The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, Pokhara in Nepal was established in 1987 at the Tashiling Tibetan Refugee Camp, Chhorepatan. Over the years, the school has catered to the educational needs of the refugee children at kindergarten to secondary level. At present the school has on roll 480 children, 32 teachers and 18 general staff.

Pokhara lies 200 km to the west of Kathmandu. It is a beautiful valley surrounded by lakes and snow clad mountains. Popular with tourists, as it is the base for several breathtaking trekking routes to Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges in the mid-Himalayas.

The school is run under the auspices of the ‘SOS Children’s Villages, Nepal’ with its head office in Kathmandu. Besides children from SOS Tibetan Children’s Village, Chhorepatan, and nearby settlements of Tashiling, Paljorling, Tashi Palkhiel and Jampaling– which are in and around Pokhara, the school also absorbs Tibetan children from far flung remote regions of Dorpatan, Lo Tserok and Manang along the Tibetan border. The school provides a unique opportunity and access to excellent educational facilities, comparable to the best schools in the country.

The school has separate hostel for senior boys and girl. A total of 197 students have graduated Grade X from the school since the first batch of 1997. The overall pass percentage in all these years has remained about 98%. Beginning from academic session 2005-2006, the school will be up-graded to a Higher Secondary level (Grades XI & XII) with Commerce as the elective subject.

Besides imparting the national curriculum, the school lays strong emphasis on the preservation of Tibetan culture. Tibetan is taught as a compulsory subject up to grade 10. However, non-Tibetan students are not required to study the language. The school remains in close touch with all the other seven SOS Hermannn Gmeiner Schools and SOS Children’s Village Projects in the country.

Mr. Tsering Thondup has been the Principal since its inception. Mr.Gyatso, the Vice-Principal, has equally shared the responsibility in the progress of the school. Both have recently been awarded with the prestigious SOS Ring of Honour from Mr. Helmut Kutin, President of SOS Kinderdorf International on April 3, 2005. The Principal is a recipient of the 25 years’ Service Award from DOE.