Best schools in Bangalore
Education in Bangalore
Naturally the quality of schooling is the main priority when choosing where to educate your child – except, possibly, in Bangalore! Here the first consideration is, ‘Will I actually be able to get my child to the school alive?’ We exaggerate, of course, but the total chaos - made up of cars, buses, lorries, bicycles, auto rickshaws, pedestrians and random animals (yes, really) - make the school run (even with a driver) a harrowing experience.
For this reason, living within reasonable distance of your child’s school is a huge advantage and expats are naturally drawn to the suburban areas, where getting to work or school is a chore rather than a nerve-wracking adventure. The traditional spots have tended to be either to the east or north of the centre but the explosive growth of the aptly named Electronic City, in the south, has added another potential area for families (particularly if attached to a tech executive) to settle down in.
Be warned international schools are not plentiful in any area of Bangalore, and state schools are not usually considered by expats. Although there are local private schools, most of which teach in English, the fact that it is compulsory to learn Hindi and/or Kannada (the official local language) is a major disincentive for expats.
Choosing a school in Bangalore
The international schools have, not surprisingly, landed in the areas that are relatively easy to reach, but a few of them offer boarding too - possibly to save parents’ sanity as well as their children’s welfare. An alternative is the school bus service, which almost all the international schools provide, but this comes at an additional cost, on top of the already breath-taking fees.
The British may have finally left over 70 years ago but there are still traces of their legacy in the school curricula in the international schools and almost all teach IGCSEs, while three still have A levels as one of their leaving qualifications. Some follow the IB route from kindergarten to graduation. The remainder offer adapted Indian, Cambridge or International Baccalaureate programmes, leading up to the IB Diploma.
