The Blue Mountains School was founded in 1962 by the renowned educationist and pioneer of the Indian Public School movement, the late F.G. Pearce who was deeply inspired by the Teachings on Education of the renowned Thinker and Philosopher J. Krishnamurti.

Frederick Gordon Pearce was the founder Principal of the Rishi Valley School, Madanapalle during 1949-59. In the early nineteen-sixties, he began his missionary venture in ‘New Education’ and started The Blue Mountains School. Also associated with him was a group of renowned educationists that included Messrs. David Horsburgh, J. P. Gunawardane and Sardar Mohammed Malik.

The Blue Mountains School in the Nilgiris is a residential and co-educational institution that endeavours to base its life and learning on a process of self-discovery; as such, certain features of the school and its over-all ethos distinguish it radically from other residential and Public Schools. Some of these features are:

•	Small number of students – total strength limited to 100 only
•	Broad based curriculum.
•	An individual approach to academic learning and progress.
•	Vertically grouped classes.
•	No reward – No punishment - No comparison system.
•	Focus on individual excellence of the students.
•	Living in co-operation rather than competition.
•	Community life participation.
•	Exposure to the Arts.
•	Informal, personal and disciplined relationship between teacher and the taught.
•	Emphasis on a correct relationship with one’s physical and social environment.
•	Intensive individual care and attention to the primary needs of each child.
•	Secular and cosmopolitan composition.
•	Excellent board and lodge facilities.

The school, administered and managed by a Governing Body has a team of qualified and experienced personnel that have an international exposure. Classes are small with the teacher student ratio of 1:10 and each dormitory has about 14 children. Resident teachers/teacher couples live next to each dormitory to look after the children. The children and their mentors are from different parts of the country and abroad.

Located in its own spacious building on a 5 acre campus on the south-eastern slopes facing the beautiful Ooty valley, an old English style residential building and estate (formerly the private residence of a British Raj Governor of Burma), have been adapted for the requirements of a small educational community without destroying the informal and homely environment. The main building, surrounded by a magnificent cypress-hedge was eventually acquired by the Trust from the former ruling family of Vijayanagaram.

English is the medium of instruction. Hindi and Tamil are also taught. Where inclined, children were encouraged to keep in touch with their mother tongue.

The school has been affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi (http://www.cisce.org) since 1966 and its affiliation are current. The co-educational and fully residential school provides egg-vegetarian meals.

The Blue Mountains School is a community where children can discover who they are and where their interests lie; giving them an opportunity to recognize and utilize their energies positively; an environment of learning that is not threatening; an atmosphere where they have the courage to take their minds for a walk and ask questions; a place where they learn not only to respect each other but the true meaning of Democracy; a comfort zone where they can think and relax; an interactive area where they learn to apply a self-imposed discipline; a meeting ground of minds where they realise that aesthetics is a process of thinking...a centre of learning where they learn about Freedom - that there is a condition to it. That to achieve freedom to do something they have to know what it is they want to achieve - a theme; that, if you want to be treated well by others then the process has to start within yourself first. If you want to be treated like an adult by others then you have to accept and put into practise the responsibilities that go with the process of maturity. Freedom is a process of the mind that demands discipline – not regimentation – you need to think beautiful. There is always a choice! It just happens to be the power over the mind. It depends on what you choose……………… Again a process of the mind!

We nurture the Intelligences of the young people because they are the individuals - boys and girls - who hopefully will bring about a positive change in our society. We believe in "Creating Ripples in a Vacuum Pond".

In the words of Yevgeny Yevtushenko:

Telling lies to the young is wrong.
Proving to them that lies are true is wrong.
Telling that god’s in his heaven
And all’s well with the world is wrong.
The young know what you mean. The young are people.
Tell them the difficulties can’t be counted,
And let them see not only what will be
But see with clarity these present times.
Say obstacles exist they must encounter
Sorrow happens, hardship happens.
To hell with it. Who never knew
The price of happiness will not be happy.
Forgive no error you recognize,
It will repeat itself, increase,
And afterwards our pupils
Will not forgive in us what we forgave.