hi...we are a family that moved herealmost a year ago and my 2 boys(15 and 17)love going to BISS here in Minhang...we live near qingpu ,in Zhudi,over next to the SAS and British school and it is all so convenient and almost like a small town.All the kids bike around to each others houses-as there is little traffic and only 1 main street...and most importantly, they love their school...they have slotted right in and are doing well....which I think may have been challenging for them at an american curriculum school...not to mention just(inparts)useless(american government is a requirement!?
i have also heard good things about WISS...so that may be a good one to look at too..if you need any help...just drop me a note........Jodie

jodiegillies wrote:....which I think may have been challenging for them at an american curriculum school...not to mention just(inparts)useless(american government is a requirement!?

LOL why would it be surprising that it's a requirement in an American curriculum school? the British national curriculum has similar requirements, under the heading of 'Citizenship'; I'm sure your boys are having it as part of their key stage targets as BISS.

My two high school age children are at WISS and they have settled in really well. I think it has been a great choice of school for them coming from the Australian system. Definitely worth a visit.

Aussie Beach Gal wrote:My two high school age children are at WISS and they have settled in really well. I think it has been a great choice of school for them coming from the Australian system. Definitely worth a visit.

That's good to hear, I like the look of WISS too, coming from NZ system, its my fav so far but haven't actually been to Shanghai to see any yet.

Hi. Our son will be 3 in Feb and we are moving to Shanghai in April/May. We have been looking for a school with a program that would be a good fit and are now considering

• SCIS
• YCIS
• Shanghai Livingston American School

Although he is not yet old enough, we are also thinking about moving him to SAS the following year. We have some knowledge of the city from prior business trips but have not spent time looking at housing or school options, so we are planning to visit Shanghai in late Feb to see schools and neighborhoods in person. Any advice or suggestion would be much appreciated.

CarpeDiem88 wrote:Hi. Our son will be 3 in Feb and we are moving to Shanghai in April/May. We have been looking for a school with a program that would be a good fit

To assess which would be a good fit, it would be helpful if you could share a little bit about your own background: what country you are from, which area of Shanghai you will live/work in, what level of tuition you can pay, and what expectations you have for your kids' education (elite private? public? home country bubble? Chinese language option?).

The three options you give have differences and similarities, and I could go on all day about them but I'm not sure what details would be relevant to your situation.

klick wrote " why would it be surprising that it's a requirement in an American curriculum school? "
to me it is surprising for any system to require passing an exam on government at at a certain level(before going to IB for us) to be allowed to continue on...I would rather kids just stick to maths , science ,english etc...why am I surprised...I dont recall there being any such requirement in the school certificate i Australia...so to me it is strange.lol....just for the record i am not thrilled if the english "government"unit is a pass requirement for continuing to IB either...but my older son didnt have to do this when he went into IB at BISS...and my younger son hasn't mentioned it(yr 10)...still...if they have to study govt ,the british system is closer to ours back home....not that that matters either as I dont know if we will ever be going back there to live...I dont consider any country permanent and would gladly be a gypsy all my life ,as I always have .As for my kids ,they can decide for themselves ,I have always given them a voice in their lives..hence ,they chose BISS from a list of 6 schools that we all went to see... So far ,all indications are that my eldest at least wants to go to university in asia ... ,maybe here ,maybe Beijing(we loved it there) or maybe Hong Kong...or maybe he will change his mind again before that time comes...So..yeah...I am probably different from other mums on here ,as I dont really know where I will be in 2 ,or 5 ,or 10 years..and so am less tied to any country...it's all a big adventure to me ,I just love travelling to somewhere new ,and hope to keep on moving.!!

jodiegillies wrote:...I am probably different from other mums on here ,as I dont really know where I will be in 2 ,or 5 ,or 10 years..and so am less tied to any country...it's all a big adventure to me ,I just love travelling to somewhere new ,and hope to keep on moving.!!

Oh, I don't know that you are so different from a lot of us I seem to know plenty of nomads here. We're in the same boat of course; no idea how long we'll be here or where we'll go next, and for me I like that my daughter has the option of a US or UK educational path. As she's 5 of course the decision about IB or other routes to higher education aren't an issue, but if we are still moving around the globe and she does end up going to an American curriculum high school, I can't see any objection to her being required to understand what that little blue book we have to show people at the airport represents. And if she follows the UK trajectory, well, she needs to understand that too. It's certainly not going to hurt her to understand her rights and responsibilities, as a dual passport holder and a global citizen.

true!...but not as relevant to us as we dont have that little blue book..or the UK one either..lol....so i see my kids as having any educational path they want..they went to ycis in beijing..and a Korean Montessori school in Sth Korea...they choose....my endeavour has been to make the transition at a senior high school level as seemless as possible...this is made harder by the extra subjects and requirements that some schools have...and as we are in the last years....no time to catch-up .As for travelling .....my kids ,again ahd a say in the decision to come here...we could have stayed back home until they finished High school ,but they wanted to come back to china when the opportunity arose...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess.

Hi friends....,

When looking for schools abroad that offer a British curriculum (international GSCEs and A levels), parents are spoilt for choice. There are also thousands of schools accredited by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) across the world that offer the well-established and reputable IB diploma in English.

Some schools focus on a bicultural and bilingual education while others create a miniature version of Britain inside the school gates, emphasising British culture and language. A bilingual curriculum is a challenging and stimulating environment for children who speak English as a first language, especially as students are required to write essays in both their native and host language. Check carefully to see what immersion language classes are available and what support is offered for students who initially only speak English. Few would deny that a bilingual curriculum is both beneficial and enriching for students and encourages them to become global citizens.

In South America, most schools offer the IB programme in Spanish, English or both. In such bilingual schools, around half of the classes are taught in Spanish and the remaining half in English, often taught by imported native-English speaking teachers who make up at least 25% of the teaching staff.

Hi there,

We (French/American) are moving to Shanghai in August and all these schools and abbreviations puzzle me. My eldest is in Gr 8 at the Canadian international school in Hong Kong so I'm looking for an IB school, at least diploma, which offers French and, if possible Spanish... We'd be in Puxi so I was thinking of SAS as it seems to offer a lot of IB options but I am also interested in SRIS Rego, as its website talks about a mother-tongue program that sounds great... But why do I find nothing about their school ?!? Does anybody have feedback on SRIS Rego ?!?

You may want to rethink about going to Rego

http://shanghaiist.com/2012/01/19/shang ... hool_1.php

http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/01/sha ... _come.html

Thank you PureXTC88, those articles were very interesting yet still one says Rego has a good reputation but will need to relocate. I guess I'll start with SAS but what are its contenders ?

You can try Shanghai United International School which teaches the IB system.

http://www.suis.com.cn/

Hi,

We are moving to Shanghai early April. We have 3 children, 2 boys 11 and 9 and a girl 4 with special needs. We currently live in Melbourne Australia so are thinking british schools as they would probably be closest to our curriculum. Would love to hear what you have got to say about the different schools. Like what we have seen so far about the BISS and Dulwich. And as far as schools for special needs children, what is available? Haven't found a lot of information. Our daughters comprehension is very good, but her speech requires development. She is also vision impaired.
Very grateful for any help we can get, thanks in advance!

BISS is generally regarded as the most flexible school in terms of accommodating children with special needs. Try also googling for "Essential Learning Group" and "Olivia's Place."

Klick wrote:BISS is generally regarded as the most flexible school in terms of accommodating children with special needs. Try also googling for "Essential Learning Group" and "Olivia's Place."

this may have been the case but BISS' special needs program imploded last academic year - may families requiring learning support have since left BISS

MIexpat wrote:this may have been the case but BISS' special needs program imploded last academic year - may families requiring learning support have since left BISS

Really? That's a shame, I'm sorry to hear it. What happened?

I would recommend that you contact some of the schools asap as they will want some detailed information about your daughter's needs. The schools here are fairly limited in the services they can provide, especially compared to what you might receive back home. It would be best to start having a conversation with a few of them. Good luck!

We are moving to Shanghai this summer with our son, who is currently a high school Junior. All of his schooling has been done in the states. He will be doing his senior year in Shanghai, then back to the states for college.

He has a high B average, so not a super scholar but a good student. We're pretty conservative as far as drinking, smoking. He likes sports and he's pretty social. And he's anxious to come to Shanghai - really looking forward to the experience.

We are getting ready to schedule a trip with visits to several schools. After checking out as much info as we could online (including this forum), we have narrowed it down to a few.

Any recommendations on which schools to strongly consider? Which may not be a good fit?

Depends, what is your budget? Are you paying for it or is it part of your contract?

How much Chinese does he want to learn in the year? Do you know which side of town you want to be on? I'm with Klick- lots more info needed before any kind of advice is possible- though knowing the academic, sports, social mix and the 1st time out of US is a start.

The tuition is part of our package (thank goodness!) The range hasn't been specified, but given the company's history, it appears that all of the school's I've seen mentioned on this site would be covered 100%.

Hong qiao was mentioned as a place to consider living by some who've worked there. Our current thinking is to choose the school, and then choose housing that would work well with school location. Job sites are Fengxian most of the time, but will occasionally be working in other locations, so it seems best to focus on the school for housing locations. At least that's where we're starting from. We're still having a bit of trouble with Google Earth and finding locations for some addresses, and we're not doing super great with other Shanghai maps. Steep learning curve in so many ways!

RE: how much Chinese does he want to learn in the year? I think the answer to that is, some. He has five years of Spanish (well, that's a good fit here, huh?) and is glad to learn some Chinese but not a priority to be immersed in Chinese. I took Chinese in college a few eons ago and am having fun remembering and relearning some of that. I hope to learn a lot of Chinese - son maybe not so much. But he is excited to learn a bit. His biggest concern academically is making a good fit when it's time to go to college in the states.

My knowledge is more of primary schools than senior year, but for what it is worth I would probably de-emphasize YCIS and SUIS along with the British or Singaporean schools, but maybe that was obvious. So you're left with SAS, SCIS, WISS (might be hard to pick up IB program in just 1 year, though...I suspect a straight American curriculum might be better fit), Concordia....maybe a couple others I am forgetting. Rego seems to be having some troubles this year, but I'm just picking up from other Forum posts on that.

Well, nothing is obvious to us so your comments are very helpful. YCIS and SUIS are probably not the tightest matches for him at this point, as you mentioned. SAS, SCIS and Concordia are on our list, so I'm feeling more confident after reading your response. Rego's off the list at this point.

He's not been enrolled in the IB program (although it's offered at a few select schools in our state) so I think that's a bit too tight for him as well. He's been in AP English, but not math or science.

We agree that looking at a straight American curriculum (which I think suits him given the timing of the move) is his best fit. I'm wondering if I'm missing any options.

I've seen SMIC's website, but have heard very little about it. Don't quite understand how it compares to SAS / Concordia / SCIS. They don't appear to require an SSAT for admittance, which throws me a little.

He's currently running track / cross country and doing well. He is thinking he would like to continue that through his senior year if he has the option. If I have my ducks in a row, I believe Concordia and SMIC both offer these programs. I could not see it on the SAS website, although they had a pretty thorough list including several other sports.

How about the social aspects? Are some easier for a friendly kid to fit into in a single year? Any schools that are major party schools? (Not that we don't like to have fun.....)

Wish we were making this move a year or two back, but are glad we are able to do it now. Even a year of school in Shanghai will be a great experience for him. We are anxious to get on the plane and do some first-hand visits - for right now, hearing from y'all is supremely helpful.

It sounds like Concordia might be a good fit for your son, but they have only one campus and that is in Jinqiao, not Hongqiao - it's pretty much entirely the opposite side of town. Commute to Fenxian will definitely be quicker from Hongqiao.

None of these schools are 'party' schools. They are all quite rigorous. That said, drinking is a pretty big issues with teens here. Alcohol is very easy to get, clubs and bars don't card anybody and nobody has to drive anywhere. Just something to be aware of.

Making friends isn't likely to be a problem, for any of you. Other expats understand, people come and go here, it is the best thing and the worst thing about expat life. You meet amazing people from all over and it's awesome, and then you or they leave and it's sad. But you remind yourself it it great that you had the chance to know them. So sometimes friendships form a little faster and more readily here than at home, because why waste time being reserved and circumspect?

SMIC was originally a company school that has opened to others. Company is a Taiwanese tech (electronics?) company owned by a pretty serious Christian, and there are different stories about just how much it has affected the school. It is fairly far out in Pudong (further than Concordia), so might not be a great match geographically. Population is heavily Asian befitting its roots; costs are low compared to many others and I think facilities are good. Don't know the curriculum.

One other American-based I forgot is Livingston. Don't know much about them and we didn't look, but I think it is US curriculum and in Puxi.

Hmmm. I was becoming somewhat drawn to Concordia, knowing that no meaningful decisions could be made until we arrive and tour and he apps and…..hopefully gets accepted.

Which brings me to another concern. How likely are applicants to be accepted? Do we really need to app for, say, three schools hoping that one will accept him? Or is it workable to app for the one he most feels drawn to and then if he’s not accepted, app for second choice, and so on…

Now here’s where our Shanghai map skills are killing us. In our limited understanding, Fengxian appears to be somewhat similar in distance (give or take a tad) from Hongxiao as it is from Pudong. At least parts of Pudong - which appears huge to me. If we were to choose a school in Pudong, and live in Pudong, would it be a killer to get to work in Hongxiao? Or enough to drive us crazy within a few months?

I suppose one option would be to live close to the school of choice for that first year. After our son graduates, perhaps we could relocate with more focus on living close to work assignments.
Right now, I’d give anything for a teletransporter. Now – while we’re trying to make preliminary decisions from halfway across the globe; and then again, once we’re there.

And thanks for the very helpful info on SMIC and Livingston.

animal crackers wrote:Which brings me to another concern. How likely are applicants to be accepted? Do we really need to app for, say, three schools hoping that one will accept him? Or is it workable to app for the one he most feels drawn to and then if he’s not accepted, app for second choice, and so on…

I would say you had best make multiple applications. There are presently more students than there are places for them in this town as the government has held up the building of any new international schools in recent years. (There are a few in the works, and many applications to build new ones on the books, but nothing that will open soon.) And with the uncertainty around Rego school right now, that means those kids currently enrolled there may be pushed out into other schools for next year. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I think you can ask schools how quickly they give an answer, and when they screen applications and might be filled. WISS is trying to lock in returning students by end March so I assume looks at new after that. Each might have their own schedule- last year we were kept waiting until late June by one school but accepted by another in March. Each had explained the calendar up front.

I don't know Fengxian but will try to look it up and give travel advice- Shanghai is huge and lots of the roads do get backed up, so planning locations can help.