Hindustan Times - C fore Top Schools Survey
2012 Mumbai
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
A guide fo
hindustantimes MUMBAI
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e are very pleased to present to readers the fourth HT Top Schools Survey. As we did last year, we have refined the methodology to reflect our own deepening understanding of the issues and by incorporating sensible suggestions from readers. See ‘Methodology’ for further details. We hope that the survey will help parents with one of the most significant decisions they will take on behalf of their children: selecting a school. Along with the rankings, we have profiles of the top schools in each zone followed by a series of articles that capture key education trends in the city. We think that the entire series will help not only newcomers to Mumbai but also parents who have lived here all their lives. This is because city schools are rapidly transforming. First, over the past year, Indian policy makers have ushered in radical changes in curricula across boards to make it more student-centric and less marks oriented. Second, international boards are rapidly making inroads in to city schools, raising the cost of education but also ushering in innovative and wider approaches to learning and teaching. Finally, many of today’s generation of highly conscious parents want to be closely involved with their children’s lives at school: they want a lot of information about what goes on at school not only before sending their children there but also afterwards. They would like a school that suits these aspirations. This series takes into account these key shifts in schooling and parenting.
or young parents
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
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TOP SCHOOLS OF MUMBAI
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The 2012 Hindustan Times-C fore Top Schools Survey gave scores to each school across 14 different parameters, from academic rigour to sports. Here is a list of schools ranked in the Top Ten in Mumbai
THE CATHEDRAL & JOHN CONNON SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■ Selection process ■ Teachers ■ Academic rigour BOARD Class 10 – ICSE; Class 12 - ISC Annual fee: R90,000 Student strength: Around 2,000 students Student: Teacher ratio: 16:1
“We strive for excellence in all fronts and keep students at the focal point of all activities. As educators, we recognise the need to ‘walk the talk’ in order to make a lasting impression on young minds.” M E E R A I S A AC S principal
History: The Angelo Scottish Education Society founded in 1860, later became the Cathedral and John Connon School. In its early years, the school was closely associated with St Thomas’ Cathedral, from which it takes its name. Cathedral became a co-educational school in 1965. Unique features: Cathedral was the first school in the country to hold a Model United Nations (MUN), which is now in its 16th year and entirely organised by students. The school’s 80-member strong choir is one of the oldest school choirs in the city. Originally providing choristers to St Thomas’ Cathedral, the cathedral with which the school has been associated and from which it takes its name, the choir performs every Christmas and Founder’s Day. Students are selected on the basis of highly competitive trials. WEBSITE: www.cathedral-school.com ADDRESS: 6, Purshottamdas Marg, Fort
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DHIRUBHAI AMBANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■ Teachers ■ Academic rigour ■ social engagement BOARD Class 10 – ICSE and ICGSE; Class 12 — IB Annual fee: R1,09,500 Student strength: 1,050 boys and girls Student: Teacher ratio:7:1
“We are absolutely delighted that we have been ranked the number one school in Mumbai in the HT Top Schools Survey. As a young school established just nine years ago, this accolade is a tribute to our commitment to provide a world-class educational experience to our children and will inspire us to set new benchmarks of excellence year after year.”
History: The school was opened in January 2003 and is housed in a seven-storeyed building with state-of-the-art laboratories. Nita Ambani, wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, is the chairperson of the school. Unique features: Its students have won scholarships from Stanford, Princeton and Yale, among other international universities. It has hosted the panAsian Inaugural International Sports and Cultural Fest.
N I TA M A M B A N I , founder and chairperson
WEBSITE:www.da-is.org ADDRESS: Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East)
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HIGHEST RATINGS FOR:
SMT. SULOCHANADEVI SINGHANIA SCHOOL
“We prepare students for life and not merely exams. We constantly innovate with teaching-learning processes to develop skill-sets rather than merely disseminating information. A balance between scholastic and nonscholastic skills and valuebased education makes Sulonians what they are.”
■ Academic rigour ■ Teachers ■ Value for money
BOARD Class 10 – ICSE, Class 12 - ISE Annual fee: R39,400 Student strength: 6350 boys and girls Student: Teacher ratio: 27:1
History: Gopalkrishna Singhania established the school in 1968 in the memory of his wife, Sulochanadevi Singhania. The school started functioning in 1969. It is located Thane and has a lush campus of around 10.6 acres. Unique features: Their approach towards education is unique. Till class 4, it follows the thematic teaching pattern, which is designed by the faculty. Students don’t have to carry any notebooks. From class 4 to class 7, they follow a policy called ‘one textbook’. The Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad has made a case study on their teaching policy.
R E VAT H I S R I N I VA S A N , principal
WEBSITE: www.singhaniaschool.org ADDRESS: JK Gram, Thane (West)
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BOMBAY SCOTTISH SCHOOL
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HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■ Teachers Sports ■ Selection process
BOARD Class 10- ICSE, Class 12 - ISC Annual fee: R 40,000 Student strength: Around 3390 students Teacher ratio: 21:1
“The school has excelled, for over 166 years, in providing fine education. We endeavoured kindling a fire in young minds and preparing them for tomorrow.” MELANIE CHANDRASHEKAR, principal
History: In 1847, a group of Scottish missionaries began Bombay Scottish Orphanage School to educate orphans. In 1976, the name was changed to Bombay Scottish School. Unique features: The school is strong at sports, which includes shooting. Every student travels to school by bus. The school has facilities for art, craft, music and gymnastics and holiday workshops. It has distinguished alumni, such as Ranjit Hoskote and Rahul Sharma.
WEBSITE: www.bombayscottish.in ADDRESS: Veer Savarkar Marg, Mahim
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JAMNABAI NARSEE SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■ Cultural activities ■ Value for money ■ Selection process BOARD Class 10 - ICSE, IGCSE and NIOS Class 12 – ISC, IB Annual fee: R40,000 Student strength: 4800 students Student: Teacher ratio: 14: 1
“We believe in child-centric education and every policy of the school veers around the optimal resource utilisation for world class facilities for our children. We hope our students will ably shoulder responsibilities in the future, with true accountability to their country, and with empathy for the greater good of the world.”
History: Brothers Chatrabhuj Pratap and Dharamshee Narsee formed the Shri Narsee Public Charitable Trust in 1959. They established the Narsee Monjee Educational Trust in 1970. Jamnabai Narsee School is named after their mother. Unique features: The school has a resource centre staffed by 11 educators for children with special needs. The school also has a career guidance centre for its IB students. It hosts an annual inter-school festival, ‘Cascades’. It has teams for football, basketball, rugby and swimming. It also hosts a sports week for children with special needs.
S U D E S H N A C H AT T E RJ E E , principal
WEBSITE: www.jns.ac.in ADDRESS: JVPD Scheme, Vile Parle (West)
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DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
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“We attempt to equip our students with life skills and academic skills through delivery of integrated learning programme in tune with international standards, thus creating Life Long Learners ready to meet the constantly changing challenges and need the world around them.”
History: The Navi Mumbai branch of the Delhi Public School, one of the largest schooling institutes in India, began in 1996. Delhi Public Society is a not-for-profit organisation, whose schools are affiliated to the CBSE board.
BOARD Class 10 - ICSE, IGCSE and NIOS Class 12 – ISC, IB Annual fee: R40,000 Student strength: 4800 students Student: Teacher ratio: 14: 1
Unique features: Students from the school participate in various national level competitions such as National Olympiads, National Math Olympiads, International Informatics Olympiads and so on. More than 50% students who appeared for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations last year secured over 90%. Many of them were awarded the CBSE Merit Certificate at the All India Level.
PC CHHABRA, principal
WEBSITE: www.dpsnavimumbai.org ADDRESS: Sector 54, Nerul
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: Cultural activities ■ Governance ■ Sports
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HIRANANDANI FOUNDATION SCHOOL
“The child of today needs to be a happy child, that’s what I believe in. We try to create an environment where children get a rounded personality, with very good infrastructure and great opportunities.” N E E LU L A M B A , principal
History: Hiranandani, a group of property developers, have set up various schools for residents of its townships. This school was established in 1999 and is fast becoming on the finest co-educational English medium schools in the region. Unique features: Following their motto, which means a sound mind in a sound body; students are provided with best facilities. In the past one year, 60 classrooms were equipped with educomp software. The HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: school has set up one more computer laboratory and has topped ■ Selection process in basketball and football at the national level. ■ Attitude towards ■
learning Teachers
BOARD: Class 10 – ICSE, Class 12 - ISE Annual fee: R48,800 Student strength: 2618 boys and girls Student: Teacher ratio: 22: 1
WEBSITE:www.hiranandanischools.edu.in ADDRESS: Hiranandani Estate, Thane
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HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: Academic rigour Sports ■ Selection process ■
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BOARD
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CAMPION SCHOOL
“We are committed to the philosophy that each member of the school community must have the opportunity to reach his full potential, enhance self-esteem, and become a successful part of a changing society.” PA U L M AC H A D O , principal
History: Campion School was founded in 1943, by the Jesuits. The founder principal was Father Joseph Savall. The school started out on a rented ground floor at 45, New Marine Lines with 23 students and shifted its quarters to Wellesely House in January 1948. Unique features: The school has 140 computers connected to an internal network of projectors in every classroom. Most of the teaching staff have been given laptops The school launched the Jesuit Certificate Programme last year for classes 7 to 10. It an optional programme through which students can earn credits through extra-curriculars. WEBSITE:www.campionschool.in ADDRESS: Cooperage Road, Fort
Class 10 - ICSE Annual fee: R63,000 Student strength: 768 students Student: Teacher ratio: 19:1
top schools HINDUSTAN TIMES-C FORE SURVEY 2012
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■
Selection process
■ Academic rigour ■ Teachers
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JB PETIT HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
“There is an incredible buzz at JB Petit. We emphasise creativity, instill a sense of confidence and are not concerned about churning out academic robots. Ours is a happy school.” B I N A I F E R K U TA R , principal
BOARD Class 10 –ICSE Annual fee: R60,000 Student strength: 873 girls Student: Teacher ratio: 22: 1
History: Established in 1860 by an English woman, JB Petit School was originally known as Miss Prescott’s Fort Christian School. In 1946, the school was renamed the JB Petit School for Girls after the man who gave it a new lease of life. Unique features: The school won the International School Award from the British Council for the international dimensions it has fostered in its curriculum. Students participate in the conflict resolution camp, ‘Seeds of Peace’ held in the US every year that aims to empower young leaders from regions of conflict with skills for advancing reconciliation and coexistence.
WEBSITE: www.jbpetithighschool.com ADDRESS: 5, Maharshi Dadhichi Marg, Fort
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10 OBEROI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
HIGHEST RATINGS FOR: ■ Selection process ■ Cultural activities ■ Sports BOARD Class 10 - IGCSE; Class 12 -IB Annual fee: R2,94,000 Student strength: 767 Student: Teacher ratio: 5:1
“OIS is a young school on a roll. We are about education and collaboration and not competition. We strive to develop the full potential of students and celebrate all achievements, big and small.”
History: Oberoi International School began in August 2008 with a vision of providing excellent infrastructure and services that complimented the curriculum offered. It is an initiative of the Oberoi Foundation to provide world-class education focusing on the holistic development of young learners. The school is a contemporary urban school and a part of Oberoi Realty’s integrated township, Oberoi Garden City. Unique features: Knowledge, respect, social responsibility, creativity and celebration of accomplishments are the core values which the school adopts as a part of its identity. Students from almost 16 different nationalities contribute to the cultural diversity of the school.
VLADIMIR KUSKOVSKI, principal
WEBSITE:www.oberoi-is.org ADDRESS: 5, Oberoi Garden City, Goregaon (East)
METHODOLOGY A. Process HT and research firm Cfore conducted the survey in three phases over four months. In the first phase, we sent out an exhaustive questionnaire to 307 private schools in the Mumbai region, asking them to send us detailed data about themselves, such as their studentteacher ratios, total area of all their playgrounds, etc. Of these, 109 schools replied. (We hope that many more will join in next year.) Based on these replies, we assigned each school an objective score. In the second phase, a perceptual survey was conducted among a carefully selected sample of teachers and parents. In all, 2512 respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents were asked to evaluate the schools that they were aware of on a 10 point scale against 18 parameters. We used the same parameters as last year. We had arrived at the parameters based on suggestions from a panel of educationists. Simultaneously, objective data was also collected. In the third phase, Cfore research-ers visited each school shortlisted for ranking based on the objective and perceptual data collected. The data was also audited by talking to parents and students. To arrive at the ranking score, the figures of perceptual and objective data were combined. In case the objective data was not available, the perceptual data scores were extrapolated to rank top 10 schools of each of the five zones of the Mumbai region: north, south, east, west and Navi Mumbai. B. The parameters along which we rated the schools Educational philosophy Attitude towards learning Breadth of vision Social engagement Academic rigour Innovative teaching Quality of teachers Teacher-student relationship Sports Cultural activities Life skills education Infrastructure and facilities Safety, health and hygiene Diversity Selection process Governance Parent participation Value for money
NOTES 1. Despite employing such a comprehensive process, we at HT believe that such rankings cannot be completely objective because people will have different opinions of what they believe constitutes a good education. Some parents might be looking for a school that allows them to be closely involved while others may want the opposite. Some parents might want schools that focus on sports while others may want one where academics dominates. 2. We believe that beyond a particular threshold, it is difficult to objectively rank schools. Indeed, as we have said, our survey includes some subjective, perceptual inputs. Therefore, we will only list in alphabetical order schools that emerged as the top ten in each of the other zones. We have, however, provided rankings for the top ten schools overall in the city because many readers have asked us for it. 3. In any case, we advise parents to look carefully at how schools have scored against the various parameters instead of going just by the overall rank. These scores will indicate to parents which school might better suit their specific aspirations. Indeed, a school that is ranked lower might actually be better suited to a parent and his or her child than the topranked one.