La Martiniere students at the prayer. (Bishwarup Dutta)

Infrastructure upgrade and an exchange programme with a French school are on the cards for La Martiniere for boys and girls, which started celebrating their 175th year with a prayer service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday.

“We have plans to set up a games complex that will have a basketball court and a swimming pool,” said Hilda Peacock, the principal of the La Martiniere for Girls.

The school is trying to offer training and practice facilities for other sports at the complex.

The junior students of the La Martiniere for Boys are set to get a block to themselves on the Beckbagan campus.

“The students from Lower Nursery to Class V currently attend classes in three different blocks now. We have planned a new block to bring junior school students under one roof,” said Sunirmal Chakraborty, the principal of the La Martiniere for Boys.

Both schools are working to set up an exchange programme with La Martiniere School, Lyon, France. “The aim is to expose students and staff members to each other’s culture. Our students will visit Lyon and students from there will come here,” said Chakraborty.

A major attraction of the year-long celebrations will be the International Model UN conference to be organised by both the schools in May.

“We keep waiting for this event. Students have to speak like parliamentarians and diplomats at the United Nations,” said Yamini Mukherjee, a Class XI student of the La Martiniere for Girls.

Last year, 25 schools took part in the conference. “This year, we are trying to bring in more schools. Schools from Dhaka and Colombo have confirmed their participation. We are also trying to bring in students from Pakistan,” said a teacher.

The students will stage a two-hour long musical, Phantom of the Opera, as part of the celebrations.