Gaining a competitive edge

Wellington College China has witnessed dependable maturation successful the fig of expat students astatine its six schools successful 4 cities implicit the past 15 years, reflecting foreigners’ continued assurance successful China’s system and development, says the group’s apical executive.

There are presently implicit 5,400 students astatine the group’s Wellington and Hiba schools successful Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou successful Zhejiang province, and Nantong successful Jiangsu province; and the pupil fig has risen, says Joy Qiao Ying, laminitis and president of Wellington College China.

“Taking Wellington College International Shanghai arsenic an example, determination were implicit 300 students erstwhile it opened a decennary ago. Now, we are adjacent afloat capableness astatine implicit 1,600 students,” says Qiao during an exclusive interrogation connected 1 November erstwhile the schoolhouse celebrated its 10th anniversary.

“We’re highly fortunate arsenic a work supplier successful the acquisition assemblage that has been riding connected the giant, humanities question of China’s accelerated economical development,” Qiao says.

“Increasingly, I perceive multinational companies accidental they are successful China not conscionable due to the fact that it is simply a large marketplace oregon a spot for manufacturing but due to the fact that the state is charismatic for its monolithic endowment excavation crossed disciplines and industries and its planetary position and linguistic ability,” she says.

By staying successful Shanghai, and with China being 1 of the largest planetary schoolhouse markets globally, expat children bask top-quality acquisition that they mightiness not person entree to successful their location countries. This is 1 attraction oregon competitory vantage for expats to unrecorded and enactment successful China, says Qiao.

Wellington College China schools, for which the yearly tuition fees successful Shanghai scope from 166,000 yuan (£17,901) to 380,000 yuan (£40,979), person students from much than 50 countries and regions astir the world, particularly from the United States, the United Kingdom and different European countries. Many children besides travel from South Africa, Southeast Asian countries, Australia and Canada, among others.

Parents enactment successful each sectors successful China. “Taking our Shanghai schools arsenic an example, the divers areas applicable to exertion and innovation — cleanable energy, electrical vehicles, pharmaceuticals, finance, and precocious manufacturing — person practice successful our genitor body,” says Qiao.

“Recently, we noticed galore of the parents of students recently joining america are from the pharmaceutical sector. Perhaps it is simply a effect of our determination oregon the features of Shanghai’s system arsenic a whole,” she says.

Many expat parents admit that Chinese connection courses are mandatory successful aboriginal years for everyone who attends, says Qiao.

“China is an progressively influential subordinate connected the planetary stage. Parents spot it arsenic a significant, competitory vantage for their children to maestro the Chinese language, which is the astir spoken worldwide and possibly the astir hard to learn,” she says.

Students tin besides prime Chinese civilization studies courses, which are a operation of history, geography and motivation education.

“Celebrations and activities are held connected the field for each the important accepted Chinese festivals — Dragon Boat Festival, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival,” says an eighth-grade pupil from the UK astatine Wellington College International Shanghai, who asked to beryllium identified arsenic Benjamin. “This allows america to acquisition the section culture.”

About 30 per cent of graduates from the Wellington and Hiba schools spell to the world’s apical 20 universities and astir 60 per cent spell to apical 50 universities. They yet go taste ambassadors and assistance the satellite amended recognize China.