Last verified: 13 October 2026. The NTA has not released the AISSEE 2027 notification as of today. Exam date 31 January 2027 is ✅ CONFIRMED (tentative, NTA exam calendar); the application window, fee and seat figures below are 🔶 EXPECTED based on the 2026 cycle. School-specific facts are verified against the Sainik Schools Society’s framework and the sources listed at the end.
If you live in West Bengal and your child dreams of a Sainik School, here is the most important fact up front: West Bengal has exactly one established Sainik School — Sainik School Purulia. There is no second old school in the state, no shortcut, and no separate WB-run entrance for it. Everything runs through the single national exam: AISSEE.
That is not bad news. A single school means a concentrated target, and the reservation system gives West Bengal students a serious structural advantage at Purulia. Let me walk you through it.
| Detail | Sainik School Purulia |
|---|---|
| Location | Purulia district, West Bengal (one of the 33 old Sainik Schools) |
| Entry classes | Class 6 and Class 9, through AISSEE |
| Board & medium | CBSE, English medium |
| Management | Sainik Schools Society, Ministry of Defence |
| Campus | Residential; ~5 km from Purulia bus stand, ~8 km from Purulia Junction railway station |
| For parents to know | A helipad on campus, clubs from astronomy to NCC-style training, 70 days of official vacation |
Purulia is one of the older Sainik Schools in the country (established 1962), and it admits both boys and girls — girls’ seats in Class 6 follow the Society’s 10% of vacancies or 10 seats, whichever is more rule (CONFIRMED, AISSAC SOP).
Here is the part many parents miss. In the 33 established Sainik Schools, seats are divided into two buckets (CONFIRMED, AISSAC SOP):
For a West Bengal domicile holder applying to Purulia, this is enormous. Roughly two out of every three seats at the school are fenced off for WB students. A student from, say, Bihar or Odisha can only compete for the remaining third — while a Kolkata or Howrah student competes in both pools, effectively.
This is why the domicile certificate is the single most valuable document a WB applicant holds. If you haven’t applied for it yet, this state-wise domicile guide walks through the West Bengal process.
| Category | Reservation |
|---|---|
| Home-state domicile | 67% of seats |
| Other states | 33% of seats |
| SC | 15% |
| ST | 7.5% |
| OBC-NCL | 27% |
| Defence wards | 25% of the seats remaining after the above |
| Girls (Class 6) | 10% of vacancies or 10 seats, whichever is more |
These layers stack. A WB-domicile defence ward, for instance, benefits from the home-state pool and the defence quota together.
The exam is the same for every school in India — there is no separate Purulia paper. The pattern (2026 basis, expected to repeat):
🔶 EXPECTED timeline (pattern-based, from the 2026 cycle): application form October–November 2026; admit card mid-January 2027; exam 31 January 2027 (CONFIRMED, tentative — NTA calendar); result February 2027; e-counselling February–May 2027; medical exam; final merit list; admission by June.
Application fee 🔶 EXPECTED: ₹850 for General, OBC-NCL and Defence personnel/ex-servicemen wards; ₹700 for SC/ST (2026 rates).
Purulia’s annual fee is reported by education portals at roughly ₹1,65,130, rising about 10% a year — treat that as an indicative figure and confirm against the school’s official communication at admission time. The money story doesn’t end there:
For the full picture of what a Sainik School seat actually costs — and how families really pay for it — read What a Sainik School Seat Actually Costs in 2027.
Purulia’s home-state fence works both ways: a WB student can also compete in the 33% other-states pool at every other Sainik School in India. Popular realistic options parents actually pick: Sainik School Nalanda (Bihar), Sainik School Goalpara (Assam) and Sainik School Sambalpur (Odisha) — all within the east and northeast, all through the same AISSEE. Our Maharashtra schools guide shows the same structure applied to another state, if you want to compare.
Photo: Pexels
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