Within the largest and most competitive sector of the league tables this year, the CISCE and IBO-affiliated The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar/Moulsari in Delhi NCR has regained its top ranking in India’s best co-ed day schools 2014-15 last attained in 2011. 

It augurs well for the future of gender relations and equality, that co-ed day schools constitute the largest number of primary-secondary institutions included in the league tables of the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2014-15. Of the 931 schools ranked this year, 596 are co-ed day schools in India’s best co-ed day schools 2014-15. It indicates that progressive and enlightened households countrywide are beginning to accept the self-evident proposition that if boys and girls study together, they will develop mutual understanding and respect.

Within this largest and most competitive sector of the league tables this year, there has been a change in the seating at top table. The highly-fancied CISCE and IBO affiliated The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar/Moulsari (TSRS) in Delhi NCR, always ranked among the Top 5 since 2008 and #4 in 2013, has regained its nationwide top ranking last attained in 2011.

TSRS is followed by Mumbai’s traditionally highly-ranked Cathedral & John Connon School, #3 last year and the Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore (#2 in 2013). This year the northern region™s 2,915 respondents have awarded a relatively lower score to Delhi’s Vasant Valley School, top ranked in 2012 and 2013, placing it #4. Reflecting a healthy dispersal of excellent co-ed day schools around the country, the KFI School, Adyar, Chennai retains its #5 position at top table.

Further down the Top 10 table of India’s best co-ed day schools 2014-15 there have been minor seat adjustments with the Smt. Sulochana Devi Singhania School, Thane, Mumbai (#5) and Step by Step, Noida (#6) having exchanged their 2013 rankings, and Springdales, Delhi retaining its #7 rank. Two noteworthy entrants into the national Top 10 are relatively new schools based in the glass and steel satellite city of Gurgaon (Haryana)” The Shri Ram School, Aravali (estb. 2000) and the Heritage School (estb. 2002), which have been voted #8 (from 14 last year) and #9 (13) respectively in 2014.

Likewise Mother’s International, Delhi has also moved up from #13 in 2013 to #10 this year, a position it shares with the relatively new Inventure Academy, Bangalore (estb. 2005) which has acquired a national reputation. With new entrants into the Top 10 this year, the Vidya Niketan Academy, Bangalore and Sanskriti School, Delhi have had to yield rank.

Manika Sharma, director of The Shri Ram Schools, Delhi NCR which have an aggregate of 4,500 students and 800 teachers on their muster rolls, is delighted that TSRS, Vasant Vihar/Moulsari (estb. 1988) has regained its #1 status after an interregnum of three years. TSRS, Aravali has also made it to the Top 10 table after she took charge as director of the TSRS group of schools in 2013, and completes a silver jubilee (25 years) of service this year.

During the past two years we have made teacher development and empowerment as also training of our senior administrators special focus areas, with continuous in-service training initiatives. Simultaneously, we have developed new programmes to involve our parents community with our special needs, life skills development and conflict management programmes. Widespread awareness of these new initiatives for whole school development is perhaps behind our top ranking this year, says Sharma.

Likewise Meera Isaacs, the long-serving principal of Mumbai’s Cathedral & John Connon School (CJCS), expresses satisfaction that this vintage institution (estb. 1860) is moving up in the EW league tables towards reclaiming its top national ranking attained in 2010. Evidently, word that CJCS has experienced a digital learning revolution in recent years and of our intensive teacher improvement programme being executed with Tata Classedge, has got around.

Moreover the smooth progress of our affiliated fully residential IGCSE and IBO affiliated Cathedral Vidya School in Lonavala has had a positive rub-off on us, says Isaacs who is especially thrilled that CJCS has been top-ranked on the parameter of leadership and management quality, a personal accolade which she modestly interprets as an award to the collective leadership of the school’s board, teachers and parents. It’s pertinent to also note that CJCS is ranked #8 nationwide on the basis of the actual performance of its 107 students who wrote CISCE’s class XII ISC school-leaving exam last March.

Mallika Sen, principal of the Bangalore-based Inventure Academy (IA, estb. 2005) which  seems to have emerged as a permanent invitee to the  co-ed day schools national  Top 10 table, is also delighted with IA’s #10 ranking this year, and especially with the school’s #2 rank (#3 in 2013)  in Karnataka and Bangalore. Sen is particularly enthused that IA has been highly rated on the parameters of infrastructure development and sports education in which the school’s management has invested heavily, and for parental involvement. The mission and objective of IA is to provide holistic and balanced primary-secondary education to foster excellence. Thus there is strong emphasis on innovation and invention, skills development and translating academic theory into practice through hands-on experimentation, says Sen who brought decades of professional experience as principal of the routinely top-ranked (day-cum-boarding) The Valley School, Bangalore (1990-2014) and the KFI and Aga Khan foundations when she signed on as principal of IA last year.

Adds Nooraine Fazal, a former globe-trotting New York-based Citibank manager who co-promoted IA in 2005, and is currently managing trustee and chief executive of this CISCE and CIE (UK)-affiliated school which has an aggregate enrolment of 913 students mentored by 120 teachers:  We believe the purpose of education is not just to enable a student to be college or career ready, but to enable her to maximise her potential and develop into the best human being she can be.