Sainik School, Tilaiya
Sainik School Tilaiya, Jharkhand, India, is a public boarding school established and managed by the Sainik Schools Society under Ministry of Defence. It is a preparatory school for entry into the defence services — National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Pune and Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala, Kerala. History and location. The laying of the foundation stone of Sainik School was on 16 Sept 1963. The school was created by the efforts of the then Union Defence Minister, Late V K Krishna Menon, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, Late K B Sahay and the Principal Lt Col LEG  Smith. Today, it is top ranking nursery to the NDA. Located nearly a kilometre away from Tilaiya dam in the district of Koderma, Sainik School Tilaiya is from the nearest rail head – Koderma on the Howrah – Delhi chord line nearer to Gaya. The Chhotanagpur Plateau and Tilaiya provide a backdrop to the school. Admission. Entrance to Sainik School Tilaiya is competitive and coordinated nationally by the National Testing Agency. Students can apply for admissions in Class VI and Class IX. The written exam in Class VI covers questions on mathematics, English (or Hindi) and mental reasoning. The written exam in  Class IX includes science and social sciences as subjects, in addition to mathematics, English and mental reasoning. Selected applicants go through interviews and medical examinations before being offered admissions. The likely number of vacancies in every academic year is 120 for Class VI and 20 for Class IX. In 2020, Sainik School Tilaiya became one of the five Sainik Schools in the country to welcome girls in the academy. Academic session 2021-22 will have the first girl cadets in the school. Curriculum and life. The school resources allow cadets to develop their skills in sports, academics and other extracurricular  activities. Sainik School Tilaiya is famous for emphasis on extracurricular activities. Infrastructure in Sainik Schools include running tracks, cross-country tracks, indoor games, parade grounds, boxing rings, firing ranges, canoeing clubs, horse riding clubs, mountaineering clubs, trekking and hiking club, obstacles courses, football, hockey and cricket fields, as well as volleyball and basketball courts. Cadets also become a part of NCC. A cadet who completes their 12th standard usually possess a NCC B certificate. The academic instruction imparted at the school prepares cadets (as they are called in the school) for the following examinations: Other activities include co-curricular activities  and Socially Useful Productive Work, sports and NCC training. House. The cadets are arranged into houses which are groups with which they live for seven years. There are twelve houses: Magadh, Gautam, Aryabhatta, Vikram, Patliputra, Vaishali, Kunwar Singh, Mithila, Maurya, Ashoka, Nalanda and Rajgir. There are Inter-House competitions for almost every sport and co-curricular activity which turn fierce at times. At the end of each academic year, the best performing house is awarded "Cock House" trophy. Winning it thrice consequently makes the house "Rooster House". Kunwar Singh house is the only Rooster House as of 2021. There are  two baby houses which host Class-VI cadets for a year when they join: Baidyanath and Parasnath. A new house with name 'Rani Laxmi Bai' has been established for girl cadets.