Western Academy of Beijing

WAB's campus is in Laiguangying, Chaoyang District (10 Lai Guang Ying Dong Lu), northeast Beijing — about 500 m off Jingmi Lu. The school is near bus stops on Jingmi Lu and is reachable from Line 15 (Cui Ge Zhuang) with local buses to the Ma Nan Li stop; visitor parking is available on campus.

WAB is an Early Childhood–Grade 12 international school, organised into an Early Childhood Center, Elementary School (Junior/Senior Grade 1–Grade 5), Middle School and High School (Grades 9–12). The school follows IB programmes across the sections.

WAB is an independent, non-profit international school and an authorised IB World School. It is co-educational and operates as a day school (no boarding facilities).

WAB uses an integrated student-support model; services include learning support, English as an Additional Language (EAL), counseling, educational psychology and psychological services, and access to therapies such as speech and occupational where needed. Teachers work with the Student Support team and parents to create individualised plans and reasonable adjustments.

The school is an independent international school founded to serve the expatriate community and is not affiliated with a particular country.

WAB is nonsectarian and does not have a religious affiliation.

Standard school hours are 8:30am–3:20pm Monday–Friday. Elementary and Early Childhood bell times and break/lunch windows are published (for example, ES morning break and a lunch window around midday; detailed bell times are available on the school's ‘School Day' page).

WAB runs a student bus service to and from campus; buses typically arrive between 8:00–8:30am and afternoon buses depart around 3:25–3:30pm. The school also offers ASA (after-school activity) buses and a limited ‘late bus' service; families must communicate changes to the Transportation Manager and follow the school's procedures for bus changes. Public city bus lines and subway connections are also listed for families using public transport.

Western Academy of Beijing delivers the full IB continuum: Primary Years Programme (Early Years–Grade 5), Middle Years Programme (Grades 6–10) and the IB Diploma Programme (Grades 11–12).
In Early Years and Elementary students follow the inquiry-based PYP framework (ages 3–12) with transdisciplinary subject coverage and a PYP Exhibition as an extended inquiry.
Middle School runs the MYP across Grades 6–10 with eight subject areas taught concurrently, MYP objectives and assessment approaches, and a culminating Personal Project.
High School (Grades 11–12) offers the IB Diploma Programme: students choose subjects across the six DP groups and complete the DP core (Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service) with a wide range of SL/HL course options.
WAB's curriculum covers literacy/language and literature, language acquisition, individuals & societies, sciences, mathematics, the arts, design, PHE and school-wide social‑emotional learning, and it is informed by additional reference standards such as ACARA, CEFR and HSK while providing personalised pathways and experiential learning opportunities.

WAB describes SEL as an integrated part of its Student Support model, with homeroom/subject teachers as primary supporters working closely with counselors and specialist staff to develop individual plans. The Counseling Department uses a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate model addressing academic, personal, social, and global/intercultural domains across Elementary, Middle and High School. Counseling staff explicitly list social skills, relationships, and positive coping strategies among their areas of support, and the school links inclusion and belonging to improved social‑emotional outcomes. Counselors also provide resources to parents and collaborate with Learning Support and EAL teachers to support students' social integration.

WAB's Learning Support team provides inclusive, classroom‑based accommodations, pull‑out small‑group interventions, co‑teaching and targeted programs such as Individualized Literacy Support (ILS) and Enriched Inclusion, with progress reviewed regularly and Individual Education Plans where required. The school states it works with external specialists and coordinates on‑campus therapy (speech, language, occupational) when needed, and the Educational Psychologist supports assessment and program planning. Staff lists and roles for Learning Support are published for each school section, indicating an embedded, collaborative model rather than a segregated specialist facility. The school does not describe itself on its public pages as a specialist SEN institution; rather, it presents learning support as an integrated student support service.

WAB publishes a dedicated EAL program that uses co‑planning and co‑teaching with classroom teachers and offers in‑class support, small‑group instruction, one‑to‑one assistance, and targeted Emergent and Bridging English programs for students new to English. The school assesses progress using WIDA descriptors alongside teacher observation and regular assessments, and EAL teachers are named on the site for each section. The model is described as flexible and adaptive to individual needs and aims for maximum classroom integration while providing focused language blocks as required.

WAB's Counseling Department states its remit includes promoting personal well‑being, healthy relationships, and balance between academics and extracurricular life, with counselors working across personal and social domains in all school sections. The site also names an Educational Psychologist who provides psychoeducational assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, crisis management, and coordination of external therapy services on campus. The school publishes that psychological services include consultation with teachers and parenting workshops to support student mental health and home‑school partnerships. Together, these pages present a linked model of counseling and psychological services for student mental wellbeing.

WAB states it is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all students and aligns its approach with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and China's Law on the Protection of Minors. The site names Mr. Todd Hutchinson as the designated safeguarding officer and provides a contact email (safeguarding@wab.edu), and it describes child‑protection screening for staff including completion of ECIS online child protection training, police background checks, a Code of Conduct, and reference checks. A downloadable safeguarding policy is linked from the page. These published statements set out the school's public safeguarding responsibilities and contact routes.

1. Submit an enquiry (OpenApply enquiry form). Start by submitting the online enquiry form (OpenApply) so the Admissions team has your basic family details and can set up an account for you; this lets you save progress and return to the application. Parents should use the same email address they plan to use for official communications and check spam folders for replies.

2. Complete the OpenApply application (one form per child) and upload documents. Each child needs a full OpenApply application with supporting documents (school reports, passport copies, student and parent statements, and a confidential teacher reference); check the online checklist so nothing is missed. Be prepared to pay the non-refundable application fee (listed on the school's fees page) and note that WAB requires a non-refundable portion of tuition (enrollment deposit) once a place is accepted. Parents should confirm their child's birthdate against WAB's August 31 cut-off and have scanned copies of passports and recent school reports ready.

3. Admissions review and timeframe. After you submit a complete application, the Admissions team reviews documents to understand academic background, language needs and any support requirements; the school aims to respond within a few working days but the review can take longer (for example if additional documentation or specialist reports are needed). If your child has identified learning support needs, expect the review to include follow-up with student-support staff. Parents should upload full and clearly legible documents and respond quickly to any Admissions requests to avoid delays.

4. Interview / assessment stage (if required). WAB will schedule interviews or assessments as appropriate: language assessments for students from JG1 who are not native English speakers and math placement testing for Grade 10+ applicants; other assessments or conversations may be used to check fit and to identify required support. Prepare your child by explaining the purpose of the assessment (it is to place them correctly and identify support needs, not to “pass/fail”) and bring originals of documents to any on-campus meetings. If your child needs English-language support, ask Admissions about the school's EAL arrangements before enrollment.

5. Decision, offer and enrolment paperwork. Admissions decisions are made by a committee (section leaders and support teams) and families are notified by OpenApply email; a formal offer will include invoicing instructions, deadlines and the non‑refundable enrollment amount (the tuition page lists payment deadlines and the 30,000 RMB non‑refundable portion required each year). Newly admitted families must meet the invoice payment deadline (typically within 21 calendar days for new students) and returning-student payment deadlines are published annually; review the Tuition & Fees page for proration rules (e.g., reductions for mid-year entry) and late-payment surcharges. Parents should read the Tuition & Fees Terms & Conditions carefully before accepting an offer.

WAB's public website does not advertise a general, school-wide tuition scholarship or needs-based financial-aid program for families; the official Tuition & Fees pages and Admissions materials describe fees, deposits and limited fee-related policies but do not list routine tuition scholarships. There are a few exceptions and related supports to be aware of: the Swiss School Beijing section (a WAB section) has a Tuition Fee Discount Policy for Swiss families; the school also publicises project and student grants (for example Global Citizenship / changemaker grants that fund student projects, not tuition), and staff contracts commonly include dependent tuition benefits for employees' children. If you need information about any exceptional financial support or one-off awards, contact Admissions directly (they can confirm whether any limited bursaries, discounts or staff-dependent rates apply and advise on documentation and eligibility).

WAB does use a waitlist approach when the requested grade is full. Admissions policy and the Swiss School section both note that places are offered based on availability and that later applications are more likely to be waitlisted; when a place opens, Admissions will contact waitlisted families through the OpenApply system. Your position on the waitlist depends on timing, the completeness of your application and the school's assessment of fit and support capacity, so submitting a complete application early improves your chances. OpenApply (the platform WAB uses) also supports explicit “Waitlisted” statuses and re‑application workflows, which is how WAB typically manages offers, notifications and any subsequent moves from waitlist to offer. If you're time-sensitive (for relocation or visa steps), tell Admissions your preferred timelines so they can advise on realistic likelihoods and timing.