Hefei Expat - China
Living Here => Careers and Jobs => School Reviews => Topic started by: Brisvagas on September 28, 2010, 02:45:03 am
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Hi all
Might have to move to Hefei in late 2010 or early 2011. We are currently living in Brisbane Australia and I have a son currently in grade 1 and a daughter who will be in Prep in late 2011 / 2012. The problem I have is finding a real international school in Hefei. Not just a Chinese school with International in the name. My son is reasonably bright but he works best when given a fair amount of freedom. I have worked in the South Korean educational system and if the Chinese system is anything like the South Korean system than it is quite rigid. I have found what looks like a real international school in Nanjing but they charge more than the upmarket Australian private schools!!! Not sure what to do, any ideas out there that might help?
Thanks in advance.
Rob
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There was a kind of International school out towards MingZhu (near University City) bet I haven't heard anything for years.
I'll get my assistant to find out about it.
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Preliminary investigation has produced these results.
Sorry they are in Chinese only now, I'll get them translated soon.
I'm not sure if these are really international schools yet.
Maybe some of our bilingual users can translate for us... ;D
安徽医专美诚国际教育学院
地址：芜湖路387号
电话：
标签：学校,学院,国际学校
人气指数星
我要点评
合肥中锐国际学校
地址：经济技术开发区明珠广场
电话：
标签：中等教育,学校,国际学校
人气指数星
我要点评
中锐国际学校
地址：繁华大道286号
电话：382110
标签：学校,国际学校
人气指数星
我要点评
合肥光华国际学校
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Hi everybody
That's what I ｇｏｔ ｆｒｏｍ Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ Ｔｒａｎｓｌａｔｅ：
Anhui Medical Institute of International Education, U.S. Cheng
Address: No. 387 Wuhu Road
Phone:
Tags: schools, colleges, international schools
Click stars
I want to comment
Rui International School in Hefei
Address: Pearl Plaza Economic Development Zone
Phone:
Tags: secondary education, schools, international schools
Click stars
I want to comment
International School in sharp
Address: 286, bustling Boulevard
Tel: 382 110
Tags: schools, international schools
Click stars
I want to comment
Hefei Guanghua International School
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dont think there is enough foreign kids to support a international school in hefei,
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International schools are not just for foreigners, many Chinese send their precious darlings to them especially if they are planning to migrate or study at universities abroad.
I've assigned Rae a research task. Contact each of the schools for information on what they offer.
List your questions and I'll get Rae to gather the information.
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Hi Mike, questions are as follows:
1) What sort of curriculum does the school follow (Californian, Singaporean, Australian, British, International Baccalaureate, etc)
2) What is the ratio of staff to students?
3) How much (fees) per student?
4) What language are classes conducted in?
5) How many students (total and %) speak English as a native language.
I realise that some of this information will be hard to find but anything you can provide would be much appreciated.
Regards
Robert
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actually icalled the school today, that school is a world foreign language school, the teacher told me there r about 30 to fourty foreign kids at the school now, from different countries, he is not able to tell me the other information now, because the teacher who is in charge of this was not there, i need to go there to check then ican tell u more,
if u dont mind please tell me where u from
cheers
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Hi Rae
We are currently living in Brisbane Australia.
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Sorry to bring this old thread back, but where are the teachers from at these foreign schools?
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I guess I should say 'International Schools' and not 'foreign schools'.
By the way, I am pretty sure locals can NOT go to real international schools (it's against the law here in Shanghai and I think that is true for all of China, but I'm not sure). So I would imagine that if a school touted itself as being 'international' yet the student body was predominantly mainland Chinese (HK/Taiwan are not included in the law), then it's probably not a real international school.
Those of you in the know, correct me if I am wrong!
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Technically you are right YAC.
But just to clarify; locals can attend an international school up to the age of 5/6. Chinese law requires Chinese students to attend a Chinese school from Year 1. However, locals who are planning to move abroad often opt for international school education. They can do this by applying for a foreign passport/green card.
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Hello friends
Sorry to bring this back.. but I might move from Michigan, USA to Hefei in the really short term. I have the same main concern about International schools for my 6 yearl old twin daughters (finishing Kindergarden getting into 1st grade).. Was there any conclussion from all your reasearch or upgrade on current availability of these schools in Hefei ? I would really appreciate your input as this is key factor in my decision... Thanks Daniel
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Thank you very much for your response. Couple other questions
1. When you say Chinese schools help my child integrate into their program what does that mean? Is it that they set up some recovery classes, Chinese language classes, etc?
2. About Nanjing option. Is it common/ feasible for people to commute between these cities ? ( for example if I establish a house in Nanjing and my job is in Hefei). ?
Again, thanks again for your inputs
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Although there is no official International school, there are a few schools who offer western education programmes with foreign teachers.
168 is such a school where they offer American and British programmes. There is also a Canadian, French and German programme available.
My assistant is working on finding the relevent information.
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Sorry I was out for couple weeks.. I got caught with some travel... I really appreciate your inputs and any additional information is it became avaialble.. Thanks Daniel
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There are no reputable international schools in Hefei. Simply put, the expat community is too small to justify international schools. Hefei currently does have international programs in No. 1 and No. 8 high schools, but their quality is currently lacking compared to similar programs in first tier cities.
As Asussie Mike said, there are some 'International Schools' but as I said above, they are far from reputable. To clarify what I mean by reputable, they are not certified by any western organization nor do they belong to any international school accreditation program (i.e. IB Schools).
Some public schools in Hefei do have English language instruction, but again, these schools are not accredited by an western organization. You can send your child to a Chinese public school which will teach in English, but I would be highly skeptical of the quality of education. For example, there's no guarantee that the individual teaching your child has any qualifications or experience, it could just be some bloke looking for a year of fun in the sun.
I don't mean to put you off, only say that there doesn't exist in Hefei any school which meets any kind of western education quality. You can send your child to school, that is not an issue. The issue is that you may find yourself disappointed in the quality.
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In all fairness, the teachers I know who teach at some of these schools are qualified and experienced teachers in their subject areas.
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In all fairness, the teachers I know who teach at some of these schools are qualified and experienced teachers in their subject areas.
I know the teachers at No. 1 and No. 8 are qualified in their subject areas. The only other teachers I know are English Language School Teachers. I personally don't know of any foreign teachers at any Chinese elementary schools or middle schools in Hefei. Most of the qualified teachers I know are at high schools or the local colleges.
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There are not many who are qualified teachers in the general arena, I agree,
which is an issue for me as I have to compete with them, however my comment
was aimed at the schools offering the International programs as mentioned.
Some are Master and Phd qualified. I have to stick up for we who are qualified and experienced... ;D
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Hefei No. 1 High School. This is an accredited Canadian Offshore School (BC Program). Grades 10 and 11 are taught on campus in English according to the curriculum of British Columbia, and the teachers have credentials recognized by the BC Ministry of Education. In 2012-2013, there were about 100 students enrolled in the program. The total number of students in No. 1 High School is 7000. The school itself is located in Bin Hu, about 1 hour commute from the city center, which is why many students are boarders. http://www.hfyz.net/ 滨湖新区西藏路2356号 2356 Tibet Road, Lake District Ph:(0551)62911018 (Office) (0551)62911025 (Registry)
Hefei No. 8 Senior High School. This school has a Sino-US cooperative relationship with the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), a residential "magent" high school in the U.S. Students take mandatory courses in Math and English, with a range of other electives, according to the MSSM curriculum. Apparently, there are also ten advanced placement courses that integrate with first year study in US universities. Upon graduating, students effectively have a US high school diploma. All courses are taught by teachers registered in Western countries. In 2013 enrollment plan was for 90 students. Cost: about 80,000RMB/year (excl. books, accommodation and other costs). This is a direct link to the Internation Department of No. 8 Senior School http://www.hfbz.com/hfbznew/public/gjb.xp Hefei VIII Intl. Department (0551)63688811, academic affairs department (0551)63688983 合肥八中（新校区）国际部【行政楼3楼东办公室】Hefei VIII (New Campus) International Department Admin. Building, 3rd floor.
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Hefei No. 1 High School. This is an accredited Canadian Offshore School (BC Program). Grades 10 and 11 are taught on campus in English according to the curriculum of British Columbia, and the teachers have credentials recognized by the BC Ministry of Education. In 2012-2013, there were about 100 students enrolled in the program. The total number of students in No. 1 High School is 7000. The school itself is located in Bin Hu, about 1 hour commute from the city center, which is why many students are boarders. http://www.hfyz.net/ 滨湖新区西藏路2356号 2356 Tibet Road, Lake District Ph:(0551)62911018 (Office) (0551)62911025 (Registry)
Hefei No. 8 Senior High School. This school has a Sino-US cooperative relationship with the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), a residential "magent" high school in the U.S. Students take mandatory courses in Math and English, with a range of other electives, according to the MSSM curriculum. Apparently, there are also ten advanced placement courses that integrate with first year study in US universities. Upon graduating, students effectively have a US high school diploma. All courses are taught by teachers registered in Western countries. In 2013 enrollment plan was for 90 students. Cost: about 80,000RMB/year (excl. books, accommodation and other costs). This is a direct link to the Internation Department of No. 8 Senior School http://www.hfbz.com/hfbznew/public/gjb.xp Hefei VIII Intl. Department (0551)63688811, academic affairs department (0551)63688983 合肥八中（新校区）国际部【行政楼3楼东办公室】Hefei VIII (New Campus) International Department Admin. Building, 3rd floor.
I can tell you for a fact that both programs are no where near western educational quality. The issue isn't that the teachers aren't qualified, they are. The issue is that both programs are poorly executed. Many of the teachers have masters and/or certified in their subject areas. Again, I know for a fact that the foreign teachers are well qualified, that's not the issue. The issue is that both programs are highly mismanaged.
Students cannot and do not fail and transcripts from these schools are routinely forged. These schools currently have little to no academic rigor. Not to mention letters of recommendation are previewed by Chinese before they are sent to colleges the students are applying for.
Sure, the foreign staff is well educated and competent, but that means little when the schools don't hold themselves to any kind of academic standards.
I know that No. 1 and No. 8 are trying to clean up their act, but it's an uphill battle.
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My information is that a Canadian school was approved and instigated a decade ago but did not come to fruition. The government infrustructer/administration/funding was virtually completed but it didn't get off the ground.
Since then, the said pre-arrangements are there waiting for a new venture. A couple of years ago, it was said that a new Canadian venture has accepted the challenge and that an international school will be opening sometime this decade. Rumour has it that it may be opening around the same time as the subway opening. 2014-2017.
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New International School opened this Semester 2014
It's a Canadian School in 2 parts, 1 part for Chinese preparing to go abroad and the 2nd part is for foreign students using International curriculum.
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New International School opened this Semester 2014
It's a Canadian School in 2 parts, 1 part for Chinese preparing to go abroad and the 2nd part is for foreign students using International curriculum.
Where? As in, hosted in what school?
There's another American program at Hefei No. 1. For some reason, it's integrated into the Canadian program there. I'm not sure of the details, just that they have one class.
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This is an interesting topic for me because I work at a company that has a Primary School, Middle School, High School, and a University. The Primary School, Middle School, and High School are in Hefei.
The Primary school is working on starting a program that will help prepare the students for more of an international standard and the high school is going to start sending students to American colleges and universities.
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The only genuine international school in Hefei is the new Canadian International School (cish.com.cn).
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For now. :D
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I really wonder if there will ever been any more. The foreign population is small (According to the local newspaper, there are roughly 700 foreigners in Hefei) and the foreign population with children is even smaller. I honestly would be surprised if there were more than 50 families with school aged children.
I could imagine international high schools taking off over the next few years as Hefei's population and incomes grow, but true international schools, I doubt it. I just don't see the foreign population ever being large enough in Hefei to support multiple international schools.
It's more likely Dipont and other IB/A-Level high school agencies will make their way into Hefei.
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On the contrary, there was 8000 foreigners in Hefei as of 2012, 4000 have residency visas but only about 200-400 have foreign expart certificates.
Hefei was prevented from gaining foreign families because there was no true International school. Now that there is one here, more families will choose to come here instead of going to Nanjing, etc.
I've heard of at least 2 other International schools are being planned. A British one, possibly an American one and an Australian one.
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Although I live in Perth Western Australia, I want my children to be able to come to Hefei to stay (on and off) and get engaged in an kindergarten so they can master Mandarin and other skills while they are still young. When they reach year 1 primary then I'll see where I am with my life, and see if they will then do their schooling in Perth or whether they continue in Hefei.
I am currently based in Perth and the foreseeable future looks like I will continue to live in Perth with my wife while visiting Hefei as often as possible.
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The only international school is http://www.cish.com.cn/index.php?s=/Index/index/lan/E
I would expect to pay a ridiculous amount of money though. I know for high schools the tuition is above 80,000rMB/Yr
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Although I live in Perth Western Australia, I want my children to be able to come to Hefei to stay (on and off) and get engaged in an kindergarten so they can master Mandarin and other skills while they are still young. When they reach year 1 primary then I'll see where I am with my life, and see if they will then do their schooling in Perth or whether they continue in Hefei.
I am currently based in Perth and the foreseeable future looks like I will continue to live in Perth with my wife while visiting Hefei as often as possible.
Why are you guys travelling back and forth to Hefei?
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Right now I am based in Perth. I am from Perth. My wife is from Hefei. We live in Perth as I work there and she studied and now works in Perth.
We travel to Hefei as often as possible as she is from Hefei and have family there.
We are currently holidaying in Hefei until mid January.
I want my future children to do kindergarten in Hefei on and off. Probably six months Hefei and six months Perth do my future children can learn n appreciate Chinese language and culture.
Beyond that time when they start Primary school who knows? I could move to Hefei or maybe remain in Perth. Remaining in Perth is most likely the option we'll take.
I call Hefei home as my wife is from Hefei. I love it here in Hefei. Thank god for this forum.
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What nationality are your kids?
I think the best option would be some kind of Chinese Kindergarten.
Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of international schools in Hefei. I would either send my kid to Chinese Public School or move them back to U.S for school.
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The standard of both government and private kindergartens here varies widely. A small number have a good reputation and staff, but others have very lax standards and are basically child-minding services. These is no consistency in the quality of early childhood education here and it takes some local knowledge to weed out the good from the bad. Price of fees is not a good indication either. Also, some government kindergartens only accept kids who live within close proximity of the kindergarten.
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The standard of both government and private kindergartens here varies widely. A small number have a good reputation and staff, but others have very lax standards and are basically child-minding services. These is no consistency in the quality of early childhood education here and it takes some local knowledge to weed out the good from the bad. Price of fees is not a good indication either. Also, some government kindergartens only accept kids who live within close proximity of the kindergarten.
I don't think this would be a problem for TSS since his wife is a Hefei local.
I'm wondering how the nationality of the children affects the selection of kindergartens. Specifically, if the children don't have Hukou how (if at all) does it limit their educational chances in China? This I'm not clear about.
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Even if your wife is a local, it's still not easy getting your kids into the best kindergartens. There are waiting lists and you usually need guangxi. (I asked my wife, who is a kindergarten principal). With foreign children (where both parents are foreigners), it really comes down to calling around negotiating something with the individual kindergarten principal and owner. You'll find a few that are willing to accept foreign kids but a lot won't, esp. the government ones. Except perhaps for CISH, none will have any special training to handle early education of international kids. If one parent is Chinese, kindergartens are more open to accepting the children. Hukou isn't anything that can't be worked around through negotiation with the kindergarten.
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I see. Thanks for the information.
My wife is a PR of Australia, a Chinese citizen.
I am a citizen of Australia.
I think my future child will be born in Australia since we live n work in Perth.
We travel to Hefei as often as possible (at least once a year) to visit my wife's family.
When my future child is born I assume he/she would automatically get Australian citizenship as he/she would most likely be born in Perth and its father (me) is an Australian citizen.
Will my future son/daughter get Chinese citizenship as well because of his/her mother (my wife) being a Chinese citizen?
I think its easier to do anything in china if you're classified as a Chinese citizen. Just the same it's easier to do anything in Australia if you are a PR or citizen of Australia.
I hope my child can do kindergarten in China so he/she can quickly learn the language and culture before primary school. I think at primary school age my child will do education in Australia.
While in China my child will stay with his/her grandparents (my wife's parents). I won't be staying in Hefei with my child and neither will my wife as we got jobs in Perth (which are the source of income for us).
It just probably depends if they see my future child as a Chinese or Australian. I could register my child with the Chinese authorities to ensure my child is recognized as a Chinese.
It's a very foreign event for myself, my wife, and her family. Never before have we been down tho path. Whatever I learn n experience with this in the coming years I'll be sure to document it so people in the future can have a reference point.
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Will my future son/daughter get Chinese citizenship as well because of his/her mother (my wife) being a Chinese citizen?
No. This is because your wife is a Permanent Resident of Australia. The only way your child could be a Chinese citizen is if they were born in China, as long as your wife does not become an Australian Citizen.
However, under the Nationality Law it is still possible for a person to have dual nationality of China and another country at birth in some circumstances.
For example:
If they were born in China, to one Chinese-national parent, they are a Chinese national at birth (Article 4). If their other parent is a non-Chinese-national, they may acquire another nationality at birth by jus sanguinis from that parent.
If they were born outside China, to one or two Chinese-national parents who have not settled abroad, they are a Chinese national at birth (Article 5). They may acquire another nationality at birth by jus soli if they were born in a jus soli country, and/or they may acquire another nationality from their other parent (if only one parent was a Chinese national) by jus sanguinis.
However, one does not have Chinese nationality if their parents (with Chinese nationality) themselves settle permanently outside China. This means in general, most second generation overseas Chinese ("ABC" or "BBC") and most South East Asian nationals with Chinese ethnicity are not Chinese nationals.
From all of my research, the best option would be to have your child born in China. This would ensure them Chinese Citizenship and Australian Citizenship at birth. They would technically have dual citizenship until they become an adult which at that time they should be old enough to make a decision regarding which Citizenship they want to keep.
Trust me, I've done a ton of research on this topic as my wife and I are planning on having a child soon as well. We've decided to have our child born in China for the reasons mentioned above. They are guaranteed U.S and Chinese Citizenship at birth. They will be forced to choose later, but I figure that's something my kid can decide for him/herself. I don't want to force my kid into a corner.
It just probably depends if they see my future child as a Chinese or Australian. I could register my child with the Chinese authorities to ensure my child is recognized as a Chinese.
If you plan on having your child born in China, make sure you have a Chinese marriage certificate before your wife becomes pregnant. This allows you to register the birth with the proper authorities and guarantee Hokou for you children.
If your Child is born in Australia, the Chinese government will recognize them as Australian Citizens and you cannot register them as Chinese Citizens or anything of the like. To the Chinese Gov. they are foreigners.
Summary: If your kid is born in Australia, they are not Chinese and will never be Chinese. If your kid is born in China they have the option of being Chinese or Australian.
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If my wife gets pregnant in Australia but gives birth in China is that child then considered a Chinese Citizen?
I would then want my child to have dual citizenship. If he/she gets Australian citizenship will the Chinese government revoke (remove) his/her Chinese citizenship?
It sounds like a good plan to get my child dual citizenship until he is 18 and forced to make a decision either way.
To have the best of both worlds when having a childhood would be good I think. I assume China has no mandatory military service for the youth? Australia doesn't and I wouldn't want to subject him/her to that either.
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If my wife gets pregnant in Australia but gives birth in China is that child then considered a Chinese Citizen?
I think by the letter of the law, they would be. However, I'm not sure how they Hukou would work of it they would be eligible.
I'm not sure of the requirements for Hukou. My wife says that we must take our marriage certificate to the local community office once a doctor confirms she is pregnant in order to make sure our child has Hefei Hukou. This is what her parents told her though. I'm not sure of the exact requirements.
After some research I found this:
Hukou registration is the only symbol that BR has been carried out and completed, and Hukou registration is one of the most important components of the household management system in China. A child cannot acquire most of his or her rights without Hukou registration. The references that need to be provided when applying for BR include a medical birth certificate (MBC) issued by the Public Health (PH) department, a birth certificate (BC) issued by the Population and Family Planning (PFP) department, and the parents’ Hukou booklets or identity cards issued by Public Security (PS) departments.
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990197/
So, it appears that as long as the kid is born in China, they would be eligible for Hukou and would be a Chinese Citizen. It doesn't appear to matter where the conception actually took place.
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I will be moving to Hefei in a couple of months and would like to know about International Schools offering elementary education. I have heard about the Canadian International School, but I am wondering if there are others. I would appreciate receiving links to the schools websites, evaluations, opinions, etc. Thank you.
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The Canadian school is currently the only official International school although others are in the pipeline.
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The Canadian school is currently the only official International school although others are in the pipeline.
That's not quite true. It's the only K-12 International School, but it's not the only official one. No. 6, No. 8, No. 1, plus Ru'An, and the Canadian School all are international programs, just not K-12.
The Canadian School is the only one that offers Elementary Education. There will be a new K-12 American Program in a few years.
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Yes they have international programs but they are not international schools.
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Hefei No. 1 has American students. Granted, they're dual passport holders, but the point still stands. I can't speak for No. 6 or No. 8.
Also, I thought Ru'An was Korean? Aren't most of the students there Korean?
The school with the largest foreign passport holder population is the Canadian School. That is true.