“Sloka - where the colours of the mind take wing.”
Sloka at a glance
120
teachers & support staff
CBSE
post Grade 8
5 acre
lush campus in Aziz Nagar
10:1
student-to-teacher ratio

OUR HISTORY

The Sloka legacy

Sloka’s legacy is perpetuated by a will to never stop learning. While the school was founded in 1997, the seed was planted years earlier, with Waldorf teacher training and mentoring programmes to promote self-education for teachers.

Sloka began its journey as the first full-fledged Waldorf school in India. The team of educators at Sloka successfully pioneered an Indian adaptation of the Waldorf curriculum, richly rooted in our culture. Today, it is a testimony to an approach to schooling that works within the Indian context as superbly as it does in the global one.

A pastel drawing on yellow background showing an orange sun, within which a child’s silhouette is seen with arms raised up.

Student’s artwork

WHY SLOKA

The child is the centre

Steiner education is unique and multidimensional. It appeals to all the faculties of a student, bringing balance to education. It strives to mould personalities who are well-developed in all aspects, and whose special gifts are tended to very gently.

Anthroposophy — the knowledge of the human being — is the basis of Steiner/Waldorf education. The key elements of Anthroposophy are to encourage one to tread a path of knowledge, strive for self-development, and inspire young individuals to find their own paths. The philosophy is a universally applicable one, irrespective of the child’s culture, language, religion or geographical setting.

WHY SLOKA

The Waldorf difference
A group of students move in a circle on stage in a Eurythmy performance.
Academic prowess

The lessons, while being engaging and often fun, demand individual thought as well as practical effort. Until Grade 9, children make their own textbooks from lessons taught in class. Thereafter, they begin to use prescribed textbooks. They develop a deep and personal grasp of the subjects they learn.

A group of young children sit in a circle on the classroom floor, two teachers stand beside, guide them in activity.
Joy in the process of learning

Waldorf/Steiner education is highly respected the world over for its age-appropriate pedagogy. It tries to provide enjoyable, relevant learning, and develop ethical and capable individuals who can contribute to society. By showing them how to apply and advance their natural learning abilities, the curriculum aims to instil the joy of learning in every child.

Three students tending to a fire burning within a stone stove during outdoor activity.
Arts-integrated curriculum

Teaching in itself is an art at Sloka. A healthy mix of the sciences and the arts within the Waldorf curriculum encourages children to hone their critical thinking hand-in-hand with imagination. Sloka students have proven their mettle, excelling in any field they choose. While some of them have scored 10/10 GPAs in the CBSE exams and been invited to institutes like MIT and ISRO, others have published books, and performed with international musicians. One of our student’s entry won the prestigious Cannes Award in the short film category.

Students of Sloka assembled outside in two rows facing each other with hands raised across to each other.
Physical and mental well-being

Sloka’s child-centred approach equips students with tools for developing self-sufficiency, emotional intelligence, and confidence. Aside from being able to express their emotions and thoughts through the arts, students learn to journal, do research, and solve problems. Yoga, Eurythmy, and other somatic activities also help ground them in a wholesome sense of balance.

A teacher addressing students in a classroom during a lesson.
Loving guidance

It is our endeavour that the same teacher — the Class Teacher — stays with the students from Grade 1 to Grade 8, ensuring years of deeper understanding of the child’s interests and passions. Class Teachers use this knowledge to guide their students on their unique learning trajectories. Students also choose a personal Mentor after Grade 8.

High school students running on a ground during an athletic activity.
Strong sense of community

At its heart, Sloka is a community that grows together. The school’s trustees, teachers, support staff, students, and parents come together frequently, on decisive matters as well as lively gatherings such as the Winter Bazaar, students’ performances, and other seasonal and annual festivities.

“Being personally acquainted with a number of Waldorf students, I can say that they come closer to realizing their own potential than practically anyone I know.”

— Joseph Weizenbaum, Professor Emeritus, MIT

ON WALDORF EDUCATION

Learning with the head, the heart and the hands

Waldorf education is a century-old educational philosophy that emphasises age-appropriate learning for children. It strives for holistic development by educating the ‘Head, Heart, and Hands’ or nurturing the ‘Thinking, Feeling and Willing (doing)’ faculties in a child. Waldorf education is based on the views of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher who believed that the needs of the child are different at various phases of their development, and that education should cater to these needs. Through Waldorf pedagogical practices, different capacities are awakened and nurtured at each stage of the growing child.

Students of Sloka as seen from the school building, occupying various points of the school’s courtyard.
Students in white shirts carry flower pots in a row while students in purple shirts line the path on either side.

In the Kindergarten and the lower grades — the first seven years of childhood — children learn by imitating others and by ‘doing’. At this stage, the teacher has to lead by example. In the next developmental stage (7-14 years), children are more active in their ‘feeling’ life, and learn best when their feelings are enlivened and enriched through stories, songs, poetry, music, dance, drama, art, and craft. Further, during ages 14 to 21, as children blossom into full-fledged youth, they master their capacities as logical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and doers. Then, activities that kindle thinking take centre stage in lessons.

Throughout the school years, Waldorf education aims at integrating the principal faculties of Willing, Feeling, and Thinking in students. When thus integrated, the child can think clearly and independently, feel emotionally connected to one’s world and oneself, as well as act responsibly to fulfil one’s aspirations and contribute to the world at large. We then have a balanced individual.

ADMINISTRATION

Leadership & governance

All those who work closely with the children are policymakers of Sloka. The teachers, the governing body, and parents work as a unit for the betterment of the school.

The College of Teachers (Pedagogy) carries the responsibility for determining teaching guidelines that the school should adopt. They meet every week to read the works of Rudolf Steiner and deepen their insights into pedagogical and child-related concerns.

The Education Renaissance Trust, the governing body of Sloka, is a not-for-profit organisation comprising representatives from teachers, parents, and the founders of the school. It is responsible for Sloka’s financial well-being. The Trust works on financial policies, determines tuition rates, oversees the development and implementation of the school’s budget, and maps out long-term plans to promote the institution’s growth.

Parent involvement The parents work with the teachers and the management to organise various activities and events in the school. They are an active part of the community and are consulted on important issues regarding the school.

Several teachers are seated in rows facing a podium, from which a teacher presents her notes.
Non-Discrimination Policy

Sloka is committed to fostering a fully inclusive school community and welcomes students and staff of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and spiritual values.

Ready to join the
Sloka family?