Last Friday morning, our Yew Chung International School of Beijing campus was abuzz with anticipation as students, teachers and staff were preparing themselves to tune in to a live video broadcast uniting all Yew Chung International School (YCIS) and Yew Wah International Education School (YWIES) campuses across the globe. Our network of schools gathered to honour and commemorate our School Founder, Madam Tsang Chor-hang, by hosting exciting activities across our Honglingjin campus and the sports fields,  such a singing “Hello, Nihao from Beijing” created by our music teacher, Gordon Robb, and playing sports games.

From Hong Kong to Qingdao, students were clad in their house T-shirts, ready to showcase their skills and talents with performances and songs, a true commemoration of our founder and Yew Chung Foundation’s 87th anniversary.

Yew Chung’s LegacyThe legacy of Yew Chung Education dates back to 1932 when Madam Tsang Chor-hang, at the age of 16, founded in Hong Kong the very first Kindergarten and Primary School of what has today become a renowned network of pioneering schools. Our founder had a unique vision that was anchored by values and principles which sought to nurture citizens with a global perspective and to educate students beyond the classroom walls.

After finishing her studies in the US, Dr. Betty Chan Po-king, Madam Tsang’s daughter, took over from her mother and continued Yew Chung’s commitment to quality education. Leading the reform in Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong, she promoted the pioneering concept of the open classroom and introduced the idea of learning through play. In response to the dynamic education landscape, in the 70’s, the school adopted a more modern approach.

During the 1990s, the success of YCIS in Hong Kong brought about invitations to open sister schools in Shanghai and Beijing to meet the needs of the expatriate community in Mainland China. Since then, the Yew Chung group has grown consistently and has become a network of International Schools based over 20 locations across Hong Kong, Mainland China and the USA.

Yew Chung's Pioneering International Education SystemYew Chung is recognized as one of the most innovative international schools introducing a new education system, where "international" is not defined as ‘Western’ but it is a combination of the best of the Eastern and Western cultures and implemented through a pioneering model of bilingual and co-cultural education and a unique model of Co-Principalship and Co-Teaching. “Our vision was to create a new type of citizen for the 21st century, where the acquisition of the two dominant cultures is essential.” said Dr. Betty Chan, now our CEO and School Supervisor,

Entering the 21st CenturyOver the last 87 years the Foundation has had numerous milestones which have fulfilled our dedication to being pioneers in the education domain. In recent months, we have seen the opening of the first Yew Hua Infant Toddler Discovery Centre in Shanghai, the opening of the first YCIS Kindergarten and Culture Centre in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, and the graduation of the first cohort of students from our Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education.The group’s commitment to Early Childhood Education remains fundamental as “The first eight years of life is the most critical period of the child’s development. The brain develops the quickest during this time and positive stimulation through the child’s interactions with other people and experience of the world around them can lay a healthy foundation for the future development and life success.” Stated Dr. Chang during her speech at our Founder Day celebrations at our sister school Yew Wah in Yantai celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year.

Yew Chung’s Dedicated EducatorsThe success of the Yew Chung Yew Wah network is attributed to the continuous support from our stakeholders including our devoted educators who see to the implementation of the various schools’ mission, principles and values, academic excellence, respect for cultures, bilingualism and character formation amongst others. With their dedication, we have created environments that are conducive to learning.

Happy 87th anniversary to Yew Chung. To many more years of leadership in the promotion of true international education, intercultural understanding and global citizenship from Early Childhood to Tertiary.

To view images from our Founder's Day celebrations, click here.

To watch our Founder's Day Video, click here.