Tsinghua International School

Tsinghua International School (THIS) is on the Tsinghua University High School campus in Haidian District, Beijing, opposite the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace), with a strong academic neighbourhood and university links. The school is reachable using local roads and public transport serving the Zhongguancun/Tsinghua area; the school's address and office phone are listed on its website.

THIS operates a Primary, Middle and High School program (grades 1–12) with separate curriculum pages for the middle and high school divisions. The curriculum is based on U.S. Common Core standards combined with required Chinese language and culture courses.

THIS is a co-educational international school attached to Tsinghua University High School (清华附中) and serves international and returning Chinese students. The school has undergone WASC accreditation processes and has reported receiving WASC accreditation in its published materials.

THIS provides English-language support for students still mastering English: Structured English Immersion (SEI) classes are offered in middle school and eligibility is determined using the WIDA test. The school website does not publish a detailed, separate Special Educational Needs (SEN) department description; if your child has diagnosed learning needs, contact the admissions office to discuss specific accommodations and assessments.

The international school is part of (operates on the campus of) Tsinghua University High School and is run within Beijing, China; admissions information notes it enrolls foreign passport holders and residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan for grades 1–12.

No religious affiliation is stated on the school's official materials; THIS presents itself as a secular international school.

Published and parent-facing summaries report a typical school day beginning around 08:00 and ending around 15:15, with extracurricular activities and after-school clubs running later in the afternoon (for example, many activities are reported around 15:30–17:30). Exact daily schedules, start/end times and break/lunch arrangements vary by division and year level—confirm current times with admissions.

THIS offers a daily school-bus service with designated pick-up and drop-off points for elementary, middle and high school students; external summaries report multiple routes across Beijing (commonly reported as around eleven routes). Parents should contact the admissions or transport office for current route maps, pick-up points, fees and registration procedures. }

Tsinghua International School (THIS) operates an international K–12 programme (Grades 1–12) that integrates Western curricula with sustained Chinese language and cultural study. The elementary programme (Grades 1–5) follows a US-style curriculum aligned with the Common Core and AERO standards, uses Singapore Math and Beijing Normal/PRC-aligned materials for Chinese, and emphasizes project- and inquiry-based learning. The middle school (Grades 6–8) continues this inquiry-based US standards approach with bilingual English/Chinese tracks, world language options (including French and Spanish) and STEAM offerings. The high school is credit-based (minimum 25 credits for graduation; the school recommends ~28 for competitive university preparation), follows US Common Core frameworks through Grade 11, and provides a wide range of required and elective courses across sciences, mathematics, humanities, arts and technology. For external qualifications and assessments, THIS is an authorized AP provider and on‑campus test centre (offers roughly 16 AP courses and administers AP, SAT, ACT and PSAT exams), so students typically prepare for AP exams and standardised admissions tests rather than IB/IGCSE pathways.

THIS describes a formal school counselling service that explicitly supports students' social and emotional development; the counselling team lists programmes such as individual and group counselling, teaching self‑help skills, assisting transitions and creating positive behaviour plans. The counselling pages say the team works closely with teachers, parents and school leadership to support students' social/personal growth and to teach interpersonal skills and self‑esteem. The school names two counsellors on its site: Gerald Anthony (Primary School Counselor) and Laura Zhang (Secondary School Counselor). These services are described as part of the personalised support offered under Social & Emotional, Academic and Career domains. The description and staff names are published on THIS's School Counseling page.

THIS's public faculty listing includes staff roles titled “Learning Specialist” (e.g. Vicky Zhao) and the counselling overview refers to helping to “remove learning barriers,” indicating the school provides in‑school learning support. The site also describes whole‑staff training on differentiated instruction, which the school says is intended to help meet diverse learner needs. The school does not, however, publish a detailed list of specific special educational needs (for example, dyslexia, ADHD, sensory or physical needs) that it can or cannot support, nor does it present itself as a specialist SEN institution in its public materials. For precise limits of provision and formal SEN policy the school asks families to contact admissions or the support team directly.

THIS publishes multiple English Language Support (ELS) roles on its faculty page, including a Head of Primary ELS (Caroline Williamson) and named Primary and Secondary ELS teachers, showing an organisational provision for English language support. The school's Primary section states that English is the main language of instruction and that students are taught by native English teachers alongside Chinese teachers. The admissions process also includes an academic English test as part of entry requirements, indicating English placement is assessed on entry. The site does not present a separate public EAL policy document, but the named ELS staff and admissions testing are described on the school site.

THIS's counselling programme explicitly includes crisis intervention, individual and group counselling, referrals to external services and creating individual positive behaviour plans as part of student mental‑health support. The school has also run staff training on psychological crisis intervention and prevention, describing sessions for faculty on identifying crisis signals and response procedures. The school's stated core values include wellbeing and the counselling and crisis‑training pages frame mental‑health support as a school priority. For details about clinical or external therapeutic arrangements the school directs families to contact the counselling team.

THIS publishes evidence of safeguarding‑related activity: the counselling service lists crisis intervention and creation of behaviour plans, and the school has public reports of staff training in psychological crisis intervention and response procedures. The school's core values list Wellbeing and refer to protecting student health and safety as a priority. However, THIS does not appear to publish a standalone child‑protection or safeguarding policy document on its public website; a formal written safeguarding/child‑protection policy is not linked from the public pages. Families seeking the school's formal safeguarding policy or detailed reporting procedures should contact the school directly.

1. Prepare application documents. Parents should gather photocopies and bring originals to the in-person interview: student identification (passport and, if applicable, current China visa page; for Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan residents the specific travel/ID documents listed by the school), a color passport-style photo (3.3 x 4.8 cm), immunization record (original and scanned copy), recent school transcripts and any award certificates, and parents' valid ID plus parents' undergraduate degree certificates. For specific grades, THIS requires particular documentary ranges (for example: original transcripts of the most recent one year for grade 2 applicants, two years for grades 3–8, and all transcripts since grade 9 for grade 9–11 applicants) — confirm which original documents you must bring because some documents are requested as originals at interview.

2. Complete and submit the online application. All applications are submitted through THIS's online application system (OpenApply); when you enter referee information the system will automatically send a secure link to teachers for recommendation forms, so provide accurate teacher email addresses. The school operates year‑round admissions, but applications are processed in the order received, so submit early if you need a specific start term; keep copies of every uploaded PDF and note the system checklist so you don't miss required items.

3. Testing and observation (school assessment). After the admissions office reviews materials, the student will be invited to an assessment day: a ~15-minute comprehensive potential assessment and written tests; applicants for Grade 7+ must take a mathematics test, and non‑native Chinese speakers take a Chinese placement test. Grade 1 applicants who pass the test also take a behavioral observation session; test results are valid for six months, so if you plan to defer more than six months the student will need to retake the tests. Plan travel and scheduling around the test date and bring originals of all documents requested on the day.

4. Family interview (where applicable). Students who perform well in the tests (and in the Grade 1 observation, if applicable) may be invited, together with their parents, to a family interview — typically within about a week after testing; Grade 1 students are an exception and do not have the family interview stage. Use the interview to clarify academic needs, language support, and any special educational or medical needs; bring any documents that support requests (IEPs, medical records, etc.) because the interview is used to confirm fit and logistics.

5. Admission decision and next steps. The admissions office will notify applicants by email once all steps (tests, observation, interview where applicable) are complete; responses are generally sent after the full application process finishes (the school indicates decisions are communicated by email). If offered a place, confirm deadlines for acceptance, start‑of‑term paperwork, visa/residence permit requirements and any payment deadlines — the school lists two cut‑off dates for transfer enrollments (Nov 15 for first semester and Mar 15 for second semester), so check these if you are requesting mid‑year entry. For specific payment instructions, enrollment deposits, or registration procedures, contact THIS Admissions directly (phone/email listed on the school site).

The school's official admissions and fees pages list tuition and incidental fees but do not publish a K–12 scholarship, tuition assistance, or fee‑remission program on the public site. For the 2024–25 academic year THIS lists tuition in RMB and specifies per‑year amounts by division (Primary ¥186,000; Middle ¥208,000; High ¥218,000) and notes that lunch and other incidental fees are charged separately (lunch typically ~¥15–25 per meal). If you would like to confirm whether any merit‑ or need‑based assistance, sibling discounts, payment plans, or bursaries are available in the current or coming year, contact THIS Admissions (phone: +86 10 6277‑1477 / +86 10 6279‑7000; email: this@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn) because the school's public pages do not describe such programs.

THIS states it uses rolling admissions and that places are allocated on a first‑come, first‑served basis; the school's public pages describe admissions as “rolling” and encourage applicants to contact admissions early because enrollment is by available places. The website does not publish a formal waitlist policy or describe a separate ‘pool' of held applicants; if you need to know whether THIS will hold a declined place on a waitlist or how long a held offer remains active, ask the admissions office directly (telephone and admissions email are published on the site). For transfer requests or timing questions, note the two published cut‑off dates (Nov 15 and Mar 15) and confirm how the school manages late applications in the year you apply.