Summary:
Cambridge International Examinations recently announced that the number of candidates for its A-Level, AS and IGCSE qualifications had increased by 15 per cent in 2016 over the previous year. This reflects a rapid increase in the number of Chinese school students following an international high school curriculum. Previous trends have shown that virtually all of these students are likely to study in overseas universities.

According to a recent report in the Global Times (a major English-language newspaper in China), there are now over 154,000 students attending international schools in China, which has increased rapidly from only 56,500 such students in 2011. Most of these students are now Chinese citizens, as the number of expatriate families in the country has stagnated while the number of Chinese families that can afford international school fees has increased greatly. These students make up a significant fraction of the Chinese students who go abroad at the undergraduate level – according to a report published by New Oriental, one of the largest agents in the Chinese market, 21 per cent of the school students applying to study abroad had studied in the international class at a public or private school.

These students must follow the Chinese curriculum during their 9-year compulsory education, meaning that demand for an international school curriculum is highest at the high school level (ages 15-18). Common curriculums include the International Baccalaureate and the US AP curriculum as well as A-levels. The advantages of international school are seen as access to overseas universities as well as a broader curriculum with less pressure than China’s high-stakes Gaokao examination.

This demand is increasingly being met by domestic private international schools, partly because of restrictions on ‘international streams’ at public high schools introduced in the last few years. It is also in line with a broader increase in private education in China, which is encouraged in the most recent five-year plan.

Analysis by Kevin Prest and Liu Xiaoxiao:
Virtually all students at international high schools in China intend to study an undergraduate degree abroad. As Chinese students are admitted to local universities based on their scores in the national university entrance examination (Gaokao) the choice to follow an international curriculum effectively rules out domestic higher education. In addition, the high tuition fees at international schools show that families can afford to invest in their children’s education.

This naturally means that international schools are an attractive market for undergraduate recruitment, and UK universities should try to build links with these schools. Students at these schools often consider universities in different countries regardless of the specific international curriculum they are studying, so UK universities should not concentrate entirely on A-level schools to the exclusion of those following the IB or AP curriculum.

This demand for international schools also creates opportunities for UK private schools to work with Chinese partners to establish a joint school in China. Some Chinese international schools also cooperate with overseas schools in other ways, allowing students to study domestically for a period before completing their high school programme abroad.

Sources:
1. http://english.caixin.com/2016-06-14/100954617.html
2. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/996063.shtml
3. “2016 White Book of China’s Study Abroad”, New Oriental: http://liuxue.xdf.cn/special/event/2016_white_book/
4. http://shanghai.xinmin.cn/msrx/2016/08/21/30350076.html
5. http://2016.163.com/16/0817/14/BUM6JH5B00050IU4.html