Admissions Overview
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Welcome from the Admissions Team
A very warm welcome from the Admissions Team of Dulwich College Beijing! We understand that choosing a school for your child is a decision not made lightly and our admissions team is here to help guide you through the application process. In this section, you will find everything you need to know about the admissions process, admissions criteria, fees, age placement guide and other useful information.
Please note that you need to register first to enquire or apply. Selected forms will open in a separate and secured Dulwich College International website.
Useful Documents
Download AllApplying to Dulwich College Beijing
Dulwich College Beijing opened in 2005 and is recognised as a leading international school in Beijing. Our College is a co-educational day school for students from Nursery to Year 13 (ages 3 to 18), with over thirty different nationalities represented in our community.
Our College is academically selective and follows an enhanced British curriculum adapted for the needs of our international student body. Students in Years 10 and 11 study a curriculum that leads to IGSCE examinations and then follow the IB Diploma Programme in Years 12 and 13. Our strong academic curriculum is complemented by rich co-curricular activities.
Continuing the tradition of excellence of our founding school, our graduates go on to study at leading universities in the UK, USA and around the world.
The primary teaching language is English with a dual language approach in Mandarin and English for children aged 3 to 7. To ensure our students will thrive we assess the level of English of non-native speakers before making an offer. Our Mandarin programme is streamed and caters to all abilities.
The close collaboration among our Colleges gives our students unique opportunities to participate in network events and benefit from the group's relationships with leading educational and artistic organisations.
We encourage students and parents to visit our campus to learn more and meet the College leadership team. Please enjoy a virtual tour and stay in touch by following us at DulwichBeijing on WeChat.
How to Apply
To apply, please review the admissions criteria below and complete the online application. Please refer to our admissions booklet and frequently asked questions below for more information. Our admissions team is also on hand to guide families through the process. Please contact us by call +86(10) 6454-9002 or email [email protected]
To determine which year to apply for, please refer to our student age placement guide. As a general rule, students should have reached the age indicated in the table before 1st September of the year of application.
Admissions Criteria
As an international school, we strictly follow the eligibility requirements set forth by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission (BMEC). Students whose identity fall into any of the following categories are eligible to apply. If not, please consult with DCB admissions for confirmation of eligibility.
- Valid foreign passport holder with a valid Chinese visa or Travel Document（旅行证）
- Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan permanent resident with a valid Travel Permit（回乡证/台胞证）
- Valid Chinese passport holder with foreign permanent residence permit and proof of having lived abroad for more than one year
In addition to providing the application and supporting documents, all students wishing to join are subject to the admissions checklist set out below. If you are unsure about which year level to apply for, please refer to our Age Placement Guide. Our cutoff date for grade placement is 1st September
Students applying for entry into Nursery and Reception must submit current and prior school records in English (if any). Students entering Nursery and Reception must be toilet trained. All applicants who meet the entry requirements will be invited to meet with our key academic staff in DUCKS in a group setting.
Students applying for entry into Year 1 and Year 2 must submit current and prior school records in English. Applicants who meet the entry requirements will be invited to meet with key academic staff in DUCKS in a one-to-one setting.
Students applying for entry into Years 3 to 6 must submit last two years’ school reports. A Confidential Teacher Comment Report from the class teacher or Principal may also be required. Students all undertake entrance assessments to ensure they can access the curriculum. The assessment consists of verbal, quantitative and non-verbal assessments. Applicants will also complete a writing assignment as well as an interview with key academic staff in Junior School.
Students applying for entry into Years 7 to 13 must submit last two years’ school reports. A Confidential Teacher Comment Report from the class teacher or Principal may also be required. Students will undertake entrance assessments to ensure they can access the curriculum. The assessment consists of computerized test including verbal, quantitative and non-verbal sections. Candidates will also complete a writing assignment. Candidates whose first language is not English will also take an English as an Additional Language assessment. All Senior School candidates will be interviewed by key and relevant academic staff as part of the admission process.
Entry into Year 11
Applications for enrolment into Year 11 are considered on a case-by-case basis and are typically not considered for Term 2 and 3, as current students will be on study leave for mock and final exams for a large portion of this period.
Entry into Year 13
The College will very rarely consider entry into Year 13. To be considered, students must be applying from a nearly identical IB programme and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Once all application materials have been submitted, as well as the completion of the necessary assessment and interview, the Admission Committee will review the student's application and inform parents of the admission decision. As DCB is a selective school, not all students who apply will be offered a place. We select students who appear to be most likely to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.
Overseas applicants may coordinate with their current school for arrangement of the entrance assessment, or our admissions department can arrange remote online testing and interview.
Fees
Examination fees for IGCSE and IB programmes are included in our tuition fees.
Fees for compulsory school trips are also covered in our tuition fees while optional school trip expenses are borne by the parents or guardians.
The cost of school lunches is not included in our tuition fees. Our school lunches are catered by Sodexo.
Fees may be paid as follows:
Beijing Dulwich International School accepts bank transfer payment in RMB or in USD and cash payments (RMB only). Bank account details are printed on all invoices and are available from the Finance Department. When paying by wire transfer in US Dollars, please use the prevailing People's Bank of China approved RMB/USD middle exchange rate at the time of payment (https://www.boc.cn/sourcedb/whpj/enindex_1619.html). Any shortfall in amounts received by the school for any reason will be due on demand or carried forward to the next invoice at the College's discretion.
Please refer to our Admissions Handbook and Terms and Conditions for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a number of questions that our families often ask members of our admissions team.
We enrol students who have met the entry requirements in accordance with the spaces available in the appropriate year level. If there are no available places, or the application is for a future academic year, students are placed on a waiting list. Priority will be given to the siblings of currently enrolled students and children transferring from another Dulwich College International school.
Waiting lists are maintained for one academic year only.
The school lunch programme provides students with a choice of bringing a lunch from home or paying for the lunch provided by Sodexo.
The maximum number in each class is as follows:
Nursery – 18 - 19 children
Reception - 20 children
Year 1 – 21 children
Year 2 – 22 children
Year 3 to Year 11 - 22 students
IB Diploma - Year 12 and 13 - 14 students
The College reserves the right to increase the student number per class under special circumstances.
All students except IB students (who adhere to a business dress code) are required to wear the school uniform. The school uniform is different for warm and cold weather, and students should adhere to seasonal requirements.
Uniforms can be purchased at the College Uniform Shop.
At Dulwich College Beijing, we welcome and appreciate the cultural diversity that non-native English speakers bring to the school and we are able to support a percentage of students who are non-native English speakers. Applicants who speak languages other than English should be able to demonstrate age-appropriate academic proficiency in their native tongue. Our Admissions team may request that students be assessed on their ability to handle the academic challenges of English before an admissions decision is made.
We only enrol students whom we know we can support. We enrol students with learning challenges where the information available indicates that the student’s learning needs can be met by the services we provide. Our team will consult students and parents to conduct all necessary assessments and review copies of all previous reports and records. We request that parents provide all information available to enable our admissions review team to make an accurate and informed decision about learning support services and admission.
