HT Top Mumbai Schools 2019: 10 best international schools

HT brings you 2019’s top 10 international schools from across the city that scored well on teaching, infrastructure, facilities

Hello readers, we are pleased to present the 11th HT Top Schools survey. Parents give a lot of thought and time to selecting a school for their child. Curriculum, teaching standards, school infrastructure, fees, location, safety — all are crucial while making that choice.

With an explosion in the number of schools and a wider choice of Indian and international curricula, the task of finding the best school is tougher than ever. (Hindustan Times)

Earlier, there were few options in curricula and a small list of old and established institutions to choose from. Now, new-age campuses and legislation, such as the Right to Education Act, are revolutionising school education.

With an explosion in the number of schools and a wider choice of Indian and international curricula, the task of finding the best school is tougher than ever.

We hope our list of the top schools in Mumbai will help you arrive at that important decision. The methodology used to select the city’s top schools (detailed below) involves a formula that has proved its efficacy since 2009, when HT first gave you a list of Mumbai’s best schools.

Over the years, some of your suggestions have been incorporated in the selection process. We list the best schools in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai. We have also included international schools as a separate category. Apart from the rankings, we will have profiles of the top institutions in each zone, followed by a series of reports next week that will track the trends and developments in school education.

History: Dhirubhai Ambani International School is a K-12 co-educational international day school established in 2003, with a view to offering world-class educational opportunities.

Unique features: It has a community service programme from Class 3, student-exchange and teacher-exchange programmes. It boasts of a Green Building Certification with platinum rating.

Highest ratings: Education philosophy, academic rigour, teachers

Board: Class 10 (ICSE), Class 10 (IGCSE), Class 12 (IB Diploma Programme)

Annual fees: LKG to Class 7— ₹2.50L, Class 8 to 10 (ICSE)— ₹2.75L, Class 8 to 10 (IGCSE)— ₹6.55L, Classes 11 and 12 (IBDP)— ₹10.55L

Students: 1,078

Student-teacher ratio: 7:1

We’re happy that our school has once again been ranked among the best. This comes on the heels of our school getting into the league of Top 10 IB schools.
Nita M Ambani, founder and chairperson

2. OBEROI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, OGC Campus, off WEH, Goregaon (East)
https://oberoi-is.org/

History: The school started its operations in August 2008. It has grown stronger since then with the opening of the second campus on JVLR.

Unique features: Guidance counsellors from over 350 universities visit the school to introduce kids to various courses. Over 100 workshops are held in the year, including sessions on health, sex education, transition to universities, etc.

Highest ratings: Governance, sports, innovative teaching

Board: IB

Annual fees: Pre-primary— ₹6.20L, Class 1-5— ₹7.20L, Class 6-10— ₹8.40L, Class 11 & 12— ₹9.5L

Students: 1,630

Student-teacher ratio: Class 1 to 5—5:1, Class 6 to 12—8:1

We’re a happy international learning community. At OIS, we do so much more than producing great results — we produce awesome adults.
Neil McWilliam, head of school

3. ADITYA BIRLA WORLD ACADEMY, JD Road, Tardeo
www.adityabirlaworldacademy.com

History: Run by the Aditya Birla Education Trust, the school was set up in 2008-09 by the Aditya Birla Group and is led by Neerja Birla as the chairperson of the institute.

Unique features: Academic excellence is supplemented with value-based education to equip children to deal with emerging challenges. Every kid is made to feel safe.

Board: IB and CAIE

Annual fees: Not disclosed

Students: 680

Student-teacher ratio: 6:1

Highest ratings: Educational philosophy, academic rigour, selection process and parent participation

We focus on the emotional well-being of our students, with a vision to enable them to optimise their potential.
Neerja Birla, chairperson

4. ECOLE MONDIALE WORLD SCHOOL, JVPD Scheme
www.ecolemondiale.org

Highest ratings: Attitude towards learning, teachers, selection process

5. SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Post Mira Road, Dahisar
http://www.sisindia.net

Highest ratings: Educational philosophy, teachers, selection process

5. UTPAL SHANGHVI GLOBAL SCHOOL, East West Road No.3, JVPD Scheme
www.usgschool.org

History: While the school’s inception was in 1982, it introduced the Cambridge International Curriculum in 2005, maintaining consistent high standards of performance right from the first year of exams in 2008.

Unique features: The school has introduced professional courses to nurture young aspirants. They are empowered with e-learning to foster creativity, acquire fundamental skills, etc.

Board: Cambridge International and Maharashtra State Board (Grades 3-10)

Annual fees: ₹64,000 to ₹2.66L (depending on the board)

Students: 2,941

Student-teacher ratio: 15:1

Highest ratings: Innovative teaching, life skills education, value for money

We think out of the box and aim to create a perfect environment for academic excellence, offering yoga, sports, soft skills, IT and audio visual depts.
Jayesh Choksi, president, Juhu Parle Education Society

7.JAMNABAI NARSEE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Narsee Monjee Marg, N. S. Road No. 7, JVPD Scheme, Vile Parle (West)
www.jnis.ac.in

History: After four-and-a-half decades, Narsee Monjee Educational Trust’s Jamnabai Narsee International School was founded in 2015 to offer an international curriculum from Grade 1 to 12 along with the existing IGCSE curriculum and IB Diploma Programme since 2004.

Unique features: As an authorised three programme IB Continuum School, JNIS is committed to guide the students through years of trans-disciplinary and inquiry-based learning. Our students across Grade 1 to 12 develop community service programmes or initiate projects that bear testament to their commitment to social justice, equality, and sustainability.

Board: IB PYP, IB MYP, IBDP, IGCSE

Annual fees: PYP (Grades 1 to 5) – Rs7L; MYP (Grades 6 to 10) – Rs7.75L; IBDP (Grades 11 & 12) - Rs8L; IGCSE (Grades 8 to 10) – Rs1.85L

Students: 800

Student-teacher ratio: Grade 1 to 5 – 8:1; Grade 6 to 12 – 16:1

Highest ratings: Innovative teaching, infrastructure and facilities, selection process

Our goal is to create compassionate life-long learners and leaders who will make a difference to the community, our nation and the world at large.
Sujay Jairaj, trustee

8. PODAR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, SANTACRUZ, Saraswati Road
www.podarinternationalschool.com

History: Established in 1927, the Podar Group has a strong presence with over 124 Podar-owned schools across India. Headquartered in Mumbai with seven schools in Santacruz, Podar Schools are now spread across nine states.

Unique features: Use of tech, committed teaching team and a student-centric approach are the three most distinguished characteristics.

Board: IB and Cambridge

Annual fees: ₹3.95 lakh

Students: 1,411

Student-teacher ratio: 15:1

Highest ratings: Academic rigour, innovative teaching and safety, health and hygiene

What makes our school better than the rest is that we’re willing to change in the face of relevant trends, data and opportunities.
Vandana Lulla, principal

9.BOMBAY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Babulnath Road, Malabar Hill
bis.edu.in

Highest ratings: Selection process, attitude towards learning and educational philosophy

10. BOMBAY CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, Rabindranath Tagore Marg, Chakala, Andheri (East) www.bcseast.org

History: Established in 1993, it is a K-12 premier co-educational, English-medium school known for its dynamic and progressive learning environment.

Unique features: Focus and emphasis is laid on the social and emotional learning through well-structured programmes designed by experienced educators and psychologists.

Board: Cambridge International and Maharashtra State Board

Annual fees: Not disclosed

Students: 2,341

Student-teacher ratio: 15:1 (international board), 25:1 (state board)

Highest ratings: Diversity, safety, health and hygiene, life skills education

Our goal is to create world graduates, students who are able to express their potential, be responsible decision-makers and sensitive to all living things.
Nalini Nair, principal

10. JBCN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, PAREL, Yogi Mansion, Dr Vinay Walimbe Road, Parel (East) www.jbcnschool.edu.in/parel/

History: JBCN Education has been a pioneering organisation in the field of education for over three decades. JBCN International School, Parel, was established in 2012.

Unique features: The school aims to provide learners with 360-degree learning, where the academic learning is complemented by infra, a strong co-curricular and value-added programme.

Board: IGCSE & IB, PYP Candidate School

Annual fees: Not disclosed

Students: 1,256

Student-teacher ratio: 12:1

Highest ratings: Educational philosophy, parent participation, academic rigour

A school is all about the child. At the JBCN International School, Parel, our collective endeavour at all times, is to prepare the learner for life.
Sandep Chhabra, principal