Good Shepherd International School, Ootacamund

“Good Shepherd International School endeavours to prepare each student for academic social and personal success by creating a community of empowered and diverse learners striving to be globally-minded citizens in an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding and trust.” –  Dr. P. C. Thomas, Founder-Principal

Promoted in 1977 by educationists Dr. P.C. Thomas and Elsamma Thomas, the fully residential Good Shepherd International School (GSIS) sprawls over 180 emerald green acres in the salubrious southern hill station of Ootacamund (aka Ooty). GSIS’ contemporary junior and senior school campuses – Fernhill and Palada – provide a distinctive blend of academics, pastoral care, sports, co-curricular and life skills education to the school’s 800 K-12 students mentored by 191 teachers.

GSIS is accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and New England Association of Schools and colleges (NEASC). Affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and the globally respected Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) (UK) and International Baccalaureate (IB) (Geneva) exam boards, this co-ed boarding school (class II-XII) is ranked #2 countrywide and #1 in Tamil Nadu among international residential schools in the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2018-19. Moreover, GSIS is ranked India’s #1 international school on the parameter of safety and hygiene and among the Top 3 for faculty competence, life skills education and conflict management.

GSIS, Palada campus is the only school campus countrywide to receive the Platinum rating of the Indian Green Building Council. It hosts state-of-the-art academic facilities including 26 modern boarding houses, residential facilities for teachers including a well-equipped hospital, a dairy with head of 200 cattle and a 40-acre organic farm. Sports facilities are globally comparable and include an outdoor sports stadium with a football ground, an eight-lane athletics track, six-hole golf course, ten-metere indoor shooting range, 30 horses and well-maintained facilities for a wide array of sports and games. GSIS offers the most extensive music and arts programme compared to any other school countrywide with students tutored in 17 musical arts.

Given the school’s holistic education culture and excellent teacher-student ratio of 1:4, GSIS students have consistently achieved outstanding results in academics. The school’s average score of 33 points in the class XII IB diploma programme exam is above the world average of 29.76.

GSIS school-leavers are routinely welcomed into top-ranked universities in India and abroad, including the University of California, Michigan, Ann Arbor, Georgia Tech (USA) Kings College, Lancaster and University of St. Andrews (UK), University of Melbourne, Monash, New South Wales (Australia), OP Jindal Global, Christ, SRM and VIT universities (India).

Prominent alumni include Roysten Abel, noted Indian theatre director and playwright, Sumesh Lekhi, writer and documentatary film producer and Dr. Madhu Thottappillil, eminent orthopaedic surgeon who also serves as the doctor of the Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League team.

Further information: www.gsis.ac.in