Students in the city are gearing up for Udaan and Shikhar, two inter-school competitions being organised by The Telegraph from Saturday.
The five-day extravaganza aims at encouraging student participation in co-curricular activities of the children. Athletics, sit-and-draw, debate, creative writing and quiz would be a part of the programme.
Around 20 schools, including Notre Dame Academy, Loyola High School, Don Bosco Academy, St Xavier’s High School, St Michael’s High School, Baldwin Academy, Patna Central School, St Karen’s School, Mount Carmel High School, DAV BSEB, Tribhuvan School, Litera Valley School and Open Minds, Danapur, are participating in the event.
The participants would be divided into two groups — Udaan (students of classes VI-VIII) and Shikhar (students of classes IX-XII). There are girls and boys groups in both categories. Teachers are happy about opportunities for the holistic growth of students. The students are excited at the thought of pursuing their passion, away from the serious world of academics.
Victor Kumar, a Class VI student of Patna Central School, would take part in The Telegraph Udaan 2014. He said: “I am looking forward to take part in the 200m race. This is a good opportunity The Telegraph has provided us and such events should be regularly held. It would ensure the promotion of non-academic activities.”
Saturday and Sunday would be dedicated to athletics. St Michael’s High School would host the preliminaries, play-offs and finals of the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints, 4x100m relay race, long jump and triple jump. Participants would have to be at the venue by 8.45am.
The third day has been kept for sit-and-draw and debate competitions. Two-member teams would sit for the debate competitions at DAV BSEB. The penultimate day would go into creative writing and quiz, again organised at DAV, BESB.
On the final day at Litera Valley School, the quiz and debate finals would be organised. Prizes for the sit-and-draw, creative writing, quiz and debate competitions would also be given on Wednesday.
Brother Satish, the principal of Loyola High School, believes education is incomplete without co-curricular activities. “It is a very good initiative taken by The Telegraph. A student’s holistic education and growth is necessary and it would be possible only if academics and co-curricular are kept side by side. It is quite essential,” he said.
Students are looking forward to the next five days. For some, it would be a welcome break from studies, while for others it’s festival they are extremely excited about.
Patna Central School student Saket Kumar plans to participate in the 400m sprint at The Telegraph Shikhar 2014. He said the inter-school programme would prove to be a platform for the students to pursue their talents.
The Class X student added: “My pre-boards are coming up but I have still decided to spare some time for Shikhar. Athletics is my passion and I want to compete in the 400m race.”
Shashi Kant, a Class X student of International School, is also very excited. He said: “The competition would be a much-needed break from the serious world of studies. This would also be a good platform for me to explore things I love to do such as creative writing.”
For both Udaan and Shikhar, among the different awards, prizes would be given out for Best School, Best Student, Best Athlete, Best Quizzing Team and Best Debating Team.
Ramanuj Prasad, the BSEB principal, said: “Udaan and Shikhar are a golden opportunity for the students to showcase their talents. When we say talent, we don’t always mean academics. A student should be versatile and always follow his/her passion.”
