Exams over, the students of Loreto Day School, Elliot Road, welcomed children not as privileged as them to the campus and spent an action-packed few hours with them.

The special guests — girls from All Bengal Women’s Union, Calcutta Muslim Orphanage, Kolkata Mary Ward Social Centre, students of Rainbow and children of sex workers —were taken on a tour of the campus to mark International Day of the Girl Child.

The school believes in making girls secure and happy and “create an environment conducive to the growth of the girl child”.

“Girls need to break the shackles of obscurity and living under the shadow of men. For this, adults need to create an environment where the girl child develops a sense of empathy, observes, learns to face challenges head-on and be empowered,” said Sister Marilla, the principal of the school.

“It’s not enough for schools to only look after their own girls. They must also teach the girls to support and create opportunities for those less privileged,” she said.

The 200-odd guests and their teachers participated in a host of activities, including sports and talent hunt where the students put up magic show, dance performances and also stand-up comedy.

The visit encouraged intermingling of students from different backgrounds. “Many of them think that life is same for all but it is not. They also start valuing what they have when they see many others who don’t have what they do,” a teacher said.