Sainik School, Ghorakhal
Sainik School, Ghorakhal is a Sainik School established by the Sainik Schools Society in 1966. It is located in Ghorakhal, 4 kilometres next to the Bhowali town, at an altitude of about above sea level amidst the Kumaon Hills in Nainital district of the state of Uttarakhand, India.
History
Sainik School, Ghorakhal was established on 21 March 1966. The school was built on the 500 Acre Ghorakhal Estate of the then Nawab of Rampur, near Bhowali in Nainital District. It was one of the first Sainik Schools to be built. The school started with 60 students in 1966.Campus
The school is located 4 km from Bhowali and 7 km from Bhimtal. The major landmark is the temple of Golu Devta.Houses
All the cadets are assigned respective "Houses". In total, there are 9 houses. Shiwalik, Kesari, Kumaon and Singh are the senior houses while Dhruv, Luv, Kush, Abhimanyu and Bharat are the junior Houses.Admission
The school is for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years. Boys are admitted to Class VI and IX.While the majority of the admissions take place in the 6th class, since 1993, a small number of candidates are also admitted in Class IX.An All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination is held annually, usually on the second Sunday of January. There is a 67% quota for students of the host state, Uttarakhand, 25% quota for defence candidates, and 15% and 7.5% respectively to SC and ST candidates. The rest of the boys come from General category. About 6500 students from various parts of the state/country vie for admission for about 70 seats. The admission process is designed to not discriminate against students with lesser command of the English language and the tests can be written in Hindi as well as English.
Tuition Fee
The school is heavily subsid of what boarding schools in the similar geography charge their students. On top of that, scholarships based on parents' income are given. Basically, if a kid gets selected, they won't have to leave it for lack of funds.| S. No. | Name of Header | Amount General | Amount SC/ST |
| 1 | Tuition Fee | 50,952 | 50,952 |
| 2 | Uniform Charge | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 3 | Security Money | 3,000 General | 1,500 |
| 4 | Diet Charges | 18,290 | 18,290 |
| 5 | Pocket Money | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| 6 | Incidental Charges | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 7 | Additional Clothing Items | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| 8 | Boarding charge | 24,000 | 24,000 |
| - | TOTAL FEE | 109,242 | 107,742 |
Alumni
The school has produced many Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals currently serving in the Defence forces.Vice Admiral Harish Bisht, The FOCinC of the Eastern Naval Command and Lt General L K Pandey, GOC, Uttar Bharat Area are the school alumni.Lieutenant General V.K Bhatia Former DGMO and Vice Admiral HCS Bisht Former DG Coast Guards are two such distinguished alumni.
Management
The Sainik Schools are managed by a Society which is registered under the Societies Registration Act. A Board of Governors that functions under the Chairmanship of the Defence Minister, is the Chief Executive Body of the Sainik Schools Society. The Board of Governors meets at least once a year. The school has a Local Board of Administration for overseeing the functioning of the school and its finances. At present the LBA Chairman is GOC, Uttar Bharat Area. He is an alumnus of the school.The Chief Minister or the Education Minister of the state are among the members of the Board of Governors. An officer of the Ministry of Defence is nominated to supervise and co-ordinate the functioning of the school and functions as the Honorary Secretary of the Sainik Schools Society. The Honorary Secretary is assisted by officers and staff of the Ministry of Defence. This includes two inspecting officers of the rank of Colonel or equivalent.
At present the Principal of the school is Col Smita Misra. Vice Principal is Squadron Leader T Ramesh Kumar and the Administrative Officer is Squadron Leader M Prem Kumar. The Senior Master is Mr.R. K. Pandey. In the year 2016, school celebrated its Golden Jubilee wherein a large number of alumni from all over world congregated and participated in the scintillating celebrations. The school is doing well and this year so far 20 cadets have already qualified the SSB to join the NDA.Seven more are left to undergo the SSB.
On ground level school is run by the cadets. The current school captain of Sainik School Ghorakhal is Cadet Akhilesh Goswami and School Vice Captain is Cadet Garimay Chandra.