Best Schools in Delhi (2026 Guide)

Delhi has one of the densest school markets in the country, and the first question for most families is not “which school is the best” but “which school is realistic for us”. Distance, board, admission timing and the child’s age matter as much as reputation. This guide gathers well-established schools from across the city and puts the practical details in one place, so you can build a shortlist before you open each school’s own website.

Every school below was checked against an official board record (the CBSE affiliation database, or the IB World School directory) and against the school’s own website. We have only stated facts we could find on those pages. Where a detail was not available, the table says “See site” instead of guessing.

Last checked: 13 Oct 2026. The order of schools below is not a ranking and does not reflect merit.

Delhi schools at a glance

The schools, area by area

Central Delhi and New Delhi

Modern School, Barakhamba Road

One of the older names in Delhi school education. The school’s own website says it was founded in 1920 and gives its history a full page. It is affiliated to CBSE (affiliation no. 2730009 in the board’s directory) and the site links to a separate portal for Class XI admission, which is worth knowing if you are planning a move at the senior level.

St. Columba’s School

A boys’ school run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. Its website says classes began in 1941 with 32 students and that the school now has over 3,000. It is affiliated to CBSE (no. 2730144). The site also has a section on the wider Christian Brothers network of schools in India.

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya

Run by the Gujarat Education Society, which according to the school’s website established the Vidyalaya in 1958 to meet the varied educational needs of the capital. It is a CBSE senior secondary school (affiliation no. 2730024) on Road No. 3, Lodi Estate.

Delhi Public School, Mathura Road

The school’s legacy page says it began in 1949 in a few tents on a cleared plot, after the Delhi Public School Society took over an existing school, and that the foundation stone of the present building was laid in 1956. It is affiliated to CBSE (no. 2730015) and its homepage also mentions a Cambridge programme alongside CBSE.

Springdales School, Pusa Road

The school’s website states that it was established in 1955 with a commitment to national revival and internationalism. It is a CBSE senior secondary school (affiliation no. 2730043). The site carries a separate admission policy page and a pre-school admission section, so parents of younger children can read the process in advance.

Chanakyapuri, South and South-West Delhi

Sanskriti School

Sanskriti was set up by the Civil Services Society, an organisation formed by the wives of civil servants. Its history page says the foundation stone was laid on 30 May 1996 and the school became functional on 12 August 1998. It was created for families of officers who move between postings, but the school says it is open to children regardless of their parents’ professions. CBSE affiliation no. 2730295.

Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram

Affiliated to CBSE (no. 2730017). The school’s own website says it is an IB World School offering the IB Diploma Programme, which we could not cross-check independently, so please confirm the current offering on the IB directory and with the school before relying on it. We did not find a founding year on the pages we could read.

The Mother’s International School

Affiliated to CBSE (no. 2730021) and located on Sri Aurobindo Marg. The school’s site has dedicated sections for academics, admissions and art integration. We could not find a founding year on the pages we were able to read, so the table does not state one.

Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan

A CBSE senior secondary school (no. 2730155). Its website describes the school as under the aegis of the Springdales Education Society (1956); the school’s own founding year is not stated on the pages we read. When we checked, the site displayed a Nursery Admissions 2026-2027 banner.

Multiple campuses in Delhi NCR

The Shri Ram School

The IB directory lists The Shri Ram School as an IB World School. The school’s website describes Cambridge International, ICSE, ISC, IB Diploma and IB Career-related pathways across different grades, so the exact route depends on the campus and stage. If you are comparing boards, this is a school where it pays to read the academics pages carefully.

Also on the CBSE list: please confirm on the official site

These schools appear in CBSE’s affiliation directory, but we could not open or confirm their official websites during this check (certificate errors, blocked access or no reachable page). We are listing them for completeness only. Please see the official site and do not rely on this page for any detail beyond the CBSE listing.

• Vasant Valley School, Sector C, Vasant Kunj (CBSE affiliation no. 2730233, website listed by CBSE: vasantvalley.org)
• Modern School, Vasant Vihar, Poorvi Marg (CBSE affiliation no. 2730041, website listed by CBSE: modernschoolvasantvihar.org)
• Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj (CBSE affiliation no. 2730237, website listed by CBSE: dpsvasantkunj.com)
• Blue Bells School International, Kailash Colony (CBSE affiliation no. 2730027, website listed by CBSE: bluebellsinternational.com)

CBSE, ICSE/ISC or IB: how the boards differ in practice

Most schools on this list follow the CBSE curriculum, which is also the most common route for families who may relocate within India, because syllabus and exam patterns are similar across cities. CBSE affiliation can be checked on the board’s SARAS directory by school name or affiliation number.

The CISCE board runs the ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) exams. Families usually look at it when they want a curriculum with a strong emphasis on English and a wider spread of subjects. CISCE maintains its own school locator, though we found only a handful of Delhi entries in it, so The Shri Ram School’s ICSE/ISC offering is school-stated.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes are offered only by authorised IB World Schools. They suit students who are comfortable with project work and writing, and who may be considering universities abroad. The IB directory shows which programmes a school is authorised to teach, so check it rather than relying on a brochure.

None of these boards is automatically better. The right choice is the one the child can sustain from nursery to Class 12, with a school that teaches it well.

How to choose a school in Delhi

Start with the commute. Delhi traffic can turn a short distance on the map into a long school run. Check the actual route at school hours, not at midday.

Match the board to the long-term plan. If you may move cities, CBSE is the safest default. If you are thinking about studying abroad, look at schools that are authorised to teach the IB Diploma and ask how the results are tracked.

Visit, and ask specific questions. How large are the classes? How is the transition from middle to senior school handled? What happens to students who are not in the top stream? A school that answers plainly is usually a good sign.

Look at the age you are entering. Some schools admit mostly at nursery or Class 1, while others have separate Class XI intake. A school that is difficult at nursery level may have a different process at Class XI.

Keep a shortlist of five or six. At the popular schools, many more children apply than there are places. A shortlist across different areas and boards protects you from disappointment.

Admission basics

Admission dates, age criteria and procedures differ from school to school and change from year to year, so treat any date you read on a third-party page, including this one, as out of date until you have confirmed it on the school’s website.

On 13 Oct 2026 we saw the following on official sites: Springdales Dhaula Kuan showed a Nursery Admissions 2026-2027 banner, DPS Mathura Road displayed an Admission 2026-27 notice on its homepage, Springdales Pusa Road linked to pre-school and nursery admission policy pages, and Modern School, Barakhamba Road linked to a Class XI admission portal. Other schools may publish their notices at different times.

In general, parents should look for the age cut-off for the class, the registration window, whether admission is points-based or by assessment, and the documents required. We have not verified any state-specific rules, such as reservation for economically weaker sections, so please read the Delhi government’s official notices for those.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best school in Delhi?

There is no single best school. This page is a selection, not a ranking, and the order is not based on merit. The best choice depends on your child’s age, the board you want, how far you can travel and what you can afford.

Are all these schools CBSE?

Most are. Nine of the ten schools in the main list are affiliated to CBSE according to the board’s directory. The Shri Ram School is listed by the IB as an IB World School and, according to its own website, also offers ICSE and ISC.

When do nursery admissions begin in Delhi?

Dates vary by school and year. Check each school’s admissions page and notice board. On the day we checked, some official sites already showed 2026-27 notices, but you should confirm the current cycle yourself.

Can I find fees on this page?

No. We have not listed fee amounts because they change and we only publish a figure when it is on the school’s official site. Please ask the school for its current fee schedule.

How can I check whether a school is really CBSE affiliated?

Use the CBSE SARAS school directory (saras.cbse.gov.in) and search by school name or affiliation number. Compare the details with those on the school’s website.

What is the difference between a CBSE school and an IB World School?

CBSE is a national board that sets the syllabus and exams for affiliated schools. An IB World School is authorised by the International Baccalaureate to offer one or more IB programmes, such as the Diploma Programme for Classes 11 and 12.

How this list was put together

We started from a list of well-known, established schools spread across different parts of Delhi and different boards. For each one, we looked for its record in the CBSE affiliation directory or the IB World School directory, and then opened the school’s own website to confirm the details. A school was dropped from the main list, or moved to the “please confirm” list, if we could not read its website. The text of this page is our own; we did not copy ratings, fee tables or descriptions from other websites.

Disclaimer: This guide is for general information. Schools are selected from the ones we could verify, not ranked, and details such as boards, campuses, fees and dates can change. Please confirm everything on the school’s official website or with the school office before you apply. Yuva Digest has no affiliation with any school named here.

Last checked: 13 Oct 2026.

See also

• Best Schools in Chandigarh
• Best CBSE Schools in Kolkata
• Best ICSE Schools in Kolkata
• Best Schools in Bangalore
• Best Schools in Hyderabad