School admission glossary
The terms every parent runs into during admissions season — board acronyms, EWS quotas, age cut-offs and points systems — explained plainly, with links into the matching school listings.
CBSE — full form & meaning
CBSE stands for Central Board of Secondary Education — India's national-level school board, following the NCERT curriculum.
ICSE — full form & meaning
ICSE stands for Indian Certificate of Secondary Education — a private national board exam conducted by CISCE.
IB — full form & meaning
IB stands for International Baccalaureate — a Geneva-based foundation offering the PYP, MYP and Diploma Programme.
IGCSE — full form & meaning
IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education — Cambridge's international Class 10 equivalent.
State Board
A state board is the school-education board run by an individual Indian state — the largest K-12 affiliation in the country.
EWS Admission — full form & meaning
EWS admission reserves entry-level seats in private unaided schools for children from economically weaker sections under the RTE Act.
Nursery Admission Age
Most schools require a child to be 3 years old by 31 March of the admission year for nursery — but the exact cut-off varies by state and school.
Class 11 Admission
Class 11 admission is the post-Class-10 school entry where students choose a stream — Science, Commerce or Humanities — based on board results.
Nursery Admission Points System
The points system is how many schools rank nursery applicants — sibling, alumni, distance and girl-child categories carry the most weight.
Day Boarding
Day boarding is a school format where children stay for an extended day — meals, homework supervision and activities included — but sleep at home.