About Gandaki Boarding School & Gandaki College of Sciences, Lamachaur, Pokhara

The main office building og Gandaki Boarding School with the beautiful Annapurna Range in the background

G.B.S., as the school is presently known, began as Nepali Adarasha Vidhyalaya (N.A.V.). It is located in the small village of Lamachaur at the northern end of the Pokhara valley, Nepal. It is on the banks of the Seti River and is overshadowed by Mt. Machhapuchhare and the Annapurna Range.

The school began as a result of talks between three groups in December 1965: (i) members of the local community Laxya B'dur Gurung and Bhupi Sherchan, (ii) Dr Gerald Turner and Mr Stan Wall representing the Shining Hospital (now the International Nepal Fellowship); and (iii) Mr Jonathan Lindell and Mr Howard Barclay representing the United Mission to Nepal (U.M.N.). Further meetings and planning in March 1966 led to the opening of N.A.V. on the llth of June 1966. (30th Jestha 2023).

The school had a tentative beginning. All buildings were of mud and bamboo structure with thatched roofs. There were 45 boarders, 16 day students and teaching staff of 5 led by the first Principal, Mrs Martha Mukhia.

Since then, the school has gone through several Phases of development. The land on which the school is built was bought in 1968 and the building programme by U.M.N. has provided durable and attractive hostels, teaching, dining and recreational facilities which will serve generations of Nepali school children.

For the first 15 years, the U.M.N. provided finance and personnel, but in accordance with its policy of Nepalisation, the school was officially handed over to Nepali management in 1981. It was then run as a local, Nepali medium boarding school, although the U.M.N. continued to provide some scholarship funds and a small number of teaching staff.

But in 1984 there was a significant new development. As a result of the National Education Committee's "Project Proposal for Regional Schools", 1983, the U.M.N. was asked by His Majesty's Government of Nepal (H.M.G.N.) to assist in establishing Nepal's first Regional School, using the existing facilities in Lamachaur.
An agreement between H.M.G.N. was signed on the 27th Nov. 1984.
G.B.S. has followed the guidelines outlined in this agreement.


The school provides an excellent environment for the students with scenic views of mountain as above.

· G.B.S. provides a good, all-round education for boys and girls of Nepal by following the national Higher Secondary Education Curriculum and aspiring to an international standard of education.

· All students are only admitted on the basis of academic merit and all must pass the entrance examinations, normally at Class 4 level.

· The scholarship programme enables intelligent, gifted, but financially disadvantaged girls and boys from more than 38 districts to study at the school. Consideration is given to helping students from remote areas.

· The teaching medium is English with an emphasis on an all-round education, including sport and extra-curricular activities. The development of a good character and responsible citizenship is also important.

· Staff are given extra training opportunities to ensure their own professional development. This includes School based training as well as training in Nepal and in other Countries.

· U.M.N. continues to provide personnel to the school. This includes at the present time: The Principal; Senior teachers in; English, Maths & Computer, Science & Physical Education.

· The resources of the school are to be used whenever possible to benefit teachers and other schools in the Region. (e.g. providing seminars.)

· The administration of the school is through the School Managing Committee, which is responsible directly to the N.E.C. Internally, the regular running of the school is the responsibility of the Principal.

INTRODUCTION OF HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION AND BSc IN APPLIED COMPUTER SCIENCE

An inspiring dawn at GBS. (Photographed from room no. 6, hostel 10)

At the instigation of the N.E.C., G.BS. pioneered the 10 + 2 Higher Secondary Certificate programme that is planned to replace the I.Sc courses at University campuses. The first group of 10 + 2 students began year 11 in 1992, using the Higher Secondary study centre at G.B.S., which has a high quality facility.
Again in 1999, GBS with affiliation from Pokhara University opened the Gandaki College of Sciences which currently provides BSc degree in Applied Computer Science.

G.B.S. is constantly planning and developing with the assistance
and guidance of the United Mission to Nepal; it continues to serve
the people of Nepal.

The objectives of the school are expressed in the school motto.

-KNOWLEDGE, CHARACRER, SERVICE.-

About GBS & GCS