Internationalising Hwa Chong
Teaching Singapore-style in China
One of Singapore's top schools, Hwa Chong International School (HCIS), is making an ambitious foray overseas as it brings its famed brand of education to China.
It will take over and manage two new schools in China's Hui Yang District, which is in the southern Guangdong Province.
The first is an international school meant solely for foreign students, while the other is a local institution that will cater to both Chinese and foreign students.
The first intake of 250 Primary 1 students in both schools will begin their classes in September this year, said lawyer Robson Lee, secretary of Hwa Chong's board of trustees.
"We are confident of expanding the intake to 1,000 students in three years' time, and that's because all the infrastructure is in place and the demand is there," he said.
At the signing ceremony yesterday, Mr Lee said that HCIS would receive an initial signing fee of US$200,000 ($320,000), followed by an annual fee of US$250,000, for managing the two schools.
All the money will be pumped back into HCIS to improve the existing infrastructure, as well as for any new future developmental costs.
The foreign school, named CSPC International School, has been up and running since 2003 and is a joint venture between the China National Offshore Oil Cooperation and Shell.
Students as young as four can enrol for the international primary curriculum there, while plans are in place to offer either the International Baccalaureate or the British GCSC curriculum for secondary education. HCIS intends to place additional emphasis on subjects like maths, science and Chinese culture into the timetable.
The local school, called Huizhou Hua Zhong School, is newly-set up and will offer a curriculum taught in both English and Mandarin.
For a start, HCIS will be sending a total of four staff members to Hui Yang where they will play a key role in teaching and overseeing the entire operations of both schools.
The long-term goal is to see "students in both schools in China being able to complete their higher secondary education right here at Hwa Chong," said Mr Lee.
In the pipeline are student exchange programmes for both HCIS students here and students in China, as well as a host of enrichment activities and summer camps to foster more cross-cultural interaction.
One of Singapore's top schools, Hwa Chong International School (HCIS), is making an ambitious foray overseas as it brings its famed brand of education to China.
It will take over and manage two new schools in China's Hui Yang District, which is in the southern Guangdong Province.
The first is an international school meant solely for foreign students, while the other is a local institution that will cater to both Chinese and foreign students.
The first intake of 250 Primary 1 students in both schools will begin their classes in September this year, said lawyer Robson Lee, secretary of Hwa Chong's board of trustees.
"We are confident of expanding the intake to 1,000 students in three years' time, and that's because all the infrastructure is in place and the demand is there," he said.
At the signing ceremony yesterday, Mr Lee said that HCIS would receive an initial signing fee of US$200,000 ($320,000), followed by an annual fee of US$250,000, for managing the two schools.
All the money will be pumped back into HCIS to improve the existing infrastructure, as well as for any new future developmental costs.
The foreign school, named CSPC International School, has been up and running since 2003 and is a joint venture between the China National Offshore Oil Cooperation and Shell.
Students as young as four can enrol for the international primary curriculum there, while plans are in place to offer either the International Baccalaureate or the British GCSC curriculum for secondary education. HCIS intends to place additional emphasis on subjects like maths, science and Chinese culture into the timetable.
The local school, called Huizhou Hua Zhong School, is newly-set up and will offer a curriculum taught in both English and Mandarin.
For a start, HCIS will be sending a total of four staff members to Hui Yang where they will play a key role in teaching and overseeing the entire operations of both schools.
The long-term goal is to see "students in both schools in China being able to complete their higher secondary education right here at Hwa Chong," said Mr Lee.
In the pipeline are student exchange programmes for both HCIS students here and students in China, as well as a host of enrichment activities and summer camps to foster more cross-cultural interaction.