New-age learning with Bangalore's alternative schools

New-age learning techniques, open classrooms and internationally recognised curricula have arrived at Bangalore’s educational arena. With classrooms filled with foreign nationals and NRI kids, international schools are here to stay, and leave a mark on the traditional ways of imparting education.

Mallya Aditi International School believes that art, music and drama are inextricably related to learning and integrates creative arts into its curriculum. This co-educational private school has an international perspective, with its off-beat courses, engaging teaching methods, student counsellors and collaboration with educational institutions worldwide. The school offers both ICSE and the IGCSE curricula at the secondary level. At the higher secondary level, students can choose between the ISC and the AICE curricula.

The school building is modern and minimalist. With open corridors and large airy classrooms, it offers a conducive teaching-learning environment to its students. Apart from its academic engagements, the school has a plethora of co-curricular activities that includes a dramatic society, a debating society, quiz and chess clubs and a mock United Nations. Aditi encourages open communication and takes a lot of feedback from the parents and the students in running the school effectively.

Founded in 1978 by philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti with the motto that “learning cannot happen when there is fear”, The Valley School nurtures its students in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Situated about 20 km south of the city on a 100-acre campus replete with artificial ponds, dams, lush foliage and lightly-wooded hills, this is a co-educational institution that has hostel facilities only for the senior students. The school is affiliated to the ICSE and the ISC Boards.

With an extremely high teacher-student ratio and an informal relationship between teachers and students, The Valley School has successfully managed to implement an “open classroom system”, where children from Classes I to IV can learn together. Along with a standard curriculum of science and humanities, various extra-curricular activities are also encouraged. Examinations are kept to a minimum.

The International School Bangalore boasts of a sprawling campus that houses the academic building, residential dorms, sports field and a nine-hole golf course and primarily caters to the city’s expat community. A sister concern of the National Public School, it offers a reasonably high standard of education, the curriculum drawing heavily on all aspects of culture, both eastern and western.

The school has a strong foreign language department and offers Spanish, German and French alongside Hindi as second language. The medium of instruction is English and the evaluation is done once a year in accordance with the IGCSE curriculum.

At the higher secondary level students take the IBO exam. Apart from the regular curriculum, the school also encourages the students to participate in a plethora of co-curricular activities that includes sports, drama, arts and even a model UN.

Offering both IGCSE and ICSE curricula, Inventure Academy takes an alternative approach to learning, far removed from the regular classroom lecture method. Inventive thinking, multiple intelligence and differentiated learning are the methods used by the teachers to impart knowledge to their students.

Based on the individual student’s strengths, personality and intelligence, a learning plan is drawn up for each of them. This co-educational institution has classes from the pre-school level all the way up to the higher secondary level.

So if you want to introduce your kid to a unique learning experience, international schools could be the answer.