For those of you trying to decide which school is right, let me just say a few things from experience (Much more experience than I would have preferred!):

* Try to find a school as close to the working parent's office. Be very open and consider all options (International Schools, Bilingual Schools, Local Schools, and homeschooling). The simpler your life here the better. (I wish ours could have been!)

* After you find your school, THEN choose where to live. In our case, we are all commuting for 9 months before we can move because we did this the other way around.

* Do NOT choose a school based soley on their website. In some cases the websites are very far from true, and in others, the websites don't even show you how good a place really is. You need to GO SEE any school you are considering, and make sure it is during school hours. And talk talk talk to the teachers, students, staff. At Chinese local schools in particular, make sure you are dropping in unannounced to get a real feel for what it is like.

* Question the high prices at the International Schools, and don't be afraid to ask for tuition reductions/ financial aid/ (discounts!) These schools are making a lot of money, and they are not Harvard (no one is leaving with a degree, that's for sure!!)

* As per bilingual schools, be very aware that there are 3 main approaches to a Chinese/English bilingual education:

1. Chinese with ESL (English as a second language) - We didn't want full immersion in the Chinese program because our daughter (a native English speaker) would have 1-2 hours of ESL classes everyday. Of course, one school told us they would move her to a higher class, but then she would have been in English class with children 3+ years older than her - not appropriate for a 1st grader. However, if your child does not speak English OR Chinese, this is probably a good option. ($2000 per year, and less)

2. English with Chinese classes - For us this didn't put enough emphasis on Chinese. We plan to live here for 5+ years, and having Chinese language skills is very important to us. This may be a good option for those students only living here for 1-3 years. But again, only if your on a nice expat package, because these are extremely expensive. ($21,000 and up)

3. 50-50 English and Chinese - for us, this was the best option. In our daughter's school, they have 1 Chinese teacher and 1 English teacher for every class all day. This is really special, and it's at a much lower price than any other schools.. They put a lot of emphasis on creativity, and individual progress... And it's an IB school. Unfortunately, for now, SUIS is the only school quite like it, but I can see that this is definitly the future for schools here in Shanghai. As expat packages thin out, there will be more and more demand for places that offer quality without the ludicrous prices. ($8,000 per year, approx)


: )
Just wanted to say thank you, to all of you on this website that have added opinions, and I hope this info I'm providing is helpful to others too! Please ask questions on this post, rather than sending a message, I'm watching this forum, so I'll see your questions/comments.

Hi,

Thanks for the info.
I was also planning to just go around and visit the different schools (unannounced), to get a real feeling about the teachers, the students and the school, because I can kind of figure that there are big differences from school to school.
I am actually thinking of a local Chinese school, because it is also very important for me that my child learns Chinese, but so far it is only thoughts..

So which school do you have now? Are you happy with it?

Hi - I just found this forum, is it too late to ask if there is any further advise on which schools to go to? I don't have an expat budget for education and really weighing my option between home-schooling and billigual schools as they are the cheapest already.
Thanks!

emselst wrote:* After you find your school, THEN choose where to live. In our case, we are all commuting for 9 months before we can move because we did this the other way around.

Thanks for the advice. We're deciding between renovating our place vs. buying a new one. Now I realize that the school will have to come first, then we can choose whatever we want to do with the housing.

emselst wrote:* Question the high prices at the International Schools, and don't be afraid to ask for tuition reductions/ financial aid/ (discounts!) These schools are making a lot of money, and they are not Harvard (no one is leaving with a degree, that's for sure!!)

You can do that?!

canuckian wrote:You can do that?!

Well, the worst you'd get is a reply from the school management, "After consideration, we regret to say..." And who knows if you may just hit the jackpot if you try? No harm doing so, right? Some of my clients do try, and we do consider (though we have yet to find a reason to give a positive answer).

canuckian wrote:

emselst wrote:* After you find your school, THEN choose where to live. In our case, we are all commuting for 9 months before we can move because we did this the other way around.

Thanks for the advice. We're deciding between renovating our place vs. buying a new one. Now I realize that the school will have to come first, then we can choose whatever we want to do with the housing.

emselst wrote:* Question the high prices at the International Schools, and don't be afraid to ask for tuition reductions/ financial aid/ (discounts!) These schools are making a lot of money, and they are not Harvard (no one is leaving with a degree, that's for sure!!)

You can do that?!

Although PO's original post is almost 2 years old, the tips are still very applicable today. And I would STRONGLY agree to find school first if you don't want your children spending 15 hours travelling to/from school each week.

As for high prices, YES definitely ask. I have heard that some int schools do consider a discount over & above the sibling discounts. No harm trying.

Some have advertised discounts already, we're thinking of moving mostly to avoid traffic but also to lower some costs in that regard.

where can I find a list of 50/50 preschools in Puxi?

Hi all,
This is my very first post. We are moving to Shangahi, either in Gubei or Hongqiao area, in December (after first semester for my three kids), and my husband has already moved to Shanghai last week. I really appreciate all the posts on education, as we do not have an expat package for education either. We are vigoriously looking at 50/50 schools for our three kids (8th grader and 4th grader twins) mainly for cost and desire for my children to learn Mandarin.

Can you tell me more about SUIS? We looked at it online and it looks plausible, but I was told that most of the expat students are from other Asian countries and not many Western expat children. Is that true? And where is SUIS in relation to Gubei/Hongqiao area?

My children and I are visiting Shanghai in October to look at schools and possibly enroll in a school. In the mean time, I'd like my husband to visit some schools and narrow them down to about 3 schools. I cannot believe the cost of ALL the international schools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are more expensive than most of colleges and universities in the US!

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Sincerely,
Honufamily

Hi, not sure if this thread is still active, but I'm seriously considering SUIS or any other good local school with an international track. Cost is not an issue, but I would like my children to have more exposure to the local way of life (maximise the whole experience overseas!).

Would appreciate any comments on the advantages and disadvantages of going this route instead of sticking to the more conventional schools like BIS, SAS, Dulwich, etc. Offhand, I can imagine the local schools might be more stressful as they might expect more from the kids? More homework, etc? But increased chances of picking up/improving their Mandarin?

thanks!

We are a Malaysian family moving from Europe to Shanghai in July 2012. Our daughter currently n Grade 7 at an International school here. She is a motivated student with good grades. Workwise and place to stay nearer to Puxi. We have made enquiries and it appears that YCIS, SSIS have more emphasis on Mandarin. Any feedback or suggestions on above schools??