The Druk White Lotus School
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The Druk White Lotus School is located in Shey,
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, in northern
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and is known locally as the Druk Padma Karpo School. Karpo means White and Padma means Lotus in the local language Bodhi.


About

The school was started at the request of the people of Ladakh who wanted a school that would help maintain their rich cultural traditions, based on
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
, while equipping their children for a life in the 21st century. The masterplan and school buildings, designed by architects and engineers from
Arup Associates Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environmen ...
and Ove Arup & Partners, combine local building techniques and materials with leading edge environmental design to make them effective in the extreme climate. In 2012, landscape architects from the School of Architecture, Design and Construction at the
University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...
began work on a landscape master plan and garden for the DWLS School. The school offers a broad education, initially in the
Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible wi ...
and English. Residential blocks allow children from Ladakh's remote areas to attend, and a programme of sponsorship ensures that the poorest are not excluded. It is managed by the
Druk The Druk ( bo, འབྲུག, dz, ་) is the "Thunder Dragon" of Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the flag of Bhutan, holding jewels to represent wealth. In Dzongkha, Bhutan is called ''Dru ...
Pema Karpo Educational Society and financed with money raised internationally. Druk White Lotus/Padma Karpo school is being built in stages. The Nursery and Infant Courtyard opened in September 2001, and the Junior School in November 2004. Middle and Secondary School facilities were built year by year as funds permitted, with the last two secondary school classrooms completed in 2014. Additional facilities for residential students and the school are ongoing. The school was featured in a 2007 episode of the
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series Design e2,
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"Human Network" advertisement as well as the Aamir Khan movie ''
3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' (stylized as ''3 idiots'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Cheta ...
''. The school was damaged in August 2010 when cloudbursts caused flash floods that washed mud and boulders into many school buildings. The Bollywood star
Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...
made a special effort to lend a helping hand.


Founder, patrons and supporters

Founder *The
Gyalwang Drukpa The Gyalwang Drukpa () is the honorific title of the head of the Drukpa Lineage, one of the independent Sarma (new) schools of Vajrayana Buddhism. This lineage of reincarnated masters started from Tsangpa Gyare, the first Gyalwang Drukpa and fou ...
Patrons *The
14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
*The 2nd Thuksey Rinpoche Honorary patrons *
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OBE
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Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...
*
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Countess
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and Viscountess Cowdray Supporters *
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Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
*Peaks Foundation


Awards

*The International Architecture in Stone Award, 2013: *The Emirates Glass LEAF Awards, 2012 for 'Best Sustainable Development': *‘Test of Time: Environmental’ Award from the British Council for School Environments, 2012: *Design for Asia Grand Award, 2009: *Award for ‘Inspiring Design – International’ from the British Council for School Environments, 2009: *Australian National Association of Women in Construction, 2005: **''Sinclair Knight Merz Award for Achievement in Development'' *British Consultants and Construction Bureau – International Expertise Awards, 2003: **''Large Consultancy Firm of the Year 2003'' ( Arup Associates) *World Architecture Awards, 2002, ( Arup Associates): **''Best Asian Building'' **''Best Education Building'' **''Best Green Building (joint winner)''


See also

*
Tibetan Children's Villages Tibetan Children's Villages or TCV is an integrated community in exile for the care and education of orphans, destitutes and refugee children from Tibet. It is a registered, nonprofit charitable organization with its main facility based at D ...


References


External links


The Druk White Lotus School

Arup Associates
article o
the school
and it
awards

His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa
school founder.

by the
University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
.
'Cisco Systems Human Network'
microsite.
The Dragon Garden at the Druk White Lotus School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Druk White Lotus school Buddhist schools Education in Ladakh 2001 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Educational institutions established in 2001