Page 44 - EW October 2025

Cover Story EW INDIA IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL RANKINGS 2025-26

including Welham Boys, Pathways
World School, Gurgaon and as Di-
rector (Pastoral Affairs & Boarding)
at the newly established (2023) Har-
row International School, Bengaluru
before being selected after a global
search to succeed the formidable Lt.
Gen (Retd). S. H. Kulkarni) as prin-
cipal of Mayo College on February
1, 2024. Since taking charge of this
CBSE-affiliated school, Sinha has
quickly contemporised it through
massive infusion of new technologies
and brand-building initiatives.
Sinha is delighted that within this
elite schools category Mayo College
has been awarded top scores under
five (of 14) parameters of boarding
school excellence. “Although I
am very pleased about the high Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya’s Nishi Misra: joyous learning satisfaction
score awarded by your sample
respondents under all parameters, Vidyalaya, Gwalior (SKV, estb. equally and yet encourage them to
I am specially enthused about the 1956), repeatedly ranked India’s continue to strive for improvement
top scores awarded to us under #1 girls boarding school in EWISR under stars and grade points.
the parameters of sports education for the past three years with high- But removal of Ivy Legue schools
and infrastructure. During the year est scores under all parameters of from the standard tables could
past, we have invested substantial boarding school education excel- mislead parents and stakeholders to
resources in upgrading our lence. This year under the parameter misbelieve that Ivy League schools
sports education and facilities by of infrastructure, SKV which has haven’t been ranked at all,” warns
contracting several former national recently undergone extensive infra- Misra.
and international champions to structure upgradation, is awarded Nevertheless despite this anxiety,
mentor our budding squash, golf and a score higher than all except two Misra is pleased that compared with
tennis players and also constructing institutions evaluated in this new peer Ivy League schools, SKV has
an all-weather Olympics elite schools category. Moreover been awarded high scores under the
specifications swimming pool. this year’s sample respondents have parameters of teacher competence
Simultaneously, we have modernized awarded SKV excellent scores under (“the cornerstone of education”);
our academic infrastructure by seven parameters of boarding school co-curricular education and interna-
establishing the first AI lab in excellence. tionalism (“our girls were awarded
Indian K-12 education which is in Nishi Misra, a history postgrad scholarships valued at Rs.12.56 crore
the process of being upgraded into of Allahabad University who by foreign universities last year”); in-
an AI Centre of Excellence. All this acquired valuable teaching and frastructure (“totally revamped”) and
has had a positive impact on our admin experience in St. Mary’s, All community service (“we established
students as testified by our top score Saints and Sherwood College — all in a sanitary napkins manufacturing
under the very important parameter Nainital — and former headmistress unit for neighbouring village girls
of mental and emotional well-being of Vidya Devi Jindal School, Hisar, in 2012”). “The outcome of the SKV
of students,” says Sinha. Currently, who has been serving as principal of board and management’s insistence
the all-boys Mayo College has 860 SKV since 2014 and who is widely on providing our girls well-balanced,
students mentored by 130 highly- credited for having transformed holistic education supported by
qualified teachers learning and this all-girls boarding school into enabling infrastructure is our
growing on this Ivy League school’s a role model girls boarding school, high score under the parameter of
183-acre green campus. cautiously welcomes the decision to emotional and mental well-being
Quite appropriately, the inaugu- elevate consistently high-performing services. In SKV our students learn
ral league table of boarding schools schools into an elite Ivy League happily in a safe and supportive
elevated to Ivy League status also in- category. “It’s a good idea to rank environment. That’s very satisfying,”
cludes the all-girls Scindia Kanya all consistently top-ranked schools says Misra.

44 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2025