A top 20 international school, here it comes!
In the Greater Bay Area, ISA International Education Group is a well-known name. ISA Tianhe (爱莎天河学校) was selected as one of the top 10 "2020 New Insight Schools" nationwide and the "Hurun Education Top 20 international schools in China 2021." Wuhan is ISA's first location outside the Greater Bay Area, so why is Wuhan favoured?
In 2022, Wuhan ranked eighth on the newly released list of China's top 100 cities. Over the past five years, the city has had great momentum of development, as its GDP has remained among the top 10 cities in the country, growing at an average annual rate of about 6 percent, and is expected to exceed USD 20,000 per capita. When people's disposable income rises, they are more willing to spend on children's education.
Thanks to Wuhan's economic resilience, more companies and talents have chosen to settle here. The city's population has risen by more than one million for two consecutive years, ranking Wuhan the first in the country in terms of new population in 2021.
George Chen, director of ISA International Education Group, said, "Having analyzed the international education development in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we find that a city's level of economic development and openness is positively correlated with its development of international education." Chen also explained that most cities' demand for international education starts to explode when their GDP hits USD 1.5 trillion. As Wuhan's GDP has long surpassed this figure, people's demand for education is changing.
He predicts that Wuhan's demand for international schools will grow to the current level of Guangzhou before 2026 at the earliest or 2030 at the latest. "That's why ISA chose Wuhan."
Solid foundation for international education
With high quality teachers, families that value education, high quality courses and excellent student resources, Wuhan's basic education and higher education are among the best in China. On such fertile soil, international education has its foundation. In Hubei, there are about 60 international schools/departments, two-thirds of which are concentrated in Wuhan.
ISA Wuhan has introduced the IB holistic education philosophy. "We adhere to the Chinese national curriculum standards, while also learning from the world's advanced curriculums. Based on the dual standards, we aim to raise our children to a new height," said James Morris, head of ISA Wuhan International School who graduated from Oxford University. He explained that the IB holistic education philosophy focuses on the individual development of each child, customizes learning plans for each student, and attaches more importance to building up students' personalities and ability to learn.
Wuhan, I know you better than ever
When a city develops to a certain scale, there must be a more diversified education ecology, and the sprouting of international education needs a city of strength to provide a solid foundation. The relationship between the two is complementary and mutually empowering.
Wuhan is speeding up to build an "international communication center," so serving the children of foreign employees and solving their schooling problem is what ISA is actually doing to assist the city. To help Wuhan improve its international investment environment so as to attract foreign capital is what ISA can do and needs to do at the current stage.
Based in Wuhan, ISA Wuhan will fully explore the excellence of the Chu culture and include it in its curriculum to enhance children's identity of and love for the region. In the future. when these children grow up, they will take Wuhan as their "second home." They will in return bring their resources to Wuhan to create more exchange opportunities, and this virtuous cycle of talent feeding back to Wuhan will be of far-reaching significance for the future.
Editor: Yang Wenli
