The International Schools Review Forum

Any information you could give would be helpful. Apparently they are going for their certification as a World IB school next year, so I'm sensing a lot of work.

Thanks!!

anybody?

Thanks!!

I know that they're an international department of a Chinese high school and that they offer K-12. Xi'an doesn't have a huge international community, so I'd imagine a department, instead of an entirely separate campus, would suffice.

I've got to be honest: the idea of living voluntarily in Xi'an makes me shudder. I was there once to do the expected touristy stuff, and while I'm glad I went, I never need to go back. The area around the Big Goose pagoda is quite nice and clean and new. The rest of Xi'an is filthy, dusty, dirty, and once you cover the tourist stuff, there's not much to do.

Probably I just need to get out of China, but the idea of living that far inland, away from anything and everything of interest, in a dirty, dusty city... not for me.

We had a SKYPE interview with the director last night. The Director is from Singapore and did not candy-coat that this wasn't Shanghai or Beijing. We are an outdoors family, so that doesn't bother us. We'll see...I think they're going through IB accreditation next year, and the extra work doesn't totally turn us off, but with a young family, this has to be taken into consideration.

Anyways we're off to Toronto today, so we'll see what's there and try to post some items.

Thanks!!

Looking forward to your take on the Toronto Fair JB!

Hopefully you'll get a nibble in Toronto.

The fact that you're an outdoors family SHOULD bother you if you end up in Xi'an. Like I said, it's a filthy, dusty city that ranks as the 6th most polluted city in China.

I don't know anything about the school, but for Xi'an itself I really liked it. Yes, it's polluted, but there's a lot going on there. Like most people going to Xi'an, I only went there for a few days to see the Terracotta Warriors and a few other sites, but I thought the place had a good feel. There's plenty of bars and restaurants to cater to tourism, and there is some great market food. If you're really into China, are fascinated by the culture and really want to learn Chinese then Xi'an would be great. If not, then it's great for a trip but I'm not sure I'd want to live there long term, and I personally would not be keen on bringing kids up there at all, especially with a lack of English and the questionable health care that will be available. Outside of Beijing and Shanghai, China's hospitals don't have the greatest reputation for cleanliness and English ability. Also, there doesn't seem to be a big expat population there so I'd imagine that the majority of students will be Chinese, but I could be wrong.

China is changing very quickly. My information and perceptions of China are a few years old, but look into it anyway. I'd go as a single, or as a couple who loves the adventure, but with kids it's a different story. Best of luck with whatever you decide anyway.

Hey mate, I know the school quite well. The pay is ridiculous (10000RMB per month!?) and it will not survive the competition that it is about to face. Also, they have only got candidacy in PYP and MYP so they will not become a proper IB school anytime soon... if at all.