It all started in Delhi, at 1/2 East Patel Nagar on September 1st, 1955, when a small nursery and kindergarten was started in the home of Mrs Rajni Kumar and her husband the late Mr Yudister Kumar.

It was inspired by the progressive education movement in Britain particularly Beaconsfield founded by Bertrand Russell, Badley's co-educational school Bedales, and A. S. Neill's Summerhill.

'Springdales' is symbolic of the freshness of spring and inspired by the progressiveness of Bedales.

Springdales School has privately managed, progressive, secular and coeducational schools in full-fledged campuses at Pusa Road and Dhaula Kuan and a Primary school at Kirti Nagar, Delhi.

The Junior school comprises of seven classes, Nursery and Prep being the non-formal classes, called the kindergarten, and Standard I to V known as the primary classes. Formal teaching begins at Class I. The entry point is the Nursery class.

At the Nursery level, the main objective is to socialise the child so that he/she may feel at ease while inter-acting with peers and adults. It is this feeling of being at ease with one's self and the others which helps the child to achieve the other objectives, scholastic and non scholastic. The five basic skills, the language skill, the mathematical skill, the creative skill, the social skill and the scientific skill are developed through non-formal approach i.e. the play way method.

Children are encouraged to speak, sing, dance, act, appreciate, play, exercise, draw, paint, do craft, predict, analyse, draw conclusions, measure, classify and record. They are exposed to the pre-reading and pre-writing skills. Ample opportunities are provided for honing these skills, which cut right through the Kindergarten and the primary curriculum. Excursions and out door activity form a major part of the Kindergarten activities. There is no regimentation and hence no uniform for Nursery and Prop children.

Bal Sabhas, class and house assemblies give children a platform to display their talents. Cultural Evenings, Annual Day and Sports Festival are some of the Annual functions to which parents are invited. The themes of the items presented are value based.

At the Junior School, the approach followed for the teaching-learning process is the Environmental Studies approach, which is child centred and activity based, whereby subjects are not taught in isolation but in an integrated way through various topics. There are no formal exams or tests. Evaluation is a continuous process based on day-to-day observation.

Std VI, VII, VIII

The curriculum and syllabus is designed to help students take one more step forward and to develop creative ideas and thought. The Middle School poses more demands on the students, but the integrated courses prepare them to meet the challenges.

Basic core of academic subjects: English (the medium of instruction), Mathematics, Hindi, Social Studies and Science.

Third language - choice of any one of the following: Russian, German, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu, Sanskrit.

Creative arts: dance, music, art and craft.

Physical education is compulsory, and sports may also be conducted before or after school hours.

Work experience is a conscious effort to bridge the gap between manual and intellectual work.

There are written and oral tests each term. Evaluation is based purely on internal assessments. Promotion to the higher class is based on the average of three terms.

Std IX and X

The curriculum is laid down according to the 10+2 pattern of education adopted by the CBSE. Within the given framework, a broad approach has been introduced, to provide opportunities to broaden the horizon of knowledge and to develop skills.

The basic core subjects: English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences), Social Sciences (History, Geography, Civics, Economics).

Optional: continuation of Russian, French or German language.

Art Education: choice of any one of the following: music, dance or fine arts.

Physical education is compulsory, and comprises of athletics, gymnastics, rhythmics, callisthenics and team games.

Work experience: choice of any one of the following options for socially useful productive work- commercial art, interior design, tie and dye, batik, photography, sculpture, electronics, meal planning or computer science.

Education for all: each student becomes a member of the literacy campaign, and makes one individual literate each year.

Internal assessment as well as written examinations at the end of each term determines the promotion.

Std XI and XII

The curriculum is based on the CBSE 10+2 pattern of education.

Streams offered:

Non-Medical group: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics.

Medical Group: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Computer Science and Home Science.

Commerce Group: Business Studies, Accountancy, Economics, Mathematics.

Humanities Group: (four of the following) History, Geography, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Home Science, Fine Arts, Physical Education, Vocal Music.

English, Physical Education, General Studies and Community Service are compulsory for all groups.

Community Service options: theatre craft, hospital service, non-formal education classes, farm work experience, health education for slum dwellers and work in adopted community areas.

Education for all: Each student becomes a member of the literacy campaign, and makes one individual literate each year.

Internal assessment as well as written examinations at the end of each term determines the promotion.

In 1980 Springdales Pusa celebrated its Silver Jubilee. There was a week long programme of activities, culminating with a grand 25th Annual Day Function presided over by the President of India Mr Sanjeeva Reddy. A dance drama with a cast of over 800 students entitled "Our Beautiful Earth" was presented. The foundation stone for the new campus at Dhaula Kuan was also laid on the occasion.

Old Springdales School's Golden Jubilee Inaugural Function is on Sunday, Feb 6 2005 at National Stadium, New Delhi . It will be launched by H.E. The President of India, Abdul Kalam Azad.