International schools are big business in China, not only for expat families living in China, but increasingly also for ambitious Chinese. Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun China Rich List ranked those schools for the first time at Hurun Education. YK PAO school, International School of Beijing, Dulwich College Beijing and Keystone Academy lead the top international schools in China, the report says.
Hurun Education:
“China’s international schools are young, especially compared with the top schools in the UK and US, many of which have been around for several hundred years. With the demand in the market for an international education, expect to see these schools and their alumni build an international reputation of excellence,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher.
Average annual tuition is about US$20,000, rising to US$45,000 for the big cities of Shanghai and Beijing. “It is a big cost to put a child through the international education system in China,” continued Hoogewerf.
Between April and October, Hurun Education asked 110 international education experts in China an unprompted question to recommend up to five schools in each of ‘Greater Shanghai’, ‘Greater Beijing’, Guangdong and ‘Rest of China’. Hurun Education received 942 nominations in total, an average of just under 9 nominations per expert. Half of respondents were school principals and senior teachers with the other half including investors, overseas study agents, training institutions and administrative departments of education. 34% came from ‘Greater Shanghai’, including Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu; 33% from ‘Greater Beijing’, including Beijing and Tianjin, and 33% from the rest of China. 24% of respondents were non-Chinese. 152 schools received votes. Schools were ranked on an index of 1 to 100, the school with the most votes receiving the maximum index of 100. The rankings refer to international schools in Mainland China only.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said, “I believe this to be the first serious attempt to rank the international schools in China. This ranking is targeted at parents with children in China and admission officers of universities from around the world. I hope this ranking will help parents form an opinion on which international school is the most suitable for their child, by providing a comprehensive study of the market from the views of international educational experts in China.”
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