1988
The request
During a journey through Zanskar, Marc Damiens is asked by parents in the valley to help their children get a proper education. The association Aide au Zanskar is founded in France in response.
About the school
A school that begins in a borrowed room
Lamdon Model High School was founded in 1989 with fifty-three children, two classrooms lent by the monastery at Pibiting, and a request made by parents in the valley.
Purpose
A modern education that keeps Zanskar intact
The purpose of the school is a modern education that keeps the traditions of Zanskar intact — both held inside the official programme of the Ministry of Education rather than set against it.
Lamdon carries the same obligations as a government school in India. The school year opens in March and closes in November or December depending on the weather; the coldest months are the long holiday. Classes run Monday to Saturday, and each period lasts thirty-five minutes.
LMHS is part of the Indian association of the Pibiting/Ufti school and carries the same obligations as a government school in India. Children are admitted from four or five years old into the lower kindergarten year, and the school teaches through to Grade 10.
HISTORICALAssociation Aide au Zanskar (AAZ) — supporting organisation · 2022 · source · reviewed 2026-09
300+
students on roll
Close to parity between girls and boys.
12
classes, LKG to Grade 10
Two kindergarten years followed by Grades 1 to 10.
~20
teachers
With five further staff for stewardship, supervision and maintenance.
3,600 m
altitude of the valley floor
HISTORICALAssociation Aide au Zanskar (AAZ) — supporting organisation · 2022 · source · reviewed 2026-09
1989 · the first intake
53
children in the first two classes
11
girls
42
boys
HISTORICALAssociation Aide au Zanskar (AAZ) — supporting organisation · 2022 · source · reviewed 2026-09
The record
Thirty-three years of building
The milestones below are drawn from the archive of Association Aide au Zanskar, the association that has supported the school since its founding. They are presented as historical record; the school's own current account of itself takes precedence once confirmed.
- HISTORICAL
1989
HISTORICALTwo rooms at Pibiting
The first school opens in two rooms made available by the Buddhist monastery of Pibiting, near Padum, and takes in 53 students — 11 girls and 42 boys.
1991
HISTORICALThe first school building
A purpose-built school is constructed at Pibiting and almost immediately holds close to 200 students.
2000
HISTORICALRecognition as a high school
Lamdon Model School is recognised as a high school and becomes Lamdon Model High School. Two further class levels are added.
2001
HISTORICALA second building at Ufti
A second building is inaugurated at Ufti, immediately adjacent to Pibiting.
2011–2014
HISTORICALBioclimatic classrooms
New buildings for the lower classes are built with Architectes Sans Frontières. Douchan Palacios and Vanessa de Castro Cerda apply earthquake-resistant construction and passive solar technique at altitude.
2014
HISTORICALThe new campus is inaugurated
The campus is formally opened: twelve classrooms, housing for teachers, and a multipurpose hall.
2017–2019
HISTORICALAn eco-responsible boarding house
A bioclimatic boarding house is built with Atelier Tanka — Douchan Palacios and Romain Condomitti — for the students who live furthest from school.
2021
HISTORICALA science laboratory is proposed
At the request of the Union Department of Education, a science laboratory is designed as a separate insulated building outside the main block.
HISTORICALAssociation Aide au Zanskar (AAZ) — supporting organisation · 2022 · source · reviewed 2026-09
Examination record
476
students have sat the Grade 10 examinations at Lamdon, 1999–2025
Between 1999 and 2025, 476 students sat the Grade 10 Secondary School Certificate examinations at Lamdon. The certificate marks the completion of studies at the school; the majority of students go on to further education outside Zanskar.
AAZ's published material describes these results as ranking Lamdon the best school in Zanskar. That is AAZ's assessment of the record it documents, not an official ranking.
No pass percentages are published here. Year-by-year results are held by the school and will appear on this page once supplied and verified.
HISTORICALAssociation Aide au Zanskar (AAZ) — supporting organisation · 2026-02 · source · reviewed 2026-09