Wycombe Abbey School Changzhou, Private School WAS Changzhou

• Location: Changzhou, China,
• Year of foundation: 2012,
• Number of students: about 1300,
• Language of instruction: English, Chinese,
• Type of education: blended.

Wycombe Abbey School in Changzhou (WAS Changzhou) — one of the educational campuses of Wycombe Abbey School, which has a history dating back to 1896 and is located in London, England. WAS Changzhou is also considered international: it educates students from all over the world — among 1300 students, about 20% are foreigners.

WAS Changzhou, opened in 2012, became the first overseas campus of Wycombe Abbey School outside of England. Located in Jiangsu province, WAS Changzhou actively pursues academic activities based on British education standards. In the curriculum of each class, sports, sciences and arts work together, allowing students to undergo interdisciplinary training, pay sufficient attention to their strengths and develop them. Students are offered excellent conditions for acquiring knowledge in a variety of subjects, developing their talents — the educational campus boasts diverse infrastructure for sports, creativity, outdoor recreation, and events.

WAS Changzhou also stands out with special advantages, including an international teaching staff: about half of the teachers are foreign citizens, many have experience teaching abroad or educating foreign students in their country. Highly qualified teachers set themselves the goal not only to impart academic knowledge and prepare pupils for admission to universities, but also to help them find the direction in which they are strong and successful. The number of teachers is sufficient so that each student is in an atmosphere of comprehensive support and receives timely assistance.

WAS Changzhou implements a holistic education system based on achieving outstanding academic results and developing creative, social, and athletic abilities. The curriculum is built on the Chinese national program in teaching natural and humanities sciences, fine arts, music, sports, and other core subjects; at the same time, during the learning process, a Developing Curriculum and a Super-Curriculum are used — aspects that complement the main plan, thanks to which various sports, creative activities, excursions, national and international tours, and participation in world-renowned competitions and awards are included in the students' schedule. Thus, WAS Changzhou offers a system of three different but closely related core curricula.

At different stages, the emphasis is focused on age-appropriate goals that take into account the needs of students — this approach ensures that children will develop consistently, fully, and progressively, gradually strengthening their interest in academic and extracurricular areas where they excel and are interested.

The WAS Changzhou academic system includes four levels:

• Kindergarten — kindergarten for children aged 3-6,
• Lower School — primary grades 1-6,
• Upper School — middle school, grades 7-8,
• Upper School (High School) — senior grades, 9-12.

WAS Changzhou residences accommodate students of different ages in conditions that help them both focus on their studies when necessary and get to know their classmates better. Younger and middle school students live in triple rooms, while high school students — in double rooms. Each room is equipped with a bathroom, fully furnished, and has a sleeping and working space for each resident. Employees live next door to the students, available to answer any questions around the clock: they take care of order and safety every day, organize laundry and cleaning.

WAS Changzhou cooperates with Sodexo, a world leader in providing catering services, which provides students with healthy, balanced and varied menus. Every day, three meals are served in the dining room, along with two snacks buffet-style. For lunch and dinner, students can choose dishes from Chinese and Western cuisine: signature noodles, fruits, desserts and a self-service salad bar. The menu always includes dishes adapted to the special needs of students with allergies or dietary restrictions.

Every month, an international food festival is held in the dining room, allowing students to try dishes prepared according to recipes from other countries and cultures.

At WAS Changzhou, a House System has been developed, involving mentorship of senior students over younger pupils. Regular communication between students of different ages helps to strengthen a friendly atmosphere and allows them to acquire valuable social and personal skills. By taking on the roles of older brothers and sisters, middle and high school students accompany junior pupils and help them adapt to the school environment, providing support at the start in new activities. The House System also includes regular competitions aimed at healthy competition and achieving creative and sporting results.

A huge number of thematic events are implemented on campus during extracurricular hours, including training in 30 sports, 10 school expeditions, 20 music clubs, and much more. The most popular areas of extracurricular development include:

• Musical and dramatic arts: choir, orchestra, playing musical instruments, theater groups,
• Art: design, ceramics, painting,
• Sports: basketball, football, swimming, rowing, equestrian sports.

On weekends and during holidays, students go on excursions around the region, take multi-day trips abroad, participate in international and national Olympiads and projects: Science Olympiads (Chemistry, Biology), Royal Society of Chemistry, iDEA, MAA AMC and others. Regular off-site events help students gain a broad understanding of the world and other cultures, visit iconic attractions, and try their hand at new leisure activities. Excursions are also an important aspect of participation in the world-renowned Duke of Edinburgh's Award, whose awards will be an advantage when applying to universities around the world.

• English and Chinese language education for children up to 14 years old,
• Awards «International School of the Year 2022», Supporting Excellence Award 2024 from Boarding Schools’ Association,
• In 2024, the school was included in the Top Recommended Asia-Pacific School rankings by The Spear’s Index and Top 150 Private Schools Worldwide by The Schools Index by Carfax Education,
• In 2024, WAS Changzhou received the Accredited Member award from Council of British International Schools (COBIS),
• Since 2025, the founder of Cardiff Sixth Form College, Chief Education Officer of OIC Yasmin Sarvar, has been working in the management team, who helps students prepare for admission to the world's best universities and regularly updates curricula to improve high school results,
• Accredited to conduct the official HSK exam in Chinese language,
• 20% of students, about 50% of teachers — are foreigners,
• Teacher-student ratio — 1:5, which ensures a high degree of individual support,
• The curriculum meets British education standards: from the age of 14, students study IGCSE, at the age of 16 they move on to A-Level studies, and upon completion of their studies they receive an international diploma,
• A wide range of extracurricular clubs and sections,
• Excellent academic performance, high percentage of admission to leading universities around the world.

WAS Changzhou is located in the Wujin district of Changzhou city, Jiangsu province, a two-hour drive from Shanghai. The campus covers 150 acres with four large buildings and open areas for walking, sports, and events.

The infrastructure of WAS Changzhou meets modern educational standards, providing students with the best equipment for science learning, creative activities, and sports. In addition to spacious classrooms, libraries, and recreation areas on campus, you can find:

• Chemistry, physics, biology laboratories,
• Recording studio,
• Music classes,
• Applied art studios,
• A theater with rehearsal rooms and a performance hall,
• Choreography hall,
• Forest school,
• Gyms, indoor sports halls,
• A FINA-standard swimming pool,
• Tennis and basketball courts,
• An outdoor sports field covered with an inflatable dome in winter,
• Football fields.

WAS Changzhou boasts its own professional rowing center — the campus is located on the shore of West Tai Lake, where water sports training and competitions are often held.

WAS Changzhou provides bus transportation services for families whose children study in a day format: routes cover the main urban areas of Changzhou, school buses are equipped with a mandatory safety system, each group of children is accompanied by an adult employee, and all buses are connected to an intelligent monitoring and management platform.

The WAS Changzhou academic calendar includes studies from the beginning of September to the end of June, seasonal holidays in October, December, February, April-May and July-August. Classes are held on weekdays, in addition to holidays students rest on weekends and public holidays. During summer vacation, seasonal camps with thematic programs are opened on campus.

The tuition fee covers the full academic plan, campus events, most learning materials. List of additional expenses:

• Administrative, registration fees and deposits, including a deposit for school uniform, books, excursions, exams, school bus and other,
• Accommodation and meals,
• Some extracurricular activities,
• Individual lessons,
• Personal expenses.

WAS Changzhou accepts payments in pounds sterling, US dollars and Hong Kong dollars.

The admission procedure to WAS Changzhou consists of several stages:

• Filling out the registration form and medical form online,
• Providing the required documents,
• Taking the CAT4 test,
• Attending an online interview with school administrators,
• Receiving a letter of admission to study,
• Receiving visa documents, assistance with which is provided by school staff,
• Arrival on campus and commencement of studies.

WAS Changzhou is considered a prestigious and quite selective institution, expecting high achievements from its students and applicants. Targeted admission is available to children who have completed training in the preschool department — they enroll in the first grade as a priority and without entrance tests. Other academic levels have a limited number of applicants:

• Primary school — up to 96 students,
• Middle school — up to 144 students in total, up to 45 new students.

If WAS Changzhou receives a large number of applications from applicants who have not attended it before, a computer program for randomizing applications is involved in the admission process. The number of enrolled students and their names are published in June-July.

Thanks to comprehensive development in creativity, sports, public activities, and high-quality academic preparation, WAS Changzhou high school students enroll in leading universities around the world: over the past ten years, graduates have been admitted to the best universities in the UK, Switzerland, Canada, the USA, Germany, New Zealand, and other countries.

According to annual statistics:

• 100% of high school students continue their academic path at foreign universities,
• 32% receive acceptance letters from universities ranked among the top 25 in the world by QS.

Today, WAS Changzhou graduates can be found at such universities as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, UCL, LSE, King’s College London, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley, UCLA and others.

Admission of foreign students is open to grades 9-12. To apply, applicants must provide:

• Personal documents: passport, medical insurance and health certificates. Foreigners need a visa or residence permit to study in China, which can be obtained after receiving an invitation for enrollment,
• Academic transcripts for the last two years of study,
• A recommendation letter from a teacher or mentor.

Depending on the age of the applicant, the requirements for proficiency in Chinese/English will vary.

WAS Changzhou offers a three-year scholarship to outstanding students entering the 10th grade: in addition to covering part of tuition, the student receives mentorship from a teacher and regular meetings for goal setting and progress tracking, invitations to external and internal lectures, debates, seminars and events designed for gifted students, membership in an outstanding scholars group with attendance at numerous public events.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision