Schools in ningbo and Hangzhou

I teach at Ningbo Binhai International Cooperative School which is a boarding school outside of Ningbo. All of our HS curriculum is in English, with honors and AP classes. Class sizes are small, students are talented, dedicated and resourceful, as are the faculty. PM if you'd like to hear more about it.

Our kids go to NBIS, which is an international school for foreign passport holders only, it follows the Australian curriculum. It's pretty good, if you need more info let me know.

Thanks for your answers. We have been looking at the huamao international school, nbhis, for the IB education. Anyone who has experience?

Hi,
We heard mixed feedback on Huamao, some like it others not.
If you want to immerse your kids in Chinese language and culture it is good, the classes are 99% Chinese, so as a foreigner it can be tough. So depends, if your kids speak fluently Chinese they will get along, if not, they will be outsiders.
NBIS is mostly foreigners and some Chinese with HK passports.

Hello once more,

To clarify, the classes at Huamao are all in English, what I meant is that the students are 99% Chinese Nationals. Just thought I mention this to clarify :-)

ok, thanks that was what I thought you meant. We would preferre a school with more international students. We are planning to visit the international school in Hangzhou. Anyone who has experiance?

I am curious to hear about the international school in Hangzhou, from what I heard it also has a very low % of international students, but last time I heard about was years ago. There will be a Maple Leaf International school near Jiaxing, but I think it is not completed until 2017.

Hi

My name is Phil Billing, from the UK.  Newly appointed Principal of Ningbo International School.  I visited the school in February and stayed in Ningbo for a few days.

I am delighted to be taking the lead of an excellent school.  I found that it is a family-friendly school, with a truly international clientele, excellent teaching and learning, and a highly active Parent Teacher Association.  The current Principal is leaving after 6 years of excellent service. 

I'm excited because in August, the school will move to a brand new campus with much improved facilities.  It's relationship with the 'umbrella' Chinese school gives NBIS a strong connection with the host country, culture and language.  But the school has a high degree of autonomy and is able to keep and develop its international ethos.

The school also has an active connection with the Nottingham University Campus in the city and this relationship is likely to develop for mutual benefit.

I strongly recommend that, if you're going to be located in Ningbo, you take a look at the school and see if it suits your children's needs.

Hi everyone,

@ Phil, could you please recommend/register your school in the business directory under the Education in China section ?

This will surely be beneficial for members.

All the best,
Bhavna

Hi Starflip,

You made a good pitch for the NBIS, that is for sure.
My kids have been going there now for 2 years, and yes mostly the experiences are good.
Since you will be the new Principle, and Mackie before did a good job, we wish you the best!
However, as usual, there are always points to improve on,
1) PTA and SAC groups
Both misuse these groups to get lower admission fee's, and move their children to teachers or students that they prefer. This is something you should have a close look at.
Both groups, the PTA and the SAC should have a mandatory rotation of members as it is now the longest serving members try to use the groups for their own advantages.
2) Moving to a new campus is exciting and we all look forward to it.
But NBIS should hire their own independent testing agency to check the soil, and not rely on the Chinese owner to provide a test report. The new school is located in a previous zone that "only" had factories, so a deep soil test must be made, since all new trees, bushes and other vegetation will absorb what was dumped by the previous owners.
3) School fees
Try to keep school fees reasonable, as this directly influences many parents on where to enroll their child, of course now since the school has more students and is moving to a new campus, the fees were increased for the 2016/2017 school year.

I hope you can find time in your busy schedule to consider the above points.
Welcome to Ningbo!

Hi Phil thanks for your answer. We visited NBIS and three other schools when we were in Ningbo three weeks ago. The whole family preferred NBIS so we have sent the application for our children. Now we are very excited to soon move to Ningbo.

Hi. we arrived Ningbo few days back and my son is 4 years old.... but we are living near Ningbo University. How far NIS will be from Ningbo University?
Do you know any International school (American or UK curriculum) near Ningbo University, Zhongguan West Road, Zhenhai District, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo

Welcome to Ningbo! We really like it here and are also very happy with our choice of school. NBIS is not so far from the university. They both are located in the north east part of the city. You just need to cross the river. I'm guessing 6-7 km. It's located on Yangfan road Jiangdong district.