Budhanilkantha School, often referred to as BNKS, is a competitive public

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

in Nepal. It is located in Narayanthan, 8 kilometres north of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, at the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topogr ...

of Shivapuri mountain (). It is named after the Budhanilkantha Temple, which is located nearby. One third of pupils admitted in grade five are granted scholarships based on need, after an entrance examination held in all the 77 districts of Nepal. This scholarship is granted every year to the students until grade 10.

History

Budhanilkantha School was established in 1972 as a joint venture between the governments of Nepal and the United Kingdom. The first batch of students took the School Leaving Certificate Examination (the national exam that is equivalent to the British

O level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

) in 1980. In 1983, English was made the official language of instruction at Budhanilkantha School. Cambridge International

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

and

, administered by CAIE of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

was introduced in 1985 and 1986 respectively. Budhanilkantha School converted from a boys'

single-sex school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

to a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

institution in 1992. In 1994, administration of the school was handed over from British to Nepali management.

Overview

The school is a full boarding school for students from fifth grade to

, aged 10 to 19. Although the school is governed as a Public Educational Trust, it charges tuition fees for most students and also receives funding from the Ministry of Education. This makes the school a blend of private and public school. Approximately one-third of the students receive

scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

based on merit and need.

Academics

The school operates three courses of study: #

School Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

level (a nationwide curriculum up to class 10 prescribed by the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

of Nepal), # Cambridge International A-Level # 10+2 Level (Higher Secondary Education Board of Nepal, an equivalent alternative to A-Level). Shivapuri Budhanilkantha

Students must pass an entrance exam to gain admission into the school. Normally, entrance examinations are taken for entry into class 5 and post SLC levels. This is intended to continue the high academic status of the school. Out of 118 students who took the School Leaving Certificate Examination 2014, 103 secured Distinction and the rest 15 students passed in the First Division. Budhanilkantha School was the first school to introduce

GCE Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in Nepal. It currently offers A-Levels in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics, Business Studies, Computer Science, Accounting and English Language. It is compulsory for students to sit exams in five subjects. Mathematics and English Language have to be studied by all students. Most students choose to study science-based subjects and some choose to combine sciences and social sciences. In A-Level exams of the year 2010, 12% of entries from the school secured grade A* and 30% entries secured grade A. 56% entries from the school secured more than or equal to grade B. 73% of the total entries, excluding General Paper, was on either math or science subjects. Budhanilkantha students regularly feature in the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Outstanding Learner Awards as the best achieving A-Level candidates in Nepal and worldwide.

Governance

The school is managed under the Public Educational Trust. The Ministry for Education being the main trustee, the Board of Trustees (BOT) is chaired by the Education Secretary of Nepal. The School Management Committee (SMC) is responsible for the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of all policy-level matters. The Principal takes care of the day-to-day administration with the help of two Vice-Principals, Chief Administrative Officer and a team of Senior Management Team SMT. The school is also supported by Friends of Budhanilkantha School (FOBS), the parents' representative association and the Society of Ex-Budhanilkantha Students (SEBS). They also actively participate in the school governance. The present principal of the school is Hom Nath Acharya. There are currently two vice principals in the school; Mr. Deepak Kayastha and Mrs. Timila Shakya Acharya. The list of Headmasters/Principals of the school are as follows: # John B Tyson, Headmaster Designate (1966) # Peter J Wakeman, Headmaster (1972 to 1977) # Ken Jones, Headmaster (1978 to 1982) # Dr. Tej Ratna Kansakar, Acting Headmaster (1983) # John Tyson, Headmaster (1983 to 1988) # Brian Garton, Headmaster (1989 to 1992) # Thomas sopnil, Headmaster (1992 to 1994) # Satyanarayan Rajbhandari, Principal (1994 to 1995) # Narayan Prasad Sharma, Principal (1996 to 2012) # Keshar Khulal, Principal (2013 to 2019) # Hom Nath Acharya, Principal (2019 to present) Budhanilkantha School learning resource centre

Budhanilkantha School learning resource centre

Notable alumni

* Bartika Eam Rai (singer/ songwriter/ poet) * Bhusan Dahal (media personality) * Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (late King of Nepal) * Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, (Politician) * Karun Thapa (media and IT expert) * Nabin K Bhattarai (singer) * Paras Bir Bikram Shah, ex-Crown Prince of Nepal * Nirajan Shah (late Prince of Nepal) * Sumana Shrestha,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

* Swarnim Wagle (former Vice-chairman of National Planning Commission) * Ujwal Thapa, late President of

Bibeksheel Nepali Bibeksheel Nepali Dal (विवेकशील नेपाली दल) is a political party in Nepal. The name ''"Bibeksheel"'' translates to "common sense wisdom". When the first Constitutional Assembly was dissolved, it organized a recurrin ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Budhanilkantha School
Budhanilkantha School website

Budhanilkantha School
on WikiNepal Boarding schools in Nepal Cambridge schools in Nepal Educational institutions established in 1972 Schools in Kathmandu Secondary schools in Nepal 1972 establishments in Nepal