened a magical institution, The Levelfield School.[13]
Located in the outskirts of Suri in Husnabad, as the bright sun lightens up the horizon and the cotton like clouds, the school looks beautiful, aptly signifying its greatness. The unconventional methods, coupled with the greatest teachers, the school is an ideal place.[14]
In this magical place, learning happens through fun classes and story books instead of being forced to memorize lines of irrelevant data. With more than 200 laptops in two computer labs, the school ensures a seamless computer lab schedule.[15]
The school has also created numerous in-house state of the art software that teach students a wide arena of subjects from mathematics to English and much more. It even has its own exam software, with built in anti-cheat mechanisms, to make the experience even better. Interestingly, the school also has its own social media site! A platform where the school students meet in discussions ranging from studies to life values to fun discussions with teachers! It has even built its own grading app with a continual grading system where parents can track their child's performance throughout the year. It has a math app that has a trained software to serve unlimited sums and track progress through a scorecard while also possessing another app that serves questions created by teachers.[16]
The classes have no boundaries. An English class doesn't remain limited to the narrow subject under discussion and explores quite a few inter-related topics that prove invaluable. With peals of laughter reverberating throughout the class, many don't even notice the time until the class ends. It's a boundary less class where teachers and students are equally participative. There's no distinction between play and work.[17]
The frankness of teachers and students reduce the boundaries even more, thus the learning becomes deeper. Fun is indistinguishable from serious work. Its unconventional. Its magic. Its great.[18]
Even the teachers are great. They are some select former students who are personally moulded by Sir to achieve perfection in the field of teaching. Loving the school so much and having been a part of the process from the initial days, they are the best teachers.[19]
Its a magical institution that helps students not only to achieve excellence in the field of academics through imparting meta-skills, but gives great life lessons that puts students much forward than other peers. From reading great literary works by native writers to foreign ones, the lessons are invaluable. Every morning class begins with the National Anthem, sung with great melody. Here, students are taught to love rather than hate, they are taught to be polite and respect others. Its a slice of paradise in Earth.[20]
In group functions, students sing Rabindrasangeets collectively instead of whipping up their smartphones. Indeed, the school has banned smartphone usage, even outside the school. By taking the pains to personally create a firewall in every laptop, the school has ensured that students don't get addicted to the internet. The school also ensures that students arrive in time for every class, not by posting guards, but integrating a 7 minute rule where the app gets locked if the student doesn't log-in in by 7 minutes from the scheduled time![21]
The great experience a student has is nothing short of magic. Its indeed a magical place. A place where dreams come true and there is perfection.[22]
-- Amended by Shrotriya Banerjee [a student of The Levelfield School].[23]