Maple Leaf International School Shanghai

A Chinese-Canadian dual-track high school in Jinshan aimed at Chinese families targeting Canadian and overseas universities, not the expat circuit.

Maple Leaf Shanghai opened in 2013 in Fengjing Town, Jinshan District, well south of central Shanghai near the Zhejiang border. Middle and elementary follow China's nine-year compulsory curriculum with English enhancement, and Grades 10 to 12 deliver the British Columbia high school programme leading to a BC diploma. It is part of the Maple Leaf Educational Systems network, one of the first Shanghai pilot schools approved to run an international high school programme.

Almost all students are Chinese passport holders aiming at Canadian, US, UK and Australian universities. Boarding is the default model given the Jinshan location. Teachers describe Chinese-led management with Canadian academic oversight on the BC side, and parent voice points to steady BC inspection results year on year. Families looking for a true international peer group, expat-style co-curriculars, or a city-centre commute should look elsewhere in Shanghai.

• The school sits in Fengjing Town, Jinshan, around 80 km from central Shanghai. Teachers warn that recruitment markets the location as Shanghai when the campus is well outside the city; one said Maple Leaf schools "try to sucker in new teachers by saying their location is 'in Shanghai' when it's really in the middle of bf nowhere."
• One teacher offer reported was 24,000 RMB before tax with 3 to 5,000 RMB housing on top, with no negotiation.
• Network-level criticism follows the school: weak teaching support, business-first management, and an exam track tied to a Maple Leaf-branded curriculum rather than to BC or AP throughout.
• The campus is approved by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission as one of an early pilot group of international high schools, and applies the BC programme through to graduation. Tuition and boarding are reported well below comparable Shanghai international schools.
• No substantive parent review pool found in English or Chinese forums.