The Opportunities and Challenges of Developing Schools in China

The Opportunities and Challenges of Developing a British or US School in China

By Richard Gaskell

The international schools market in China is a unique one. Although strict restrictions apply for local children to attend foreign-owned schools, there’s an increasing demand for English-medium, western-oriented education by Chinese families.

The market in China today

According to the latest data from the International School Consultancy (ISC), there are currently 480 English-medium international schools in China meeting the learning needs of over 312,000 students, most of who are the children of expatriates and foreign passport holders. The majority of these schools are located in China’s tier 1 cities such as Beijing and Shanghai which attract the multinationals and their expatriate employees.

However, the current Market Intelligence Report for China from ISC states that the aspiration of Chinese families for an English-medium, internationally-oriented education is fuelling demand. This is resulting in the development of a range of international schools including those that involve partnerships between a Chinese owner and a foreign school brand, and bilingual schools with a decidedly international flavour.

China’s range of international schools

There are three distinct types of international school that are allowed by China’s Ministry of Education:

1. Schools for children of foreign workers (SCFW) provide international education for the expatriate community and are also accessible to the children of Chinese families who have a foreign passport. These pure international schools, which may be foreign owned and operated, are not allowed to enrol Chinese nationals.
2. Sino-Foreign Cooperative Schools are joint ventures between Chinese owners and a foreign education company or school, but are restricted to secondary and higher education. The foreign organisation typically provides the educational brand and skills, while the Chinese partner provides the land and financial investment. Both foreign and Chinese students can attend these schools.
3. Chinese owned private schools are able to provide bilingual provision. An increasing number of Chinese/English bilingual private schools are opening which have a distinctly international focus, particularly in their high school curriculum, and many offer international examinations and diplomas. These schools mostly serve Chinese students.

These developments, says ISC’s Market Intelligence Report for China, are changing the shape of the international schools market and present opportunities for operators to move into, or expand within the country.  Chinese parties with the right connections are well positioned to gain from these opportunities. They play an essential role, but are also well positioned to exploit foreign partnerships that are unprepared. 

Wellington College is one example of a British school that has found a Chinese partner who fully supports and values its brand.

Expanding Wellington College in China

Wellington opened its first school in Tianjin, China in 2011. A second school was established in Shanghai in 2014. “China is a very good location because of the growth in its economy, prominence and people; it’s an open-minded and optimistic place to be,” says Director of International Business Development at Wellington College, Helen Kavanagh. But, she adds, “Having the right local partner to develop a school is so important. You need to be philosophically aligned, to be like-minded, and to understand very clearly your specific roles within the partnership.”

Wellington’s two schools in China reflect much of the DNA of Wellington UK, not only in environment and infrastructure, but in learning and teaching.  “Keeping the Wellington identity strong, the quality assurance, and ensuring accountability to the governing body in the UK who are responsible for the schools, is vital,” says Helen. For Wellington this meant finding the right partner, which took several years. The right partner then found the right developer. “This was someone willing to build to our high standard specifications and understood their expertise was as the builder, allowing us to get on with the purpose of education,” explains Helen, who emphasises that agreeing this clarity of roles and responsibilities from the start is crucial. “Often it’s promised, but then there’s interference along the way, especially if you have an investor who just wants to get their money in and out as quickly as possible, so starts cutting corners. Then problems start to occur.”  

Wellington’s current schools in China are only available for the children of expatriates and foreign passport holders. “Many Chinese nationals would love their children to attend, but they’re not allowed to enrol. We could fill our places ten times over with locals,” says Helen.

HD Ningbo - Chinese owned with British influence

A school already following an international education model, that meets the requirements to accept Chinese nationals, is HD Ningbo School located in Zhejiang province. The school is bilingual and, by offering a dual curriculum which is part Chinese in the junior school, restrictions have been lifted allowing local Chinese students to attend.

The owner and chairman is Tao Sun whose inspiration for the school was to provide a globally-oriented education for his two sons. “I wanted my kids to be Chinese, to know who they are, but to learn with a global perspective and to be fully prepared for western university,” he says. “If you want your child to have many options for world-class universities, and if you want them to survive, thrive and succeed there, then they need to start learning and speaking English as soon as they can.”

HD Ningbo is a bilingual K-12 school. Primary children are taught Chinese and Maths by Chinese teachers using the Chinese language. All other subjects at primary are taught in English by international staff. From year 10, students study for IGCSEs, predominantly in English and they learn entirely in English for A-levels.

The school partners with UK independent school, Hurtwood House for its high school learning and teaching approach, and much of its education philosophy. As a result, unlike many schools in China, HD Ningbo is not entirely preoccupied with passing exams. “Our learning also focuses on character building so we provide a lot of extra-curricular activities,” explains Tao. “We borrow the idea of the house system, team sports and music from UK education to help our children learn team spirit and resilience; that’s a very important part of our learning. Many children come to our school because our English component provides the best education in the world, with good discipline, educational heritage, and with qualities and qualifications that are respected by universities in the US and Canada, as well as Britain.”

Developing the right partnership

Both Wellington and HD Ningbo have benefited from successful British/China partnerships and specialists in the market stress the importance of this too.  Arlo Kipfer, China Business Specialist with international law firm Harris Moure, which assists education organisations with their legal establishment in China, says “starting a private school in China is actually very difficult, even under the best circumstances. Time and again, our clients and the local Chinese side misunderstand the laws involved in such businesses.” Arlo says that both the foreign and the local party need to know the relevant regulations early in the process. “That means determining which type of school each party is intending to establish,” he adds. “The foreign party must choose if it intends to retain full operational control of the school, or is willing to share control of the school with its Chinese partner.”

Rick Johnson of EduReach, which supports British schools opening abroad, including the sourcing and interfacing between UK and local partners, says “the basic challenge is, do you trust your partner? Not easy to assess because they don’t play by our rules. Developers might undercut the price and be prepared to cut the local partner out of the deal. Local investors might claim to have land when they don’t; they negotiate with the local government once they find interested parties. Trademark theft is rife; there are a number of British schools that have probably not realised they’ve already lost their own name in China.” In addition, Rick says that language, time change, culture, regulations, costs, land sourcing, recruitment, marketing and building design are all very  different.

The way forward

Today there is a growing demand by wealthier Chinese families to send their children to the best quality private education, that prepares them well for western university. Bilingual schools and Sino-Foreign Cooperative Schools are considered the best opportunities for British and US independent schools wanting to respond to this demand and have a presence in China. “One thing to be wary and respectful of is that it isn’t the UK (nor the US), and forcing our style of education into another country won’t work,” advises Rick Johnson. “Translation of ethos and principles with a local flavour is a better way to think about how schools from the UK and US can operate successfully in China and internationally.”

Sino/foreign partnerships - Advice from the experts

Developing an international school partnership has its challenges. Those who have experienced success share their advice:

Tao Sun says: “A strong local partner, who speaks very good English, shares your values and recognises the expertise that you can bring, and can help you navigate the complex China system is vital – but hard to find. Talk to schools that are already well established. Find an independent advisor with a very good track, and use the Embassy; they know the local market and understand the qualities that a British brand can bring.”

Helen Kavanagh says: “If your school promises something and it’s not actually who you are, the partnership will fail. And if you think you’ve explained who you are and you’re misunderstood, there will likely be problems down the line. So it’s having clarity of who you are, what your school stands for, and what you are going to deliver that is essential.”

Arlo Kipfer says: “Though setting up a Sino-Foreign Cooperative School is in many ways similar to a standard joint venture agreement, there are enough intricacies involved to warrant special care during the establishment process.”

Rick Johnson says: “One of the most common mistakes is UK or US schools thinking that they can do it themselves! Opening a school abroad can take a serious amount of time and effort and it’s a specialised industry. Generally the big mistakes come in understanding how to negotiate the contracts, how to design a school from scratch, and how to choose a good opportunity in the first place.”

For more information on the China International School Market:

Please contact : Richard Gaskell - Director for International Schools 

Email - [email protected] - Tel : +66 85 957 1410

EduReach: www.edureach.co.uk  HarrisMoure: www.harrismoure.com  Wellington College China: www.wellingtoncollegeintl.cn   HD Ningbo School: www.hdningbo.org