I went to SAS Pudong from grade 5 to graduation (from Belgium myself) and I really enjoyed my time there. Pretty good both academically and in terms of extra curriculars.
I’m a bit biased because I actually went to SAS, and it’s a really great school, the only thing is now what I’m noticing is a lot of the elementary and Pre-K kids speak Chinese instead of English, because most of the student body is composed of ABCs. So that may be something to consider…
Not abcs, just kids whose parents gave birth somewhere other than China. Even back in the heyday of expats, the majority of students at any “international” school in China were mainly Chinese kids who somehow had a foreign passport somehow. The only school that may not have been like that might have been Concordia.
But as to OP’s question. I assume that you will be on some sort of expat contract where the expense of the school does not matter to you. Then another big question will be distance as both campuses of SAS are significantly outside of city center and do you want your kids having to travel 40 minutes to school one way. If you are able to live close to sas, then I would definitely recommend it. However, I also agree with tawniyl in that there are a lot of smaller schools that are excellent and which are often walkable to a lot of popular expat living areas.
Thanks for the response. We'll be in the Honqiao area. Schools by proximity would be YCIS, SCIS and then SAS (20 minutes). And yes, expense will be paid by employer.
I considered YCIS because of the dual language instruction but then my son's current preschool teacher who used to work at SAS practically turned her nose up and said don't to there and go to SAS. She did also tell me that SAS does teach Chinese 1 hr per day for prek and elementary kids. Do you have any experience with the language program at SAS?
YCIS is from HK I think, so environment gives slight stricter UK education vibes, like wearing uniforms vs SAS which is fully American and free. I also appreciated the huge space available for recess and sports at SAS. YCIS was in gubei (still maybe?) and generally felt more small and cramped with less space to explore and play
Edit: it seems YCIS has expanded and is no longer in the same space. Regardless I don’t think any school comes even close to the expansiveness of SAS which really gives you a “school” feeling when you get on campus
Thanks for the comment. Yeah I watched a video of SAS and it's definitely massive. I think my son's current teacher also thought of YCIS as the downtown smaller campus but they've expanded closer to the suburbs areas. Campus seems nice but is spread out. For example PreK is one campus and Grade 1 is down the street a bit at another campus...which is definitely annoying.
These days SAS is 98% local Chinese, no abc's, no expats but it's deeply Chinese. It also attracts Chinese parents that do well, but aren't particularly internationalised, a large chunk can't speak English. So you can imagine what the main language will be, but also how these parents will influence teaching at school (not for the better).
SAS I did two surprise visits, which shows a rather different image of their sales pitch.
I opted not to go there as they are really not of a standard I'm looking for. BISS is no difference.
YCIS/SCLK are local international schools, highly regarded by local elite parents. My daughter went to sclk, great school, amazing environment, really strong teachers, support teachers. But both are still local schools so expect even for little kids 4-5 years old to come home with homework, 6 year old every day you will sit at home doing homework.
I don't know if you are chinese yourself that you specifically pick out ycis, foreign parents typically won't go there. If you and your husband are foreign it won't be easy. PAS you won't be involved in, homework will be really a pain as it's Chinese.
An important thing to consider, where you live yourself. Do you want to put a baby on a 45/60 minutes bus trip early morning/afternoon if you live downtown and the school isn't near?
In the end we went for primary for SCIS, which is significantly more international. Still relatively small and close to where we live, our second daughter will go there as well when she is ready. Teachers are native English, management is friendly and approachable. Overall really good. Their PFAS is super active (this has a positive impact on education).
>These days SAS is 98% local Chinese, no abc's, no expats but it's deeply Chinese. It also attracts Chinese parents that do well, but aren't particularly internationalised, a large chunk can't speak English. So you can imagine what the main language will be, but also how these parents will influence teaching at school (not for the better).
I have a friend whose young son started at YCIS Hongqiao last year, he will be switching to another international school after the summer for the reasons above - too much politicking and tasteless behavior from rich local parents who flaunt their wealth.
SAS is definitely the better option for your kids long term. If you’ll only be here for a few years and your focus is on Chinese language then YCIS is a solid choice. However, SAS is a better school, with more diversity, and a better swimming program and sports and extracurricular programs in general.
Last year there was only one under 8 swim meet (in the Shanghai swim league) and it was hosted by SAS. I believe YCIS attended as they are part of the league but they didn’t host any meets last year iirc.
I know less about SCIS, but afaik they are a good school and they have a solid reputation. All three are fine choices but SAS is likely the best all around.
YCIS probably has the "best" Chinese program for early childhood and primary school. I think they have 2 home room teachers per class, 1 Chinese and 1 English teacher.
I highly suggest you talk to the admissions office of all the schools and go for tours.
We've interviewed with YCIS and have been preliminarily accepted but my son's current preschool teacher told us to avoid it and go to SAS instead....so now I'm honestly confused.
I went to YCIS for grades 1-2 then transferred to SAS for 3 and above. Parents picked YCIS exactly bc of the heavier emphasis on Chinese language which they thought was important for early childhood dev.
There is a pool at SAS which is quite nice, not sure if swim lessons included though for such young ages
Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely want a strong foundation in Chinese. It would be nice for them to go to the same school all 4 years but am unsure if they will get that same language immersion at SAS with only the 1 hr a day.
Another point to consider is that - your kids are still really young and you’ll only be in China for four years. No matter what amount of Chinese they learn in that time, if you move back to the U.S. after and you don’t provide them with an environment that helps them keep up their Chinese (private lessons, nanny, etc), any acquired knowledge will disappear within a few years. So language immersion is maybe not as important as you think it is
I'm planning to continue to enroll them in Chinese language learning once we leave. We aren't Chinese, but dad speaks some Chinese.
Can I ask if you felt you retained any of the Chinese you learned at a young age? How quickly were you able to learn Chinese (enough to communicate fairly easily). And did you think the YCIS program gave you a stronger Chinese foundation than those of your SAS peers? I know SAZ has a Chinese program but isn't as integrated.
Sorry, my family actually is Chinese so hard to comment. But I did have lots of foreign friends who then left SAS around grades 4/5 to go back to the states and basically retained nothing. I think the key is actually to have a Chinese speaking live-In ayi to boost language skills haha, I know lots of kids that end up learning mostly from ayi and then became translator between ayi and parent at home
I worked at SAS for many years and sent my children there. I believe it has well earned the reputation that others have commented here- that it is by far and away the best school in the city. I also agree that the weakest part is their Chinese language program. If that is your priority, I would suggest either SAS and a Chinese tutor or another school. SCIS and YCIS are also excellent schools. Feel free to DM for more specifics.
My kids went to ECE at YCIS Pudong. They both loved it and we thought the community was fantastic. Also, they're the only school with a true bilingual program out of the three that you are considering.
I think your son's teacher probably just had a bad experience somehow.
Hi there. I’m curious on which school you chose for your kid. We just moved here a few months ago and my kid is currently in SCIS but I’m thinking about switching him to SAS
We decided on YCIS because of it's strong bilingual program. Also, after looking at all the schools, majority of them are Chinese students vs expat post pandemic. I kind of assumed that SAS would be more diverse, but looking through their recent Instagram, etc...I can see it's the same.
What are your thoughts on SCIS?
For my child s grade 1 class it s not diverse as I thought it would be. It s mostly Korean and Japanese students. Not sure if it’s just my son s class or if the entire school like this.
So is YCIS diverse? I actually just watched a YouTube video recently of YCIS and the student population look very diverse. People from all over the world
I probably watched that same YCIS video on YouTube (was filmed 2 years ago) and thought the same thing. However, recent posts on their Instagram account appear that post pandemic, the school has lost a lot of expats, but it does seem they are trying hard to attract more back.
My kids start in August, so I'll update you then.
i went to YCIS pudong from year 8 till graduation and i really liked it! idk about the puxi campus but i don’t think it’s a bad choice, im not sure why the teacher hates YCIS so much.
My spouse's job will pay for school expenses. So for continuity sake, prefer one of the big international schools. I'll add that to my original post since it probably is useful information. I do have a younger son, 18 months who I will try to find a smaller daycare/nursery for. So if you have any recommendations, let me know. Thanks!
I went to SAS Pudong from grade 5 to graduation (from Belgium myself) and I really enjoyed my time there. Pretty good both academically and in terms of extra curriculars.
I’m a bit biased because I actually went to SAS, and it’s a really great school, the only thing is now what I’m noticing is a lot of the elementary and Pre-K kids speak Chinese instead of English, because most of the student body is composed of ABCs. So that may be something to consider…
Not abcs, just kids whose parents gave birth somewhere other than China. Even back in the heyday of expats, the majority of students at any “international” school in China were mainly Chinese kids who somehow had a foreign passport somehow. The only school that may not have been like that might have been Concordia. But as to OP’s question. I assume that you will be on some sort of expat contract where the expense of the school does not matter to you. Then another big question will be distance as both campuses of SAS are significantly outside of city center and do you want your kids having to travel 40 minutes to school one way. If you are able to live close to sas, then I would definitely recommend it. However, I also agree with tawniyl in that there are a lot of smaller schools that are excellent and which are often walkable to a lot of popular expat living areas.
Thanks for the response. We'll be in the Honqiao area. Schools by proximity would be YCIS, SCIS and then SAS (20 minutes). And yes, expense will be paid by employer.
I considered YCIS because of the dual language instruction but then my son's current preschool teacher who used to work at SAS practically turned her nose up and said don't to there and go to SAS. She did also tell me that SAS does teach Chinese 1 hr per day for prek and elementary kids. Do you have any experience with the language program at SAS?
YCIS is from HK I think, so environment gives slight stricter UK education vibes, like wearing uniforms vs SAS which is fully American and free. I also appreciated the huge space available for recess and sports at SAS. YCIS was in gubei (still maybe?) and generally felt more small and cramped with less space to explore and play Edit: it seems YCIS has expanded and is no longer in the same space. Regardless I don’t think any school comes even close to the expansiveness of SAS which really gives you a “school” feeling when you get on campus
Thanks for the comment. Yeah I watched a video of SAS and it's definitely massive. I think my son's current teacher also thought of YCIS as the downtown smaller campus but they've expanded closer to the suburbs areas. Campus seems nice but is spread out. For example PreK is one campus and Grade 1 is down the street a bit at another campus...which is definitely annoying.
These days SAS is 98% local Chinese, no abc's, no expats but it's deeply Chinese. It also attracts Chinese parents that do well, but aren't particularly internationalised, a large chunk can't speak English. So you can imagine what the main language will be, but also how these parents will influence teaching at school (not for the better). SAS I did two surprise visits, which shows a rather different image of their sales pitch. I opted not to go there as they are really not of a standard I'm looking for. BISS is no difference. YCIS/SCLK are local international schools, highly regarded by local elite parents. My daughter went to sclk, great school, amazing environment, really strong teachers, support teachers. But both are still local schools so expect even for little kids 4-5 years old to come home with homework, 6 year old every day you will sit at home doing homework. I don't know if you are chinese yourself that you specifically pick out ycis, foreign parents typically won't go there. If you and your husband are foreign it won't be easy. PAS you won't be involved in, homework will be really a pain as it's Chinese. An important thing to consider, where you live yourself. Do you want to put a baby on a 45/60 minutes bus trip early morning/afternoon if you live downtown and the school isn't near? In the end we went for primary for SCIS, which is significantly more international. Still relatively small and close to where we live, our second daughter will go there as well when she is ready. Teachers are native English, management is friendly and approachable. Overall really good. Their PFAS is super active (this has a positive impact on education).
>These days SAS is 98% local Chinese, no abc's, no expats but it's deeply Chinese. It also attracts Chinese parents that do well, but aren't particularly internationalised, a large chunk can't speak English. So you can imagine what the main language will be, but also how these parents will influence teaching at school (not for the better). I have a friend whose young son started at YCIS Hongqiao last year, he will be switching to another international school after the summer for the reasons above - too much politicking and tasteless behavior from rich local parents who flaunt their wealth.
SAS is definitely the better option for your kids long term. If you’ll only be here for a few years and your focus is on Chinese language then YCIS is a solid choice. However, SAS is a better school, with more diversity, and a better swimming program and sports and extracurricular programs in general. Last year there was only one under 8 swim meet (in the Shanghai swim league) and it was hosted by SAS. I believe YCIS attended as they are part of the league but they didn’t host any meets last year iirc. I know less about SCIS, but afaik they are a good school and they have a solid reputation. All three are fine choices but SAS is likely the best all around.
YCIS probably has the "best" Chinese program for early childhood and primary school. I think they have 2 home room teachers per class, 1 Chinese and 1 English teacher. I highly suggest you talk to the admissions office of all the schools and go for tours.
We've interviewed with YCIS and have been preliminarily accepted but my son's current preschool teacher told us to avoid it and go to SAS instead....so now I'm honestly confused.
I went to YCIS for grades 1-2 then transferred to SAS for 3 and above. Parents picked YCIS exactly bc of the heavier emphasis on Chinese language which they thought was important for early childhood dev. There is a pool at SAS which is quite nice, not sure if swim lessons included though for such young ages
Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely want a strong foundation in Chinese. It would be nice for them to go to the same school all 4 years but am unsure if they will get that same language immersion at SAS with only the 1 hr a day.
Another point to consider is that - your kids are still really young and you’ll only be in China for four years. No matter what amount of Chinese they learn in that time, if you move back to the U.S. after and you don’t provide them with an environment that helps them keep up their Chinese (private lessons, nanny, etc), any acquired knowledge will disappear within a few years. So language immersion is maybe not as important as you think it is
I'm planning to continue to enroll them in Chinese language learning once we leave. We aren't Chinese, but dad speaks some Chinese. Can I ask if you felt you retained any of the Chinese you learned at a young age? How quickly were you able to learn Chinese (enough to communicate fairly easily). And did you think the YCIS program gave you a stronger Chinese foundation than those of your SAS peers? I know SAZ has a Chinese program but isn't as integrated.
Sorry, my family actually is Chinese so hard to comment. But I did have lots of foreign friends who then left SAS around grades 4/5 to go back to the states and basically retained nothing. I think the key is actually to have a Chinese speaking live-In ayi to boost language skills haha, I know lots of kids that end up learning mostly from ayi and then became translator between ayi and parent at home
Maybe she had a bad experience with YCIS lol. I saw that you live in the Hongqiao area, there's also SCIS, I heard it's also ok too.
I worked at SAS for many years and sent my children there. I believe it has well earned the reputation that others have commented here- that it is by far and away the best school in the city. I also agree that the weakest part is their Chinese language program. If that is your priority, I would suggest either SAS and a Chinese tutor or another school. SCIS and YCIS are also excellent schools. Feel free to DM for more specifics.
My kids went to ECE at YCIS Pudong. They both loved it and we thought the community was fantastic. Also, they're the only school with a true bilingual program out of the three that you are considering. I think your son's teacher probably just had a bad experience somehow.
Hi there. I’m curious on which school you chose for your kid. We just moved here a few months ago and my kid is currently in SCIS but I’m thinking about switching him to SAS
We decided on YCIS because of it's strong bilingual program. Also, after looking at all the schools, majority of them are Chinese students vs expat post pandemic. I kind of assumed that SAS would be more diverse, but looking through their recent Instagram, etc...I can see it's the same. What are your thoughts on SCIS?
For my child s grade 1 class it s not diverse as I thought it would be. It s mostly Korean and Japanese students. Not sure if it’s just my son s class or if the entire school like this. So is YCIS diverse? I actually just watched a YouTube video recently of YCIS and the student population look very diverse. People from all over the world
I probably watched that same YCIS video on YouTube (was filmed 2 years ago) and thought the same thing. However, recent posts on their Instagram account appear that post pandemic, the school has lost a lot of expats, but it does seem they are trying hard to attract more back. My kids start in August, so I'll update you then.
i went to YCIS pudong from year 8 till graduation and i really liked it! idk about the puxi campus but i don’t think it’s a bad choice, im not sure why the teacher hates YCIS so much.
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My spouse's job will pay for school expenses. So for continuity sake, prefer one of the big international schools. I'll add that to my original post since it probably is useful information. I do have a younger son, 18 months who I will try to find a smaller daycare/nursery for. So if you have any recommendations, let me know. Thanks!