100th-year fete today for iconic National High School

National High School, an institution that proudly traces its origins to the freedom movement, is commemorating its centenary year with a big event on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind is the chief guest at the school in Basavangudi on Saturday.

The institution was founded in 1917 by Annie Besant, Congress president and one of the leaders of the Indian nationalist movement.

It was one of 11 such schools she founded across the country. In the decades that followed, it rose to glory, becoming a south Bengaluru hub of education and culture. Mahatma Gandhi visited the school in 1936. C Rajagopalachari, another leader of the freedom movement, described it to Gandhi as the 'best high school in the country.' National Education Society, which runs the high school and the college, has 20 educational institutions under its wings, 10 of them in the largely rural Chikballapur district.

The society and the school have come a long way from their 'Gandhi school' days.

"We introduced mid-day meals and health camps, and laid emphasis on yoga, physical education, music, dance and theatre as part of the learning process long before the government adopted them," said A H Rama Rao, president, National Education Society.

Among the alumni are cricketers E A S Prasanna, B S Chandrashekhar and Anil Kumble.