Best schools in Beijing
Education in Beijing
The population of Beijing is over 20 million – including a huge number of expats – yet the number of truly international schools is remarkably small. The cost of the schools, the totally different culture and even the pollution (they’re working on it, but Oxford Street in London is the Antarctic by comparison) may be some of the reasons why so many families choose to keep their children safely ensconced in schools back home.
A couple of the famous English names have set up shop and the global educational giant Nord Anglia Education has taken over the British School of Beijing. But there are not nearly as many international players as in cities such as Singapore and Bangkok.
There are bilingual schools available, but few families without at least one Chinese parent would consider such a foreign environment for formal schooling. That said, some offer a range of curricula options including American, Australian, English and Chinese – and these have a number of foreign students.
Choosing a school in Beijing
Your choice will depend on the curriculum that you want your child to follow and also whether they can fit your child in. The International Baccalaureate programmes are currently very much in favour and almost all international schools offer the IB Diploma, even if the remainder of the curriculum is English or American.
The size of the schools can be daunting to parents used to student numbers in three figures but the mainly, brand new, architect-designed campuses are specifically arranged to deal with the hordes. There are some exceptions to these huge numbers, but anything under 1,000 students is unusual.
In terms of geography, Chaoyang District is the upmarket choice of international families as it is the place where you can work, shop and party, as well as having most of the better international schools on your doorstep and your embassy around the corner. The crème de la crème of prestige addresses is in the Chaoyang Park neighbourhood as there is a rare patch of green at its centre, complete with pagodas and Chinese gardens, particularly encouraging to any Brits who yearn for London parks. This is also home to most of the schools that are most popular with expats.
To the northeast of Beijing, Shunyi Central Villa District is a true suburb (think Chinese-style) and is also very popular with expats, particularly as it is in-between the city and Beijing Capital International airport. If you can afford it, there are grand neo-classical villas but there are also cheaper options, leaving enough in your pocket to afford a round of golf on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. If Chaoyang is Beijing’s Chelsea, Shunyi is Beijing’s Sunningdale. Naturally, this is a Mecca for international schools. Shunyi’s schools tend to have more to offer in terms of space, sport and other traditional extras.
Pre-schools, kindergarten and nurseries in Beijing
While Beijing’s bilingual schools are not an obvious choice for expats, the more adventurous do send their children to bilingual kindergartens, partly to pick up the basics of Mandarin but also to absorb the atmosphere of their new environment and hopefully make friends with Chinese children.
Naturally, these – and other - kindergartens gravitate towards the areas where expats settle, so Chaoyang is home to some of the most discussed (around the dinner table) options.
