Merchiston International School

Private boarding and day school in Shenzhen, China
   School fees£20,539-£37,257 per year[2]AffiliationMerchiston Castle SchoolWebsitewww.merchiston.cn
Merchiston International School
Simplified Chinese深圳曼彻斯通城堡学校
Traditional Chinese深圳曼徹斯通城堡學校
Literal meaningShenzhen Merchiston Castle School
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShēnzhèn Mànsītōng Chéngbǎo Xuéxiào
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingsam1 zan3 maan6 cit3 si1 tung1 sing4 bou2 hok6 haau6

Merchiston International School (Chinese: 深圳曼彻斯通城堡学校) is an independent boarding school for boys and girls in the Longhua District in Shenzhen, China. It is open to students aged 4 to 18 as either boarding or day students, though the senior school is only for boarding students; it was modelled after English public schools. It is affiliated with, and is the first overseas campus for Merchiston Castle School, in Edinburgh, Scotland.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Background

In 1828 Charles Chalmers started a small school in Park Place, Edinburgh, Scotland on a site now occupied by the McEwan Hall. In May 1833, Charles Chalmers took a lease of Merchiston Castle (the former home of John Napier, the inventor of logarithms) — which at that time stood in rural surroundings — and moved the school. It is from here that the school name is derived.[9]

Merchiston Castle School at Colinton

Merchiston Castle School developed Merchiston International School's after a year of collaboration with Chinese investor Lyu Jianjun, whose son attended the boarding school in Edinburgh.[3][10] In 2016, Shenzhen Merchiston International Education Co. Ltd. was founded,[11] and in August 2018, Merchiston International School opened its doors to pupils as the first school in Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China.[12] On October 15, 2018, the school held its official opening ceremony. The event attracted almost 1,000 attendees, including the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Frank Ross.[5][13]

The school offers student living arrangements along with a British education. The school can cater to 1,200 students aged 4–18.[14] Lessons are taught in English and pupils from grades 1 to 9 follow the English national curriculum, with additional access to Mandarin language learning. Senior students study for the IGCSE and A-levels. With accommodations for 600, the senior school is exclusively for boarding students. 80 percent of the teaching staff are from the United Kingdom.[12]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Shenzhen Merchiston Castle School". Shenzhen Municipal Government (in Chinese). Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Current Fees". Merchiston International School. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b Andrew Denholm (21 November 2017). "Scottish private boarding school unveils Chinese expansion". The Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Merchiston International School, Shenzhen". NowShenzhen. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b Zhang Qian; Lily Li (16 October 2018). "Merchiston Intl. School opens in SZ". Shenzhen Daily. Shenzhen, China.
  6. ^ Nicola Woolcock (1 October 2018). "More private schools rush to open branches abroad". The Times. London, UK.
  7. ^ Sian Griffiths (16 September 2018). "Private schools lure state maths teachers to foreign offshoots". The Times. London, UK.
  8. ^ Oliver, Neil (host) (14 January 2019). "Scots in China". Scots in China. Season 1. Episode 2. BBC Two Scotland.
  9. ^ "History & Traditions". Merchiston Castle School. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  10. ^ 楼婍沁 (22 March 2019). "Is the parent's beloved son looking for an "international school"? [父母之爱子,则为之谋"国际学校"]?". Interface News [界面新闻] (in Chinese). Shanghai, China.
  11. ^ "Merchiston International Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  12. ^ a b Bo Leung (15 August 2018). "Scottish school opens branch in Shenzhen". China Daily.
  13. ^ Ian Swanson (9 October 2018). "University of Edinburgh firm set to open hospital in China". Edinburgh Evening News. Edinburgh, Scotland.
  14. ^ Phoebe Zhang (10 November 2019). "Hong Kong schools less popular with Chinese parents in Shenzhen". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong.

External links

  • Official School Website
  • Merchiston Castle School


  • v
  • t
  • e
International schools in Guangdong
Dongguan
Foshan
GuangzhouHuizhou
  • CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Limited International School (中海壳牌石油化工有限公司国际学校)
Jiangmen
ShenzhenZhongshan
  • China-Hong Kong English School
Zhuhai
Schools with an asterisk (*) in Guangzhou are not listed as international schools by the Chinese Ministry of Education as of 2008
Schools with a number sign (#) in Shenzhen are designated as schools for children of foreign workers (catering to foreigners rather than local Chinese)
  • v
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British international schools in the People's Republic of China
Mainland
Beijing
Guangdong
Jiangsu
Shandong
Shanghai
Sichuan
Tianjin
Hong Kong
Defunct
See also: Britons in China
For schools in the Republic of China on Taiwan see the list of international schools in Taiwan.