Feedback on schools around Sarjapur Road

Nakku 2013-10-14 15:58:43

 

what is your criteria? If you are looking for CBSE then they are:
1) Harvest - Good school according to my research and admitted my kid there. They follow strict student to children ratio and ie 1:20
2) DPS East - Good school, but not upto mark compared to other DPSs' in bangalore. Very crowded, so many kids about 40-50 in each section. SO rejected
3) Gear International - Ok, but read so many bad reviews about Principal and other management peoples' attittude. So rejected.
4)Chrysalis High - Very good school. Was far for us. So rejected.
5)Global India International school. - New school. Now it is only till 5th or 6th. No much reviews available.

If you are looking for ICSE, then check Primus also, read so many good comments about this school during my investigation and there are so many ICSE schools around sarjapur road, i was looking only for CBSE, so donot remember their names. Wont recommend VIBGYOR school, heard that teacher attrition rate is very high there

steve34 2013-10-15 18:05:22

 

Chrysalis High is a good choice. Visited this school recently - for playgroup. The problem is the distance to the school. If you are comfortable in managing that, then I recommend this school than any others.

navind 2013-10-16 14:32:27

 

Hi,

In the same boat as Ramesh107. Looking for addmission in 1st Std for June 2014 start.

Have shifted to Bangalore from Mumbai. Office is in Bellandur and would looking for rented house in HSR, Sarjapur Road, Green Glen.

Could manage to shortlist few schools, would be great you can provide review about it and other details like fees and all. ICSE or CBSE both are fine.

1. Bethany, Koramangala and Sarjapur
2. NPS, Koramangala
3. NPS HSR
4. Freedom International HSR
5. Greenwood High, Gunjur Sarjapur
6. SSRVM, Sarjapur
7. Oxford high school, JP nagar

Input would be of great help.

Thanks

Nakku 2013-10-16 14:55:38

 

If you are staying in Sarjapur road then my suggestions would be Harvest, DPS, Primus, Prakriya, Chrysalis High, Global Indian International School. 
Green Wood High is very costly at least for us.
If you are looking for HSR, then Freedom International, JSS - not sure about other schools.
NPS it is too difficult to get the admission. You should be very lucky as nobody is aware of their selection criteria.
I dont know how Oxford came to your list as it would be too far for you.

Anyways start calling school people as early as possible as admission will close in this month in most of the schools.

navind 2013-10-17 10:21:28

 

Hi Nakku,

Thanks for the input.

So Harvest and Chrysalis is best choice as per your research right?

Any idea about SSRVM - Sarjapur? As my son is in SSRVM Mumbai, so transfer would be easy provide I opt is school is really good.

Greenwood has ICSE also, so thought fees should be lower than IG class ones and if its in range we can opt for it. Liked Inventure Academy also but fees again is too high for ICSE also, 2Lac approx for all.

Any idea about Global Indian fees Nakku, and also whats the fees at Harvest and Chrysalis?

Thanks

navind 2013-10-17 10:24:21

 

Hi Nakku,

It would be helpful if u have any input and reviews about Freedom Intl, JSS and Bethany. Please share.

Nakku 2013-10-17 11:41:15

 

Hi Navind,

Harvest fee structure is as below:

Primary Grade I - V - 

Registration fee and form - 30,500 

Annual fee - 75,000 (At the time of admission â€" 45,000 (First instalment), October â€" 30,000(Second instalment)).

Not sure about Chrysalis high fee and ssrvm bangalore reviews.

What I heard is Bethany Sarjapur is not as good as Koramangala, but might improve as it is new one and has only till 4th this year and may extend to 6th. I found their fee is high according to their infra.

Even I was considering Freedom and JSS, but rejected because of below cons. Again I dont know any people who have personal experience and have not seen the schools also, just read the review in net.

Freedom CBSE - HSR
Cons:
Only till 10th
No park/playground , unhygenic tiolet
No international standards

JSS CBSE - HSR
Cons:
Kannada speaking teachers.
No international Standards.
Less extra curricular

Again, school selection criteria may differ from parent to parent. Our criteria was less crowded classes, where my kid will get individual attension, good extra curricular, CBSE affiliation atleast till 10th, good infra and Good attitude teachers/staffs. 
It would be better if you can have a small visit on your partially selected schools, so that you can get to know the staff/teachers attitude and school infra.

navind 2013-10-17 12:27:14

 

Thanks Nakku,

Last Saturday I visited schools form Sarjapur to Kanakpura Road. Only could talk at Bethany, others were closed for Dushhera.

Kormangala fees quoted was 60k addmsn fees n 60k approx annual fees + transport,books,uniform separate as expected.

Fees in Primus comes around 80k fees+ 27k transport + 45 addmsn fees + 30K security deposit, fees similar as of Harvest. they have IG only

GIIS fees is 1 lac approx + transport

Trying to find out exact fees of Bethany Sarjapur. some one quoted 75 addmsn + 90k fees too high comparatvely if u add transport, uniform etc

Thanks

Pradeeprabhu 2013-10-17 17:51:50

 

Hello Navin,

Bethany Sarjapur fee structure is 

Admission Fee - 65K 
Tution Fee - 75K [1st Standard]
Transport, Uniform, Books are extra

Thanks,
Pradeep

navind 2013-10-18 16:04:44

 

Hi Nakku,

I met a colleague whos kid goes to Freedom International HSR.

He is quite happy with it. He was also of opinion that NPS is next to impossible to get in, still can try.

Another colleague's son goes to SSRVM, he said its a good school, operates differently but we have more better choices than SSRVM, but it all depends on distance, fees, addmsn possibility etc etc

ctmanoj 2013-10-24 17:52:20

 

Nakku,

Since your kid is in Harvest, would be great if you could help me with some details.

My elder daughter is in Prakriya. Im looking for admission for my son who would be into UKG. Prakriya has no seats so need to look at other options.

I like the approach towards education in Prakriya. There is no stress on the kids and they are free to think and do. There is no mugging up and rather they learn. No exam pressure and stress on grades and marks, but they are evaluated through work sheets and internal systems.

Is that the way Harvest approaches education ? Im looking at a school which will develop him into a capable man than a run of the mill engineer or doctor.

Your thoughts pls ..

Nakku 2013-10-25 09:25:27

 

Hi ctmanoj,

My kid will go to Harvest only in next year 2014 - June, but still can say that this school is no where near to Prakriya. I am a big fan of Prakriya's approach, and really wanted my kid to have that wonderful schooling experience but unfortunately couldnt convince my family for going against the conventional, with no mugging up, non-competetive schooling methodology. Also Prakriya is strict about age criteria and my August 2011 borm daughter has to wait 1 more year to start schooling. 

So if you want to put your son in some school similar to Prakriya, then I dont have any to suggest. Harvest follows montessori method till Grade1, but you cannot expect the quality similar to Prakriya. From grade 1 onwards Harvest is also similar to any other conventional school. But the thing which I liked is they are giving more importace to extra curricular activities in primary section. As the kid moves to higher grades, they focus more to curriculam. Also kids to teacher ratio is too good there. Harvest will be some 4-5 kms away from Prakriya

If you are ok with IG syllabus, you can even consider Primus school. I heard many good comments about this one, doesnt know in detail, as I was considering only CBSE schools. Also this one is very near to Prakriya.

Nakku 2013-10-25 12:36:55

 

Hi ctmanoj,

Just have a look at below school.
http://www.aurinkoacademy.com

Doesnt have much idea or info regarding the school. Got to know about the school after paying Harvest fees, so ddnt investigate much.

ctmanoj 2013-10-25 17:51:23

 

Thanks Nakku.

I visited the said schools today.

This is my view :

1) Harvest :
 Very impressed. The moment i entered the campus there were kids playing all over the ground, assisted by teachers and instructors. Every kid had a smile on the face. They were enjoying what they were doing .
The campus : Was clean to the dot. Very rare to see in a school.
The class rooms: Very well planned, spacious and ventilated. Tiny chairs and enough storage space for the kids. Didnt like the fact that the kids have to hang the bags in their chairs.
The staff : The coordinators were very helpful and took me on a walk around the school. Very patient and explained everything in detail.
Sports : 10000 sft play ground with synthetic (?) grass in the front. A sand pit for small ones. A huge indoor basketball cum badminton cum TT court on the 3rd floor.
Others : Good exclusive labs for math,biology,chemisty,physics,computer. Good sized music class with equipments. Good arts and craft class.
500 kids currently and would increase with years. Mont-1 t0 5th as of now. (?) .
Lots of emphasis on extra curricuar. 17 school buses going all across.
Fess : Montessory-3 ( UKG) INR 105,000 plus 30000 for admission plus bus fees. 

2) Primus :
The first turn off was the canteen/shop right inside the school gate. Every possible junk food available. Lots of kids sitting along the path and having instant noodles. Was taken into the accounts room where a =n old gentleman gave me a sheet containing the fee structure. Nice person, but had no details . I felt I was in a panchayath office to pay the fees. I insisted on details and they called a lady to explain to me. She also started with fees and then explained how montessory system works. They have ICSE till 7th and kids move into IG syllabus. Reason given was all kids want to follow IG syllabus as it gives them choice to decide on what to study. I was given an example also " if you decide that your kid has to be a doctor, you can put him for science syllabus in 8th" . I didnt have anything further to say. I was not allowed to see teachers nor class rooms as the school was functioning. I was told to come after 3pm or on saturdays to to see the empty classrooms. (!!!! ) .
Fees : INR182000 , including 40000 admission and 35000 refundable deposit(!)

3) Bethany :

A mini Bethany Main . Exactly the same. Added is the space. In an almost open ground in an off road of sarjapur rd. Small school now and well kept. Just a year old so was very clean. Headmistress was patient and gracious enough to take me through the education methodology. She termed it a mix of traditional and modern. No exams till 5th. Small play area now, more of a toddlers splash pool. They would add a big play ground next year. Good class rooms. But just another traditional conventional school.
Fees : INR 86000 annual plus 65000 admission plus approx 30000 bus fees.

Final thoughts, I so badly wish Prakriya accommodates my son also :)

ctmanoj 2013-10-25 17:52:19

 

Aurinko academny sounds like a school for kids with special needs, esp dyslexia. Any idea ?

Nakku 2013-10-25 18:46:35

 

I dont have much idea about aurinko, could be a special school, as have not seen anybody discussing about admission in this forum. Just ignore.
Also the fee in Harvest(Mont1- Mont3) is 100,500 this is including 30500 admission fee.
Admission + Registration fee is 30500.
Annual fee is 70000 - should be paid in 2 installments 
Bus and Uniform are extra

ramesh107 2013-10-26 00:11:40

 

Hi All,
Thanks a lot for all the responses, especially Nakku for the detailed and prompt responses..Indeed, they were very helpful...We have been visiting schools (not necessarily in the order of preference) in the past week or so.. and our focus was on mid-term admission; so experience/perspective might differ from "regular" admission seekers...
Harvest International (CBSE), Kodathi, Off Sarjapur Road: Classroom and other interior facilities are impressive. Also the attitude of the principal and staff is quite friendly..They said they have a teacher:student ratio of 2:24 until grade 5.. which translates to 1:12..! however, since Nakku mentioned it as 1:30, not sure if they have used a different formula now.. They have an impressive indoor badminton/basketball court (probably used for other indoor sports as well).. decent library.. individual labs for different subjects... Only lacking is good outdoor facilities (thought the front "lawn" will apparently be used as football field).. they did mention that they take the kids to a different outdoor facility maintained by ex-military personnel for outdoor activities.. Each kid needs to apparently "select" one art activity and one sport activity..BTW, (so far) they are the only school which have conducted an entrance test. No complaints as the test was reasonable (in our opinion) for I grade seeking kid.
Bethany High (ICSE?), Kommasandra, Off Sarjapur Road: Appears under construction (even indoors are dusty/unclean) and kids might have to spend in that dusty atmosphere, not sure for how long... lacking outdoor/sports facilities though they claim that they will develop a football field in the adjacent plot once they seal the lease agreement..
GIIS (CBSE): new one apparently started this academic year.. indeed seems to be "global" as they started off in Singapore (and present in several other countries). Apparently they have regular collaborative sessions among the global branches through video link.. Class rooms/Interiors OK..   again lacking outdoor/sports facilities as of now but they have big plans over the next two years... one impressive thing is they have a "sick bay" with full-time nurse and a doctor on call (well, that's what they said)As far as we remember teacher:student ratio is 1:30
Chrysalis High (ICSE), Varthur Main Road: Out of the 3 branches they have, this one is designated as "Marathahalli-Sarjapur Road" though it is close neither to Marathahalli nor Sarjapur Road and it may even be closer to Whitefield though they do have another "Whitefield-Kadugodi Road" branch. Apparently the other two branches which are newer follow CBSE curriculum.Friendly staff & principal and they appear to have a clear vision on how to bring the best out of each individual child. Interiors OK; Common lab room; Small library. Outdoor sports facilities (semi-olympic size swimming pool, huge skating rink, basket ball court and football field under construction) - quite impressive...Each kid needs to apprently "select" one art activity and one sport activity, which cannot be changed at least for one year.As far as we remember teacher:student ratio is 1:30 (can someone please validate this?)
NPS HSR: They did not entertain mid-term enquiries as they are over capacity apparently and even on vacancies arising, they'd prefer "waitlisted" candidates from regular admission process..Apparently their focus is on academics only (as per the response we got when we asked the watchman about playground).
Freedom International, HSR: Good school academically as per the limited information we have. They asked us to call back later to check if they have mid-term vacancy..
VIBGYOR HSR (Harlur Road): Good feedback all around; they denied mid-term admission as they are apparently over capacity (this was quite a shock to us as that was not the situation couple of years back as per our knowledge). Advised us to seek mid-term admission in Marathahalli branch and if successful, try for transfer to Harlur next year; we don't feel that's a good idea (We somehow don't prefer Marathahalli branch and can't risk getting "stuck" there).
DPS East: Decent feedback all around, as fits a member of the DPS chain. No test apparently, but just extra "mid-term penatly fees" compared to "regular" admission seekers.. When we enquired about school tour we were met with a glance which seemed to say "you are asking for a school tour of THE DPS?". More or less felt like government office.
Primus: School seems quite professional in appearance; We were briefed about the school by an ex-army gentleman. They follow a mixed curriculum - ICSE-"based" until 7th, IGCSE for 8-10 and State PUC for 11-12. For IGCSE, they teach 9 subjects, reccomend students to take at least 7, while 5 is the minimum required for the exam. That is how students can skip certain subjects - like passing 10th purely with science subjects, or even science without biology etc. The philosophy is that students can concentrate more on what they are interested and/or good at rather than "waste" time on subjects they need to study just because they are mandatory... Apparently, until 5th, all students have to take part in ALL activies like all sports & arts activities.One of the security guys was kind enough to give us a school tour (the school closed just then). Facilities/classrooms are decent.. there is even a "thinking" lab! Decent indoor badminton courts... 
and big playground covered with grass.. They also seem to have an "infirmary".. As per limited feedback, it is a good school with not much stress during the primary years..
@Nakku & @steve34, can you please let us know why you rate Chrysalis so high and did you mean the "Marathahalli-Sarjapur Road" branch in Varthur Main Road? (just trying to understand if we missed anything)@Nakku, if you were looking at CBSE schools only, how come Chrysalis (Varthur Road?) made it to your list (only distance was the issue as I understand)? Did the school win over curriculum in this case?

ramesh107 2013-10-28 11:02:07

 

Sorry for repeating the below questions; since my last message was quite long and was not formatted very well (perhaps lost in copy-paste), I realised they are easy to miss, and so am posting only my queries specifically again..

@Nakku & @steve34, can you please respond on my query on Chrysalis in the last post? Did you have any specific criteria due to which you rated it so high and did you mean the "Marathahalli-Sarjapur Road" branch in Varthur Main Road?

@Nakku, if you were looking at CBSE schools only, how come Chrysalis (Varthur Road - ICSE) made it to your list (only distance was the issue as I understand)? Did the school win over curriculum in this case?

Thanks

Nakku 2013-10-28 14:08:05

 

Sorry Ramesh, made a mistake with Chrysalis, actually one of my collegue's friend who are staying in Sarjapur road are sending their kids to Chrysalis and were really impressed with school and said so many good things about it and he mentioned that it is a CBSE school. So when I searched in google, I could see that it is too far for us, so just dropped. Could be sending to Whitefield area. Sorry for that.
The thing I liked about the school is that parents are really impressed with the teachers over there and they are implementing so many techniques to develop children's skill. I liked that approach, very different from conventional schools where there would be some 40-50 kids in class and teachers hardly know each kid's strengths and weaknesses. 

vhars 2013-10-28 19:53:23

 

Nakku, do you know on  what areas is  the child assesed. ?

chapvinny 2013-10-29 00:07:29

 

Hi Friends,

Visitied few schoosl
1>Any inputs for Mount litera Zee School- in haralur road, Today i been there  for my kids 1st Admission. it is CBSE. Fee structure as followed
71K( Tuition Fee) + 20K(Admission fee first year) + 30K (Refundable once you opt out from school)+500 form...

For Kidzee kids they have some offers as my kid is not from Kidzee so not inquired. anyone have any feedback please do share, 

2> VIBGYOR- Haralur road.....ICSE so not looked much but AC rooms, expensive. 

Also why all shcools at Sarjapur costing minimum 1lk +, are they teaching rocket science to kids, do we have really some decent options in aspect of education and fee.

Nakku 2013-10-29 16:37:33

 

Hi vhars,

I have admitted my kid to Harvest for M1 ie pre-kg. There is no assessment for preprimary(M1, M2, M3 which s equivalent to Prekg, LKG and UKG). From Grade1 onwards there is entrance test. For us there was an interaction. Mostly it was a discussion between parents and Principal. They were clearing our doubts, in between they tried to talk to my 2.2 years old kid, but she refused to even look at them. But they are very understanding and not expecting kid to answer them

navind 2013-10-29 16:43:48

 

Hi All,

Wow thats a great compiliations...

Bethany seems to every week raking thr fees, I heard 65k, then 75k now 86k... as fees... god knows

Harvest seems to be best choice... cost wise, reviews wise...

Chrysalis High, Prakriya next best with distance and difficulty to get in, respectively.

Then we have old gold Bethany in new bottle and DPS fame too aval.

Guess would need to take a tour again for Sarjapur options, and talk about my case.

CTMANOJ, every school has a Siblings quota, never saw a case like yours, even in top notch schools of Mumbai... try again n you should get in I feel.

Meanwhile I called at SSRVM Sarjapur, enquiring about Transfer case from Mumbai, they are quite open to it and would accomodate definitely they said, after some basic formalities.

Let also put who decides what in last... Nakku done with Harvest to say first

Thanks











Others are

Nakku 2013-10-29 16:53:06

 

Hi chapvinny,

Even I felt so,  why even preprimary is having too high fees? Even playgroup schools like little elly, euro kids are charging huge fees. I had completed my entire education ie LKG  till my engineering within a lakh money, which is equivalent to my kid's preprimary fees. Disgusting

navind 2013-10-29 16:55:39

 

Hi,

Can anyone throw light on fees of Chrysalis High, DPS, NPS HSR and Freedom.

Ramesh107 you visited few of these na?

Also Nakku can you clarify exact fees of Harvest, am confused with figures you gave and CtMonoj mentioned ones

Thanks

Nakku 2013-10-29 17:32:29

 

Hi,
These are the details for harvest

Admissions details for the academic year 2014 â€" 15.

Fee Structure 2014-15:

Pre Primary Grade Mont I - III - 100,500 Break up is followed below;

Registration fee and form - 30,500 

70,000 â€" At the time of admission â€" 40,000 (First instalment), October â€" 30,000(Second instalment)

Primary Grade I - V - 1,05,500 Break up is followed below;

Registration fee and form - 30,500 

75,000 â€" At the time of admission â€" 45,000 (First instalment), October â€" 30,000(Second instalment)

 Middle School - Grade VI to IX - 1,10,500 Break up is followed below;

Registration fee and form - 30,500

80,000 â€" At the time of admission â€" 50,000(First instalment), October â€" 30,000(Second instalment)

Books - On Actual

Uniform â€" Additional

 Transport :

5 km below - Rs.25, 000/- (1st. instalment - Rs.12, 500/- at the time of admission, 2nd instalment - Rs. 12,500/- in the month of October)

5 km â€" 15km- Rs.33, 000/- (1st. instalment - Rs.16,500/- at the time of admission, 2nd instalment - Rs. 16,500/- in the month of October) 

15km - 20km - Rs.38, 000/- (1st. instalment - Rs.19, 000/- at the time of admission, 2nd instalment - Rs. 19,000/- in the month of October) 

Above 20km- 42, 000/- (1st. instalment - Rs.21, 000/- at the time of admission, 2nd instalment - Rs. 21,000/- in the month of October) 

 *10% of the annual fee will be waived off for the second child.

* Day Care facility at HSR Layout "Harvest Cherubs Montessori" - Registration â€" 15,000/- and per

Month 2500/-

* In case of any cheque bounce additional amount of Rs.500/- will levied.

Age criteria:

Mont I - 2.6 yrs by 31st of March

Mont II - 3.6 yrs by 31st of March

Mont III- 4.6 yrs by 31st of March