admin 
You have found out that you or your spouse has an opportunity to broaden their experience, horizons and further develop a career by taking an assignment to Shanghai. Sounds like a great opportunity until you begin to think about the education for your children. Will there be adequate resources for your child? Will he or she have to adjust to a new education style?
These are all very good questions to ask and fortunately, there are many international school options available to choose from in Shanghai. Let’s find out what they are and the best choices based on your child’s educational background.
Curriculum System(Programme)
Whether you are from the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Singapore or regions surrounding the aforementioned countries. You should have no problem finding an international school in Shanghai that has a curriculum system that is the same, matches or is similar with your child’s current system. The three dominant curriculum systems are listed below:
American System
Designed to encourage flexibility for students, this system is very resource and demand dependent. With this type of system, courses outside of required subjects can vary dependent on the school and its resources and demand for a class type. Experience may vary by school.
British System
Unlike its American counterpart, the British system is not as flexible in its structure. The system is more standardized in its structure, meaning it is less likely for a student to miss out on a certain class or subject during their time at school as a result of low demand or resources.
International Baccalaureate Programme
The IB programme is designed to work with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging curriculum on an international stage. This education style offers is rigorous and challenging but ultimately rewarding.
Other curriculum systems that are present in Shanghai but are not as dominant as the above two are the following:
Singaporean System
German System
French System
Diversity & Languages Taught
If you are looking to make the most of this experience abroad, it may make sense to expose your child to a school with a very diverse student body. International schools can offer this type of environment, but not all international schools are equal in the aspect with some schools offering more diversity than others.
The general consensus is that the schools of the American and British systems tend to be less diverse than others but this is certainly not the case for all of the schools. Schools like Shanghai Community International School have high levels of diversity.
The best way to learn about a school’s diversity is to not listen to what the school says in their brochure or advertisments but to take a tour of the school and be aware of the types of students that you see there and what programs are available to accommodate students of various international backgrounds.
University Acceptance
These international schools offer high quality, elite education for their students. These schools also understand the importance of not only being international in student make up but also in the standards for curriculum and testing. Many if not all of the international schools mentioned above adhere to advanced curriculum programs such as AP or IB programs. As a result of these offerings, these schools offer great opportunities for students graduating. Many of Shanghai’s International Schools have students that have been accepted to many world-class universities.
Tuition Cost
All of this great education and cutting-edge technology comes at a cost and if you are being sent on assignment to Shanghai, it is best to make sure that your package will include the cost of your child’s education. With out this expense being covered, you can expect to pay any where from 80k-280k RMB (~13k-45k USD) per year per student(Yikes! You can probably hear your wallet cringing right now).
Location
Once you find a preferred curriculum system for your child, you must consider the location of the campus relative to the office, shopping centers, etc. Fortunately, these schools understand the importance of campus location and in many cases, have multiple campuses spread throughout the city for your convenience. Let’s take a look at school locations for the curriculum systems mentioned above.
American System
Shanghai American School
Puxi Campus
258 Jinfeng Rd. Huacao Town, Minhang District
Shanghai, China
Pudong Campus
1600 Lingbai Rd. Sanjiagang, Pudong
Shanghai, China
Concordia International School Shanghai
Pudong Campus
999 Mingyue Rd.
Jinqiao, Pudong
Shanghai, China
Shanghai Community International School
Puxi (Hongqiao) Campus
1161 Hongqiao Rd.
Shanghai, China
Shanghai Livingston American School
Puxi Campus
No. 580 GanXi Rd.
Changning District
Shanghai, China
British System
Britannica International School Shanghai
1988 Gubei Rd.
Shanghai, China
Yew Chung International School
Puxi Campuses
Hongqiao Campus
11 Shui Cheng Rd.
Shanghai, China
Gubei Campus
18 West RongHua Rd.
Shanghai, China
Pudong Campuses
Regency Center Campus
1817 HuaMu Rd.
Pudong Shanghai, China
Century Park
1433 Dong Xiu Rd.
Pudong Shanghai, China
British International School Shanghai
Pudong Campus
600 Kangqiao Ban Dao, 2729 Hunan Rd.
Pudong Shanghai, China
Puxi Campus
111 Jinguang Rd.
Huacao Town
Shanghai, China
Wellington College International Shanghai
1500 Yao Long Rd.
Pudong, Shanghai
Dulwich College
266 Lan’an Rd.
Jinqiao, Pudong
International Baccalaureate(IB) System
Western International School of Shanghai(WISS)
555 LianMin Rd., Xujing Town
Qing Pu District, Shanghai
Singaporean System
Shanghai Singapore International School
Minhang Campus
301 Zhu Jian Rd.
Minhang, Shanghai
Xuhui Campus
1455 Huajing Rd.
Xuhui, Shanghai
German System
German School
Euro Campus
350 Gaoguang Rd.
Qingpu, Shanghai
Pudong Campus
1100 Jufeng Rd.
Pudong, Shanghai
French System
French School
Euro Campus
350 Gaoguang Rd.
Qingpu, Shanghai
Pudong Campus
1555 Jufeng Rd.
Pudong, Shanghai
