3e International School, Beijing | International Schools Guide

A small, non-profit dual-immersion school in Chaoyang's Lido area, 3e runs nursery through elementary on a 50:50 English-and-Chinese model that has been its signature since the Jonathan KS Choi Foundation founded it in 2005. The roll sits around 200 across roughly twenty nationalities, classes are small, and the campus next to Si'de Park is built for early-years and primary-age children rather than scaled for a through-school. Mark Baker has been International Principal since August 2023. Families come to 3e for genuine bilingual literacy in both languages, and the consistent line back from parents is that the model delivers on that. The corollary is that everything stops at the end of elementary, so the school is one chapter rather than a whole-of-school choice.

Bilingual model. Half the day in English, half in Chinese, run as a single integrated programme rather than a Chinese-as-a-subject add-on. Non-native Mandarin families talk about children leaving able to use both languages socially and academically, which is the harder version of bilingualism.

Small and personal. Around 200 students total with class sizes in the mid-teens and a low teacher-to-student ratio. The atmosphere parents describe is family-feeling rather than institutional, with staff who know children by name across year groups.

Teaching staff. Teachers are spoken about as attentive to children's social and emotional lives, not only the academic side. Communication with parents by email and phone is responsive.

Campus and setting. A 6,600 sq m site beside Si'de Park in Lido, with outdoor space, two gymnasiums, art and music rooms, a library, and central air filtration. Convenient for the Chaoyang and Lido residential clusters.

Considerations

Stops at elementary. 3e ends at Grade 5 or 6, so families plan a secondary transfer in advance. Most move on to one of the larger Beijing internationals for middle and high school, which means navigating a second admissions process and a fresh community.
Facilities are good, not flagship. The campus does what an early-years and elementary school needs, but the scale and specialist facilities are not in the same bracket as the large Shunyi or CBD through-schools. Parents who have rated facilities have tended to use the word good rather than the word exceptional.
Fees. 2024-25 tuition runs at RMB 216,300 for nursery to kindergarten and RMB 239,900 for elementary, before transport and lunch. In line with the upper end of Beijing bilingual day schools.
Regulatory backdrop. Like every international school in Beijing, 3e operates inside the post-2021 framework that shapes how Chinese-passport students can be enrolled and what curriculum content is required. The bilingual, foundation-stage profile sits more comfortably inside that framework than a foreign-curriculum secondary school would.