The Royal Academy is a co-educational, residential school under the Druk Gyalpo’s Institute and consists of students from Grades VII to XII. The Royal Academy aims to create a student community that is balanced and diverse in terms of the national character and cultural experience. The student selection process at The Royal Academy is constantly evolving with diversity and equity being cornerstones of the selection process with representation from all 20 Dzongkhags.

The Royal Academy aspires to equip learners with the skills and qualities required to actualize their inner potential. Self-actualization is not an endpoint in itself, but is rather the state in which a person can act responsibly with wisdom. Whichever area the learner pursues – artistic, technical, physical, academic – when they graduate, they should have the rigour and resilience to propel themselves through the learning process and discern their way forward.

Learners should also develop a sense of purpose which guides their decisions and actions. They should be alert and sensitive to the needs in their communities – both human and environmental – and should be continuously applying their skills and knowledge wisely in order to become a contributory member of their communities.

The Learning Framework is the underlying framework that guides everything that happens in The Royal Academy at the Druk Gyalpo’s Institute. The Learning Framework and the Bhutan Baccalaureate Learning Process share a reciprocal relationship in their design and contextualisation. The Learning Framework is transacted through the Learning Process, and the Learning Process influences the design of the Learning Framework for the following year.

The Learning Framework gives equal importance to the Five Areas of Development, and the Learning Process continuously focuses on development of the learners’ Skills, Processes, and Watermark. The Learning Framework is constantly evolving, guided by the needs of the individuals, the school, and the extended community, while the Five Areas of Development and the Skills, Processes and Watermark serve as cornerstones for the Learning Framework.

The first Learning Phase of the academic year, Gomdri, is a period where significant time is invested in developing Roadmaps and recording the Backstories of all Learners. New students are introduced to the philosophy, the Five Areas of Development, Skills, Processes and Watermarks. Understanding their Backstory and creating individual Roadmaps is the focus during this cycle. For older students, the focus is on updating their Backstory and existing version of their Roadmap. The Backstory will reflect the life experiences through the course of the previous academic year and the breaks between academic years.

Yardak forms the second learning phase and the content of Learning Experiences focuses on strengthening pre-knowledge gaps identified during the first phase. The gaps are identified using Domain Roadmap progressions. Mentors communicate with parents in this Learning Phase about their children. Adults in the role of Domain experts, Domain Heads and coordinators of the Five Areas of Development meet regularly during this Learning Phase.

These meetings help to plan and design Learning Experiences that helps to Raise the Bar for children. This ongoing process serves as a basis for continuously updating and assessing Roadmaps. Mentor-mentee meetings, both in a group and one on one, form important methods of updating student Roadmaps. This process shapes the individualised Learning Experience for a child and the content used in Learning Experiences.

The third to fifth Learning Phases further enhance development and growth in the Five Areas of Development, Concepts and Domain content, Skills, Processes and Watermarks. Creation of new knowledge is the focus, based on community aspirations from collective Roadmaps. Meetings within mentee groups, Domain experts, Domain heads and coordinators continue in this phase ensuring the evolving nature of the Roadmaps. Learning Experiences are designed in such a way that students are provided opportunities to demonstrate and achieve their indicators of success.

There are seven Internship Programs at The Royal Academy. These are Space and Technology, Culinary, Textile and Design, Mountaineering, Carpentry and Woodworking, Agriculture and Livestock, and Start-up Hub. The seven Internship Programs shall provide learning opportunities to enable the students to keep pace with the rapidly changing work environments brought about by technological progress.

The seven Internship Programs are an experience that a student goes through which helps them understand the things that happen outside the school. It provides an opportunity for the students to experience the world of work, within the safety of the school. Moreover, it an extension of the learning process at The Royal academy.

Learning could take place in a natural environment such as through Nature Retreats. Mentor-mentee groups decide on the location they would like to visit for the retreat, plan for the trip and develop a detailed itinerary for six days. This approach to learning as part of life and its activities helps to inculcate the mindset of learning continuously from a variety of experiences. Learner growing up in such an environment retains their child-like curiosity to learn, engage and reflect.

The Royal Academy aspires to stand out as a center of excellence – one that leads in thought and creates new standards in education worldwide. The establishment of The Royal Academy is a testament to His Majesty The King’s recognition of the critical role of education in enriching the lives of our people and society, nurturing successive generations of leaders, narrowing emerging economic and social disparities, and building a strong, secure and prosperous nation.

The guiding philosophy of The Royal Academy focuses on the wholistic development of individuals to help them actualise their innate potential across all areas of development — cerebral, physical, social, emotional and spiritual — and enable each individual to become an exceptional leader and good human being. Emphasis is given not only on high academic achievement but also on the development of character in order to foster fundamental values such as honesty, integrity, teamwork, generosity and compassion. Through this approach, The Royal Academy promotes a culture of excellence in all aspects of student life.

The Royal Academy aims to cultivate a student community that is balanced and diverse in terms of the national character and cultural experience, with respect to the academic and special interest backgrounds of the students. The Student Admission Process guides and ensures a transparent, explicit, clear, and consistent admission of students, maintaining a balanced composition of the student community from all the 20 Dzongkhags.

The admission of students is only in the entry level of Grade VII. The selection of students for admission are based on two processes.

• A. National Character Representation

  To maintain and uphold the national character of the student community at The Royal Academy, every year a group of students from all the 20 Dzongkhags are enrolled through this process. This year, a total of 120 students – six students from each Dzongkhag (four from socio-economically vulnerable families and two Academic Toppers) will be invited to the Winter Camp

• B. Online Application Based on merit, a group of students who have completed Grade VI with an aggregate of 90% and above this year, will be selected for the Winter Camp. Parents /guardians of students who qualifies the above criteria can apply online for their children. All online applications must be submitted by 4 pm on Thursday the 22nd of December 2022.

A total of 150 students will be invited to this year’s Winter Camp.The Camp is scheduled from the 30th of December 2022 to the 3rd of January 2023. A total of 60 students will be selected for admission and scholarship into Grade VII based on assessment and evaluation of their potential of development in the Five Areas (Cerebral, Emotional, Physical, Social, and Spiritual) from the Winter Camp.