Most international schools take their curricula from either the British or U.S. education systems, and most students in international schools plan to attend colleges and universities overseas. According to Rickford, Harrow Beijing's curriculum basically is the same as that of Harrow School in Britain, except that all students here receive a bilingual education in English and Mandarin from kindergarten up. Many of Harrow School's longstanding traditions have been maintained too, such as a charity week every year, during which students engage in activities such as fundraising for a local orphanage. There is also an expedition week in which students meet outdoor challenges. Due to the curriculum schedule, it's easier for students in Harrow Beijing to get into prestigious institutes of higher learning. Last year, many of Harrow Beijing's graduates went to prominent colleges and universities in Britain and the United States.

Private schools in Beijing are generally expensive. The annual fee from kindergarten to high school at Harrow Beijing ranges from 141,300 yuan to 249,600 yuan ($23,000 to $40,600). This is a fee level only slightly above average in relation to other international schools, but one hardly affordable to ordinary families in Beijing.

Reasonable choice

Although private schools usually charge high tuition fees, many parents, especially celebrities and the wealthy, nonetheless choose private schools for different reasons.

Wu Jie, the head of several companies scattered across Zhejiang, Guangdong and Beijing, has a 2-year-old son. His parents have wider options for his future education.

"Now we are considering three possibilities: letting the boy receive his education in the United States, Hong Kong or China's mainland. If my son were to be schooled on the mainland, an international school would definitely be our top choice," Wu told Beijing Review. He explained that as the domestic primary and middle school education systems are mainly based on the school district policy, it's hard to guarantee that one will get into a good school district. In addition, he pointed out that as the boy is a Hong Kong citizen, public schools will charge extra tuition.

Wu plans to let the boy receive his education in China before 16 so as to allow him to lay a solid foundation for his Chinese language skills. He then intends to send his son to the United States for high school. He opined it will be easier to help the boy get familiar with the Western education system if he enters an international school at home. To him, a good school with what would to him represent a reasonable yearly tuition of up to 200,000 yuan ($32,500) would suffice.

Unlike Wu, Zhu Zengyi, a successful businesswoman working in a financial company in Beijing, chose to let her 6-year-old son imbibe more traditional Chinese culture in an old-style Chinese private school in Beijing as a boarding student.

In old-style Chinese private schools, students take more classes in various facets of traditional Chinese culture encompassing everything from Chinese philosophy, literature and history to traditional Chinese martial arts, music, chess, calligraphy and painting. In parallel, they also follow the curriculum of regular public schools. Most such schools are boarding schools. The students there maintain an old-fashioned schedule: getting up early and sleeping early. Their tuition fees are not as expensive as those of international schools, averaging approximately 30,000 yuan ($5,000) every year.

Zhu's parents emigrated from Guangdong Province to the United States when she was a little girl. She went on to work on Wall Street for a couple of years. She then came back to Beijing after the year of the millennium. "As a professional investment manager, I am very confident about China's future. I believe traditional Chinese civilization will provide a solid cultural foundation for my son's future," she explained to Beijing Review.

Zhu's son has studied many ancient Chinese classics such as Confucian works, which advocate an orderly society with a sense of propriety, justice, honesty and honor. Zhu talked about the change that took place in her son after a few months in the private school. As is the case in many single-child families, the boy was very self-centered before going to school. Now, not only has he made great progress in terms of how he conducts himself, but has also started to think of others.

Zhu mentioned that she cooked a fish dinner for the boy one weekend, offering a precious opportunity for the family to get together. The boy picked out all of the tiny fish bones from his portion, and presented it for his mother to have the first bite as a gesture of appreciation for her care over past years. "I was moved to tears immediately, and felt all my efforts had been repaid by this act. This is how the old-style school has influenced him. Though it is impossible for everyone to become an outstanding person, he or she can at least grow up to be a decent person," Zhu stressed.

Email us at: dingying@bjreview.com