Primary education in Shanghai

[r62go]

Hi everybody

Our family is probably moving to Shanghai (currently living in uk) in September or October this year. We have a 5 yo who is in Reception here.

I've read here several threads about moving to China, and found the information very useful. However, I am still worried about the education options. It seems that there are long waiting lists for international schools. How long would it usually take to get a place after arrival?

Also, ideally we would like our daughter to go to a local (Chinese) school so she can learn the language and culture. Does anybody have experience with local schools? Is it required to know Chinese to be accepted to one?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't live in Shanghai, but will try to help.
I have friends whose children go to Dulwich and there was a waiting list for year 2 but her other son got into reception immediately. She homeschooled the year 2 child for a term until a place became available.
I understand that Dulwich has a good reputation.
I believe that all children in International schools learn Chinese - both language and culture. Mine have Chinese every day.
I think the Chinese children start school at 6. The way the children learn is very different from the UK system - lots of rote learning and tests.

The language lends itslelf to that type of learning, but may be a culture shock for your child.
I am sure someone living in Shanghai will be able to give more info.

Hi Shanghaidiva

Thanks a lot for your reply. Dulwich looks v. nice, and good to know that we may be lucky to get a place.

I realise that the transition would be easier if dd continued studying in the British system.

Still I am very interested to hear from anybody with an experience of local schools.

My understanding (from living in Beijing but just moved to Shanghai) is that local Chinese schools don't take foreign students. I think there are a couple of Chinese schools that have a license for foreign students but there are not many. The Daily Telegraph's China correspondent sent his kids to one in Beijing and I'm sure he wrote a blog about it on the Telegraph's blog site.

An American woman I knew years ago sent her kids to a Chinese school and was vey unhappy with the discipline, rote learning, testing and pressure from the very earliest years. Her kids just didn't thrive.

What may be better - and is a popular option - is sending your kids to a bilingual school. They usually have two class teachers - one English speaking and one Chinese. Half the day is spent doing classes in Chinese, half in English. Yew Chung here is one school that springs to mind.

The international schools all seem to do Chinese every day. They are aware that parents want their children to learn Chinese.

Get a Chinese Ayi (cleaner/nanny) and make sure she speaks to your DD only in Chinese. You'll be amazed at how quickly she picks it up, far faster than you will! My DD (16m) says Xie Xie (thank you) and a few other Chinese words.

Where will you be living? That also has a huge bearing on where you send your kids to school. I personally could never shove my child on a bus every day for an hour each way just for them to go to a certain school.

Contact the schools now to find out what the waiting lists are like. They are businesses, they want your custom so admissions usually bend over backwards to help you out!

Oh and I've worked in foreign owned schools and Chinese owned schools. For my DD I would pick a foreign owned one EVERY time.

The Chinese owned ones (both the one I worked at and ones my friends have worked at) have had some pretty dodgy working practices... teachers who don't have proper qualifications, teachers fired because well connected parents didn't like them - absolutely no misconduct at all, teachers leaving without warning because the management told them they wouldn't be getting X or Y agreed upon in their contract, and many other things. The teachers have no protection from the Chinese owners and can and do get shafted.

Maybe this is only a problem with the smaller schools though? I don't think this is the case at all at Yew Chung which has a good reputation amongst friends of mine who worked there.

Foreign owned/ bigger schools just don't have these issues because they can't attract the best staff if they get this kind of reputation.

Sorry, I'm not trying to put you off. The question I would ask myself is how long I expected to be in the country. If it's less than 3 years your DD, IMO, is better off a British school because unless you continue with the Chinese once you return home she will lose it very quickly and it will be easier for her to fit in and out.

This is all just my experience and the experiences of other Teacher friends plus a few friends of mine who were parents. I'm sure others have a different experience!

I have been here for 2 years and I don't think you would be allowed to put your child in a local Chinese school and I certainly would not have wanted to..it is a big enough culture shock and upheaval, without putting her into an environment where she will have zero comprehension of the children and adults around her. Throwing a child in at the deep end like that will not guarantee comprehension of the language..it can take ages. She will be terrified, it will be agonisingly difficult for you to make friends and to understand what is going on. The pressure on the kids at these schools from the start is incredible and the only thing a lot of the parents care about is how hard their kids work.

The international schools all teach Mandarin and my kids have learnt a lot from their daily lessons. They also learn from Ayi and from listening to me, although I am not fluent! It took a long time for all of us to settle when we arrived and having a British school made all the difference. They still do wonderful celebrations at CNY and get taught about the culture and traditions.

Have a look around lots of schools. Some of them have immediate places available. Good luck with it all. Shanghai is an exciting place to live but can also be very hard work! Just come with a very open mind and a truck load of patience.

Thanks a lot ComradeJing (love your name:) ! Hmm, local schools do not sound good, but I am still keeping my mind open at this stage.
I tried to search for the Telegraph blog but could not find it.

I will keep in mind the information about small Chinese-owned schools, doesn't sound good.

We still don't know where we are going to live. DH's office is in Puxi, and ideally we would like to live, and find a school, near the office. If not, we would look for a place near school, so at least DD does not have a long commute every day.
We are going for a year to start with, but with a possibility of extending it for 2-3 years.

I had a look at Yew Chung homepage; looks good.

Thank you 4pinkbabies! It seems there is a consensus about the local schools, and I do see your point.
We are going to start contacting the international/bilingual ones for now.

Also, have a look on Shanghai Mamas It's a great source of information.

If you are possibly only there for a year I would definitely look at bilingual or international. I don't know how many options are in downtown Puxi though. We live out where the American School Puxi is. I wouldn't suggest it unless you a) have a driver b) fall in love with the schools out here c) feel the need for a house not a flat.

Feel free to PM me with any other questions but I'm really just finding me feet here too!

Thank you, very helpful.
We definitely prefer a flat near DH's office, and are not going to have a car. I'll have a look at Shanghaimamas.

Hello
I'm also moving to Shanghai this summer (ideally Puxi) and looking for a school to send my 5-yr old daughter to. I won't have time to do a 'look-see' and wondered if you managed to visit Yew Chung or the British International School. Would be grateful for your impressions!

I wouldn't be too put off the option of local schools - its perfectly possible and many parents and kids are very happy with the choice. In fact many people who aren't on expat packages they have no choice as the international schools are ridiculously expensive. I have no problem with international schools ( my son has been at yew Chung for two years and I would thoroughly recommend) but if you are interested in local school options get on shanghaimamas.org - there is a whole forum section on local schools and you can also ask a question yourself.

I don't have any personal experience re local schools but have got several friends who are extremely happy with the choice. Good luck with your choices!

Oh and also, you may find there are waiting lists for certain classes for the int schools but they usually have spaces open up nearer the time - and they won't all be full!