Glendale Academy International - Bandlaguda Jagir, Hyderabad

Glendale Academy Bandlaguda Jagir runs CBSE, Cambridge IGCSE and the IB Diploma alongside Glendale's other Hyderabad sites. The Glendale group was founded in 2003 by Anjum Babukhan and acquired by Singapore-based Global Schools Foundation in 2023.

Ages 3 to 18. CIS accredited. The campus sits in Bandlaguda Jagir, on Hyderabad's southwest side, and serves the southern catchment alongside other Glendale sites at Tellapur, Nallagandla and the Financial District.

Glendale's positioning since the 2023 acquisition emphasises the Global Schools Group network frame, with central programmes and group-level events. The Babukhan founding family stepped back from operations with the transition; Anjum Babukhan remains the public face of the founding story. Public fee data is not consistently published; admission enquiries are required for current figures.

What families say about the Sun City campus splits along the years. In the early and primary grades the teachers come across as warm, patient and willing to handle each child individually, and younger pupils tend to look forward to going in. The tone shifts as you climb the school: parents describe teaching that gets thinner and more uneven in the senior classes, some staff who feel fresh to the job, and crowded sections where individual attention is harder to come by. Fees are the recurring sore point, with parents reporting steep year on year increases and a sense that the place runs more like a business than a school. Day to day, the complaints are the practical kind, buses without air conditioning, food quality, late uniform issue, and sports that get washed out when it rains.

Considerations

Fees and a commercial feel. The loudest recurring complaint. Parents report sharp annual fee rises, one citing roughly 45 percent over four years, and describe the school as run like a commercial establishment that prioritises collecting fees over teaching.
Teaching weakens in the senior grades. Several parents say teacher quality drops off as children move into higher classes, with some teachers seen as inexperienced and less equipped, in contrast to the stronger early years.
Class size and individual attention. Crowded sections come up repeatedly, with parents feeling individual children get less attention than they should in larger classes.
Perceived dip after the ownership change. Some families and locals say the school is not as strong as it was since the group passed to outside ownership, pairing this with grumbles about weak management. Group-wide commentary rather than campus-specific, but it attaches to the Glendale name.
Practical niggles: buses, food, uniforms. Parents flag buses without air conditioning, inconsistent food quality, slow uniform issue and exchange, and sports facilities being unusable in wet weather.
Staff churn and management from the inside. Teacher-side accounts are split, some describe a supportive, flexible environment, others cite job insecurity, internal politics, abrupt exits and heavy administrative tasks with little clarity.

Caring teachers in the early years. Parents of younger children describe staff as nurturing, patient and approachable, with teachers who explain clearly and handle each child individually. Kids in the lower grades are happy to be there.

Large campus and facilities. The Sun City site draws consistent praise for its size, greenery and sports provision, including grounds and a pool, and staff are often called friendly and welcoming.

Ms. Anjum Babukhan