Mr.Yingping Xie
Mr.Yingping Xie - Honorary Principal of Shanghai Concord
Explore Best Way of Combining Chinese and UK Education.
As the first Honorary Principal of Shanghai Concord, I often think about our mission, that is, what are the characteristics we are looking for in establishing a premier bilingual school in
Shanghai’s central district? My answer is the exploration of the best way to combine Chinese and UK education.
The first question we must consider is whether we only focus on achieving excellent grades, like many other schools do, or whether we concentrate on delivering a well-rounded education to our
students. The answer can be found in Shanghai Concord’s motto, which is to develop students who strive for excellence in all that they do and in all that they are. Our school's management team
and teachers must be clearly aware that the motto is the core principle which drives our direction and goal and which will encourage us to perfect our education philosophy, teacher-student
relationship and value system.
Secondly, how do we balance the solid academic foundation required by the Chinese education system and the creativity encouraged by the western system? In an era where technology is constantly
evolving, it is obviously not enough to learn what is in the textbook. We must offer our students wider platforms and richer curriculum. We need focus on the cultivation of their learning
interest, good learning attitude, habit and methods so that our education can benefit their whole lifetime.
In addition, we need to diversify and modernise our curriculum, encourage the use of the Internet as a means of teaching, enlarge the learning venue, facilitate the communication between teachers
and students, and personalise teaching evaluations.
Last but not least, as a bilingual school, our High School needs to introduce the advanced educational concept as well as well-established and successful curriculum from the UK’s top
universities under the premise that this is permitted by our government. I believe that such cooperation will bring new ideas and experience which will consequently promote the reform of
China’s education system and contribute to the nation’s aim of building a community of shared future for human beings.
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Dr Paul Silverwood
Dr Paul Silverwood – Executive Principal, SCBS
SCBS comprises three campuses and offers an integrated bilingual education to over 1000 boarders and day students from the city of Shanghai and beyond. We share the same ethos as our sister school, Concord College UK, namely that we promote ‘Harmony, Decency and Trust’ throughout our community, and are dedicated to teaching with ‘Rigour, Kindness and Creativity’.
Our priority will always be to deliver academic excellence and a learning environment in which all members of our community are able to strengthen both body and mind and foster virtue and talent.
In our Primary and Middle Schools, we deliver the national curriculum, alongside an education in global literacy, through which students are not only able to become confidently bilingual, but able to work collaboratively, to think creatively, to engage with challenges, and to think critically.
In the High School, we personalise learning, enabling our students to acquire thinking skills and take on responsibilities. We provide leadership opportunities and strong and effectual mechanisms for the student voice. We encourage independent thought through open questions in lessons and private study and we reward innovation.
We provide numerous opportunities through the House system for students to play a role in the development of their peers. We dedicate time to one-to-one tutorials, providing opportunities for students to reflect on their progress and achievements, set new goals and develop the skills of self-appraisal and improvement. We teach students that to improve they must take intellectual risks, learn from failures, develop resilience and the confidence to try new approaches to problem solving, and we stress the importance of developing strong relationships and the benefits of collaboration through working in teams and on joint projects.
Our young people acquire global knowledge and an international outlook. They can deal with a fast pace of change and able to demonstrate adaptability, show self-initiative and enjoy challenges. It is our aim that every child graduating from SCBS should be impressively bilingual and well-prepared to enter the very best universities around the world. We seek to extend the learning of all our students when they demonstrate a passion for a particular field.
As a young school, we are very proud of our examination results and graduate destinations, with 65% of A-Levels awarded an A or A* grade, and 54% of our alumni studying at the world’s top 30 ranked universities (100% at the world’s top 100), in the UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and Singapore.
However, the education we provide is far more than just a focus on examination results. Academic success is contingent upon the development of personal character. We want our students to grow in confidence, to take responsibility for their learning and decisions, and become independent young men and women, who will share their knowledge, skills, interests and time; who will care for their local environment and global issues; who will celebrate the successes of others; and who will contribute to making the world a better, fairer and more caring place.
In the words of Nelson Mandela, after whom one of our Houses is named: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. And it is this passion for education that we will give to our students as they progress through SCBS.
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Mr. Neil Hawkins
Mr. Neil Hawkins - Principal of Concord College UK
Concord College is a very special place. As England’s premier international school, it is a school in which young people can flourish, find confidence and a sense of self-worth whilst achieving the very highest
academic standards.
Parents can also be assured that Concord’s secure and beautiful rural campus is a safe and healthy place for any child to grow. Concord is also a warm, calm and friendly community in which
values of trust and decency are shared between staff and students in a mature atmosphere of mutual respect. If you have a chance to visit, you will see a lot of smiling faces.
Academically, the results speak for themselves. Not only do Concord students produce astonishing IGCSE and A level performances, but they also go on to attend top universities in the UK and
around the world. Concord is annually ranked extremely highly in UK school league tables and has been rated ‘exceptional’ by the UK’s Independent Schools Inspectorate (2013).
'When you join Concord, you are not just joining us for a few years: you are joining the Concord community that stretches around the globe and across the generations. We are therefore delighted
to be able to extend this sense of family, by sharing our expertise and experience with Shanghai Concord Bilingual School. We look forward to working closely with them in the years ahead and
seeing the good name of Concord in the heart of Shanghai.'
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