The International Schools Review Forum

I am looking at Harrow, Dulwich, and British School of Beijing for my six-year old kid, who is perfectly bilingual in English and Chinese. Unlike the pseudo international schools here like Beanstalk and Kinstar, British schools presumably have minimal emphasis on Chinese. That is so unfortunate because my kid has such a good headstart in Chinese. What to do!!!

Look at Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and International Schol of Beijing (ISB).

I agree - those are the two prime not for profit schools in the city. If u are looking for a bilingual school, you might want to investigate the Yew Chung school. However, I can not vouch for its quality.

Having worked in the city, I would rate WAB, ISB and the Beijing City International School as the top 3 schools in the city.

Good luck with your move

So the general sentiments appear to be that the British schools are not as good...I wonder why...I shall try to visit all of them.

I was in Beijing a few years ago and I understood the British school to have a decent reputation, just not as good as the other ones mentioned. WAB and ISB are tough competition. Being not as good as them doesn't make a place bad by any means. Well done though for identifying the pseudo schools early on. No arguments there.

I am currently in Beijing and have recently toured/observed classes at both Dulwich and BSB. They both seem like perfectly fine choices. ISB and WAB are hard to beat for facilities, but some children may do better in a smaller, possibly less intense environment.

Yew Chung... avoid like the plague...

ISB is more academic
WAB more 'touchy feely'
BISS is not really an option as it has the same fees as the above but the facilities don't match

Both British options are new campuses and if you want the UK curriculum are great options.

Thats why I didnt include BISS personally, its all the cost without the gloss.

If your looking more for the British prep school experience Dulwich is the choice.

BISS has more of a HK/Singapore feel to it.

Visited Dulwich. Very impressed with the school. Students look happy (in class and outside). I also like how the curriculum is structured. In addition, Chinese classes are organized in three levels to cater to different levels of proficiency. Will soon be visiting Harrow, ISB, and WAB.