Kalimpong, Oct. 9: Rockvale Academy, set up here in 1984 with about 100 students, celebrated its silver jubilee today with a day-long programme.

The school has over 1,200 students on its rolls, including many from Bangladesh, Thailand and Singapore.

Director Prakash Pradhan said the focus of the school was all-round development of students. Rahul Pradhan of Class XII agreed with him. “We have many extra-curricular activities, but not at the cost of education. I have been here since KG and I am happy.”

Rockvale is not the only one to cash in on the hills’ reputation as a centre of school education. In Kalimpong, there are four ICSE/ISC schools that are not run by missionaries. “When we started, some used to say only missionaries can run schools. The credit for our success goes to the people of Kalimpong who kept their faith in us,” said Tapan Pradhan, the director of Saptashree Gyanpeeth.