Cities / Shenzhen / Shenzhen College of International Education
Shenzhen College of International Education
A high school only (ages 14-18) running IGCSE then A-Levels with an AP pathway, open to all nationalities including mainland Chinese students. Consistently ranked in the top two international high schools in China, with 48 Oxbridge offers for the Class…
In brief
Mainland China's strongest school for UK university admissions, a Cambridge A Level powerhouse in Futian aimed squarely at top Chinese students chasing Oxbridge and the US Ivy League.
SCIE opened in 2003 as a four-year Cambridge IGCSE and A Level high school with around 1,800 students aged 14 to 18 on a Futian campus. CIS, FOBISIA, CAIE, Edexcel and Oxford AQA accreditation cover the academic offer. Neil Mobsby leads. Results run roughly 25 percent above the UK A Level average, and the Class of 2026 secured 35 Oxbridge offers, the top mainland China figure for the twentieth consecutive year.
Among Shenzhen families, SCIE is the academic destination for UK and top-US ambitions. The student body is overwhelmingly Chinese rather than expat, and the feel is closer to a sixth-form college than a typical international school. More than 100 ECA clubs, a strong house system and student leadership soften the academic intensity, but the pace and entry bar are real. Families with younger children plan a feeder route in rather than treat SCIE as a default.
Fees
| Fee | Age | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1-G2 IGCSE (age 14-16) | 14 | Annual | CN¥273,000 |
| A1-A2 A-Levels (age 16-18) | 16 | Annual | CN¥273,000 |
| Registration Fee | One-time | CN¥600 |
Reviews
- Treated by teacher threads as the dominant Cambridge A Level school in mainland China by Oxbridge offers. A 2024 r/Internationalteachers comment cited 48 Oxbridge offers in a single year, with the next-highest school in China at around 20.
- Description as a cram-school environment recurs. Multiple reviewers call SCIE 'more of a tuition centre than an actual school' and students supplement classroom learning with external tuition. Selectivity is high; English ability is described as variable.
- Compensation and conditions sit at the upper end. A 2024 long-tenured reviewer described a 55 percent timetable, two-minute walk to subsidised accommodation and a laid-back day-to-day. Salary is benchmarked alongside Shanghai American School.
- Critical voices are sharp. Reviewers in 2024 cited the firing of a biology teacher for tutoring students externally and leaking IGCSE biology questions, and a separate dismissal of a teacher caught in a massage parlour police raid. One reviewer described the head as petty and vindictive and accused the school of frequent legal disputes with departing teachers over contract bonuses.
- A 2022 r/Internationalteachers comment alleged corrupt staff and a toxic competitive environment, with most teachers leaving. The framing is whistleblower; later 2024 commenters dispute it as biased.
- Cohort is overwhelmingly Chinese national. Reviewers note students seldom use English to chat with each other. SCIE is treated as a Chinese university-prep institution rather than a traditional international school.
Head of school
Neil Mobsby
Neil Mobsby has worked for more than 25 years in a variety of international schools in the Middle East, Africa, and China, as well as in the UK. He has extensive experience in both management and teaching. He holds a BSc in Pure & Applied Mathematics from the University of Exeter and a PGCE in Secondary Mathematics from Christ Church College Canterbury. He joined SCIE in 2009 as a Mathematics teacher and served as Deputy Principal before being appointed as Executive Principal in August 2018.
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (Accrediting Commission for Schools) 02
Academic results
- Oxbridge Offers 48 (Class of 2024)
- Hurun China Ranking #2 nationally (2022)