Shanghai, China
International schools in Shanghai: what families need to know
Shanghai has two separate school systems for foreign families, and the difference decides your whole search. Schools for children of foreign nationals may only enrol pupils holding a foreign passport and a residence permit. Private bilingual schools may enrol Chinese nationals and follow the national curriculum with an international stream added. Nationality, visa status and where you live all narrow the list before curriculum does. This guide covers who may enrol where, admissions, the school year, fees, districts and how places actually work here.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Shanghai
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Shanghai in short
- Curricula available in Shanghai: IB, British, American, and Chinese national with bilingual streams.
- The Shanghai school year runs Late August or early September to mid-June, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, under China's Ministry of Education.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Shanghai school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Shanghai schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Shanghai at a glance
The facts that shape a Shanghai school search
- Oversight
- Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, under China's Ministry of Education
- Main curricula
- IB, British, American, and Chinese national with bilingual streams
- School year
- Late August or early September to mid-June
- Ages served
- Nursery through Grade 12 or Year 13
- Language
- English at foreign-national schools; Mandarin required at bilingual schools
How admissions work in Shanghai
Most Shanghai schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Shanghai. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Shanghai
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Shanghai school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Shanghai fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Shanghai school year runs late August or early September to mid-June.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Shanghai
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Shanghai market costs, in round numbers
Premium band- Primary, per year
- CNY 180,000 – 280,000
- Secondary, per year
- CNY 220,000 – 340,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$25,000 – 47,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Shanghai schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Shanghai school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Shanghai
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Pudong: Jinqiao and Kangqiao
The largest concentration of foreign-national school campuses, low-rise compound housing and short school runs. Popular with families who put commute time first.
Minhang: Hongqiao and Gubei
Long-established expatriate districts on the west side, with several international campuses, Japanese and Korean communities and easy access to Hongqiao transport.
Puxi city centre: Jing'an, Xuhui, Former French Concession
Apartment living, walkable streets and city life, with fewer large campuses nearby and more reliance on school buses.
Qingpu and the western suburbs
Space, houses with gardens and several campuses, at the cost of a long trip into the centre.
Moving to Shanghai with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Shanghai.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Shanghai are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Shanghai
Schools for children of foreign nationals are licensed separately from private bilingual schools. The first group may only enrol children holding a foreign passport with a valid residence permit; the second may enrol Chinese nationals and must teach the national curriculum in core subjects. Both are supervised by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and both are worth understanding before you shortlist.
Passport and visa status decide the shortlist
Foreign-national schools verify passports and residence permits at enrolment. Children with a Chinese passport, including some children of mixed families, are generally not eligible for them.
Get your work permit and residence permit sequence clear early: several schools cannot complete enrolment until the permit is issued, even when a place is offered.
Bus routes matter more than distance
Most campuses run extensive bus networks, and the route map is a practical guide to which neighbourhoods a school genuinely serves.
Ask for the current route list and typical journey time from the addresses you are considering before you sign a lease. A 12 km trip can take an hour at peak.
Mandarin is part of the timetable, not an extra
Nearly all schools teach Mandarin daily, with streams for beginners and for native or heritage speakers.
If your family may stay several years, ask how streams are set, how often children move between them, and what happens for a child arriving mid-year with no Mandarin.
Fees, currency and paying from abroad
Tuition is published in renminbi per year group and normally billed by semester. Registration and application fees are separate and usually non-refundable.
Company-paid packages are common; confirm in writing what your employer covers, whether it includes bus and meals, and who pays if you leave mid-year.
Ask about the refund schedule if a visa is refused or a posting is cut short — terms vary and are worth reading before the deposit.
Digital life and daily logistics
School communication runs through WeChat groups and school apps; set up a local phone number early, as many services depend on it.
Mobile payment is the norm for canteens, buses and trips. Plan the local bank account and payment setup in your first fortnight.
What families get wrong in Shanghai
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Assuming any international school is open to you
Foreign-national schools require a foreign passport and residence permit. Bilingual private schools follow different rules.
Signing a lease before checking the bus route
Shanghai is large and traffic is heavy. Confirm the route and journey time from your exact address.
Leaving documents unlegalised
Previous school records and some family documents need notarisation and legalisation. Start before you fly.
Treating Mandarin as optional
It is timetabled daily. Ask how beginners are supported if your children arrive with none.
Overlooking mid-year availability
Popular year groups fill for August, but places do open in January. Ask for the current position by year group.
Official Shanghai resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Shanghai
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Shanghai with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Shanghai
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Shanghai
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Shanghai that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Shanghai
Find international schools in Shanghai for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Shanghai
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Shanghai compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Shanghai information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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