List of CBSE Schools in Chennai

You can find here the list of CBSE schools in Chennai, that have a website. I was quite surprised that many of the Chennai CBSE schools do not even have a website. You can go through the school website to understand the school's infrastructure, teaching system, core values, etc., Hopefully, this helps you in deciding the BEST SCHOOL for your kid. (Note: This list is not exhaustive/complete)

Also read: R2I school admissions - FAQ   Getting KG admission for a kid in school

1. A School (Alwarpet, Anna Nagar East, Anna Nagar West, Ashok Nagar, Kilpauk, Perambur, Thiruvanmayur, Valarsaravakkam, Velachery
2. Adarsh Senior Secondary School (T. Nagar)
3. Amirta Vidyalaya (Saligramam & K.K Nagar)
4. Arsha Vidya Mandir School (Guindy)
5. Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School (Greams Road)
6. Aspire Superkidz (Nanganallur)
7. B V Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram (Kilpauk)
8. Bala Vidya Mandir (Adyar)
9. Bhaktavatsalam Vidyashram (Korattur)
10. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Kilpauk)
11. Chettinad Vidyashram (R.A. Puram)
12. Chennai Public School (Anna Nagar West Extn)
13. Chinmaya Vidyalaya (Chetpet, Kilpauk, Anna Nagar, Virugambakkam)
14. DAV School  (Adambakkam, Gopalapuram & Padi)
15. Kendriya Vidyalaya (Anna Nagar, Selaiyur, IIT Campus, Choolaimedu, Anna Salai, Avadi, Ashok Nagar, Meenambakkam)
16. Kola Perumal Chetty Vaishnav Senior Seconday School (Arumbakkam, Kilpauk)
17. Maharishi Vidya Mandir (Chetpet)
18. Manthan Vidyashram (Palavakkam)
19. National Public School (Gopalapuram)
20. P.S. Senior Secondary School (Mylapore)
21. Padma Seshadiri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School (K.K. Nagar, T. Nagar, Nungambakkam)
22. Pon Vidyashram School (Thiruvanmiyur, Virugambakkam)
23. PSBB Millennium School (St. Thomas Mount)
24. SBOA School and Junior College (Anna Nagar West Extension)
25. Schram Academy (Maduravoyal)
26. Sherwood Educational Society (Chetpet)
27. Sindhi Model Senior Secondary School (Kilpauk)
28. Unity Public School (Adambakkam)
29. Vani Vidyalaya (K.K Nagar)
30. Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School (Mylapore)

Also read:

• R2I school admissions - FAQ
• Getting KG admission for a kid in school 
• Questions asked during KG interview in Schools

Questions asked during KG Interview in Chennai Schools

We attended interviews in 3 different schools in Chennai for my daughter's KG admission - Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Chennai Public School, and Sherwood Hall. The KG interview pattern/questions seem to be more or less similar, in all the 3 schools. Your kid should be prepared to answer the questions / do the assignments without your help. In Chennai Public School, the kid was interviewed separately without the parents around. You can get a distant view of what is going on. I've compiled the list of questions asked during the KG interview here. Hope this helps you.

(Also read: R2I school admissions - FAQ)

Questions/Assignments for kid during KG interview

1) What is your name?
2) Which school are you going to?
3) Which class are you studying?
4) Who are all staying with you at home?
5) Who drops/picks you up from school?
6) How did you come to the interview, today? (mode of commute)
7) An assignment to color something with crayons (flower, fruit or vegetable)
8) An assignment to identify the object (animal, fruit, or vegetable)
9) An assignment to test your kid's reflex / physical ability (by asking the kid to throw a ball, asking the kid to pick a ball, asking the kid to run/jump etc.,)

Standard questions like "Where do you work", "What is your pay" etc., will be filled in the application form itself. So, the parents should be prepared for the following kind of questions.

Questions for Parents during KG interview

1) Why do you want to admit your kid in this school?
2) What would you like the kid to be?
3) What are the skills that you want your kid to pick up?
4) What are some of the things that your kid likes to do?
5) How many hours do you spend with the kid each day?
6) Who helps the kids with the school assignments?
7) What are the extra curricular activities that you would like your kid to participate in?
8) Who will drop/pickup your kid from the school? Would you need school van service?
9) If you R2I'ed, why did you R2I? Do you have plans of going back to US?

If the school is expecting a donation (also called as "school development fund"), you'll also be informed about that during the interview.

Things have changed very much in the last 10 or 15 years. There were times when the admission process was very simple. The parents have to just meet the school Principal and pay the fees. Now, every school is trying to pick the 'best' kid(s) through interviews. I pity these innocent little kids. They have to start competing with each other for a limited number of seats in a good school. It adds unnecessary pressure and frustration to the parents. There are lots of parents who are ready to do 'whatever it takes' to get admission into a good school, which results in increased cost of education.

Also read:

• R2I school admissions - FAQ
• Getting KG admission for a kid in school 

R2I school admissions - FAQ

This blog post captures the most commonly asked questions regarding school admissions. The answers are based on my own personal experiences in finding a KG admission for my kid and based on the information that I gathered from friends/colleagues.  

Also read:  

Questions asked during KG interview in Schools
List of CBSE schools in Chennai

• When do school admissions typically start?

School admissions typically start in the month of Oct for the next academic year. For example, if you want to put your kid(s) in school for the year 2011, you should start looking for admissions in Oct, 2010.

• What is the ideal time of the year to R2I, to take care of kid's school admissions?

Schools begin their admissions at least 6 months before the academic year starts. So, you should plan your R2I accordingly.   (Also read: R2I checklist - 25 things to do)

• Do I have to stand in a long queue for admissions?

No (most of the times). Schools do issue lots of application forms. In fact, the admission forms are distributed for 2 or 3 days in a row. Schools make good money out of application forms and so they don't hesitate to issue application forms to everyone.

However, there is a general perception that schools only shortlist people for interviews on a first come, first served basis. I was the applicant #5 for one of the schools in Chennai. However, they haven't called us yet for the interviews.

If you can afford to go early to beat the queue, you are very much encouraged to do so.

• Can I get a seat for my kid in school, from being in US?

Technically you can book/block a seat for your kid in school, from being in US. You can get admissions easily in schools that are trying to establish.

If you are specifically looking for Tier-I or Tier-II schools (i.e., the most popular ones), the chances of getting a seat from being in US are very slim.

• Do I need recommendation to get admission into a good school?

Yes. Based on my experience, recommendation from 'influential' people go a long way.

The law of supply & demand comes into play, when it comes to school admissions. If there are too many contenders for a fixed number of school seats, the most influential ones would be given higher preference.

• Do all schools demand donation?

Yes ... in some form or the other. For example, some schools get the donation in the form of "Admission Fee" or "School Development Fund"

• Do I have to pay the donation amount in cash or check?

Different schools have different practice. Some expect the donation amount to be paid in cash and others accept a check from you.

• What are some of the fees charged by schools for admission?

One-Time

Donation or School Development Fund or Admission Fee (non refundable)
Caution or Security Deposit (refundable)

Recurring / Yearly Fee

School Tuition Fee
Cost of Books
Cost of School Uniforms

Optional (only when you use the infrastructure)

Transportation Charges
Boarding charges
Post-school hours day care
Extra-Curricular activities (Swimming, Tennis, Karate, Dance, Scouts etc.,)

Miscellaneous Fee (will go out of your pocket during the course of the academic year)

Picnic / Excursions
Participation in Exhibitions
Participation in Annual Day Celebrations
Inter School Competition Registration
Art Work / Project Work

• How much does kid's education cost?

The cost of education drastically varies based on the school. It can be anywhere from Rs. 35,0000 per year to Rs.1,00,000 per year (irrespective of the standard/class to which you are admitting your kid). For example, the school in which I got admission for my daughter charges the same fee from Pre-KG to VII std. For classes from VIII - XII, there is an additional Rs.15,000 fee.

This amount does not include the donations. The donations can vary from Rs.25,000 to Rs.1,00,000.

(Note: These are prevailing schooling costs in Chennai as of 2010)

Also read: How much money do you need to R2I?

• How easy is to get admission in a good school?

It is extremely difficult to get admission in good schools. You need to have recommendations from influential people to get admission in a good school. Money also goes a long way, in some of these schools. Your kid's interview performance alone doesn't decide the seat allotment.

You should be very aggressive to find the right contacts in/outside the school. Continuously ping the school administrators and show your interests. There are instances, where my friends/colleagues have to meet the school principal directly a few times, before getting a seat.

• Who are some people that can provide recommendation for school admissions?

Teachers/Staff working in the same school
Parents of students who are studying in the same school for a long time
School's board members / trustees
Key politicians
Key educational board officials
Government officials higher-up in the rank

Note:
- There may be multiple people approaching the school with recommendations from the above set of people. Who influences the most will get a seat. For example, we got a recommendation letter from the P.A of Chief Minister with his own government stamp on it. The school authorities simply said that they have multiple recommendations from CM's P.As and they may not be able to honor them. Of course, we tried this after the admission results were published. If we had gotten a recommendation before the admission results were announced, we could've gotten a seat in the school

- If you are getting a recommendation letter from an XYZ IAS officer, and another  person is getting a recommendation from the IAS officer who approves educational grants, the latter would have more influence on the admission process

• What is the recommended mode of communication with school authorities?

It is recommended to do in-person visits, if it is possible. The next mode of contact should be over the phone. Don't expect any cordial responses over the phone. The person who is attending the phone call would be very eager to disconnect (He/She may receive 10s/100s of such calls during the admission season. So, they may not be excited about patiently responding back to your queries)

Don't try to send emails to the email address given in the school's website. So, far I haven't received any responses to the emails sent to school's email address (even from popular schools such as Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (aka PSBB), and Chinmaya Vidyalaya)

• Does the child's citizenship make any difference in the fee ? 

 No. The child's citizenship doesn't make any difference in the fee (at least, the schools that I talked to, didn't have any difference in fee for US citizens)

However, I would recommend you to check with the school administration - just in case, the school had a special fee structure for foreign students.

Also read:

Getting a KG admission in school - the math behind it
Questions asked during KG interview in Schools

Getting KG admission for a kid in school - the math behind it

Getting admission for a kid in a good school in India, is very difficult. I underestimated the efforts involved to get an admission for kid in school.

Standing in long queues to get application form, filling application form religiously, submitting application on-time, preparing the kid rigorously for interactive sessions, and doing in-person interviews well - isn't just enough for getting admission into a good school, in India. I learned this lesson very late and my next few posts are going to be on this topic. Hopefully, others who Return to India (R2I) can learn from my mistakes.

Also Read:

Questions asked during KG interview in Schools
R2I school admissions - FAQ
List of CBSE schools in Chennai

Every school taught me something new. At the end, I think I figured out the math behind the KG admission process (or at least, I'm pretty close to the actual). Here is the approximate split-up of seat allotments to kids during KG admissions (PreKG or LKG, depending upon the entry level in that school)

• Kids who have an elder sibling already studying in that school (50% of the seats, given)

In a school that has upto 12th grade, almost 50% of the PreKG (or LKG) seats get filled with the sibling of the children who already study there.

Let us take for example a school that has PreKG - 12th grade & one class/section per grade. The school would have 15 classes/sections in total (PreKG, LKG, UKG, and 1st - 12th grade). Let us assume that there are 50 kids studying in each class. So, in total ~750 kids would study in that school (15 grades * 50 kids per class). When the admissions start for Pre-KG, they would have ~50 open/available seats.

Let us assume that 1/5th of the school children have a younger sibling of 2.5 - 3 years age (i.e., ~150 students would have a younger sibling of 2.5 - 3 years age). To me, this is a very conservative assumption. If 1/3rd of them want to admit their younger sibling in the same school ~50 would look for a PreKG seat (i.e., 150 * 1/3) . 

So, theoretically speaking, majority of the Pre-KG seats would be alloted to younger sibling of children who are already studying in that school. I'm sure each school would have a quota of seats alloted to sibling of children who are already studying in that school. Even if the quota is 50%, 25 out of 50 seats would be allotted to the sibling of children who are already studying in that school.

• Kids of teachers/staff working in the school (5% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from teachers/staff working in that school  (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from the school's board members/trustee (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids who go with recommendations from key politicians / education & government officials (10% of the seats, given)

• Kids whose parents are ready to offer a lot of donation to get a seat in the school (5% of the seats, given)

• Kids who perform extremely well in the interviews / interactive sessions (10% of the seats, given)

** The distribution of the % of seats may vary across each of these categories, depending upon the school in which you are seeking admission. The above numbers are based on my hunch. So, it may not be an accurate representation.

Typically, these schools issue 1000s of application forms for ~Rs.200 each. At a minimum they'll earn Rs. 2 Lakhs by just issuing application forms. So, they don't hesitate to issue application forms. They'll even call everyone for interviews. They'll spend a few minutes with you and your kid. Finally, they would tell you "We'll call you and inform" or they'll publish the results and your kid's name wouldn't be there in the list. If you are really honest and trying to get admission without any influence - most likely you wouldn't get a seat for your kid.

Also read:

R2I Planning Guide - one stop shop
R2I school admissions - FAQ
List of CBSE schools in Chennai