Mumbai has another reason to be proud of its classrooms. The Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) has been ranked ninth among International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) schools across the world, making it the only Indian school to break into the global top 10. Reliance Industries shared the milestone in a post on X on Monday, and within hours, parents, alumni and educators were celebrating it as a first for Indian school education on the world stage.
The ranking has been released by Education Advisers UK, an independent education consultancy that tracks private school outcomes worldwide. According to Reliance, the Dhirubhai Ambani International School’s Class of 2026 averaged 40.8 points in the IB Diploma Programme, the strongest result in the school’s history. What makes the feat stand out even more is the scale: 105 students appeared for the IBDP at DAIS this year, the largest cohort among all ten schools in the global top 10.
Who tops the global IB list
The global ranking is dominated by schools in East Asia and the United Kingdom. Hong Kong’s St Paul’s Co-educational College took the top spot with an average score of 43.0 points, followed by K. International School Tokyo in Japan at 42.7 and King’s College School, Wimbledon, in the UK at 42.5. German Swiss International School in Hong Kong stood fourth at 42.0, ahead of Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College in Hong Kong (41.7), Godolphin and Latymer School in the UK (41.3) and Guangdong Country Garden School in China (41.2).
St Stephen’s College in Hong Kong took eighth place with 41.0 points, just 0.2 points ahead of DAIS. HKCCCU Logos Academy in Hong Kong completed the top 10 with 40.7 points. That DAIS, with more than a hundred students in its cohort, sits within a whisker of schools with far smaller batches has been widely noted as a sign that quality can be sustained at scale.
What the school’s leadership said
Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson of DAIS, said the recognition belonged first to the students. “It fills my heart with immense pride to see DAIS ranked No. 9 among IBDP schools worldwide, and to stand as the only Indian school in the Global Top 10, that too in just 22 years,” she said.
She added: “This honour belongs first and foremost to our students, whose curiosity and commitment continue to set new benchmarks; to our faculty and staff, whose passion and guidance inspire excellence every day; and to our parent community, whose trust and support fuel our vision.”
The Reliance post added that the achievement reflected a commitment to academic rigour, intellectual curiosity and holistic education. “This demonstrates that exceptional academic outcomes can be sustained across a large and diverse student community,” the post said, congratulating the Class of 2026.
Why the IB Diploma matters
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year curriculum usually taken by students aged 16 to 19, and it is scored out of a maximum of 45 points. Here is why a top-10 finish carries weight beyond bragging rights:
- Global university currency: the IB Diploma is accepted for undergraduate admission by leading universities in the US, UK, Europe and increasingly in India.
- Course breadth: students study six subjects alongside a 4,000-word extended essay, theory of knowledge and a service component.
- Small margins, big signal: the difference between eighth and ninth place this year was just 0.2 points, so a top-10 place marks genuinely elite performance.
- Scale effect: maintaining a 40.8 average across 105 students is harder than with a small, hand-picked cohort, a point educators have highlighted.
A first for India on the global school map
No other Indian school features in the Education Advisers UK top 10 this year. For a country where school education debates usually revolve around board exam cut-offs and coaching, a Mumbai school appearing alongside institutions from Hong Kong, Tokyo and London is being read as a shift in how Indian school education is perceived globally.
Education watchers say the ranking could influence how Indian parents evaluate international curricula, and could sharpen the race among the country’s top IB schools to climb the global tables in the coming years.
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian school ranked in the global IB top 10?
The Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai is ranked ninth among IBDP schools worldwide and is the only Indian school in the global top 10.
Who released this global IB school ranking?
The ranking was released by Education Advisers UK, independent education consultants, and was announced by Reliance Industries in a post on X on October 19, 2026.
What was DAIS’s average IB score?
The school’s Class of 2026 averaged 40.8 points out of 45, its best-ever result, with 105 students appearing for the IB Diploma Programme.
Which school topped the ranking?
St Paul’s Co-educational College in Hong Kong topped the list with an average score of 43.0 points.
What is the IB Diploma Programme?
It is a two-year educational programme generally undertaken by students aged 16 to 19, assessed on a maximum score of 45 points, and widely accepted by universities around the world.
For DAIS, the ninth-place finish is more than a number. It is a signal that an Indian school, built over just two decades, can now stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest classrooms in the world. The Class of 2026 has set a benchmark that the rest of the country’s schools will now be measured against.
