Fravashi International Academy, Nashik

Sprawled over a 39-acre scenic campus in the fast-industrialising city of Nashik (pop.1.7 million), three hours by road from Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, Fravashi International Academy (FIA, estb. 2006) has earned an excellent reputation for providing its 1,260 students contemporary 21st-century education rooted in progressive value-premises. FIA is one of three education institutions established by the Nashik-based R.S. Luth Education Trust (regd. 1978), which has also promoted the Fravashi Academy and Nashik Public Police School.  Since it admitted its first batch of students a decade ago, this K-12 school, equipped with state-of-the-art academic, residential, co-curricular and sports infrastructure and affiliated with the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), UK, has set new benchmarks for K-12 education in educationally underserved north Maharashtra. Certified by Microsoft Office and ISO (22000:2005), FIA is ranked among India’s Top 10 international day-cum-boarding schools and #3 in Maharashtra in the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2017-18. FIA Leader Ratan Luth, Chairman   Born into a household of modest means, entrepreneur-educationist Ratan Luth paid his way through school and college doing odd jobs including groceries vending and poultry farming. After graduating in English literature from Allahabad University, he began his career in real estate and by the year 2000 transformed into one of Nashik’s most well-known real estate developers. In 2002, he was given charge of the R.S. Luth Education Trust — ­­founded by his grandfather —which promoted the CISCE-affiliated Fravashi Academy in 1982.  Deriving inspiration from this pioneer venture, in 2006 Luth promoted Fravashi International Academy to provide children in the fast-track city of Nashik and north Maharashtra world-class K-12 education. Since then, Luth has emerged as a respected proponent of high-quality globally benchmarked education in Maharashtra. Vice-chairman of the Association of Nashik Schools, he has been conferred several accolades including the Indo-Asia Achievers Award for Education Excellence, Most Influential Education Leader 2015-16 by United Research Services and the Samaj Shri Puraskar of the Indian Council of Management Executives. Enabling Infrastructure Offering sweeping vistas of the backwaters of the Gangapur dam, the green 39-acre FIA campus has a built-up area of 319,538 sq. ft comprising an imposing academic block housing 80 spacious IT-enabled classrooms, eight laboratories, two centrally air-conditioned, separate, cottage-style hostels for boys and girls, and a 1,200-seats dining hall. In 2008, FIA was invited into the membership of the British Council’s Young Learners’ English (YLE) testing programme. In 2015, Arnav Kulkarni, a class VII student, qualified for the Dr. Homi Bhabha Balvaidnyanik Competition conducted by the Mumbai Science Teachers Association. Karan Baijal, a class VIII student, won the Gold Medal of Excellence at the International English Olympiad 2015. Between 2012-2015, seven FIA students received the ‘Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award’ in science, mathematics, English, Spanish, economics and accountancy.  Mahima Sahni was adjudged the all-India topper in economics in the IGCSE (class X) exam 2014 of CAIE, UK.  FIA graduates have been admitted into top-ranked universities in India and abroad including NMIMS, Manipal, and Christ universities, and Purdue University, Virginia Tech, Culinary Institute of America, Savannah College of…