Set on expansive campuses usually in the country’s hill stations, wholly residential international schools offer modern pastoral care combined with the best international curriculums and pedagogies

Within the broad category of international schools, wholly residential international schools are the glamour institutions. Set on expansive campuses — usually in the country’s scenic hill stations — they offer modern pastoral care combined with the best international curriculums and pedagogies. Ranked separately since 2013, exclusive high-end residential schools comprise the smallest category (9) among international schools.   

This category of elite international residential schools has been dominated ab initio by the country’s two vintage international schools — Woodstock School, Mussoorie (estb.1852) and Kodaikanal International School (KIS, estb.1901) — promoted more than 150 years ago by American missionaries. For two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014, KIS reigned as the country’s #1 international residential school followed by Woodstock in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, the hegemony of these two institutions was broken by the home-grown Good Shepherd International School, Ooty (estb.1977) which was jointly ranked #1 with Woodstock.

This year, the sample respondents polled by C fore have once again voted the 165-year-old Woodstock #1 in this category and top-ranked it on the parameters of co-curricular education, individual attention to students and pastoral care across all categories of international schools. Sited high on a 250-acre pristine campus in the Himalayan foothills, Woodstock offers its 510 students a K-12, college-preparatory academic programme that culminates in an American High School Diploma (classes XI-XII) of the US College Board of Advanced Placement with class X students writing CIE’s IGCSE exam. With effect from July this year the school has also integrated the IB middle years and IB Diploma programmes into its curriculum. 

“We are privileged to receive this accolade from EducationWorld. Our #1 rank for three years in a row is a positive indicator of our efforts for constant improvement, which includes our recent integration of the International Baccalaureate into the academic curriculum. Woodstock education goes further than academics, building potential through the arts, sport, community engagement and outdoor learning. An increasing number of parents, in India and globally, are looking for school education that nurtures the whole child. In recent years we have made a concerted effort to build on our strong foundation as Asia’s oldest international boarding school to offer the best possible educational experience for every child,” says Dr. Jonathan Long, an alumnus of Nottingham and Oxford universities and former principal of Mahindra United College, Pune and Aiglon College, Switzerland who was appointed principal of Woodstock in 2011.

Among the school’s ambitious new initiatives, adds Long, are the Centre for Imagination, launched last year to encourage students “to discover their grand passion in life” and Scholarships for Peace programme under which scholarships are awarded to students from conflict-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somaliland, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. 

Ranked second for the third successive year is Woodstock’s traditional rival Kodaikanal International School. Spread across two campuses in the salubrious southern hill station of Kodaikanal, the IB-affiliated KIS is top-ranked on the parameters of internationalism and sports education among all international schools. Currently the school has an enrolment of 450 students from 23 countries and 118 teachers drawn from over 15 nations. “This high ranking is an affirmation of our heritage and progressive education philosophy that puts students first. We are particularly proud of our ranking on internationalism as KIS believes in the power of inclusion and diversity. We are also proud to be recognised for our dedication to sports and holistic education. Last year a team of class IX-X students won first place in the British English Olympiads where over 200 schools from 20 countries participated. Over the next few years, we plan to recruit students from unstable and conflict-ridden regions, providing scholarships to enable the best — regardless of financial background — to access world-class education at KIS,” says Corey Stixrud, an education postgrad of Concordia University, Portland (USA) and a former education consultant who was inducted as vice principal of KIS in 2012 and promoted to the principal’s office in 2014.   

Tied with KIS at second place is Good Shepherd International School, Ooty — both institutions are also jointly ranked #1 in Tamil Nadu. GSIS, which sprawls across 180 acres in the “queen of hill stations” and offers superb academic, sports and co-curricular education facilities, has also been top ranked for infrastructure, life skills education & conflict management, and safety and hygiene among all international schools (day, day-cum-board and residential).

Following GSIS in the league table are the UWC Mahindra College, Pune at #3 and the vintage Hebron School, Ooty (estb.1904) at #4 — both of whom have retained their rankings for four consecutive years. Beyond the Top 4, there’s been a rearrangement of seats at the top of table of India’s elite international residential schools. The SCAD World School, Coimbatore has risen in public esteem to #5 (8 in 2016-17), followed by the Cathedral Vidya School, Lonavala which has retained its #6 position, MIT Pune’s Vishwashanti Gurukul at #7 (5) and Kimberley The International School, Panchkula at #8 (7).  

K. Daniel Lawrence Kumar, principal of SCAD World School (estb.2012), is delighted with its rapid ascent in the league table of the country’s exclusive international residential schools. “This is really a great achievement for a five-year-old school. It’s the result of our dedicated teachers and supporting staff, and parents who are our greatest asset. As a new school we are continuously improving, and plan to introduce international exchange programmes and events, new sport and games facilities and recruit international faculty,” says Kumar.

To view International Residential Schools Rankings 2017, please visit: http://www.educationworld.in/rank-school/all-cities/international-school/residential/2017.html