During the month of November, Yew Chung International School of Beijing received two special recognitions that highlight the excellence both of the school’s guiding philosophies and curriculum, as well as the school’s leadership team.  At the 11th annual Tencent Education Awards, YCIS Beijing was named as one of the 18 Most Influential Schools in China for 2017.  Chinese Co-Principal Christine Xu was meanwhile included in a competition by New School Insight (NSI) to honour the most influential international school principals in China.  Through the online voting system, Ms Xu received over 170,000 votes and ranked as the 4th Most Influential Principal in all of Mainland China!  

Ms Xu has been with YCIS Beijing for 20 years, where she began her career as a Chinese Co-Teacher and Chinese Curriculum Coordinator. She then entered her current role as Chinese Co-Principal in 2008.  During her time at YCIS Beijing, Ms Xu has become one of the most beloved and respected educators in the international school community throughout China.

Following the awards ceremony, Ms Xu sat down for an interview with Tencent Education. Through exerts from her interview, she discusses the changes she’s witnessed in international education during the past 20 years, as well as YCIS Beijing’s own advantages when compared to other international schools in China – including its bilingual and bicultural programmes and its innovative new Learning Communities. 

What is YCIS Beijing’s special advantage compared to other schools?

Twenty years ago, when international education was a fresh concept in China, YCIS Beijing had already established two of the cornerstones of the school’s guiding philosophy: an emphasis on the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, and the importance of bilingual education.

Now, in 2017, international education is no longer a new concept, and opportunities for students to receive an international education are no longer limited.  In fact, many schools have also adopted these two educational philosophies as a part of their own selling points. 

Yet, while YCIS Beijing is no longer one of the only schools to occupy this space, because our mission and direction has been in place for more than 20 years in Beijing, the accumulated experience allows our school to remain the leader in the fields of bilingual and bicultural education.

What is the current state and focus of YCIS Beijing in 2017?

There are three main areas that best describe the current focus and growth of our school:

1 – Learning Communities. This is a new learning concept in international education, which not only refers to opportunities for increased collaboration between students, but also to the deliberate design and use of physical space in order to enhance student learning.  This is the first year that YCIS Beijing has fully implemented the concept of Learning Communities throughout our ECE kindergarten, Primary, and Secondary sections.

2 – Enriched Bilingual Education. Every year, there are more and more Chinese families in Beijing who have lived abroad and are now returning to China. Though they have foreign passports, many of these students already speak excellent Chinese, and their families greatly value the depth and breadth of our Chinese language and culture programme.  Because YCIS Beijing emphasizes both Chinese and English language and culture – and our students excel in both areas of study – our school is preferred by many returning Chinese families.

3 – Character Education.  Our school also places a special emphasis on students having strong values and morals.  Successful education not only supports the development of students’ knowledge and skills, but also imbues a sense of social responsibility and a caring attitude towards others.  This will in turn help students in overcome the social, ethical, and cultural challenges that they will begin to face as they grow up.  Our dedicated Character Education Programme therefore paves the path for students to enjoy lifelong success.