Birla Vidya Mandir

Birla Vidya Mandir in Nainital is a residential public school for boys in India which was founded in July 1947. The school is the product of the vision of Govind Ballabh Pant, an Indian independence activist.It was built in the 1870s as Oak Openings High School and the naturalist and story teller Jim Corbett studied at it. In 1905, Oak Openings was amalgamated with the Philander Smith Institute of Mussoorie, resulting in the Philander Smith College. In the wake of the Second World War, Hallet War School was built on the same campus, established for the children of the British who were in India at that time due to the war.Birla Vidya Mandir came into existence in 1947, when Shree G. D. Birla bought the estate.Before India achieved its independence, Pant wanted to start a public school; a donation from Ghanshyam Das Birla, a philanthropist and industrialist, made this possible. Pant then used the estate of Philander Smith, which had housed the Hallet War School during India's war years, to create Birla Vidya Mandir.The school takes admissions from Class 4 to Class 12. Though an English medium school, the ethos is totally Indian. Prayers in Sanskrit are held before every meal and students celebrate the festivals of India.The school is affiliated to CBSE Delhi and is a member of Indian Public School's Conference (IPSC), National Progressive Schools’ Conference(NPSC), CBSE Sahodaya School Complex and International Confederation of Principals (ICP).