Private schools in Delhi

Families who plan to stay for the long haul should take a close look at private schools in Delhi. Lessons at the city’s well-known private schools are in English, and academic standards at the best of them are excellent. Most of these schools follow the national curriculum set by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Fees are well below what Delhi’s international schools charge, and children get to make friends with local classmates and pick up some Hindi along the way.

Children at Indian private schools are often under a lot of pressure to get top marks, and expat children from less exam-focused systems may need time to adjust. Students sit national board exams at the end of Class 10 and Class 12, and the pressure is at its height in the run-up to them.

CBSE also expects students to study three languages, and at least two of them must be Indian languages. The board can grant exemptions to children who arrive from schools abroad, so ask each school how it applies the rule.

Schools usually release application forms in late November or early December for the following April’s intake. A quarter of these entry-level places at most private schools are reserved for children from low-income and disadvantaged families, and competition for the rest is fierce. Each school ranks applicants on a points system, and distance between home and school is usually the biggest factor. You should try to settle on a home before you apply. A short school run is a real bonus in Delhi’s traffic, even though most private schools have their own buses.

Older children can only join a class that has a vacancy, so midyear admission can be difficult. CBSE treats Classes 9 and 10, and Classes 11 and 12, as two-year courses, and schools rarely admit new students straight into Class 10 or Class 12. Schools ask for a lot of paperwork, such as birth certificates, passport and visa copies, previous school reports, and proof of address.

School names aren’t always a reliable guide. Many of Delhi’s best-known private schools call themselves ‘public schools’ in the old British style, and some add ‘international’ to their names but teach only the Indian curriculum.

Read more about the Education System in Delhi as well as some of the Best International Schools in Delhi.

Below is a list of prominent private schools in Delhi.

Private schools in Delhi

Delhi Public School RK Puram

Delhi Public School RK Puram opened in 1972 and has since built a reputation as one of the most academically successful schools in India. Nursery and Class 11 are the main entry points, and the school holds entrance tests for the limited number of Class 11 places. Older students can choose from foreign languages such as French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The Delhi Public School Society runs dozens of schools under the same name, so double-check that you have the RK Puram branch.

Gender: Co-educational 
Curriculum: CBSE 
Ages: 3 to 18 
Website: www.dpsrkp.net

GD Goenka Public School, Vasant Kunj

Parents who look up GD Goenka Public School will find several schools with that name in Delhi. The one in Vasant Kunj is the original, founded by Anjani Kumar Goenka in 1994 in memory of his mother. It’s the first school in a network that now has more than 150 institutions across India. You may also come across it under its newer name, GD Goenka, The Flagship School. Younger children are taught at a separate junior wing in the same part of Vasant Kunj. The school runs its own fleet of air-conditioned buses and was one of the first in India to fit them with GPS trackers.

Gender: Co-educational 
Curriculum: CBSE 
Ages: 3 to 18 
Website: gdgps.gdgoenka.com

Modern School, Barakhamba Road

Few private schools in the city are older than Modern School, Barakhamba Road. It was founded by Lala Raghubir Singh in 1920, and the school has been on its 25-acre (10ha) campus in central Delhi since 1933. Sport is a big part of school life here. The campus has an Olympic-sized pool, a full-size athletics track, tennis and squash courts, and large sports fields. The senior school on Barakhamba Road is for Classes 6 to 12. Children from nursery to Class 5 attend its junior school, Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School on Humayun Road, and move up to Barakhamba Road for Class 6.

Gender: Co-educational 
Curriculum: CBSE 
Ages: 11 to 18 
Website: www.modernschool.net

Springdales School, Pusa Road

Rajni Kumar and her husband, Yudister Kumar, opened the first Springdales School as a small kindergarten in their home in 1955. Today, the Pusa Road school is one of several Springdales schools in Delhi, so check which branch you apply to. The school’s motto is the Sanskrit phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or ‘The World Is One Family’. The school has partner schools around the world and runs regular international exchanges. Families who have moved around a lot may appreciate this global outlook. Community service is also an established part of school life.

Gender: Co-educational 
Curriculum: CBSE 
Ages: 3 to 18 
Website: www.springdalespusa.com

Vasant Valley School

Families who’d like the option of British qualifications for their teenagers should take a look at Vasant Valley School. Since 2022, the school has run a Cambridge track for Classes 8 to 12 in parallel with its CBSE classes. Students on the Cambridge track spend Class 8 on a foundation year and then take the IGCSE in Classes 9 and 10. They move on to AS and A-Levels in Classes 11 and 12. It’s a day school, and the campus in Vasant Kunj has separate buildings for the junior and senior schools. Art and design, drama, music, and debate are a big part of school life.

Gender: Co-educational 
Curriculum: CBSE and British (Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels) 
Ages: 3 to 18 
Website: www.vasantvalley.org