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Then they sang the school song in English before heading off to class in brick-facade buildings modeled on a British prep school.
For most Chinese students, attending a school like this remains unthinkable. But international schools from abroad are booming here thanks to growing demand from parents who are seeking different pathways for their children to attend college overseas, and who can increasingly afford more options. Top prep schools from around the world are opening campuses in the country, often charging higher fees than their flagships and catering to students who want to go to university in the West.
Attending Haileybury costs up to $28,000 a year. But Haileybury, which opened the Chinese version of its century-old Australian prep school three years ago, nearly doubled its enrollment this year and is considering opening a second campus in China.
Getting into China’s best public high schools can be monumentally difficult, but regardless of whether their child has the academic chops, many parents are opting to pay for what they see as a less stressful and more enriching experience at an international school.
“What they really care about is the happiness of their children,” said Wang Dan, an education professor at the University of Hong Kong. “Their future return on the student’s education is one concern, but equally important is the concern for the learning process.”
The International School Consultancy, which monitors school trends worldwide, says the demand among Chinese for English-language schools like Haileybury is “insatiable.” More than 150,000 Chinese students are currently enrolled in international schools, according to the consultancy, which says the number of Chinese who can afford to pay seemingly stratospheric fees for those schools — even if it’s just a small percentage of the country’s population — will continue to grow, absent a dramatic downturn in China’s economy.
China’s top public high schools are intensely competitive and often criticized as excessively test-driven. Before their teenage years, children study long hours for entrance exams, often with high-priced private tutors. And at the end of high school, students take the notoriously difficult Chinese college entrance exam, the Gaokao, where a bad score can relegate a good student to a lesser university.
A massive government-ordered expansion of higher education over the last decade has produced many marginal colleges whose degrees count for little. That makes an overseas education even more attractive.Western prep schools in China advertise a smoother pathway to university overseas, with teaching that emphasizes critical thinking over memorization and classes based on the International Baccalaureate program or others recognized abroad.
Once limited mainly to foreign children, international schools have been allowed during the last two decades to open campuses for Chinese students jointly with local companies. And while the Chinese government has sought to tighten its ideological control over textbooks and limit perceived Western influences, the international schools offer a valuable infusion of new teaching methods and options for China’s middle class.
That opening has brought in some of the world’s biggest brand names, joining long-established international schools in Beijing and Shanghai. Britain’s Dulwich College now runs schools for Chinese students in the eastern city of Suzhou and the southern city of Zhuhai; Britain’s Hurtwood House operates in association with a school in eastern Ningbo.
William Vanbergen, managing director of the Shanghai school consulting firm BE Education, predicts many more Western schools will enter China in the coming years. Some schools are already struggling to maintain their enrollment, but for most, China presents a “fantastic opportunity” to build a global profile, he said.
The school is located on 106, Nanjing Road, Heping District, Tianjin. Because of its British past, the school's combines both Chinese and Western styles of architecture. At the center of the campus is the school library with a collection of 120,000 books. The Science Building is well equipped, including an astronomical observatory. The school also boasts an impressive computer center. There are additional recreational facilities for both teachers and students, such as two fully equipped gymnasia, several basketball courts, one standard football field with a 400-meter track surrounding it, a swimming pool, a canteen and a dining hall that can serve 600 people at a time. There is also an auditorium, which can hold 1,380 people.
AIED Council and Yaohua High School have collaborated to create the Yaohua International High School. Together with Admiral Farragut Academy, the first dual diploma program was created.
Yaohua will pool the top students on campus and other Chinese students who are looking to continue their education in a Western higher education system, mostly in the US. Along with these students, there will be a mix of Western exchange students who chose to study in China because of a deep interest in the language and culture. This will provide a truly diverse and international classroom setting.
The students enrolled in the international school will be learning in a curriculum designed for students who will move on to study in Western higher education intuitions. This is very different from the rote memorization style implemented throughout China, which is designed to pass the rigorous Gaokao, the college entrance exam. With their many Western-trained staff, various AP courses, international environment, the students in this program will receive a world-class education.
This is only a sample of the classes offered at Yaohua. Other classes include: Physics, English Writing, Conversation in English, P.E., Business English, Geography, Information Technology, American Regions & Colleges, AP French Language, Chinese Language and Literature, and various levels of Mandarin offerings.
Schools selected for full GSGI review are noted with next to their names. Pending means that we are planning to review that school.
By full GSGI review, we mean the school write-ups that are completely selected, researched, visited and written by our own editors. Our final write-ups take the good with the bad, warts and all, but we look for a preponderance of good before we drill down for in-depth details descend on the school for an exhaustive visit.BISS Puxi, owned by Nord Anglia offers an international version of the National Curriculum for England. On two campuses in the south-west of the city and non-selective (no English requirement) teaching pupils from 18 months to 18 years. Students study for IGCSEs at 16 and take the two year IB Diploma course from 16 - 18.
School developed curriculum/American High School Diploma(College Preparatory)/AP; ages 3-18; co-ed; day; independent; private non-profit; 1,055 pupils
Opened in 1998 with the support of the Hong Kong International School, with which it still has close relations. All ages on one campus and offering a US education and college preparation to over 25 nationalities with American passport holders in a clear majority. In JInqiao, a favourite residential spot for expats in Shanghai.Located in the expat suburb of Jinqiao in Pudong. An international school catering to students from all over the world, Americans (often American born Chinese)and British being the largest groups . Offering an English education but substituting the IB Diploma for A-Levels. A delightful kindergarten section called ‘Ducks’ (with a long waiting list), housed in a separate building.
Fourth Harrow International School, opened in 2016 in the northern part of Pudong on a state-of-the-art brand-new campus with the welcome features of an air-filtration system and roof-top gardens. Licensed by Harrow School to an independent owner but incorporating the ethos of its UK parent. Pupils of 26 nationalities taught in English throughout.
Previously the British International School of Shanghai Pudong, now owned (as is BISS Puxi) by the rapidly growing Nord Anglia group of 61 international schools. Follows the same academic programme as its counterparts in the UK, making a school switch simple for returning Brits. As well as other schools in China, Nord Anglia also runs schools in the USA, Europe, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
Considered modern and forward-thinking and amongst the best schools in Asia following the American curriculum. SAT scores and AP results are well above national averages and leavers head to a spectacular range of universities and colleges. Over 40 nationalities; the majority US passport holders but Asian students dominate, particularly at the Puxi campus. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
The new Educational Leadership Centre aims to become a global teaching hub, attracting teachers from China to study and learn together. Through the Centre, Trent’s renowned School of Education has created two innovative new programs for Chinese teachers – a credentialed graduate level diploma and an educational leadership certificate program. Both program options involve leading faculty of the School of Education at Trent teaching courses and workshops in China, online, and at Trent’s Peterborough campus.
The launch of the Educational Leadership Centre took place earlier this month during the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Wuxi Foreign Language School. Over 800 graduates and friends of the school were in attendance at the special ceremony and the event was broadcast via live stream and through local media. Dr. Cathy Bruce, dean of Education, Teaching and Learning at Trent, and Dr. Blair Niblett, director of the graduate program in Trent’s School of Education, were also in attendance to mark this special milestone and officially launch the Centre.
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
About Wuxi Foreign Language School
Located at the foot of Mount Xihui on the beautiful coast of Lake Taihu, Wuxi Foreign Language School was founded in 1998. The school cooperates with qualified schools abroad and integrates excellent international curriculum. The school offers multilingual courses such as German, French, Japanese and Spanish as well as the English program. It enrolls the children of talented entrepreneurial returnees, as well as students from foreign countries, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It is composed of a kindergarten, a primary school, a middle school, a high school and an international division with 7000 students and more than 500 staff including foreign and Chinese teachers who are devoted to teaching and serving educational standards. The school was crowned as the highest in the Senior High School Entrance Examination in 2014, 2015 and 2017. The school is always in the top number of high-achieving students and average scores.
The demise of tennis in the U.S. is puzzling because the sport thrives in other parts of the world. Prize money for premier events continues to increase, and top tennis players enjoy remarkable wealth. Roger Federer is second only to Tiger Woods among the highest-paid athletes. Four of the five richest female athletes are tennis players, according to Forbes magazine. Clearly tennis is alive and well elsewhere, but there are no American men ranked in the ATP's Top 10. The U.S., which dominated Davis Cup in the 1970s, hasn't won since 2007. Television ratings for the U.S. Open are a fraction of what they used to be in the era of Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe.
So why is a sport that is growing world-wide struggling to survive in America?
Many factors contribute to the deteriorating state of tennis in America. They include the dearth of Americans playing college tennis, the decline in American-based tennis tournaments and the absence of an American male superstar. There was once a time when crops of fresh tennis talent came from the ranks of the NCAA. College tennis served as a training ground for John McEnroe (Stanford), Jimmy Connors (UCLA), Arthur Ashe (UCLA) and John Isner (Georgia).
Isner, No. 14, is the highest-ranked American male. Lisa Raymond, who played at Florida in the early 1990s, is the last former women’s college player to break the top 20 in singles. Raymond, 39, continues to play doubles. These days it's tougher to find Americans on college teams in the U.S. Nearly half of all NCAA tennis players are foreigners. Earlier this year, South Carolina's The State newspaper reported that 51 percent of the rosters of 11 state Division I programs were made up of foreign students.
The millions of dollars in scholarship money going to non-U.S. citizens has sparked criticism, but that's mostly because some question of whether U.S. taxpayers should be footing the tuition bills of so many foreign players. The argument rarely touches on how the lack of American players in college is impacting the popularity of the sport at home. In 2012, columnist Tim Joyce wrote a story for Real Clear Sports in which he lamented the disappearance of tennis tournaments in California. That's right, the largest state in the country, the childhood home to Billie Jean King, the Williams sisters and Pete Sampras, has one significant tournament: Indian Wells.
The SAP Championship, which has been played in Northern California since 1889, moved to Memphis this year. It is now being relocated to Rio de Janeiro.The Carlsbad WTA tournament in Southern California is moving to Tokyo in 2014. Southern California has lost four professional tennis tournaments in the last eight years. Meanwhile, the WTA is expanding in Asia. The tour will host 16 events in the Asian-Pacific region in 2014. Five will be in China, home to star Li Na.
Television ratings in the U.S. are also not what they used to be, especially on the men's side. Serena Williams remains the most dominant player in women's tennis. When she's in the final of a Grand Slam, television ratings go up. Her 2013 U.S. Open final against Victoria Azarenka drew the highest ratings in 11 years.Williams is dynamic, a tennis icon and—most importantly for ratings in the U.S.—she is American. Matches in which Williams is in the final are outdrawing men's matches, even those with Federer.
Key findings included:
Negotiating language and cultural barriers can be a significant obstacle for counselors, especially if international students arrive in the US with limited English language proficiency.
Seventy-five percent of all counselors, and 90 percent of private school counselors, reported their international students work with third-party agents. Because no schools in the study had a written policy outlining the relationship between the counseling office and agents, counselors were unsure of how to collaborate with the external consultants.
Most counselors reported their graduate programs in counseling and education did not address working with nonimmigrant international students specifically.
Only four institutions offered formal multicultural competency training to college counselors.
On average, college counselors felt less comfortable advising international students about the college admission process than their domestic students.
As of Sept 30, China's box office was down 3 percent for the year, totaling $6.65 billion compared with $6.86 billion by the same time in 2018. A series of aggressive censorship actions in Beijing targeting the country's own would-be movie hits has weighed on China's content-hungry theatrical sector throughout the year.
By the end of Sunday, Oct. 14, the market was up 3.9 percent, however, having climbed to $7.52 billion for the year, according to box office analyst Artisan Gateway.
Driving the turnaround over the intervening two weeks was the successful launch of a trio of patriotic Chinese blockbusters, all of them produced to commemorate the nation's highly symbolic anniversary. Together, the three titles earned nearly $850 million.
Leading the way was My People, My Country, a propagandistic anthology drama film of seven shorts, each of them telling a story commemorating a different moment of glory since the PRC's establishment in 1949. Produced by state-backed Huaxia Film Distribution, the film had climbed to $361.5 million by Sunday. The film's seven segments were directed by a collection of China's most in-demand filmmakers, including Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao and Wen Muye.
Bona Film Group's The Captain, something like a Chinese version of Tom Hanks' Sully, has ranked first at the box office for much of the past week, steadily gaining on My Country, My People. Directed by Andrew Lau and starring Zhang Hanyu, the film is a re-creation of the 2018 Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 incident, in which a Chinese commercial jet's windshield broke mid-flight, forcing the pilot to execute a heroic emergency landing. The movie has totaled $343 million to date.
Coming in third for the holiday stretch was Shanghai Film Group's The Climbers, which stars local action hero Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 2) and chronicles the first real-life Chinese ascent of Mr. Everest. The Climbers' box office total has reached $138 million, a slight disappointment for a Wu Jing film, but still a healthy sum.
DreamWorks Animation's Abominable also was hoping to do big business during the lucrative holiday corridor but was largely left behind. Despite featuring a China-linked story and being co-produced by Shanghai-based Pearl Studio, the film fizzled in the Middle Kingdom, earning just $14.8 million in its first two weeks.
Hollywood will be back in the China market in a bigger way Friday with the release of Arg Lee and Will Smith's Gemini Man. Although the film has been savaged by critics stateside, hopes are high that it can make up some of its hefty $140 budget in China. Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group has a 25 percent equity stake in the film, and Alibaba has a 5 percent piece. The Skydance and Paramount film opened in third in the U.S. with an estimated $20.5 million, for a worldwide $59.5 million total including 58 international markets.
Fischer's member Ndaho asked Oda, "About how long will One Piece's [entire story] keep going?" Oda responded, "I want to end it in five years."
Oda revealed during his appearance on Fuji TV's Honma dekka!? program in January that the ending of the manga is "near" and that the manga will have "just over 100 volumes." Oda noted that he had thought about the manga's ending since he was still in college. In addition, the show's host Sanma Akashiya also asked Oda what would happen if a fan managed to guess the same ending that Oda is writing. Oda replied that he would change the ending. [After Oda's January statement, OnePiece.com and V Jump columnist Greg Werner cautioned fans against equating Oda's estimates of the story's progress to precise timeframes.]
Oda said in an interview in July 2016 that he had finished around 65% of the manga.
While he was still in high school, Oda was a runner-up for the Tezuka Award for new creators from Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1992. He began serializing the One Piece manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump manga on July 19, 1997. As of last year, the manga had 360 million copies in print in Japan and 70 million copies in print in over 42 other countries and territories, for a total of more than 430 million copies in print worldwide. The manga won the 41st Japan Cartoonist Awards in 2012, and set a Guinness World Record in 2015 for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author."
The members of Fischer's have cameos in the One Piece Stampede film. Fischer's also have a crossover manga with One Piece that debuted last year.
Regulatory confusion over cannabinoids (CBD) has opened up the space for alternatives, within which Gencor has released Levagen, a palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) ingredient touted as having anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties. The company also utilizes a novel delivery method coined LipiSperse that increases the bioavailability of its PEA ingredient and allows for applications such as shots and chews. “This opens up the market and allows consumers to be more familiar with PEA. It can add value to products within the sports nutrition space,” Mariko Hill, Product Development Executive at Gencor tells NutritionInsight, at Vitafoods, Geneva, earlier this month.Palmitoylethanolamide powder
PEA is produced in the body as a biological response and as a repair mechanism for inflammation. It is a simple fatty acid amide that is structurally related to the endogenous cannabinoid transmitter, anandamide (AEA). AEA is associated with regulating pain and the more AEA in the bloodstream, the less discomfort a person may feel. PEA has numerous clinical studies demonstrating its potential as an effective and safe anti-inflammatory, analgesic and tissue-protective nutrient.
CBD was early this year classified as an unauthorized novel food and regulatory limitations may curb NPD, especially in the pain relief relating to sports nutrition space, according to Hill. This is where Gencor’s Levagen PEA comes in as an alternative, which can eliminate regulatory hurdles, she says. “This leaves space for an alternative like PEA, more specifically our brand ingredient Levagen, which acts on those receptors that boost energy and have anti-inflammatory properties,” Hill notes.
However, this does not mean that PEA is just an alternative. In places where cannabinoids face no regulatory issues, PEA can be used in combination with CBD to boost health benefits. In places where CBD is allowed, PEA can work synergistically with it, as they target those same pathways,” Chase Shryoc, Gencor’s Vice President of Sales and Business Development, tells NutritionInsight.
“PEA is a fatty acid and an endogenous module, which can be found in every cell in the body. It is an endocannabinoid receptor agonist, which means that it works in the endocannabinoid system, similar to CBD. CBD binds directly to CB1 and CB2 receptor sites, while Levagen PEA indirectly activates those same receptors and has that same effect, but from a different direction,” Shyroc explains.
Hill adds that although PEA is an alternative, people should look at it as a completely different product to CBD. “It works synergistically because it is an endocannabinoid and is actually produced in the body endogenously as well. Supplementation can then offset that balance within the body and you can also use it in combination with CBD, but since CBD is still a novel food that may present challenges.”
Gencor is using a new delivery method called LipiSperse, that can boost Levagen’s properties. LipiSperse is a novel system tailored to increase the dispersion of crystalline lipophilic agents in aqueous environments. Cold water dispersible (CWD) powders have an equilibrium established between the LipiSperse on the powder surface and the LipiSperse in the solution, according to the company.
“So there is a Levagen standalone and one supported by LipiSperse, which we call Levagen+, a cold-water dispersible powder. This delivery technology increases the bioavailability and functionality of the ingredient. We also did a PEA study in which Levagen+ is showing 1,8 higher absorption to standalone PEA,” Hill notes. The new delivery method allows for a broader spectrum of applications for the ingredient.
Levagen for osteoarthritis
Adding to the list of benefits for the ingredient, a new study has found
that Levagen may have a beneficial effect on knee osteoarthritis and
support healthy aging. The study published in the Inflammopharmacology
Journal, aimed to examine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of PEA
when dosed at 300mg and 600mg per day on symptoms of knee
osteoarthritis.
“Osteoarthritis is one of the most common joint related concerns caused by the breakdown of articular cartilage and remodeling of joint tissues driven by inflammatory mediators,” says R.V. Venkatesh, Managing Director at Gencor. “The results of this study demonstrated the effects of Levagen and its ability to not only reduce pain but its ability to reduce anxiety levels, according to the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS).”
The eight-week, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study also concluded that Levagen may be a novel treatment for attenuating pain and reducing other associated symptoms of knee osteoarthritis at both 300mg and 600mg per day.
“PEA is unique due to its several fast-acting therapeutic effects,” notes Shryoc. “The study recipients reported a gradual reduction of WOMAC pain scores in just one week with further significant reductions at week 4 and 8. In addition to joint health, Levagen can also aid in restful sleep and recovery.”
According to the company, there are additional clinical studies taking place with Gencor’s Levagen which are expected to be released later this year. Gencor is also putting additional research into Levagen+.
Palmitoylethanolamide is a fatty acid amide that is naturally present in our bodies. It mainly functions as a very comprehensive anti-inflammatory and pain reducer. In terms of pain reduction, it works great for individuals with neuropathic pain and produces significant back pain relief and sciatic pain relief. This is due to the fact that palmitoylethanolamide produces something called the ‘Entourage Effect’ an effect which potentiates the effects of Anandamide and it is naturally present in our bodies. Anandamide plays a crucial role in inflammation and pain perception, and Palmitoylethanolamide prevents the breakdown of anandamide and works to enhance its effects in the body. This pathway is especially effective at decreasing neuropathic pain and thus palmitoylethanolamide is very popular with people looking for sciatic pain relief and back pain relief.Palmitoylethanolamide
Palmitoylethanolamide also works to decrease inflammation by interacting with an enzyme called cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). This enzyme produces inflammation and is the target of most NSAIDs like Ibuprofen. These NSAIDs decrease pain perception by blocking COX-2 activity, whereas palmitoylethanolamide decreases pain perception by preventing the production of proinflammatory compounds that are produced by COX-2, such as prostaglandins D2 and E2.
Another unique effect that palmitoylethanolamide has, is that it activates the PPAR-alpha receptor. This receptor a major mediator of inflammation and pain perception and its activation causes a decrease in inflammation and a subsequent drop in pain perception.
Altogether, palmitoylethanolamide is a great compound for neuropathic pain and is a fantastic choice for individuals looking for sciatic pain relief and back pain relief.
*Attention: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and
Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat,
cure or prevent any disease.
Palmitoylethanolamide, also known as PEA, is a endogenous fatty acid
amide that has been demonstrated to exert a great variety of biological
functions related to pain. Additionally, it has been shown to have
neuroprotective properties. Pain management support dates as far back as
before 1980. The birth of the molecule was in 1957 and it was in that
year that 5 researchers believed that PEA was a natural pain management
supplement.