Dulwich College Suzhou
Dulwich College Suzhou is part of the Dulwich College International (DCI) network of schools. Dulwich College Suzhou was the third College to join the Dulwich family of schools in 2007.
Dulwich College in London is one of the UK's oldest independent schools, founded in South London as a boys’ school in 1619.The Dulwich network currently provides for over 7,200 students in eight cities and five countries, with Colleges in London, two campuses in the Jinqiao and Minhang districts of Shanghai, in Beijing, Suzhou, Seoul, Singapore and Yangon and International High Schools in Suzhou and Zhuhai.
The College
Dulwich College Suzhou opened in August 2007. The primary teaching language is English, with a Dual Language approach in Mandarin and English in Kindergarten. From Kindergarten through to Year 9 they follow the National Curriculum of England and Wales, enhanced for international needs. In Year 10 students begin the two-year International GCSE syllabus followed by the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in Years 12 and 13.
DUCKS
The Dulwich Kindergarten, known as DUCKS, caters to the youngest students from Early Learning 1 to Year 2 (age 2 to 7 years).
Junior School
Junior School caters for students from ages 7 to 11.
Senior School
Senior School includes students from ages 11 to 18 where students follow the IGCSE syllabus and International Baccalaureate Programme (IBDP).
Headmaster and Administration
The first Headmaster of the school was Nicholas Magnus who was Headmaster for five years from the founding until 2012. Nicholas Magnus left to found Dulwich College Singapore which opened in August 2014. After the departure of Nicholas Magnus, John Todd was chosen as Headmaster and remained as so until 2017.
The following Headmaster of the school was Stuart Bridge, who joined the College in August 2013 as Head of the Senior School, becoming Headmaster in 2017. He left the College in June 2019, at the end of the 2018/19 Academic Year.
The current Headmaster of the school is David Massiah, who became Headmaster in 2022, at the start of the 2022/2023 Academic Year, and has been the headmaster ever since.
Nicholas Cassey is Head of Junior School as of the 2024/2025 academic year and Shirley Wan is Head of Ducks (Early Years). Mark Jones is the current Head of Senior School.
The current administration of the Senior School goes as follows:
Name | Role |
---|---|
Mark Jones | Head of Senior School |
Eleanor Chafer | Deputy Head of Senior School (Pastoral) |
Stewart Aitkenhead | Deputy Head of Senior School (Academic) |
Reception
Dulwich College Suzhou is classified as a Tier I international school in China and excels academically with its unique holistic education system. They have a strong sports culture, with many teams that win competitions in the local ACAMIC league. Overall, parents generally assign high satisfaction with the school.
However, Dulwich College Suzhou has been embroiled in problems in the 2023/2024 academic year. Some complaints revolve around the downgrade of teaching attributed to the inability to attract qualified teachers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, both the student body and teacher population have tremendously dwindled due to the pandemic, and student diversity has decreased following an increased number of local Chinese students enrolling. In addition, there are reportedly exclusive cliques of different nationalities, of which makes certain students feel isolated.
See also
- Dulwich College Beijing
- Dulwich College
- Dulwich College Singapore
- Dulwich College Shanghai
- Dulwich International High School Suzhou
References
- ^ "Dulwich College Suzhou DUCKS (ages 2 to 7) | Suzhou". suzhou.dulwich.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ "Dulwich College Suzhou Junior School (ages 7-11) | Suzhou". suzhou.dulwich.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ "Dulwich College Suzhou Senior School (ages 11 to 18) | Suzhou". suzhou.dulwich.org. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ Bridge, Stuart. "Head of Senior School - Dr Mark Jones". Message to All-SS-Students. 7 December 2018. E-mail.
Further reading
- "Suzhou Delwich British International School Obtains Approval" [sic] (Archive). China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. Retrieved on 14 January 2015.
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