Admissions FAQ

How old is the school? 
The British School of Nanjing is 11 years old; we opened our doors to our first 32 students in August 2007 and our 10th birthday was celebrated with 350 students in August 2017. In that time, well over 1000 students could count themselves as current and former students of BSN – a number that continues to grow as we do.

Teaching and Curriculum

What qualifications do your teachers have? 
All our teachers have degrees; either a 4-year Bachelor of Education degree or a degree in their subject and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education. A significant number have further higher-level qualifications.
 
What curriculum do you teach? 
We follow The British Curriculum (or the National Curriculum of England) with a clear structure that defines the skills and knowledge that learners should know by different stages or ages. However, the curriculum is broad and allows us to tailor it carefully to where we are - China - without removing the key skills it endorses. We are part of Nanjing and we want all our students to feel that, whether they are here for a single year or long-term.
 
What are your class sizes? 
The classes vary in size, but our maximum class size is 24, with an average of around 15 students.
 
What foreign languages do you teach? 
Chinese is offered to all pre-(I)GCSE students at appropriate levels. German and Spanish as foreign languages are offered to students aged 10 years upwards. Where possible we will accommodate students whose (I)GCSE and A Level options include other languages and we have had students sit and pass exams in French and Portuguese.
 
Do you have teaching assistants? 
There is a minimum of two adults in every class from Early Years to Year 5.
 
How do you deal with children with limited English? 
There is significant support for students with limited English. In Junior school, there are specific EAL (English-as-an-additional-Language) teachers in every year group who both support in class, and withdraw students for 1-to-1 or small group sessions to build their English language skills.

Students in the Senior School also benefit from ability grouping in English lessons to ensure those with limited English get appropriately targeted instruction. Those at early levels of English development are also withdrawn from other language lessons and History (a language intense subject) for further lessons.

All teachers complete training in how to work with language learners in mainstream classes as we believe that language is best learnt from each other and ensuring the ‘lesson fits the students’ is what we aim for.
 
Do you have provisions for children with Special Education Needs? 
The parents of students with particular needs are encouraged to discuss these at entry as we believe individual needs are best dealt with individually. We cooperate with Learning Centres in Shanghai for targeted, specialist support and have a small number of students who have additional support, either through withdrawal sessions, or in class to assist them.

Activities and Trips

Do you have after school activities? 
We offer two hours of enrichment within the timetable for all students. These activities cover everything from Robotics to Rock climbing, and allow the students to develop a rich range of skills and interests and, where they find their passion, hone it. We do have further clubs that run after school and at weekends, from Ballet to Tae Kwon Do.
 
What sort of excursions and trips do you offer your students? 
Getting out of school and ensuring learning is brought to life is a key part of the school. All students go on education excursions, whether investigating the flow of a river or practicing their Mandarin shopping for fruit in the supermarket.

Students in Year 4 upwards take part in a residential programme that builds skills such leadership, resilience and empathy as they work with local communities to learn about the world in places as far afield as rural China, South-East Asia and even Africa.
 
What is your music programme like? 
We believe that every child should be given the opportunity to experience, learn and develop a love of music. We have inclusive Primary and Senior Instrumental Programmes where students learn to play a variety of instruments, and students are encouraged to be ambitious by using these skills to perform during assemblies, lunchtime recitals and class performances.

In addition, we have an exciting range of shows and performance opportunities with regular shows in our own theatre and in the wider community through our choirs, rock bands and orchestra. The music department also offers the opportunity for students to attend International and Regional Music Festivals.

School Life

Is a school lunch provided? 
A hot choice of school lunch is provided daily at no further charge. Students and staff eat the same lunch and we view this a social occasion to share your day, build friendships and develop language skills. Students may opt to bring a pack-lunch but still eat with their peers and teachers in our dining area.
 
How do you ensure my child settles in quickly to their new school?
Students who join us at the start of the year are invited to a special induction day with their families where they take part in some engaging classroom activities alongside our select Student Ambassadors. These ambassadors are current students who are familiar with the school and can ensure all those important questions, like “where are the toilets?” are answered before the hustle and bustle of the first day proper and act as a buddy in those first days. 

Part of the life of an international school is that not everyone arrives in Nanjing to fit the school calendar, so even if your family is arriving mid-year, our aim is to ensure every child that joins BSN and feels like they have always been a part of the school. We ensure all is set up, from their labelled lockers to the classroom equipment being ready to go, to this end. Current students from the child’s year group or tutor group with similar languages or backgrounds will usually have had the chance to answer questions by email and make any new student welcome before they arrive in the city. 

Our warmth is a key part of our school – in our last parent survey 100% of respondents said their contact with the school had been “positive and welcoming”.
 
How do you ensure good behavior and manners? 
We have a strong belief in our positive approach to behavior. Students are rewarded, individually and collectively as a class, for their attitude, effort, achievement and upholding the standards we agree on. We treat our students as creative, independent and thoughtful individuals and trust them to act responsibly.

On the rare occasion students do not live up to our expectations, we have clear processes that involve the student, their parents and their tutor or teacher, to ensure they learn from the experience.
 
Where do your students move onto after they complete their education at BSN? 
We recently celebrated our 10th birthday with our first graduating students leaving for universities in Australia, Italy and the UK.
 
Where do your families live and do you provide school buses? 
We have a range of school buses serving the popular residential areas for our expatriate parents. .

Parental Involvement

How do you communicate with parents? 
China is a unique place with some common communication platforms blocked. We communicate via email, personal calls and our online portal. We also use WeChat – a Chinese communication platform – to communicate everything from urgent announcements to upcoming events. Our admissions team will guide new parents into how to set this up on arrival.
 
What involvement do your parents have at BSN?
We love to see parents around our campus! We have a café in our reception area and are always happy to chat. A number of parents volunteer to read with students as part of our guided reading programme, in both English and Chinese.

Parents can also be involved in our Parent Advisory Board, meeting with the Senior Team and the Head to ensure parents have a voice in decision making. We are also always happy to hear from parents with particular skills or backgrounds that would give our students an interesting viewpoint or the benefit of unusual experiences – if you have an inspiring story you’d like to share, then we’d love to hear about it.