Best Co-ed Day-cum-Boarding Schools 2016-17, i.e day schools that also host a substantial number of boys and girls as boarders, constitute a special category in the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings.

The league table of India’s best co-ed day-cum-boarding schools has experienced a churn this year. After two years at the top, the reign of Daly College, Indore has ended with the Modern School, Barakhamba Road, Delhi (MSBR, estb.1920) pipping it by a short nose this year. And although Delhi Public School, RK Puram, a long-standing member of the high end of the Top 10 table, retains its #3 rank, this year it’s obliged to share it with the new genre Greenwood High, Bangalore which has been rising in the esteem of the informed public with each passing year. Delhi Public School, Dwarka (Delhi) has also retained last years #4 ranking, but two non-metro schools — SAI International, Bhubaneswar and Sanskaar Valley, Bhopal — both ranked #5 — have been promoted to the high end of the Top 10 table of co-ed day-cum-boarding schools.

Co-ed day-cum boarding schools, i.e, day schools which also host a substantial number of boys and girls as boarders, constitute a special category in the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) surveys. Unlike day schools simpliciter which attract local students, co-ed day-cum-boarding schools tend to pitch themselves higher to draw students from all parts of the country, and often from abroad. Therefore in terms of infrastructure, co-curricular and sports education, student care and services, as also student body diversity, they tend to offer more holistic education and better facilities. Therefore, they are ranked separately in the national and international categories.

Unsurprisingly, Dr. Vijay Datta, who was appointed principal of MSBR (which hosts 150 boarders) in 2014 after acquiring valuable teaching and admin experience at Mayo College, Ajmer (1991-2011) and Army Public School, Dagshai (2011-14), is elated with the promotion of this school from #3 last year to top rank in 2016. “MSBR has a tradition of tirelessly striving for excellence in academics, co-curricular activities and sports. The dedication which drives our teachers and students, has brought this accolade. For this achievement, I must also place on record the valuable leadership and guidance provided by our board of trustees and the managing committee of the school”, says Datta, an awardee of a Ph D in life skills and emotional intelligence management of the Regional Institute of Education, Ajmer.

Dr. Amlan Saha, principal of the Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal (SVS, estb.2006), which has made a great leap forward in public perception from #32 in 2013 and #9 last year into the Top 5, also believes the promotion is due to the sustained effort of faculty and students to improve learning outcomes and co-curricular and extra-curricular education in this CISCE (Delhi) and CIE (UK)-affiliated K-12 school promoted by the Dainik Bhaskar newspapers group a decade ago.

“Its a matter of great pride for us that Sanskaar Valley has been ranked among India’s Top 5 co-ed day-cum-boarding schools within the first decade of our existence. SVS is a student-centric institution, committed to continuous improvement in all areas of education. I believe our rise in public esteem would not have been possible without our faculty, which has been working hard on implementing our international curriculum in our classrooms to develop students leadership capabilities and train them to become innovative and creative thinkers”, says Saha, an alumnus of the Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan and former deputy headmaster of the top-ranked Assam Valley School, Balipara, who was appointed principal of SVS in 2008.

The mood of quiet satisfaction for steady progress in institutional development is also pervasive in the Sai International School, Bhubaneswar. After having consolidated its premier position in the eastern seaboard state of Odisha (pop.44 million) year after year, it has now been promoted to the national Top 5. “I am delighted Sai International has been ranked among the Top 5 co-ed day-cum-boarding schools of India. I believe a major share of the credit for the schools rising reputation should go to our stakeholders — teachers, students and parents — who are deeply involved with the planning and development of the school. This co-operation and mutual support has enabled us to launch several new path-breaking initiatives. Among them: our Sai Sanskar traditional values-based cultural and spiritual programme for all classes, and promotion of Sai Angan, a state-of-the-art pre-primary which teaches a multi-sensory development curriculum based on the Multiple Intelligences pedagogy. Moreover, work has begun for the construction of a new Sai International Residential School which will admit its first batch in April, 2018. All these initiatives and our children’s excellent scores in the CBSE class XII exam this year have evidently impressed the sample respondents of eastern India”, says Bijoy Sahoo, a former chartered accountant-turned-edupreneur who has shaken up pre-primary to class XII education in eastern India with the promotion of Sai International in 2008.

Further down the co-ed day-cum-boarding schools league table, two Delhi-based Delhi Public Schools — DPS, Vasant Kunj and DPS, Mathura Road — have dramatically improved their respective rankings to #6 (#12 in 2015) and #7 (13), while Emerald Heights, Indore has been moved up a notch to be jointly ranked #6 (7). Ebenezer International, Bangalore at #8 (10) is tied with Pallikoodam School, Kottayam ranked (10) while the Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Begumpet has been promoted to #9 (12), Summer Valley School, Dehradun to #9 (13), with another duo of DPS schools in Delhi NCR (Noida, and Greater Noida) tied at #10.

“We are pleased with our new improved ranking and to learn that HPS is ranked among the Top 10 co-ed day-cum-boarding schools in India, and #1 in Telangana. We will continue to work towards improving our ranking ever year because we have always believed that success is not a destination but a journey. Although HPS is a 93-year-old institution, we don’t believe in resting on our past laurels and continue to introduce new policies and pedagogy initiatives such as constantly updated SMART classrooms, sports fields, and co-curricular activities. Sports education is given high importance in HPS. Professional coaches guide and mentor students in a wide range of track and field sports, and we are proud that our teams win almost all major school championships in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”, says Ramandeep Kaur Samra, principal of the CISCE (Delhi)-affiliated HPS, Begumpet (estb. 1923) whose alumni include Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, entrepreneur Lord Karan Bilimoria and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle. An alumnus of the Punjabi University, Patiala, Samra headed Air Force School, Jodhpur and Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur before she was appointed principal of HPS, Begumpet in 2014. Currently the school has 3,200 students including 150 boarders mentored by 145 teachers on its muster roll.

Beyond the Top 10, co-ed day-cum-boarding schools which have risen in public esteem include Apeejay, Noida at #11 (#15 in 2015); Srinidhi International, Hyderabad #12 (15); Royal Global, Guwahati #14 and #1 in Assam (21); Springdales School, Jaipur #17 and #1 in Rajasthan (20); Neerja Modi, Jaipur #18 (26), DPS, Bhilai #19 and #1 in Chhattisgarh (24), Gyan Ganga International, Jabalpur #19 (32) and DPS, Jaipur #20 (28) tied with St. Peters Sr Sec School, Kochi (21) — all of them ranked among the Top 20 countrywide.

The league table of India’s best co-ed day-cum-boarding schools comprises over 70 institutions and includes a large number of schools highly ranked in states and cities. Limitations of space don’t allow the freedom to highlight and elaborate the strenuous efforts being exerted by their principals and managements to raise teaching-learning standards.

But among the institutions in this category which have advanced notably are: Ryan International, Beta 1, Greater Noida (from #30 in 2015 to #22); L.K. Singhania Education Centre, Nagaur (59 to #23); Mann Public School, Delhi (50 to #25); Doon International, Dehradun (39 to #35); DPS, Durg (61 to #42); Sunbeam Suncity, Varanasi (57 to #45); Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Bhopal (60 to #50), with the previously unranked Gyan Ganga International Academy, Bhopal, Scholars Public, Morena and Treamis World School, Bangalore debuting at #65, #68 and #70 this year.

Also read: India’s Best Co-ed Boarding Schools 2017-18