How to Select the Best School in Bangalore for your Children?

Education is the foundation on which lives are built and schools play an important role in shaping the characters and careers of children. So, give your child the best!

Modern world throws multiple and multi-dimensional challenges at all of us and having a strong foundation based on time-tested values and sound credentials is essential.

A conducive atmosphere helps build resilient characters, which is necessary in bringing up individuals who are not only capable of facing the pressures of finding their best place in the society but also becoming leaders that turn adversities into opportunities.

School is a place where children spend most important part of their time, if not most of their time. School is the place where children are exposed to new ideas and thoughts that leave lasting impressions on their impressionable minds.

School is a place that facilitates and channels the boundless energies and diverse intellects of young people.

But, can all schools do justice to their responsibilities? Do all schools have the vision, capacity and resources to shape the best leaders of the future?

No, not all. This is the reason why it is important choose the right school for your child, allowing the child to bring out the best in him or her.

While selecting a school, it is essential to have the right vision and a broad idea about what an ideal school should be and what suits best for your children based on their interests, temperaments, aptitudes and, of course, your pocket.

Vision

When opting for a school, it is important to look at the vision of the school and what it is trying to achieve and try to match it with what you are trying to achieve for your child.

At the outset of your journey in search of the right school, you should see if the atmosphere at the school matches the personality of your child. You have to see whether the environment will enhance the child’s personality and nurture him into the best version of himself or overwhelm her and subdue her natural qualities.

Curriculum

Curriculum is the core of any education system and choosing the right curriculum is the key to holistic growth of the child.

A curriculum that is balanced and gives equal importance to all aspects of life holds a better promise for the development of students into more empathetic and enterprising human beings.

A city like Bangalore offers schools with a great diversity of curricula. One can find various schools with curricula ranging from the state board to CBSE, IB, IGCSE and ICSE. One can also find Montessori and other options for lower grades.

Check out schools based on the curriculum you are looking for. Once you have decided on the curriculum, explore the schools that implement the curriculum in the most practical and experiential manner.

Education is not just about academics imparted through textbooks or chalk and board, it is more about holistic upbringing of the child.

That is the promise the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) holds and this coupled with a conducive and nurturing school environment allows the children to realise their true potential.

Diversity

Human beings are created diversely with distinct and dynamic personalities, intelligence and interests. The environment in school and in the classroom in particular has to respect this diversity, harnessing the different abilities and aptitudes of the students.

More importantly, respect for diversity in cultures and beliefs is essential in forming a more appreciative temperament and open mind among the students, preparing them for a society that is cosmopolitan and multi-cultural.

Learning

In this highly competitive modern atmosphere there is an unreasonable weightage given to memorising information and scoring high, putting students under immense pressure.

While it is important to score well, what is more important is learning and internalising the knowledge acquired, which helps students remember better than mere memorising for exams.

When choosing the school, it is essential for you to check what sort of learning culture the school promotes and whether the school undermines the child’s wellbeing in the race for grades and rankings.

Teaching

It is one thing to have a broad vision, a diverse and dynamic curriculum, best infrastructure and facilities as well as a very diverse environment, and quite another to execute and implement it.

Teachers are the most crucial element of any school and without well-trained and experienced teachers it is highly impossible to translate the vision of the school into a reality, inculcate the right values among students and bring the best out of them.

So, when finalising a school, meet the teachers, particularly the potential class teacher of the child and try to get an idea about the person. A teacher that has time for a potential parent will always have time for the students.

When you visit the shortlisted school, assess the quality of the teachers by initiating a conversation with them. Apart from their qualification, experience, and training, try to asses their attitude, work, and dedication towards teaching.

Also, find out the teacher-to-student ratio of the school. Fewer students under the guidance of a teacher means more personal attention on each student.

Facilities

While impressive infrastructure and facilities are not the only markers of a good school, they are certainly necessary for the child’s balanced upbringing.

The size and shape of the classrooms, the seating arrangements, hygiene, health facilities, playground, cultural spaces etc. make significant impressions on the psyche and confidence of students. Well equipped libraries and laboratories play crucial roles in facilitating the student’s all-round learning.

Having all of this and more and bringing them to the best use is essential for the balanced growth of children.

Balance

While academics are important in learning the theory of a subject, but its practical application is what matters more. Learning to practically apply knowledge goes a long way in handling real-life challenges. These days, more and more schools are focusing on experiential learning and helping students understand the concepts through hands-on training. Keep this in mind when looking for a school.

When selecting the school, also keep in mind the balance the school maintains between subjects of arts and sciences. Opt for the school that gives equal importance to literature, fine arts, humanities as well as maths and sciences.

Opting for a school that strikes the right balance helps the child enjoy all-round development.

Sports

A human being has as much physical presence as he or she has intellectual or spiritual. Catering to all aspects of human growth is essential in developing balanced individuals.

Sports is essential in the development of healthy and active children, so look for a school that not only has proper focus on sports but also has the right facilities, catering to the sports needs of the child.

Proximity

Having the school in the neighbourhood of your residence is ideal, if that is not possible then choose a school located within a 10 kilometre radius from your house and has all the above qualities.

Everyday, the child should be looking forward to the trip to school and that will not happen if the trip is long and tiring. Considering Bangalore’s traffic, even a short distance commute becomes exhausting.

So, in order to make learning enjoyable, the travel time of the child should not be more than 30 minutes one way or at the max 45 minutes. Anything beyond that means the child will not have enough energy to pursue a long day of learning at school.

Affordability

The schools charging the highest fees may not necessarily be the best in town. In many cases, they are just fancy-looking shiny buildings catering to the vanity of the money-minded parents.

When selecting a school, look at all the qualities mentioned above. If a school offers all of the above and suits your budget then go for it. Even, if it stretches your budget a little bit, go for it. Do not compromise on your child’s future.

Your children deserve the best, provide them with the best you can afford. There is nothing better than good education to mould them into best human beings.