What Calcutta International School will look like at its new EM Bypass address. Picture by Pabitra Das

They may be on their way to pave 20, Lee Road to put up a parking lot, but Calcutta International School (CIS) is gearing up for greener pastures.

This is the last year the city?s first international school will hold classes at its three-decade-old premises, crowded out by malls and multiplexes that have changed the face of the Elgin Road area.

The school is on to bigger and better things, however. On the EM Bypass, just 600 m from Ruby General Hospital, the new avatar of CIS is coming up on 2.02 acres.

Classes, which have been held for years in the quaint colonial home that was converted into a school building, will now be spread across 52,907 sq ft, with another 4,143 sq ft demarcated for the auditorium.

Four science laboratories, a computer lab with broadband access for teachers and students, music room, art room, cafeteria with indoor and outdoor seating and a library with a panoramic view of the playground are the facilities that will be part of the building, when it opens in June 2006.

That will be followed by the multipurpose auditorium, allowing plays to be staged and exams to be held on campus.

?The building may grow upwards, but the open areas will remain,? said principal Anuradha Das. The only planned encroachments are a swimming pool and tennis courts.

Hemmed in by space at the current address, CIS has had to shift the Plus-II students to another premises around the corner at 12, Lee Road. All sections will now come together, though with designated rooms. The nursery block will have its own entrance and play area, too.

An integrated science lab will give students exposure to practicals early, while biology ? with its own botany garden on the side of the building ? chemistry and physics labs will cater to specialised needs.

With 17 subjects being already taught at the A Level, more can be expected. Three boards are on offer ? with O and A Levels under the University of London or Cambridge, as well as the General Certificate of Secondary Education, the degree of flexibility is formidable ? with French and computing to graphic design and even drama, the latest addition.

While the British Council currently administers the board exams, it is also part of the school?s long-term objective to be an independent examination centre.

The student strength is expected to go up from the current 450 from pre-nursery to Class XII, but the teacher-student ratio is unlikely to rise above the 1:10 or 1:12 levels.

?I would like to increase the number of teachers in core subjects for middle and senior school to ensure that students get all the attention they need,? stressed Das.

?Why should students go for tuitions?? asked the principal, whose vision is to create ?a foolproof system? to address all students? problems in school.