Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi is in Maqiao, Minhang District (2000 Qian Pu Jing Road), in the west of Shanghai; the campus coordinates are listed on the school site. Travel times by car vary by origin — central areas and popular residential districts are typically 25–45 minutes away and Hongqiao airport is often cited as roughly 40–45 minutes by car, depending on traffic.

The College is organised as DUCKS (early years) for ages 2–7, Junior School for ages 7–11, and Senior School for ages 11–18; Senior students follow IGCSEs and the IB Diploma Programme.

Dulwich Puxi is a co-educational international day school (no on-site boarding facilities). It is part of the Dulwich College International network.

The College provides English as an Additional Language (EAL) support and limited learning-support assistance for pupils who can access the mainstream curriculum; it does not offer a separate/specialised additional curriculum but will enrol students only when staff and services can meet their documented needs.

The school is part of the Dulwich College International family, which has British origins and a formal link to Dulwich College in London; the DCI schools are operated within the Education in Motion / EiM group (recent ownership changes are noted on the DCI pages).

The school does not list a religious denomination on its public pages and operates as a non-denominational international school.

Timings vary by age group and the published information shows DUCKS/early-years sessions and a typical school-day finish around mid-to-late afternoon (for many year groups 15:30 is the standard finish used on Dulwich DUCKS materials); lunch times are staggered by age and by timetable. The College also runs after-school co-curricular activities and offers a later bus on some days for students staying for activities.

The College operates an optional, school-run bus service (available from around age 3 upwards) managed by an in-school Bus Service Team; buses have government safety certification and at least one bus monitor per vehicle. Routes cover much of western Shanghai, new routes are added each year, and the school publishes route, pick-up/drop-off and contact details to registered families ahead of term start; the fleet has been described as increasingly electric.

All students from Nursery to Year 11 wear the school uniform. Toddler children wear their own clothes but must wear a school hat. Uniforms can be ordered online for home delivery via the Online Uniform Shop, which opened for new families on 1 August 2023 and uses a student ID to set up accounts. Summer uniform is worn April–October and Winter uniform November–March, with reminders before transitions; uniform items must be clearly labeled with the student's full name and class. The Uniform Shop can be reached at 021 3329 9330.

Lunches are provided by a catering service. The school is nut-free; the catering provider does not use nuts in its dishes, and nuts are not allowed in school. Home-packed lunches are not permitted. Lunch timing depends on the student's age.

Upon joining, students are sorted into four Houses: Song, Moussa, Yung, and Shackleton.

Dulwich Colleges in China are operated by Education in Motion (EiM) under an agreement with Dulwich College London. A Board of Management oversees strategic development and meets four times a year, and a Board of Trustees, comprising EiM representatives, four parent representatives and one Dulwich College London representative, provides advisory oversight. The Head of College and the Director of Business Administration are ex officio members of the Board of Trustees but do not have voting rights.

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi provides a continuous international curriculum from DUCKS (ages 2–7) through Junior School (ages 7–11) to Senior School (ages 11–18), and publishes specialist programmes in STEAM, Mandarin, visual and performing arts, sports and co‑curricular activities. DUCKS (Toddler, Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) is based on the English Early Years Foundation Stage and an adapted English National Curriculum, delivered with a dual‑language English–Mandarin approach. The Junior School uses a topic‑based, cross‑curricular primary programme with dedicated English and mathematics lessons and specialist teachers for Mandarin, PE, art, design technology and music. In Senior School, Years 7–9 follow the British national curriculum, Years 10–11 sit IGCSEs (Edexcel and Cambridge options) and Years 12–13 study the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Across the school students also take part in co‑curricular programmes, service and awards such as the Duke of Edinburgh and receive university and careers guidance as part of the school's holistic model.

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi presents wellbeing as a whole-school culture guided by a Student Wellbeing Framework used across Dulwich schools to support social and emotional development. The school says the framework emphasises student voice, agency and partnership and that students engage through surveys, peer support and age-appropriate lessons. In its early-years DUCKS programme the curriculum explicitly lists Personal, Social and Emotional Development as a prime area of learning. The College also reports using Common Sense Education digital‑citizenship resources to teach online safety and responsible online behaviour. Parents are described as partners in wellbeing through regular communication with teachers and school events.

The school defines Additional Educational Needs (AEN) to include students who require extra support or enrichment, and explicitly includes EAL and gifted/talented learners in that definition. Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi states it does not provide a separate additional curriculum for students with special learning needs; instead classroom teachers and EAL specialists may provide assistance and enrolment is conditional on the College being able to meet a child's needs. The website lists named staff working in this area (for example an Additional Educational Needs teacher and a Director of Student Services/Child Protection Officer), indicating specific roles for AEN support. The school does not publish a list of specific diagnoses or categories of SEN it will support on its public pages. Dulwich is not described as a specialist SEN institution.

The College describes an English as an Additional Language (EAL) programme designed to develop fluency for students with limited prior exposure to English and says it limits enrolment of students who require EAL support according to the level of support needed. Senior‑school applicants whose first language is not English sit an EAL assessment as part of admissions. The website names EAL staff (for example an EAL teacher profile is published) and the school runs professional activity related to EAL practice. The College also states it may limit the number of students requiring EAL in a single class to ensure appropriate support. For detailed, individual placement or intensity‑of‑support questions the site directs families to contact Admissions.

The College uses its Student Wellbeing Framework to support students' mental and emotional health and reports age‑appropriate lessons, peer initiatives and whole‑school pastoral systems as components of that support. Dulwich Puxi operates a Student Services/Well Families approach that offers parent workshops, family support and links to external mental‑health services in Shanghai; the site names a Student Services lead and describes practical resources for families. The school states it uses pastoral data tools (for example AS STEER and iSAMS are referenced) to identify and personalise support pathways. The College's CIS accreditation report and recent awards referenced on the site also cite the school's commitment to pastoral care and wellbeing. The website publishes workshops and a named social & emotional counsellor, but does not present a full public catalogue of in‑house clinical services and private referrals are handled case‑by‑case via Student Services.

The College states safeguarding and child protection are of paramount importance and that it has an extensive Safeguarding Policy and mandatory training programme for staff. The website describes safer‑recruitment procedures, induction safeguarding training for new staff and periodic refresher training, and says students receive age‑appropriate safeguarding lessons. The school names a Child Protection Officer / Director of Student Services and refers to annual safeguarding audits and safeguarding as a component of external accreditation. The site publishes a Safeguarding Policy link and directs enquiries to the College for further policy detail. For specifics of disclosure checks, reporting procedures or the full safeguarding policy the school's published policy page and admissions/contact routes are referenced.

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi opened in August 2016 on a purpose‑built campus in Minhang. It is a member of the Dulwich College International family and draws on the heritage of the founding Dulwich College in London. The college in China is operated by Education in Motion (EiM) under an agreement with Dulwich College London, with local oversight provided through a Board of Management and a Board of Trustees that includes parent representatives.

The school describes an active college community centred on regular assemblies, performances and calendar events such as a Winter Fair and community soirées, and it highlights seasonal traditions including a House Sorting ceremony and a Christmas tree lighting. Families are expected to be partners in school life; the college runs parent workshops, curriculum evenings and opportunities to participate in House and charity activities.

The parent organisation at Dulwich Puxi is called Friends of Dulwich; all parents are members and many volunteer as Class Parent Representatives or serve on the Friends of Dulwich Committee. Friends of Dulwich coordinates social activities, welcomes new families and supports charitable and community events across the school. The college also provides a structured Parents as Partners programme with regular, age‑appropriate workshops (for example on managing behaviour, exam stress, puberty and digital safety) and frequent touchpoints such as Parent‑Teacher Conferences and curriculum information evenings. Several school events reported in the Dulwich Life news feed (including the Winter Fair and community soirées) are organised with parent involvement, and parents commonly volunteer for fundraising and event logistics.

The school sits on a 40,000 square metre campus in South Minhang, Puxi, set on green land. It features light-filled classrooms and outdoor spaces for play and exploration. The school has a 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool, with a smaller training pool adjacent for Toddler and Nursery age students. A 2000 square metre indoor gymnasium is fully air-filtered for indoor sports, and outdoor all-grass football and rugby pitches support team activity. Weekly assemblies, theatre performances and music ensembles take place in a 500-seat theatre, with black-box theatre spaces, an orchestra room and an outdoor amphitheatre.

The indoor sporting facility is a three-story stadium with an 8-lane, 50-metre pool on the first floor and a 10m x 10m training pool for younger learners. The 2000 square metre indoor gymnasium can be configured for basketball, volleyball, or badminton. Outdoor recreation includes an all-grass football pitch and basketball courts, with climbing nets, climbing walls, slides and swings on campus.

Science labs are equipped for biology, chemistry, physics and integrated science. The campus includes IT and design technology facilities, robotics and Lego spaces, and three libraries. A film studio with editing suite and green room supports media and creative arts work, and dedicated theatre spaces accommodate performances.

Co-curricular activities are available from preschool through senior school as part of the holistic curriculum. Reception CCAs include origami, yoga, drama and dance, while DUCKS (Kindergarten) CCAs include chess. The CCA programme covers a range of disciplines including drama, music, sport and art, and is supported by a programme booklet.

The school has DUCKS (ages 2 to 7), Junior School (ages 7 to 11) and Senior School (ages 11 to 18). Senior School follows the IGCSE syllabus and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). The approach is holistic and experiential, designed to help students discover their unique potential. The school provides university counselling and reports IGCSE and IB results along with university placements.

Visual & Performing Arts are part of the Holistic Curriculum, alongside STEAM/SE21. Mandarin is included as a language offering within the curriculum. The co-curricular and arts-oriented elements support creativity and performance opportunities within the Dulwich framework.

Mandarin is part of the curriculum and is taught as a language offering within the Holistic Curriculum. The school emphasises an international outlook as part of its educational approach.

Co-curricular Activities provide enrichment opportunities and support students in following a path that reflects their individual choices, abilities and personality. The education model integrates wellbeing, academics and broader development through these activities.

Wellbeing is a whole-school culture that develops physical, mental and emotional health. The wellbeing framework helps students participate in the wider community.

The primary classroom language is English, with non-native speakers assessed for English proficiency and supported through English as an Additional Language (EAL) provision. Mandarin language learning begins in DUCKS with a dual-language approach that values English and Mandarin equally; the environment and print are in both languages. From Year 3 onwards, Mandarin pathways are available: Mandarin A (Chinese as a Native Language), Mandarin B (Mandarin as a Second Language), and Mandarin C (Mandarin as a Foreign Language) under the Wo Hui Mandarin model. In Senior School, Modern Foreign Languages such as French, Spanish and German are offered.

The Dual Language Approach in DUCKS (Toddler to Year 2) values both English and Mandarin equally, enabling concurrent language development. English teachers lead the curriculum with a Mandarin-speaking Assistant Teacher supporting learning. The learning environment and print are in both English and Mandarin. By the end of Year 2, students are expected to be fluent speakers of English and Mandarin and able to switch between languages.

DUCKS provides bilingual immersion through dual-language classrooms; the aim is to develop fluent speakers in English and Mandarin by the end of Year 2.

Awards for the school (awards given to the school/institution, drawn from the school website; each line gives the award name, date as reported on the school site, and a one-line note of significance):

- China Schools Awards 2025 — Pastoral Care Award (reported Mar 12, 2025): national award organised by the British Chamber of Commerce in China recognising a school's pastoral/wellbeing provision; the school's site reports it won this award.

- China Schools Awards 2025 — Science & Technology Award (reported Mar 12, 2025): award from the same China Schools Awards recognising excellence in STEM/EdTech integration; the school's site reports it won this award.

- Tes Awards for International Schools 2024 — Best Use of Technology (reported Apr 30, 2024): international sector award (Tes Awards) recognising notable and practical use of educational technology across the curriculum; the school's site reports it won this category.

- China Schools Awards 2024 — Diversity & Inclusion Award (reported on the school's 2023–24 year review, Aug 14, 2024): the school reports winning this China Schools Award category, which recognises school-wide initiatives to create an inclusive environment.

- China Schools Awards 2024 — Students for Sustainability Award (reported on the school's 2023–24 year review, Aug 14, 2024): the school reports winning this category at the China Schools Awards, which recognises sustainability education and student/community environmental action.

- Australia – New Zealand Community Gala Awards 2022 — Sustainability Impact Award (reported Apr 4, 2022; award dated Mar 31, 2022): the school's site reports it received this community award recognising its sustainability programmes and community impact.

- British Schools Awards 2021 — Diversity & Inclusion Award (reported Jan 11, 2022; award year 2021): the school reports it was the winner of the inaugural British Schools Awards Diversity & Inclusion category (award organised through the British Chamber of Commerce/partners).

Notes and scope: all awards listed above are taken from the Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi website and are awards given to the school (institutional awards or programme recognitions). I did not include student-specific honours (for example “Top in China” subject awards) because you asked for awards awarded to the school itself; each item above is linked to a school web page where the award is reported.

Affiliations & accreditations shown on the school website (each line notes whether it is an accreditation/authorization, membership, or programme):

- Council of International Schools (CIS) — global membership and accreditation body for international schools; indicates participation in an external, international quality-assurance community.

- International Baccalaureate (IB) — authorised by the IB Organisation to deliver IB programmes (the school offers the IBDP); this is an official programme authorisation rather than a simple membership.

- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) — regional US-based accrediting body that accredits international and US-origin schools; WASC accreditation is recognised as an external quality assurance for academic standards and governance.

- Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) — authorised centre/provider for Cambridge international qualifications (e.g., IGCSE); this denotes the school is approved to enter students for Cambridge examinations.

- Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) — regional membership organisation that provides inter-school activities, events and professional development (membership/association rather than an accreditation).

- FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) — regional federation supporting British-style schools in Asia; membership gives access to festivals, competitions and collaboration (membership, not an accreditation).

- Duke of Edinburgh's International Award — the school runs the Duke of Edinburgh programme for eligible students; this is a programme offering (youth achievement award), not an institutional accreditation.

- Common Sense School (Common Sense) — the school is listed with Common Sense (the non-profit for media and technology education); this indicates use of Common Sense resources and frameworks for digital citizenship (programme/partnership).

- The Curiosity Approach — listed as an Early Childhood approach used at the school (recognition/approach accreditation for early years practice rather than a school-wide accreditation).

- Regular external inspection by Dulwich College (Deputy Master (External)) — the school notes an annual inspection by Dulwich College's Deputy Master (External) to check adherence to Dulwich College standards (internal network assurance).

Note: the items above are those listed on the school's “Affiliations & Accreditations” page; some are formal accreditations/authorisations (for example CIS, IB, WASC, Cambridge), while others are memberships, programme approvals or pedagogical recognitions that the school lists as part of its affiliations.

doris recommends that you start by speaking to admissions. This connects you directly to the school's admissions team who can respond with answers, more information, and next steps.

1. Initial enquiry and eligibility check — Start by registering an account and submitting an enquiry on Dulwich Puxi's online application portal (the site directs families to their OpenApply portal). The Admissions team will assess basic eligibility (students generally must hold a foreign passport or foreign birth certificate, or have at least one parent with a foreign passport) and explain any documentation you need to prepare. Book a campus visit or an open morning if you can; the school also offers a virtual tour if you will not be able to visit in person.

2. Gather and submit documents — Complete the online application form and upload supporting documents (current/previous school records, birth certificate or passport, and any requested teacher/confidential reports). The website specifically asks parents to bring original documents to Admissions on the day of the assessment so the school can verify them in person. If your child has attended nursery/school before, have a Confidential Teacher Comment or school reports ready as the admissions staff will review these.

3. Pay the application fee — After you submit a complete application, the College will issue an invoice for the non‑refundable application fee (RMB 3,500). This fee is charged per application and is valid for the year of application; expect to pay it before assessment is arranged. Keep the payment receipt with your application record as the Admissions team will reference it when booking assessments.

4. Assessment booking and format — Eligible applicants are invited for in‑person assessments and interviews; the format depends on the year group. Early Years applicants (Toddler/Nursery/Reception) meet with Early Years staff in a small/group setting, Years 1–2 typically have a short one‑to‑one meeting and evidence of basic literacy/numeracy is requested, Years 3–6 take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) plus a writing task and interview, and Years 7–11 sit a computerized test (verbal, quantitative, non‑verbal), a writing task and an interview; non‑native English speakers will have an EAL assessment. If you are overseas, the College can arrange for assessments to be administered at your child's current school (the College covers delivery to the current school but not return costs) and may offer a provisional place if an interview cannot be completed in person.

5. How the school assesses additional needs and English support — The College will request further information and may require additional assessments if your child needs English as an Additional Language (EAL) support or has additional educational needs (AEN). Dulwich Puxi limits enrolment where the level of required EAL support is high and will consider whether the school's staff and services can meet a child's needs based on submitted information. If your child requires significant support, discuss this early with Admissions so they can advise whether the College can meet those needs.

6. Review, offer and financial steps — Following assessment, applications are reviewed and the school will notify parents of the decision. If a place is offered, the College issues an Offer Letter and an invoice for the Resource Fee (RMB 15,000) which the school asks to be paid within five working days to confirm acceptance; new students from recent intake years are also charged a one‑time Capital Development Fee (RMB 15,000). Tuition fees are billed separately and may be paid annually or by term (the site notes an annual payment option has a favourable rate). Read the College's Terms and Conditions for refund and timing details before you accept.

7. Enrollment and onboarding — Once the resource and the required tuition payments are processed, Admissions sends onboarding information and guides you through enrolment tasks (uniform, bus/lunch options, start dates). Note that tuition does not include some items such as lunches, buses and some optional trips; check the published fee schedule for the breakdown relevant to your child's year group. Plan to complete any school medical or safeguarding forms the College requests before your child's first day.

8. Timing and recommended lead time — The College accepts applications year‑round but advises applying early for popular year groups because places may be limited and waiting lists used when there are more qualified candidates than places. Use the admissions contact to confirm current availability for the target year group and to arrange assessments as soon as possible if you have a preferred start term. If you are relocating from overseas, ask about overseas assessment arrangements and provisional offers to reduce uncertainty.

The College runs a Scholarship Programme that offers awards to academically talented and otherwise high‑performing students; the website states successful candidates may receive up to a 50% reduction in tuition fees for two academic years. Scholarships are competitive, open to both internal and external applicants for specified year groups (the College's scholarship pages specify eligibility windows and which year groups may apply for each admissions cycle), and the selection process includes application materials, testing (the standard Admissions assessment is used for initial screening), a personal statement and an interview or Scholarship Assessment Day. The scholarship page also notes the programme is time‑bound (for example the site lists application deadlines and an Assessment Day for the 2026/27 cycle — families should check the current scholarship timetable and contact Admissions for the latest deadlines and the number of awards available). In addition to scholarships, the College says it provides a limited number of means‑tested bursaries decided annually; families interested in financial support should contact Admissions to discuss eligibility and to request the application details.

Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi operates a waiting list when there are more qualified applicants than available places. When places are limited the school gives priority to siblings of enrolled students, and other applicants are offered places in line with the College's Language Support Policy (for example limits on the number of students requiring high levels of EAL support). The Admissions page states the school will offer places from the waiting list as places become available, so applying early and registering interest for the correct year group increases the chance of being offered a vacancy.