Yan zhen and Zhou Jinglu/Shanghai Daily news
With a growing number of foreigners moving to Shanghai to live and work,
international schools around the city are expanding their campuses and updating
their curriculums to adapt to growing and changing demands.
When yew Chung
International School Shanghai, one of the oldest international schools in the
city, began its new semester on August 24 it launched a new program for students
from non-English-speaking countries.
The program will focus on improving the
English-language skills of students who aren't native speakers. The students
will take various classes, including math, computer science, art and physical
education.
"As the number of students who learn English as a second language
has grown in recent years, international schools are facing great pressure to
deliver an international curriculum in English," said Adam Neufield, an
admissions official with the school.
About 2,000 students have enrolled with
YCIS for the fall semester, about half of whom are from non-English-speaking
countries, such as Japan and South Korea.
To meet the demand of a growing
student body, YCIS is expanding both its Puxi and Pudong campuses.
The
school's Hongqiao campus, its oldest branch in the city, has just finished the
first-phase reconstruction. After a new building is finished in about a year,
the Hongqiao campus will handle all early childhood classes, while its Gubei
campus will handle grades 7 to 13.
The german and French International School
opened classes at its new campus on Zhuguang Road in Qingpu District last
week.
About 1,500 students are expected to study on the 50,000-square-meter
campus this year. The campus actually houses two schools, one for French
students and one for German children, with separate principals and teachers, but
it is run as one school.
"There were only four children in our school 10
years ago. But as Shanghai underwent a dynamic change recently, more foreigners
are moving to the city with their families," said Jurgen Schumann, principal of
the German school.
The schools offer classes from kindergarten to high
school.
Shanghai british International School also opened its new Puxi branch
in suburban Minhang District for the fall semester.