Modelled on the best public schools of the world, Scindia has over the past 121 years evolved into a progressive 21st century all-boys boarding school which incorporates uniquely Indian ethos and excellent pastoral care with a distinctive blend of academics, sports, co-curricular and life skills education. 

Bandana Brahmin

Sited atop a 300 ft. high hill fort in Gwalior in the erstwhile barracks of the British army, The Scindia School was promoted in 1897 by the late HH Maharaja Madhavrao Jayajirao Scindia of Gwalior as The Sardar’s School to educate sons of the princedom’s nobility. Modelled on the best public schools of the world, Scindia has over the past 121 years evolved into a progressive 21st century all-boys boarding school which incorporates uniquely Indian ethos and excellent pastoral care with a distinctive blend of academics, sports, co-curricular and life skills education. Affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), it provides class VI-XII education to 550 boys mentored by 60 teachers. In the latest EducationWorld India School Rankings 2018-19, over 12,000 knowledgeable respondents comprising parents and educators have ranked The Scindia School # 2 all-India and # 1 in Madhya Pradesh in the all-boys boarding schools category.

“The Scindia School’s rich legacy and uniquely Indian ethos have won the school a distinguished place in the history of Indian K-12 education. Over the past century, this legacy of holistic boarding school education has been nurtured, refined and contemporised to develop confident and competent young men who can take leadership positions in the rapidly globalising economy,” says Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat, principal of this 121- year-old legacy boarding school. An English, Hindi and Sanskrit alumnus of the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, which also awarded him a doctorate in Hindi literature, Dr. Saraswat began his career as a teacher at The Doon School where he served for 16 years followed by CEO of Sapkal Knowledge Hub and founder-principal of the Orchid International School, Nashik, before being appointed principal of Scindia in 2015. Over the past 33 years of his illustrious career as an educationist, Dr. Saraswat has received several awards and accolades. Notable among them:

● Featured among ‘The World’s Greatest Leaders’ 2017 – 18 in the May 2018 issue of AsiaOne Magazine.
● ‘The Education Leadership Award’ 2017-18, of the ABP News.
● ‘Principal of the Year Award’ 2017 of ANCQ – the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

According to Dr. Saraswat, since assuming the principal’s office, he has specially focused on establishing the school as a “collaborative learning community that values collective leadership, nurtures the uniqueness of every child and grooms competent leaders for the 21st century”. “We believe in providing holistic education which combines a rigorous academic programme with excellent co-curricular and sports education. As an inclusive institution, we also provide a special needs education programme designed to mainstream children with special needs for which we have invested in specialised teaching aids and special educators,” says Dr. Saraswat.

Enabling infrastructure
Sited within the walls of the imposing 8th century Gwalior Fort, the sprawling 160-acre campus of The Scindia School is a perfect blend of heritage and modernity. The school’s 19th century colonial-style buildings host modern academic infrastructure including 30 Smart classrooms, five well-equipped computer labs with 200 desktops and 400 laptops, a well-resourced library housing 11,000 print volumes and 12 spacious boarding houses to accommodate its 550 boarders. The campus is fully wi-fi enabled with a virtual server and Microsoft cloud solution. The world-class academic facilities are complemented by a rich sports and co-curricular education menu. In the tradition of the world’s best boarding schools, extensive sports facilities are provided to the 550 boarders.They include a cricket stadium – Madhav Pavilion, approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host first class matches, a 25m swimming pool, an air conditioned gym, a skating rink and 21 sports arenas/courts. Students are trained in 16 sports disciplines by 18 well-qualified coaches. 

Scindia students have the choice of a wide palette of co-curricular activities including art, painting, pottery, clay-modelling, Indian classical, Western classical, modern and folk music, robotics, public speaking, and textile design, among others. The Scindia School Brass Band has won several national accolades and has marched at the grand Republic Day Parade since 2005. Several members of the brass band have been conferred the rank of Under Officer, the second highest designation in NCC (National Cadet Corps). 

Teacher development
Committed to the continuous professional development of its 60 teachers, the Scindia School conducts several workshops, seminars, in-service training programmes and leadership development programmes to enhance their pedagogical skills, subject expertise and leadership skills. Several teachers have also attended leadership training programmes abroad. In 2019 alone, almost 30 teachers have gone through some form of professional development already. Recently, two teachers have been sponsored to pursue PG Certification in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Nottingham, UK.

University placements and scholarships
Scindia School graduates have been welcomed into top-ranked colleges and universities worldwide including the Michigan State University, University of Illinois, George Mason University, University of Wisconsin, in the US; Hertfordshire University, Queen Mary University, University of the Arts London, Bristol College and University of Cardiff in the UK; University of British Columbia, Canada; University of Deakin, Australia; Singapore Institute of Management; University of Hong Kong; Vellore Institute of Technology, Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai, Delhi University and Symbiosis International University, Pune, among others in India.

The Scindia School’s existing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with several top ranked global universities including the University of Wisconsin, USA; University College Dublin, Ireland; City University of Hong Kong, among others, facilitate partial and full scholarship pathway programmes for the students.

Impressive alumni roll-call
The school’s impressive alumni roll-call includes Padmashree Ameen Sayani, popular radio host; Lt. Gen. Samer Pal Singh Dhillon, former deputy chief of Army staff; Shiv Shankar Menon, Indian diplomat and former National Security Adviser of India; Padmabhushan Rajendra Pawar, Chairman NIIT; Air Vice Marshal Souvik Roy; Anurag Kashyap, filmmaker; Bharat Patel, former CMD Procter & Gamble; Lord Aamir Ali Bhatia, British  businessman; Manmeet Singh and Harmeet Singh (Meet Brothers), famous Bollywood musicians.

 

“The success of our graduates and alumni in varied professions – business, music, medicine, art, literature, armed forces, and filmmaking — is the outcome of a well-designed curriculum that promotes all-round and holistic development. Scindia has a legacy of producing not only successful professionals but also sensitive and ethical human beings. We will continue our efforts to build upon this legacy of providing holistic residential K-12 education which nurtures academic competence, self-discipline, self-esteem and citizenship values within students,” says Dr. Saraswat.

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https://www.educationworld.in/indias-best-boys-boarding-schools/