Four Indian schools are among the top 10 finalists in the World’s Best School Prizes ranking of 2025. The ranking is conducted by T4 education, a global platform that recognises and celebrates the efforts of educational institutions dedicated to empowerment and growth. This is not the first time Indian schools have topped the charts, as three institutions from the country won the competition last year, excelling in categories like environment and innovation. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s candidates. The process Schools can apply in five categories: Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Overcoming Adversity, Supporting Healthy Lives, and Innovation.The organisation’s judging academy decides the final winners for each category. However, there is also one voting-based award called the Community Choice Award. .Three Pakistan schools shortlisted for World’s Best School Prizes 2025.The 2025 Indian finalists • Innovation: Ekya School, JP Nagar Located in Karnataka, India, the Ekya School is an independent educational institution that houses students in kindergarten, primary, and secondary school. They have a design-thinking curriculum that encourages problem-solving and innovation for local and worldwide issues. Some examples of areas that students have worked on include public health, waste management, and accessible recycling. • Supporting Healthy Lives: Government Girls Senior Secondary School, NIT 5This school is a girls-only state secondary school located in Haryana, India. The educational institution is primarily dedicated to the well-being of young girls in the community. This covers a variety of programmes, including nutrition awareness, physical education, and even career-building in higher grades. Overall, the Government Girls Senior Secondary School continues to challenge systemic stereotypes by empowering their students..Two UAE schools shortlisted for new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes. • Environmental Action: Delhi Public School VaranasiThe Delhi Public School Varanasi is an independent school in Uttar Pradesh, India. It has students of various stages starting from kindergarten through secondary school. Here, environmental sustainability and social responsibility are two themes that play a major role in the students’ learning experience. For instance, one key achievement includes a student-led initiative that planted more than 500 trees in the community.• Community Collaboration: ZP School JalindarnagarZP School Jalindarnagar is a public primary school in Maharashtra, India. One of the key initiatives introduced by the school includes the Subject Friend System. It’s a model dedicated to peer-learning where students of all ages interact and help each other learn. Alongside this, the school has been tech-forward and added many new subjects such as coding, programming, and robotics. Final resultsThe official winners of this year’s competition will be revealed in October 2025, via a virtual ceremony. The winning schools will receive one year membership to T4’s Best School to Work programme, an initiative dedicated to improving school workplaces.