Lilavatibai Podar Senior Secondary High School Isc, Mumbai Review
Overview
Established in 2004, the Podar International School has acquired a name not only for its high quality infrastructure, but also for its teaching & selection process. The management of the school is handled by the Anandilal and Ganesh Podar Society, who are also the school's owners. The school is associated with reputed organizations with memberships to the Rotary Interact Club, British Council and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) regularly conducts seminars to bridge the gap between parents, teachers & students. The school has approximately 1,800 students. It is a co-educational English medium school.
The school takes safety aspects very seriously. There are experienced security guards manning the school entrance as also CCTV equipment. All science labs are equipped with safety measures & there are fire extinguishers throughout the school premises. All safety equipment is regularly checked from time to time. It is also mandatory for students, faculty and other staff to undergo fire safety drills.
Location of Podar International School
The Podar International School itself is a well-known landmark in the Santacruz area of Mumbai. The school is easily accessible by both public buses & train, being near to the railway station. Famous eateries nearby include Gokul's ice-cream, Garcia's Pizza and Shabari restaurant.
Podar International School Achievements
The school's teaching methods & quality education is endorsed by the students' academic achievements. One of the school's students topped the ICSE Std. X board exams at the national level for the academic year 2009 - 2010 while another was a topper at the State level for the ISC Std. XII board exams for the same academic year.
Students of the senior school have won inter-school elocution competitions while the primary school students have won prizes in art & drawing competitions. Two of the students have also won awards at the popular national level Spelling Bee contest.
What's more, the principal Mrs. Norina Fernandes has been honoured with the Best Principal Award by the Science Olympiad Foundation for projecting the importance Science, Mathematics and IT.
Podar International School Admissions process
Admission to the school is stress free. Registration for admission of the student is done online (generally after October 1st for the next academic year). A selection committee then appraises the registration, after which the parents & student are called for a meeting with the faculty. There is a short admission test for students of Std.II to Std.XI after which parents are informed about the admission decision. Std. I students are met informally in a casual setting.
Academics at Podar International School
The school is affiliated to Cambridge International Examinations, UK (CIE) and International Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva (IBO). The school provides education from primary classes to Std. XII. Students of the middle school, from Std. VI to Std. X follow the IGCSE curriculum while Std. XI and Std. XII students follow the IBDP and A Levels programme curriculum. There is approximately 1 teacher for every 15 students. This ensures an excellent student-teacher relationship.
Extra coaching is provided to students who are weak in academics. Students also receive specialized guidance for preparing for Maths & Science Olympiads, Elementary and Intermediate Art Grade Examinations, State Scholarship Examinations and other major national level exams and competitions.
Podar International School Co-curricular & extra-curricular activities
Students are members of one of 4 houses: Raman (Red), Gandhi (Blue), Tagore (Green) and Vivekananda (Yellow). When a member of a house participates in an inter-house competition, be it on the sports field or a debate, it is graded. Academics are also given grades. The grades of all members are totaled to decide which house will win the annual house trophy. There are individual trophies for the best house in sports, for the best house in inter-house activities and for the best house in academics.
Senior school students are taken for unique trips as a fun learning experience. For example, the IB students were taken on a field project trip to Karjat to explore alternate sources of energy while another time students visited the National Stock Exchange premises at Bandra, Mumbai. Then there are yoga sessions, workshops, etc.
Podar International School Infrastructure & Facilities
An interesting aspect of the school building is that not only are there classrooms on each floor, but also two staff rooms! The dozen or more classrooms on each floor are all equipped with an interactive whiteboard, a computer with internet facilities and 24-inch television screens. The classrooms are spacious & air-conditioned. Also on each floor is one computer lab equipped with about two dozen computers where 2 students share a computer. The science labs for Biology, Physics & Chemistry, too, are large and equipped with all the required equipment.
The library has a reading area & is well stocked with books & periodicals. What is unique about the school's library is that there are 60 laptops which the students can borrow to use in their class. One of the school's goals is to do away with needless use of paper and hence it would one day like to have all the students equipped with individual laptops.
Arts & culture are given equal priority with academics. Hence there are separate rooms for music, visual art, etc.
Medical facilities are provided at the Health Care Centre which is manned by nurses 24x7 and an ambulance facility is also available.
Other facilities include a canteen serving nutritious food and a stationery shop. All school functions are organised in the large school hall. The school also has its own auditorium. School bus transport facility is available for all students.
Sports facilities at Podar International School
The management of the school has ensured good sporting activities at the nearby Podar Sports Academy and ground. Here, students attend a physical education class and are also coached in various sports. Sports activities include cricket, football, basketball, throwball and athletics. Indoor sports facilities are also available for table tennis, gymnastics, skating, karate, chess & carom.
Podar International School Timings
1. Primary School (Std I to Std V): 7am to 12noon / 1pm to 5.50pm
2. Secondary School (Std VI to Std X): 7am to 12.05noon / 1pm to 5.50pm
3. Senior Secondary School(Std XI& Std XII): 7am to 2.00pm
Podar International School Fees
The fee for Term I is 50% of the annual academic fee & the fees for Term II has to paid in the second installment. In addition to these fees, there are separate expenses for the school uniform, the school bus, textbooks & notebooks and exam fees.
Primary Section school fees (Std I - V ): Rs. 37,100/- (Total fees for both terms)
Middle School fees (Std VI - VIII): Rs. 44,100/- (Total fees for both terms)
Secondary Section school fees: (Std IX & X ): Rs. 44,100/- (Total fees for both terms)
Senior Secondary Section (Std XI – Science, Commerce, Humaities): Rs.1,05,000/- (Total fees for all 4 quarters)
Senior Secondary Section (Std XII - Science): Rs. 98,000/- (Total fees for all 4 quarters)
Senior Secondary Section (Std. XII – Commerce, Humanities): Rs. 84,000/- (Total fees for all 4 quarters)
Note: The fees mentioned above are for existing students. Fees for New Admission Students is much higher.
Current Principal: Mrs. Norina Fernandes
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