A challenging two-year study program is preparing students of the British International School in Pudong, Shanghai for entry into the top universities around the world.

 

The British International School has been running the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program since September at its Pudong campus.

 

BISS Pudong received accreditation from the International Baccalaureate Organization last February to offer the IB Diploma Program. The school is now a member of the global family of IB World Schools who meet the required standards for teaching and learning and are thus authorized to deliver IB programs.

 

Its sister campus in Puxi, Shanghai is currently going through the same IBO accreditation process and will be ready to offer the program starting in September.

 

The IB Diploma Program is a two-year program for students aged 16 to 19. It is a challenging, international, pre-university curriculum. Around the world there are 1,487 schools in 124 countries and regions offering the diploma program. The program is well on the way to becoming the preferred choice for universities and employers alike, as the curriculum develops a much more balanced skill set.

 

Currently at the Pudong campus there are 28 students in the first year of the program and numbers for the next school year look very promising with over 35 students already expected to join.

 

According to Mark Upton, Director of Education Shanghai, Nord Anglia Plc (BISS' parent company): "The school's cohort of students reflects the international expatriate community in Shanghai. They come from the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, Canada, Thailand, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Finland and Denmark."

 

"No one country predominates, allowing the school to be truly international and to develop in its students and community the spirit that is such an important part of the International Baccalaureate Organization's mission."

 

The Pudong campus is currently undergoing a large scale planned expansion of its facilities. These include two new teaching classroom blocks, a sports hall, a 25- meter swimming pool and a 700-seat theater.

 

These state-of-the-art resources will be ready for use in September.

 

The new facilities will allow the school to add to its already comprehensive course offerings for its IB Diploma Program.

 

Trevor Gale, IB Diploma Program coordinator, adds: "Next September we will be able to offer four different sciences with the addition of design technology to the existing biology, chemistry and physics. With the new theater venue, theater arts are being added to music and visual arts in the creative subject group."

 

"Korean will also be added to the list of languages in the school, bringing the total number offered to six."

 

Gale said that in addition to the academic part of the IB Diploma Program, the school has a thriving "Creativity, Action and Service" program. Each student in the IB Diploma Program must complete 150 hours of these activities during his two-year IB course.

 

"The students have been involved in a number of projects including running clubs and activities for younger students, coaching sports teams and various charity projects," he said.

 

"The largest project undertaken thus far was a weeklong trip to a Guizhou Province village where the students constructed a new water pipeline, taught English and sports lessons to the primary school children and hiked over 25 kilometers in and out of the village."

 

To find out more about the British International Schools IB Diploma Program, please contact Trevor Gale at ibdp@bisspudong.com or visit the Website at www.bisspudong.com.

 

For the Puxi campus, contact Simon Scott at s-scott@bisspuxi.com or at the Website at www.bisspuxi.com.

 

For admissions and other enquiries please contact:

 

Sue Weston (Pudong) Tel: 5812-7455 ext 203

 

E-mail:

 

admissions@bisspudong.com

 

Karen Jones (Puxi)

 

Tel: 5226-3211 ext 110

 

E-mail: enquiries@bisspuxi.com

 

(Shanghai Daily January 10, 2007)