Central School for Tibetans (CST), Kalimpong is one of the six residential schools managed by the CTSA, New Delhi. It was established in 1964 with Mr. T. Lhawang as its founding Principal. It was then one of the largest residential Tibetan school with over 800 boarders. However, in 1971 it was down graded to a middle day school and all the boarders were shifted to Central Schools for Tibetans at Mussoorie, Shimla and Darjeeling. In 1977, the school was once again upgraded to the Secondary level and in 1988 further raised to Senior Secondary level. The CTSA took over the hostel in 1996, which had been run through the Department Of Education, Dharamsala since 1971. In the same year the CTSA acquired the school building and the premises covering roughly 4 acres of land for the purpose of running the CST Kalimpong. These major developments went a long way in consolidating and stream lining the school along the lines of other residential schools.

The current enrollment is 554 (256 boys and 298 girls) of which 270 are boarders. The school has about 40 faculty staff members and provides healthy modern education, firmly based on moral values and in congruence with Tibetan cultural traditions. It follows the curriculum set by Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi. The school has classes from KG to XII with humanities at the senior secondary level. It has two science labs, a large library, a computer lab and a well equipped resource center. In the board examinations of 2001, the pass percent of Class X was 68% & Class XII 100% for the third successive year. In the common annual examinations the pass percent for Class V was 77.4%, Class VIII-77.3%, Class IX-54% & Class XI-93%. The overall pass percent of the whole school was 85.4% for the academic session 2000-01.

The school has a fine Scouts and Guides programme which participated in the National Integration Camp in New Delhi and performed Tibetan song and dances at the Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. Co-curricular activities are conducted along Inter-house or Inter-class levels emphasising mass participation at all levels. Morning assembly activities, debates, quiz, declamation and recitations form some of these activities in which children actively participate.

Mr. Kalsang T. Bhutia is the current Principal of the school and Mr. Tsering Lhakpa the School Rector.