Parkwood School International (PSI) is a co-educational residential school, just a short drive from Hyderabad, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Parkwood provides education for children from Grade 3 to 12. The school offers CBSE, University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 IGCSE

IGCSE

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is an internationally recognised qualification for school students, typically in the 14–16 age group. It is similar to the GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Standard Grade in Scotland or Junior Certificate in the Republic of...

 and A-Levels.

Location

The school is located on a32 acres (129,499.5 m²) campus about 60 km west of Hyderabad on the Vikarabad Road. This area was once the summer abode of Nizams, the rulers of Hyderabad. The school is situated very close to the village Manneguda and Chevella

Chevella

Chevella is a mandal in Rangareddi district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 40 km distance from Hyderabad. Chevella town is on Hyderabad-Tandur road route.-Geography:Chevella is located at...

. The school has a main office located in Banjara Hills

Banjara Hills

Banjara Hills is an urban commercial center in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Banjara Hills is one of more than 150 cities/boroughs comprising Greater Hyderabad, the second largest metropolitan area in India. This is an upmarket locality and is close to Jubilee Hills. This area was a hilly forest area...

, near Care Hospital, that handles all administrative responsibilities.

Infrastructure and facilities

The three-tier Academic Block of 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) has 48 classrooms, each of 650 square feet (60.4 m²) on every floor. Facing it is a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) lawn used by the community for outdoor learning as well as games, sports and activities. Each of the three 23000 square feet (2,136.8 m²) Halls of Residence comprise activity–utility rooms on the ground floors and on the upper floors. The washrooms attached with the dormitories are planned with the ratio of 1:8 students. The 16000 square feet (1,486.4 m²) central dining hall, Bon Appétit, dines 450 people at a time. The adjoining kitchen is another 4000 square feet (371.6 m²). Encore, the amphitheatre, accommodates 800 people for dramatics, stage shows and outdoor movies

Outdoor cinema

An outdoor cinema consists of a digital or analog movie projector, scaffolded construction or inflatable projection screen, and sound system....

.

Nearly 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of the school area is devoted to sports. The sports area comprises:

• Five smooth concrete basketball courts
• A full-size football field
• A cricket field
• Seven tennis courts
• A 25 m × 12.5 m swimming pool
• Smooth concrete roads for jogging, skating and cycling

The school has its own borewells to supply the 200,000 litres of daily water needed. There are underground storage tanks that hold 600,000 litres of water. All the civil construction on the campus is constructed to the IS specifications including conforming to the Fire Safety and Quake Resistant norms. The complete 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) of campus is fully rain harvested with all the rainwater collecting in the five-million-litre rain-harvesting pit. The sewage treatment plant processes and recycles about 150,000 litres of water daily for use in the drip irrigation system. The complete campus has been networked with underground storm water pipelines to drain out the campus even after the heaviest rainfalls.

Curriculum

Parkwood is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education

Central Board of Secondary Education

The Central Board of Secondary Education is a Board of Education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India.-History:...

. The school offers courses from the national CBSE and the international IGCSE

IGCSE

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is an internationally recognised qualification for school students, typically in the 14–16 age group. It is similar to the GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Standard Grade in Scotland or Junior Certificate in the Republic of...

 and A-Levels. Students opt for the CBSE streams in Grade 8. The Continuous Assessment Programme (CAP) Tests ensure that the performance of each chid is evaluated.

House system

Students are grouped into four houses - Hope, Unity, Trust and Patience, with colours blue, green, yellow and red respectively. Inter-house events foster competition and teamwork. Students achieve points that add to their overall house score culminating in the House Cup awarded to the one with the highest total.

Student council

The Head Boy, Head Girl and the four House Captains are chosen from the senior class every year. The student leaders are appointed through a formal investiture ceremony.

Clubs and activities

Co-curricular activities include music, singing, dancing, arts and crafts and reading. Students are encouraged to participate in at least two of the after-school activities.

Voice-it

Special emhasis is placed on the development of public speaking. Voice-It is held every Saturday and is compulsory for all students. Students are trained in the following areas:

• Debate
• Declamation
• Extempore speech
• Group discussions
• Story telling
• Prepared speech
• Recitation

Trekking

Treks and hikes are conducted around the rural areas that surround the campus. The treks are usually conducted all night. Students leave the campus around 9 p.m. and return sometime around 6 a.m. on the following day. Treks usually cover around 27 km on all kinds of terrain.

Controversy

The school was in news when its Director was accused of raping a student and was arrested by police but it was a false case so there was nothing to worry.