Best Schools in Varanasi 2026-27

Varanasi has over 160 CBSE-affiliated schools, about a dozen ICSE and ISC schools, and a handful of Cambridge schools, spread from the old city and Cantt out to Sarnath and the Ring Road belt.

Monthly tuition at private schools starts around ₹1,500 and reaches ₹8,000 and more at the city's best-known campuses. The session begins on 1 April, and RTE free seats are allotted through a state-run online lottery.

Acadise has started listing Varanasi schools, so the list below is short for now. Each school appears with its board, grades and fees.

Where Varanasi's schools are

Varanasi's schools follow the city's growth outwards, from the lanes around the ghats to the bypass roads.

The old city and the centre

Kamachha, Lanka, Bhelupur, Mahmoorganj and the Cantonment hold the city's oldest schools, some of them running for over a century. Campuses here are compact, and most families live within a short ride.

North: Pandeypur, Shivpur and Sarnath

A steady spread of CBSE and convent schools runs from Pandeypur through Shivpur, Ashapur and Sarnath, with more campuses towards Kazi Sarai and the Babatpur road.

South: Lahartara and the bypass belt

Lahartara, Manduadih, Karsana and the Amara and Mohansarai bypass stretch hold many of the city's larger campuses, along with Darekhu and Vishokhar. This is where you find bigger grounds and the wider facility lists.

The Ring Road belt

The Ring Road has pulled schools to the city's western edge around Lamhi, Harhua and Chandmari. SHEAT Public School sits here at Harballampur, a CBSE campus from Nursery to Class 12 that draws families from Shivpur, Sarnath and Pahadiya.

Which boards Varanasi schools follow

IB is not established in Varanasi. Families who want it usually look at Delhi or Lucknow.

What schools in Varanasi cost

Published fees for the same school often differ from one website to the next, because some quote tuition alone and others include transport or boarding. Ask every school for its full annual fee statement in writing.

How fee rises are capped

Uttar Pradesh controls fee increases at private schools. The Uttar Pradesh Self-Financed Independent Schools (Fee Regulation) Act, 2018 covers every school whose total fee for a student is above ₹20,000 a year, which takes in most CBSE and ICSE schools in Varanasi.

Under the Act a school can raise fees each year by no more than the latest rise in the consumer price index plus 5%. It must put its fee statement on its website and notice board 60 days before the session begins, and it cannot make you buy books or uniforms from a particular shop.

Complaints go to the District Fee Regulatory Committee, chaired by the District Magistrate. Penalties start at ₹1 lakh plus a refund for a first breach.

How admission works in Varanasi

Delhi's nursery points system does not apply in Uttar Pradesh. Each private school sets its own criteria, forms and dates, and many hold a written test or an interaction for classes above the entry level.

The session starts on 1 April, so registration at popular schools opens well before that, and some begin entrance tests for the higher classes from October. Keep the birth certificate, Aadhaar for the child and parents, photographs, and for higher classes the previous report card and transfer certificate ready before forms open.

For free seats, a quarter of entry-class seats in private unaided schools are reserved under RTE Section 12(1)(c) for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged groups. Uttar Pradesh runs this through the rte25.upsdc.gov.in portal, covering Nursery, LKG, UKG and Class 1. For 2026–27 it ran three online lottery rounds between February and March.

The BHU schools

Varanasi has a school system that no other Indian city has. Banaras Hindu University, founded in 1916, runs its own schools through its School Board, including Central Hindu Boys School and Central Hindu Girls School at Kamachha. Central Hindu School began in 1898, when Annie Besant started it, years before the university itself.

These are CBSE schools, and entry to Classes 9 and 11 is through BHU's own School Entrance Test, with applications usually in February and March. A university town also shapes the private schools: faculty families from BHU, IIT (BHU), Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith and Sampurnanand Sanskrit University keep demand for strong senior secondary schools high.

Getting to Varanasi schools

Varanasi has no metro, so school buses and vans carry most children. The Ring Road and the bypass roads have made the outer campuses practical for families in the city, and newer highway corridors along the Varuna and the Ganga were approved in 2026.

The Kashi ropeway from Cantt to Godowlia, with stops at Kashi Vidyapeeth and Rathyatra, is close to completion and due to open in late 2026, easing the cross-town run through the centre.

Finding the right school in Varanasi

Start with the commute, then the board, then the fee. A campus on the bypass can mean a long bus ride from the old city, while a school in the centre may have less open ground.

Use the filters above to compare schools in Varanasi by board, class, fee range and admission status. Schools appear on their data rather than on paid placement.

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