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Home schooling

Mark O'Neill

The parents of Wang Minqing, 15, pay GBP21,000 (HK$303,000) a year to send him to a private school in North Yorkshire, England, where 15 per cent of the students are foreign, and 10 per cent Chinese. But they are not allowed to send him to Dulwich College in Shanghai, a sister establishment of the famous British private school that officially opened on September 22 in Pudong, a short distance from where they live.

Under Chinese law, citizens can attend foreign schools abroad, but not at home. 'I would be a fool to second-guess the Chinese,' said Fraser White, the founder of the Shanghai school, and one of its three investors. 'But I am sure that the law will be softened in the future, in five years or 15. They do not like to rush, but go step by step.'

The Wangs will be able to send their son to Dulwich's next project in China, a joint venture with the Suzhou Middle School that is due to open in the 2005-2006 academic year, with between 500 and 900 students aged 17 and up. China allows its citizens to attend such joint venture schools.

Mr White, a lawyer, said that they did not build the Pudong campus on the assumption of being able to admit local students in the future. 'Our primary market is expatriates, although we would be quite comfortable if Chinese could come,' he said. 'Our primary focus is to build a fantastic school. We have a long waiting list.'

The opening last month was attended by British consul-general Sue Bishop and Zhang Endi, the deputy governor of Pudong in charge of education. Also present was Graham Able, master of Dulwich College in London, which has sent eight teachers to Pudong and is responsible for all the educational aspects. Mr Fraser and his partners are responsible for finance, and own the rights for Dulwich in China. Fees are US$20,000 a year, comparable to the school in London. It has 476 pupils up to the age of 14, and the number will expand rapidly as older years are introduced.

The master of Dulwich College China is Colin Niven, who taught French to British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Fettes College, in Edinburgh. Mr Blair inaugurated the Pudong school when he was in Shanghai in July last year.

The Suzhou project is the most ambitious. Suzhou Middle School dates from 1035 - 584 years before Dulwich - and is one of the top schools in Jiangsu province. Mr White said that it was very hard to obtain a school licence. 'The Chinese have a strong education policy. You set up, they see how you do, and gradually they open up more and more. In Suzhou, we will be very respectful of both cultures.'

Perhaps, in a few years, the future Wang Minqings will not have to fly 9,600km to attend their school of choice.

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