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Swiss Education in Beijing

The Swiss School Beijing is the first “Swiss School Abroad” in China and offers a unique window onto the Swiss education system. This system was built on the pedagogical principles introduced by J.H. Pestalozzi in the 18th century, and has contributed significantly towards Switzerland’s present-day ranking as the most innovative country worldwide. Education has always played a central role in the social, cultural and economic growth of Switzerland.

Classes in a Swiss School Abroad are taught in at least one of Switzerland’s national languages. At the Swiss School Beijing, this will initially be German. In addition, education in the Swiss School Beijing is based on a Swiss curriculum, adapted to benefit from the school’s culturally rich Chinese and international context. The quality assurance for the school is carried out by educational experts from the Canton of Zurich.

As a section of the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), the Swiss School Beijing benefits of the excellent infrastructure of this reputed international school.

Our Values

How do we prepare our children for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow? We believe that this is best achieved by letting them discover the fun of learning and allowing them to grow up in a truly multicultural setting.

Our school nurtures:

A spirit of exploration and the motivation to learn
Creativity and innovation
Self-confidence and empathy
Responsibility and reliability
Respect for others and the environment
The ability to learn and the willingness to perform

Our Approach

Children are at the centre of the learning process. Our main goal is to make sure that their learning is successful.

We recognise that every child is different and we therefore use a differentiated approach to teaching and learning.

We believe that education should be holistic, that it should develop academic knowledge as well as creative, sportive and social skills.

We recognize that our location in Beijing is a unique opportunity to learn from many different cultures.

We recruit highly qualified and experienced teachers. Our class teachers have educational qualifications that are recognized by the Swiss government.

We provide an environment that is friendly, healthy, safe and in general conducive to learning.

We value a constructive collaboration with parents. In particular, we inform them regularly of the School’s educational goals and their child’s progress.

We foster a culture of continuous improvement in all areas of our school.

Our Teachers

Linda Ninio is a graduate teacher from the Zurich University of Teacher Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Zürich). She worked as a primary school teacher in various schools in Switzerland. She lived in Beijing previously and can speak basic Mandarin, in addition to being fluent in German, English and French.

Yildiz Aksel holds a bachelor in German Pedagogy as well as a primary teaching diploma. She is German and gained working experience in Germany and in Turkey, before taking a break from her professional career to raise her two children. She’s looking forward to be back in the classroom and being part of the Swiss School Beijing team. Yildiz Aksel speaks German, English and Turkish.

Dr. med. Alexandra Schwarz-Rüfer works as a parttime Learning support sub-teacher. She passed her final state exam in medical studies in Germany and worked as a doctor, specialized in child and adolescent psychiatry, psychosomatic and psychotherapy. She attended several training on ADHD, behavior therapy, concentration training and self-reflection. Dr. Schwarz-Rüfer speaks German, English and French, with basic knowledge of Mandarin. She is the happy mother of three children.

Ivy Zhao is the Chinese teaching assistant for the Early Years and Kindergarten group, as well as the Arts subject teacher in all our classes. Before joining the Swiss School, she worked ten years in WAB’s art department. Ivy has a master’s degree in teaching Chinese as a second language. She speaks Chinese and English and has basic knowledge of German.

Candice Lv is a teaching assistant for the Primary section, as well as our Textile and technical design subject teacher. She is Chinese and holds a Bachelor of Primary Education. She is also fluent in German and worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Kindergarten of the German Embassy School and in House of Knowledge before joining the Swiss School.

Dan Bai is a teaching assistant for the Early Years and Kindergarten group. She is Chinese and has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. She is fluent in German and lived in Germany for eight years, where she completed her studies and gathered experience in the education of young children through various internships.

XinYi Chen is a teaching assistant for the Primary section. She is Chinese and has a Master degree in German language and literature. She participated in student exchanges with the Thurgau University of Teacher Education (Switzerland) and the University of Erfurt (Germany) and did several internships in Swiss and German primary schools.

Stella Jiang teaches Chinese culture (from Early Years onwards) and English (from Pre-Primary/KG2 onwards). She has more than 12 years of experience working as a substitute teacher, Chinese teacher and homeroom teacher in various international schools in Shanghai. Stella is Chinese and has a master’s degree in teaching Chinese as a second language. She is fluent in Mandarin and English and has basic knowledge of German.

Blake Wang holds a qualification as Physical Education (PE) teacher. He is employed by WABX as a community supervisor and coach and will also teach one of two weekly sport lessons to our students.

Early Years and Kindergarten

The Swiss School Beijing welcomes children that are 3 and 4 years old on 31st of August into its Early Years and Kindergarten (KG1) class.

The class size is of maximum 16 children and the classroom teacher is an experienced teacher with Swiss teaching qualification.

Our school hours are as follows: Monday: 8:30am to 3:20pm Tuesday: 8:30am to 3:20pm Wednesday: 8:30am to 11:40am Thursday: 8:30am to 3:20pm Friday: 8:30am to 3:20pm

A typical school day may look as follows:

8:30am Classes commence
10:15am-10:35am Morning break
11:55am-12:55pm Lunch
3:20pm Classes end (11:40am on Wednesdays)

Pre-Primary and Primary

The Swiss School Beijing welcomes children that are 5 to 10 years old on 31st of August into its Pre-Primary (KG2) and Primary section.

The class size is of maximum 16 children and the classroom teachers are experienced teachers with Swiss or German teaching qualification. Students of the Swiss School Beijing can also join WAB‘s Chinese language program. This program caters for beginners through to native speakers and recognizes the diverse learning needs of WAB’s students.

School begins at 8:30am and ends at 3:20pm.