Ballygunge: The World Cup fever has caught on at Modern High School for Girls with students of the primary and junior sections being asked to find out all about the eight countries playing the quarter-finals.

The girls have been given assignments woven around the World Cup to spark interest in the game as well as the participating countries.

Classes III, IV and V are expected to support a team, know which country their team is playing against, the captains and an important player from the team. The girls have also been asked to find out a favourite food item from the country, a tourist destination and any interesting fact about the country.

Additionally, the Class V students must also know the names of all teams playing the quarter-finals, be able to identify their flags, know their currencies, heads of state, any river/mountain and any place of interest in the country.

The junior school also has a board where the girls can predict which team will win.

The idea is to learn from everything around oneself and not restrict lessons to textbook teaching.

"The World Cup fever is on and everyone is watching the matches. This is the perfect opportunity for the students of the primary and junior schools to learn about the various countries," said Devi Kar, director, Modern High School.

Aban Confectioner, the head of the primary and junior sections of the school, feels the World Cup is not just about football. "With so many countries playing, it can be platform to widen your knowledge base without saying open your textbook and find out where is this country and which is the capital. Considering we have 32 countries to start with, it's been quite a learning experience," she said.

"Little bits of information are being exchanged in class and in the assembly. But we decided to focus a little extra so that everyone gets involved and not only those children whose families are interested in football," Confectioner said.

The efforts have definitely borne fruit as a four-year-old girl in LKG recently came up with "M for Messi".

The exit of big teams like Argentina created an opportunity for students to learn that "everyone fails sometimes... you cannot win all the time".

The school will also celebrate World Cup Soccer Day on July 6, nine days before the final is played in Moscow. Students have been asked to come to class in a team jersey of their choice or a T-shirt in the team colour with a strict instruction that these are not to be bought.

School soccer coach Ratan Postwalla, will speak to the Class V girls about the game, encourage them to ask questions and conduct a quiz.