Dipont Education’s newest independent school, Shanghai Huaer Collegiate School Kunshan, opened its doors to its first students this week.
Hundreds of children and their parents arrived at the school gates in excitement, as new teaching faculty and staff welcomed them.
Faculty have been arriving from around the world over the last few weeks, experiencing challenging journeys and compulsory quarantine to arrive ahead of the school opening.
Strictly following all health protocols during this period of coronavirus, not one teacher wanted to miss this important milestone in the school’s history.
The arrival of students marks the culmination of three years of work in establishing the school, which has been developed by Dipont in collaboration with the No. 2 High School of East China Normal University.
Opening initially from preschool to 10th grade, by 2022 Huaer Collegiate will grow into a full upper school through 12th grade. The school has developed a blended Chinese and American curriculum, combining a drive for academic excellence with a whole child education program designed to nurture healthy, well-adjusted young adults.
The school’s state-of-the-art campus, which is located in the Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone, includes modern classrooms, a large multi-purpose sports hall, a 50-meter indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, playing fields, a running track, a performing arts auditorium and boarding facilities.
Huaer Collegiate, which is located just west of Shanghai in eastern China, is the third K-12 school to be developed by Dipont in a unique partnership model with local government and a leading Chinese school. It follows the successful opening of Nanwai King’s College School Wuxi and RDFZ King’s College School Hangzhou in 2018.
Speaking ahead of the school’s opening, founding head Carol Santos said: “I hope the school will reflect its Chinese and American cultural backgrounds as well as offer a collegiate, high-achieving environment with limitless possibilities for students.”
Huaer Collegiate strives to educate two-to 18-year-old Chinese and international scholars to be innovative and collaborative while appreciating their own and others’ cultures and traditions. As a result of the education at Huaer Collegiate, scholars will understand the importance of having a worldview and be able to make a positive contribution to our global society.
Please note that since January 2022, Huaer Collegiate has been known as Dipont Huayao Collegiate School Kunshan.
