Arguably India’s most successful holistic learning school, SA has acquired a national reputation for blending academics, sports and co-curricular education, writes M. Somasekhar
Sited on a verdant 4.2-acre campus in Hyderabad (pop.10 million) aka the city of pearls, Suchitra Academy (SA, estb.2011) is arguably India’s most successful holistic learning day school. Over the past 11 years since it admitted its first batch of 26 children and 14 teachers, this CBSE (Delhi)-affiliated school has acquired a national reputation for providing integrated education, optimally blending integrated academic, sports and co-curricular education to its 2,000 students — including 923 girl children — mentored by 155 well-qualified teachers. In 2018, the school also introduced the Cambridge International (early years and primary) curriculums of the UK-based Cambridge Assessment International Education for class I-VI students. In the latest EW India School Rankings 2021-22, Suchitra Academy is ranked among the country’s Top 15 co-ed day schools and #4 in Hyderabad.
Promoted by edupreneur K.V. Praveen Raju, SA is the sole K-12 school campus to host a world-class badminton training academy (with seven indoor wooden courts) where two-time Olympics medalist P.V. Sindhu and boxing champion Nikhat Zareen among others train. The autonomous academy, which currently hosts 120 trainees, has been awarded Khelo India status by the Union government. As such, Rs.6 lakh per annum is awarded to every athlete admitted for training. Currently the academy hosts 20 Khelo India athletes. In 2020, the academy was conferred 5-Star rating under the FIT India Schools programme.
“In SA, we are fully committed to developing the mind, body and soul of every child. Therefore, our curriculum is an optimal mix of rigorous academics, sports and co-curricular education. With a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:13, we pride ourselves on according individual attention to all children and for providing excellent professional development programmes to our 155 teachers,” says Raju, an engineering alum of Osmania University and former nationally ranked snooker and badminton player.
The nationwide lockdown of schools for 82 weeks following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic proved a blessing in disguise, inasmuch as it accelerated the school’s programme to build a new interactive analytics platform and enable better curriculum delivery. The management promptly orchestrated “seamless transition to online platforms for admin, teaching-learning, student assessment and co-curricular education”.
“Our curriculum is designed to cover at least 35 percent of teaching-learning through deep project work. To provide students a headstart in new-age digital disciplines and careers, post-Covid, subjects such as artificial intelligence and coding have also been integrated into the school’s core curriculum,” says Deepa Kapoor, an English literature alumna of Osmania University, who signed up as an academic co-ordinator in 2011 and was promoted to principal’s office in 2020.
The school’s fully Wi-Fi enabled campus spread over four green acres hosts five state-of-the-art buildings. They house 75 spacious ICT-enabled classrooms fitted with digital display boards, eight state-of-the-art labs including four science, two computer, maths and home science labs, three multipurpose halls, a 1,700-seat amphitheatre, media studio, and a well-stocked library with 7,937 volumes, a digital library and 11 subscribed magazines and journals.
The school’s sports infrastructure is equally impressive. Facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool, a football field, two cricket practice nets, volleyball, lawn tennis and two basketball courts and outdoor roller-skating rink. Co-curricular options include music, art and crafts, and 20 student clubs (debate, photography, dance, chess, Speak to Lead, Book Club and drama among others) to develop children’s multiple intelligences. Moreover, SPARSH, the school’s special needs wing, equipped with ramps and elevators, and staffed with four counsellors and special educators, enables 28 special needs children to realise their full potential.
The SA management’s commitment to a balanced, rounded education has resulted in excellent academic outcomes. The 85-member batch which wrote the CBSE class XII school-leaving exam in February-March 2021, averaged 88 percent.
With SA having established an excellent reputation for providing a robust mix of academic, sports and co-curricular education, plans are on the drawing board to replicate the SA model.
“We believe the time has come to replicate our successful K-12 education model. To this end, we intend to establish an international school-cum-sports academy in Visakhapatnam. Our long-term plan includes another such school in Cyberabad, even as we have started work on expanding capacity at SA to induct another 1,000 students,” says Raju.
ADMISSION & FEES
- Suchitra Academy is a K-12 co-ed day CBSE (Delhi) and Cambridge (UK)-affiliated school.
- Admission into class I is through a written test. From class I onwards, admissions are against vacancies and a written admission test is mandatory.
- Tuition fee (annual): Rs.1.47-2.5 lakh
- For further information visit www.suchitra.in