Between the results that families had been waiting on, the competitions that came down to the wire, the festivals that turned campuses into something warmer than usual and the kind of everyday moments that do not make headlines but stay with you anyway – the last three months had it all.
Our students were at the heart of every bit of it and they showed up in ways that made us proud, more times than we could count.
The emotions were real. The moments were many. And not nearly enough of them could fit into a single newsletter. We tried anyway. Pull up a chair. There is quite a lot to catch up on.
Interim Result | Std. 10 | CBSE 2026
The number that matters most to us is not the top score – it is how many students crossed each threshold. Moving a large proportion of a cohort into the 90%+ and 95%+ brackets requires something beyond good teaching in the final year. It requires a system.
Our Std. 10 preparation effectively begins in Std. 8. And for Std. 8 to work, the foundations have to be laid from Std. 1, sometimes from kindergarten. The reading fluency, the thinking habits, the comfort with rigour. None of it appears overnight.
What also stands out: all preparation was handled entirely within school hours. No supplementary classes, no weekend sessions. No last minute scrambles to finish the portion. The results are a reflection of structured, consistent teaching – not chaos pushed on to students or families.
Results like these are a team outcome. Department heads, subject teachers, head office, admin and the parents who partnered with us throughout. Each played a role.
Proud of the students. Proud of the team.
Beyond the finish line: Where life skills begin
At Walnut, sport has never been a break from learning. It has always been a part of it. Some students carry that further than most – into arenas, onto tracks and onto floors that represent something much larger than school.
Nishad Naravane from our Shivane Campus has been doing things on the gymnastics floor that are hard to put into words. Medals across multiple apparatus events at the Asian Championship – Floor Exercise, Still Rings, Parallel Bars – and he went on to represent India internationally, competing in the Asian Championship in Zunyi, China. A student who comes to school every day, plays sport every day and somehow also finds time to be a national-level gymnast. That is a Walnut kid for you.
And he is not alone. Here are just a few more from a list that keeps growing.
Explore our sports programme:
Festive Celebrations: When history and heritage came alive
The last three months were generous with their occasions. Four festivals, four chances for our students to pause, celebrate and feel deeply connected to their roots.
It started with Gudi Padwa on 30 March and the campuses came alive with the spirit of new beginnings. A week later came Ram Navami, on 6 April, a day of quiet reverence and joyful celebration in equal measure. Students reflected on the values of Lord Ram through dance performances. Then came Hanuman Jayanti on 12 April. Lord Hanuman is the idol of both physical strength and inner devotion and that feels very much like a Walnut value. Tough outside, smart and full of heart inside. Lastly May 1, Maharashtra Day. More than just a public holiday, it was this day in 1960 when Maharashtra was officially formed and a moment to celebrate everything this state stands for.
What these four occasions have in common is something we think about a lot at Walnut: when children celebrate their roots, when they dance to folk songs, hear the stories and understand the history, they carry that pride with them. Into classrooms, into life, into everything they do.
That is not a co-curricular activity. That is character.
Dr. Arpita Karkarey on what modern education must look like
Twenty-five years ago, our co-founder, Dr. Arpita Karkarey started working towards a vision that was quite radical: that a school could feel like home, that learning could feel like living and that children deserved an education built for the world they were actually going to inherit. She has been driven by the same restless belief ever since: that good enough was never going to be good enough.
In her recent podcast with Bakhar Live, Arpita ma’am spoke with clarity about what modern education must look like and why the old ways of teaching are no longer enough on their own.
On STEM in daily academics:
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are not subjects to be visited once a week. They are ways of thinking that belong in every classroom, every day. At Walnut School, STEM is not an add-on. It is a part of their daily learning that teaches students to observe, question and solve.
On a modern approach to education:
The world our children will step into does not look like the world we studied for. Rote learning, passive classrooms and rigid structures were built for a different era. What children need today is the ability to think critically, adapt quickly and lead with confidence. That is the education worth building.
Twenty-five years of experience. One unshakeable conviction. The best thing you can give a child is a school that takes them seriously.
Drawing Grade Examination: Our artistic achievements
A blank page asks a great deal of a child. It asks them to look carefully, think clearly and trust their own hand. Across the Elementary and Intermediate Drawing Grade Examinations 2025-26, our students did exactly that and the results spoke for themselves. Tough outside. Smart inside. Artistic all the way through.
Elementary Drawing Grade Exam
Walnut School students delivered strong results in the elementary drawing grade exam conducted by the Directorate of Art, Government of Maharashtra. 15 students secured A-grades across Shivane, Wakad and Fursungi campuses, with Kavya Pujari from Std. 8 (Shivane) making it to the state merit list – top 50 in Maharashtra. Students were tested across geometry, design, memory drawing and object drawing.
Intermediate Drawing Grade Exam
Our students continued their strong run in the intermediate drawing grade exam, also conducted by the Directorate of Art, Government of Maharashtra. 7 students scored A-grades and 12 students scored B-grades across Shivane and Fursungi campuses. The intermediate exam tests still life, human and animal action drawing, 2D design composition and geometry – a step up from elementary in both skill and rigour.
Day 1 at Walnut School: Teachers take to the dance floor
The first day is always like a roller coaster ride for the children. A new classroom, a new year and a different kind of nervous energy.
We decided to take a different approach to address this energy. Not an assembly. Not a speech. A dance.
Across the Wakad, Fursungi and Shivane campuses, our teachers took to the floor on Day 1 and made sure that the very first memory of the new school year was one worth keeping. Because when a child walks into school for the first time and is met with joy rather than routine, something shifts. The nerves quiet down. The smiles come out. And the year begins the right way.
Watch the performances:
Shivane: Best. First day. Ever! – Shivane Campus
Wakad: When teachers dance, kids smile! – Wakad Campus
Fursungi: Best. First day. Ever! – Fursungi Campus
First impressions matter. Ours danced.
From campaign trails to captains
What does it take to lead? Our students found out this year. School elections rolled out with campaign speeches, manifestos and ballot boxes that made the entire process as real as it could get. When the votes were counted and the results announced, our new house captains stepped forward.
We congratulate all our newly elected house captains, chosen for their excellence, exemplary conduct and the bold campaigns that earned them their victories.
Walnut students win at AWIM Pune Olympics 2025-26
Students from all three Walnut campuses – Shivane, Fursungi and Wakad – competed at the AWIM Pune Olympics 2025-26, building and presenting working prototypes in just two hours.
The results speak for themselves. Shivane qualified for Nationals. Fursungi finished first in the distance category. Wakad won the speed track and came in as first runner-up overall.
But the real story is what happened in those two hours – teamwork under pressure, quick problem-solving and the confidence to present bold ideas to a panel of judges.
International Dance Day
There is something that happens when music starts and a child stops thinking and just moves. No hesitation. No self-consciousness. Just expression.
On April 29, the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet and the day the world officially celebrates dance, this is exactly what the day looked like across all three campuses.
At Walnut, dance is not something we practise only for an annual day and then put away. It is part of how we learn rhythm, teamwork, spatial awareness and, honestly, confidence. International Dance Day was a reminder of exactly that.
Every step was earned. Every smile was real. And every child got a moment to feel what it means to express something that words simply cannot.
Material Collection Day
The new academic year does not just start in June. For a lot of families, it starts the moment they walk through the school gates on Material Collection Day – arms ready, bags open and children impossibly excited about a fresh set of books that have not been written in yet.
Every year, Material Collection Day is a smooth, well-organised affair across all three campuses. Parents came in, picked up the complete set of books, folders and materials their child will need for the year ahead and left with everything sorted, labelled and ready. No last-minute scrambles. No missing items. No three trips to different shops.
When a parent arrives, the student’s ID card is scanned and the complete kit list appears instantly on screen – every item confirmed at a glance before the kit is handed over. No shuffling through papers, no searching for names or class details. The whole thing wraps up in a matter of seconds.
If it felt easy this year, that is intentional. And a big thank you to every parent who came in on time, made the process smooth and got their child ready and raring to go for the year ahead.
Here is to another great academic year.
New Beginnings: Teachers’ Training and Orientation
Every great school year begins long before the first day of school.
While our students were resting and recharging, the Walnut team was quietly doing what it does every year without fail. Building the foundation for everything that was about to unfold. New teachers joined the family and before they ever met a single student, they spent meaningful time understanding something far more important than curriculum. They understood the Walnut culture. The why, the how, the when, the what. And then, the expectations and the very particular kind of love, enthusiasm and dedication that this school runs on.
Looking Ahead: A New Year Begins
Familiar faces returning, new ones joining in and a school that has been getting ready behind the scenes for weeks.
Coming Up
- Eagerly waiting to welcome back and continue Unit 1 learning in full flow across all standards
- Scholarship classes and training sessions are kicking off
- Online PTM scheduled for the first Unit
- In-house debate and board game competition
- Admissions for 2026-27 are open