Admissions FAQs

The British International School Shanghai was founded in 2004 serving and educating the international community for 14 years.

Our school is comprised of four divisions—Early Years, Primary School, Secondary School, IB Academy—with separate flexible learning spaces for each. Our campus has beautiful grounds and environmentally-friendly buildings, with a state-of-the-art STEAM facility. 

The British International School Shanghai is accredited by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). In addition, we are accredited by the Edexcel and Cambridge International Examinations boards.

BISS Puxi hires only highly qualified, motivated and experienced staff who are able to develop young minds and help ensure our students become skilled and creative thinkers. The majority of our teachers are from the UK, with a few specialist teachers from other countries and a strong Chinese team teaching Mandarin. 

Monday to Friday classes begin at 8.25am and end at 3.30pm. 

At The British International School Shanghai, Puxi we offer an amazing after school ECA programme for all students which runs from Monday to Thursday from 3.35pm to 4.30pm, and a paid activity programme which runs from 3.35pm to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday.

Our class sizes are:

• Early Years: Between 16 and 20 students per class with a teacher and teaching assistants. 
• Year 1 to Year 6:  Between 18 and 24 students per class  
• Year 7 to Year 13: Between 18 and 24 students per class

Our entry assessments ensure your child goes into the right class and correct ability groups from day one. These assessments act as a simple and quick check which enables us to meet an individual’s needs; it helps us spot talents or weaknesses that we will give special attention once the student joins BISS Puxi. We also assess the English ability of students who are non-native speakers to ensure they are able to access our curriculum with support from our EAL team. 

We accept applicants throughout the school year pending availability in the year level that the student is applying to and providing the student meets the criteria for admissions.

After completing the admissions process, we will communicate with you about a week after the student assessment (if required). 

The British International School Shanghai offers bus transportation to students in buses equipped with seatbelts and a bus monitor. Students enjoy a bus service to and from school. We also offer transportation for our after-school activities programme at 4:40pm.

At The British International School Shanghai we have a full-service cafeteria that offers a comprehensive nutritional programme to all of our students. It includes snacks, hot lunches, a salad bar, fresh fruit, and fruit juices, aimed at developing healthy habits that will last a lifetime! 

The British International School Shanghai, Puxi follows an international school calendar, with the academic year starting mid-August and ending at the end of June.

Our TAs and all are highly qualified, many having obtained their degree qualifications from overseas universities. We offer a comprehensive internal  training programme tailored to the needs of our TAs, with the aim to developing a strong  team of highly trained and fully competent individuals. TAs teach ability groups under the guidance of the class teacher and also work with individual children who need further support or extension in the classroom.

All students receive the equivalent of three hours of Chinese each week.  For our younger children, this is done in a very natural way with 30-40 minutes each day of games and activities with our Chinese teachers.  From Reception onwards, our students have three one-hour Chinese lessons with our highly experienced team of Chinese teachers.  We group our children so that we can cater for absolute beginners up to native speakers, with several levels in-between.

Our music curriculum is enhanced through the Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Programme.  At our school every student over five years old learns an instrument. In addition to the weekly class music lessons, we offer around 30 different musical courses. Private tuition is also available in all classes. Our students also have the opportunity to perform and also to compete in overseas music competitions. 

We offer over 300 after school activities and lunch clubs each year, which ensure our students are well rounded and active. Our clubs include a variety of opportunities including academic options, native language input, Lego robotics, martial arts, cooking, sports and music to name but a few.