Kolkata: Several Kolkata and Howrah schools have strengthened their positions in the EducationWorld India School Rankings (EWISR) 2026-27, with The Heritage School and Birla High School, Moira Street, featuring in the publication’s elite “Ivy League” category.The Heritage School retained its two-star Ivy League status among co-educational day schools, while Birla High School moved up from one star last year to two stars in the boys’ day school category.The 20th edition of the annual rankings, conducted by EducationWorld in association with AZ Research Partners Pvt Ltd, evaluates schools across parameters including academic reputation, faculty competence, leadership, curriculum and pedagogy, infrastructure, sports and co-curricular education, student well-being and special-needs education.Among Kolkata’s girls’ day schools, Modern High School for Girls was ranked No. 3 nationally, slipping one position from No. 2 last year. Sushila Birla Girls’ School climbed sharply to joint No. 6 from No. 10, while Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary School entered the national Top 10 at joint No. 10.Howrah’s MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth rose to No. 2 nationally among boys’ day schools, from No. 3 last year. Don Bosco School, Park Circus, retained the No. 4 position, while Agrasain Boys’ School, Howrah, improved from No. 9 to No. 7.Among co-ed day schools, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy was ranked No. 9 nationally, retaining its previous position.Kolkata’s century-old institutions continued to feature prominently in the separate vintage or legacy school categories. La Martiniere for Boys climbed two places to No. 3 nationally, while St Xavier’s Collegiate School was placed joint No. 5. Calcutta Boys’ School was ranked No. 9 and St Lawrence High School entered the Top 10 at No. 10.Among vintage girls’ schools, La Martiniere for Girls was ranked No. 4, compared with No. 3 last year, while Loreto House, Middleton, was placed joint No. 5, down from No. 2.Future Hope School retained the No. 6 national position among philanthropy schools.EducationWorld introduced its Ivy League category last year to group schools that have consistently performed strongly across several parameters. Schools in the category share the No. 1 ranking but are differentiated through star ratings ranging from one to five.“The objective of the annual EWISR is to encourage the managements of India’s best primary-secondary schools to strive for continuous upgradation to provide learning outcomes on a par with the world’s best,” said EducationWorld founder-editor Dilip Thakore. He added that the rankings were also intended to provide parents with detailed information while encouraging leading schools to serve as benchmarks for institutions across the country.AZ Research Partners founder-director Shubhra Mishra said the survey used structured, one-on-one interviews to improve the accuracy of assessments. She said the Ivy League clustering recognised that differences between leading schools were often marginal.The rankings cover 4,500 schools across 34 cities and 22 states, spanning day, boarding, international, government, special-needs, budget private and philanthropy school categories.KOLKATA SCORECARDIvy League: The Heritage School — 2 stars; Birla High School — 2 starsGirls’ day: Modern High — No. 3; Sushila Birla Girls’ — joint No. 6; Ashok Hall Girls’ — joint No. 10Boys’ day: MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth — No. 2; Don Bosco Park Circus — No. 4; Agrasain Boys’ — No. 7Co-ed day: Lakshmipat Singhania Academy — No. 9Vintage boys: La Martiniere for Boys — No. 3; St Xavier’s Collegiate — joint No. 5; Calcutta Boys’ — No. 9; St Lawrence — No. 10Vintage girls: La Martiniere for Girls — No. 4; Loreto House — joint No. 5Philanthropy: Future Hope School — No. 6
