In a class of their own: China has ‘insatiable’ demand for expensive international schools
Foreign academic institutions are booming on mainland thanks to growing appetite of parents seeking different ways for children to attend overseas universities
The school year at Haileybury College’s campus outside Beijing began with three People’s Liberation Army soldiers marching on a running track as the Chinese national anthem played over loudspeakers.
Seven hundred students stood silently lined up in single file at ceremony to mark the start of the new school year on August 31, their hands crossed, the international prep school’s crest emblazoned on many of their coats and T-shirts.
Then they sang the school song in English before heading off to class in brick-facade buildings modelled on a British prep school.
For most Chinese students, attending a school such as this remains unthinkable. But international schools from abroad are booming on the Chinese mainland thanks to growing demand from parents who are seeking different pathways for their children to attend university overseas, and who can increasingly afford more options.
Top prep schools from around the world are opening campuses in the country, often charging higher fees than their flagships and catering to students who want to go to university in the West.