Noonu Atoll School was initially opened on 1st June 1957, by the former Education Minister, Al-Usthaaz Ibrahim Shihaab under the name Madharusatul Nahula. The school was built by the hard work of the citizens of Noonu Manadhoo who built it using Limestone, wood and thatched palm fronds as was the norm in islands during the time. Noonu Atoll School was the first school opened under the administration of President His Excellency Al-Usthaaz Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in 1979. The school was then named Manadhoo Primary School. Later in the year 1981, the school was demolished, and a new modern concrete building was erected in its place, which was built to the highest quality of the time, again through the efforts of the citizens of Manadhoo. The school was then officially renamed as Noonu Atoll School. Further development was seen in the year 1989, as a new building was made, at the current location of Noonu Atoll School, with the aid of the Japanese Government. This building comprised of a hall of 5 classrooms, additional 3 classrooms and a staff room as well as an in-house accommodation for the school headmaster. Noonu Atoll school is the central educational hub of the whole of Noonu Atoll. As student enrolment increased, classroom availability was a prominent issue. To address this, a two-storey building with four classrooms was constructed by the government in the year 2000. Subsequently, in the year 2010, another two-storey building of six classrooms was built and started being used which enabled the school to switch to one session a day instead of the previous two session mode. The school is the first government school in the Maldives to have a preschool in the school premises and cater to children in the preschool age demographic. A special authorization was granted to the school, by the Ministry of Education, to allow the school to teach preschool students within the school as the significance of preschool education was brought to the ministry’s attention first by the head of Noonu atoll School and because the teachers of the school were willing to teach even without a pay. Consequently, the school was the first school in the Maldives to commence classes for Nursey, LKG and UKG. Noonu Atoll School was the first school in Maldives to launch a registered newsletter. It was named ‘Hafthaa Khabaru’ and was published weekly with fifty hand-written copies being rolled out each week. This newsletter became the reason for the school being gifted a printing machine by the Minister of Education, late Mr Zahir Hussain when he noticed the newsletter in an official visit to the school. This printing machine was the first such machine to be brought to the atoll. As a result, documents were sent to the school from government offices across the atoll to print them. Copies of ‘Hafthaa Khabaru’ are archived and available at the Maldives National Library. These copies are the remnant copies of the publication which were sent to government offices in Male’. Additionally, Noonu atoll School was the 12th school in the country to commence its scout Club and participated in the first ever Scout Jamboree held in Maldives.
