India’s Best Boys Boarding Schools 2016-17

Quite clearly the change of incumbent in the headmaster’s office has not affected the rock-solid reputation of The Doon School which is ranked India’s #1 boys boarding school for the third year in succession. The boys boarding school league table of the annual EducationWorld India School Rankings is as thoroughly dominated by the Dehradun-based The Doon School (TDS, estb.1935) as the co-ed boarding schools table is dominated by the Rishi Valley School, Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh). Except for 2012 and 2014 when TDS was second ranked, it has always been top-ranked during the past five years. Therefore unsurprisingly, TDS is ranked #1 again by a wide margin. Top ranked on almost all parameters among boys schools, TDS is also top-rated among all boarding schools (boys, girls, co-ed) on the parameters of academic reputation, teacher welfare and development, safety and hygiene, pastoral care and internationalism.   Quite clearly the change of incumbent in the headmaster’s office with Matthew Raggett replacing Peter Mclaughlin (who served two five-year terms) in July 2015, has not affected TDS’ rock-solid reputation within monitors of India’s K-12 education scene. That’s perhaps also because Raggett, an alum of Newcastle (UK) and Charles Stuart (Australia) universities and former principal of the International School, Leipzig (Germany) — selected after a global search has brought a wealth of academic and administrative experience to TDS.  Responding to an email questionnaire from EW, Raggett derives special satisfaction from TDS’ cross-category top-rating on the parameters of teacher welfare and development. “It’s encouraging to learn that there is some recognition out there of the work we are doing, especially in the fields of pastoral care and teacher welfare and development. For instance, all our teachers and resident faculty are obliged to be certified by the Boarding Schools Association, UK or Duty of Care, Australia as having developed pastoral care skills. Vis-a-vis teacher welfare and development, it’s well-known that we host a Teacher Training Centre on our campus, which attracts a regular flow of visiting trainers, subject and curricular experts and where we often convene peer-to-peer workshops to which we routinely invite teachers of local schools. Our research on the value of teachers reflecting together on what they are learning from their development programmes shows a very significant effect on students’ learning outcomes,” says Raggett.  For the second year in succession the second ranked school in the boys boarding schools league table is the Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)-based Bishop Cotton School, which has the unusual distinction of having bested TDS in 2014 when it was ranked #1. Led by its long-standing cheerful but purposive headmaster Roy Robinson, this vintage (estb.1859) CISCE-affiliated class III-XII school continues to enjoy an excellent reputation countrywide.  However this year, BCS is obliged to share the second rank with the Scindia School, Gwalior (SSG, estb.1897) which has risen in the esteem of this year’s sample respondents. Ranked #4 in 2016-17 with high ratings under the parameters of internationalism and community service, SSG, which was ranked #10 in 2012, has risen steadily in the public…