Most boarding schools prepare their students for college level work. Hence the name, “college prep” or “prep” which you will see in many school names. Most boarding schools are co-educational. But there are about a hundred schools which are single-sex schools. They accept and teach only boys or girls.
There are several types of boarding schools. Alternative and therapeutic schools serve specific needs such as emotional and disciplinary issues. They have the skilled, highly credentialed staff to ensure the best possible outcome for your child. They focus on college preparation as well. Military schools combine academics and the military training many young people and their parent’s demand. As you will see when you review the boarding school profiles on this site, there literally is a school for every need and requirement.
Other schools are a mix of boarding and day students. The best boarding school has most of its student’s resident on campus. But if a school happens to be located in a town or other major population area, it could have a significant percentage of day students. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but it does change the complexion of the school and its life. Why? Because, day-students leave at the end of the academic day, while they will come back for sports and extracurricular activities, they are off-campus evenings and weekends.
The state in which a school is located will have legislated minimum requirements for curriculum content which every school must meet or exceed. 99% of boarding schools exceed those minimum requirements. There are several flavors of academics to be found in residential schools in India.
The broad categories are traditional and progressive. Within the traditional schools you will find test-based curricula including the popular Advanced Placement curriculum and in a handful of schools the International Baccalaureate program. Progressive schools don’t believe in tests as a rule. Students are prepared for college level work, of course, but the approach is student-centered as opposed to the traditional teacher-centered approach to learning.
Peruse boarding school profiles on this site and look for the percentage of teachers with advanced degrees. The numbers are usually quite high. Why? Because schools demand the high-quality teaching which your child receives. Teachers with advanced degrees usually have a wealth of experience and knowledge in their subject area as well as in the art of teaching.
There are many other aspects like safety, residential environment that should be considered. One of the best residential schools in India is situated near in the capital, Genesis Global School. With world-class facility and teachers, they provide standard education for all their children.