Most popular international schools in Beijing

Tsinghua International School (THIS) is the international division of Tsinghua University High School on the Tsinghua Fuzhong campus in Haidian District, Beijing. Founded in 2009, THIS uses an American-based curriculum informed by US Common Core and AERO standards; the high school offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and Chinese language and culture study is required for all students. The school shares sports and other facilities with Tsinghua Fuzhong and lists computer labs and a STEAM laboratory among its resources. Primary, middle and high sections teach primarily in English while providing separate Chinese classes for native and non-native speakers. THIS runs an extensive extracurricular programme (more than 50 clubs listed) including performing arts, debate teams and ISAC athletics. Distinctive practices include primary “Spartan families” and project-based, inquiry-led learning across grades. Admissions are for foreign passport holders and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan permanent residents.

Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) is an independent, non-profit international school offering IB programmes from Early Years through Grade 12; the school was founded in 1994. The campus covers about 99,000 m² and includes sports facilities (indoor pool, three full-size gyms, a FIFA‑approved football field and the ‘Tiger L'Air' sports dome) plus three libraries and multiple arts and technology studios. WAB runs the WABX co-curricular programme with several hundred club, language, service and sporting options and includes student-led activities such as Model UN, a student magazine (Inkblot), and robotics teams. The school's language instruction is in English and it offers curricular language programmes in Chinese, French and Spanish, with several home‑language programs available. Note: the campus latitude/longitude below was taken from public mapping sources because WAB's website does not publish coordinates.

International School of Beijing (ISB) is an English-medium international day school on a 32-acre campus in Shunyi District, northeast Beijing, close to popular expat residential compounds. ISB serves Early Years through Grade 12 and reports around 1,800 students on campus. The school operates both an English-language pathway and a Dual Language (English–Chinese) option in Elementary; ISB notes its Dual Language Program and its Early Years provision (including an EY2 class for two-year-olds). ISB offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma in Grades 11–12 alongside its ISB high-school diploma/pathways options, and lists extensive co-curricular choices including performing arts and athletics across campus facilities.

Keystone Academy is a bilingual (Chinese–English) K–12 day and boarding school on a suburban campus in Houshayu, Shunyi District, Beijing. The school opened in 2014 and states a distinctive “Chinese Thread” that weaves Chinese culture and identity into its bilingual programme. Primary years use an inquiry-based Primary Curriculum (IPC) in a bilingual immersion model; middle and high school progress to IB programmes, with the IB Diploma Programme offered in the high school. Boarding is part of the school's model (students are required to board from Grade 9). Keystone highlights a large activities programme (KAP), an emphasis on service learning and community projects, and a strong bilingual language-acquisition focus as defining features. All factual points above are taken from the school website (see contact, curriculum, admissions and programme pages).

Harrow Beijing opened in 2005 and operates two sites: a City Campus for early years and a larger Hegezhuang Campus for Years 2–13. The school uses a Harrow Little Lions Curriculum for ages 2–6 and follows the English National Curriculum integrated with the International Primary Curriculum in early years and Key Stage 1; students progress to GCSE (Years 9–11) and then A Levels (Years 12–13). The school lists specialist provision including LAMDA (Harrow Beijing describes itself as the largest LAMDA centre in China), a Football Academy, aquatics and a broad programme of service learning run through student-led societies. The site also describes a six-House system, an on-site careers and university guidance programme for Years 9–13, and admissions materials (available from the Information Centre) that cover tuition, buses and timetables. All statements here are taken from the school website.