Introduction

In Kolkata there is a tremendous amount of competition for school places. Not only are there few places but all children are required to go for an interview before being accepted and school fees are needed. This makes it impossible for street children to attend school. A recent estimate put the number of schools needed in Kolkata at three times the present level.

All the Future Hope children attend school. Today we have a number of children attending top Kolkata schools such as Loretto, St. Lawrence and St James'. We have several children studying for degrees both in Kolkata, principally with St Xavier's College, and in the UK .

Future Hope also has its own English medium school. Based in Future Hope's Rowland Road complex the School was set up in 1993. The school caters to the special needs of our children by operating an informal classroom environment. Children from the streets often find it difficult to concentrate, dislike confined spaces and in many cases do not know how to draw, paint or write. It is therefore important first to help the child settle in and learn to play and adjust in a very informal classroom environment. Following this method we find that within a year most of the children are well settled in school.

The Future Hope School has grown rapidly over the years and now not only caters to the youngsters resident in the Future Hope homes but also disadvantaged children from the local bustees (slums). In total there are more than 150 children in the school and we have classes going from Kindergarden to Class 10. We try to keep a good teacher to pupil ratio and no class has more than 20 children in it.