Western Academy of Beijing

Established in 1994, the Westem Academy of Beijing is an independent, coeducational, non-profit day school which offers an international educational program from Nursery to Grade 9 for students from the expatriate community on Beijing. High school grades are being introduced each year, and it is planned that Grade 12 will be offered by 2006. The school is growing rapidly with an enrolment of 900 students from more than 54 countries. American, British, Korean, Finnish and Dutch are the largest single nationality groups. Students who speak English as a first language comprise 45% of the student body, students from continental Europe, 30%, and Asian students 25%.

Address PO Box 8547, #10 Lai Guang Ying Dong Lu, Chao Yang District, Beijing, 100103, China Tel: (+86) 10 8456 4155 Fax: (+86) 10 6437 5935 hr@westernacademy.com www.wab.edu School Summary: International, IB, curricula. 722 students, 3-15 yrs.

The Western Academy of Beijing follows the International Baccalaureate PYP and MYP programs and will introduce the IB Diploma in 2005. There is a strong focus on enquiry based learning. Information Technology with more than 400 laptop computers in the school, Chinese culture and language, the arts, physical and social development and community service. There are also extensive activities and recreation programs. Support programs include ESOL, Optimal Learning Support for students with specific learning needs and with talents, and personal and careers counseling. WAB is internationally accredited by ECIS and NEASC. WAB's faculty represents 13 nationalities with most coming from the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Western Academy of Beijing’s new internationally award winning campus opened in 2001, and is conveniently located in Chaoyang District, only 20 minutes from most expatriate housing areas and the downtown business district. The campus features three separate centers for Early Childhood, Elementary and Middle School/High School and includes outstanding library, dining, sporting and theatre facilities. These are extensively used by the expatriate community after hours and on weekends.

The Westem Academy of Beijing year begins in August and ends in June. The school day runs from 08:30 to 15:15. Admission is open to children from all nationalities and is based on a personal interview and reports from previous schools. WAB operates an open enrolment policy, based on date of application, and usually has extensive waiting lists for admission to all grade levels.