Cities / Beijing / Beijing City International School
Beijing City International School
Full IB continuum from toddler to grade 12 in Baiziwan in Chaoyang, founded in 2005. One of the few large IB schools sitting inside central Beijing rather than out in Shunyi, which is the whole point of choosing it.
In brief
Full-IB continuum from toddler to grade 12 in Baiziwan in Chaoyang, founded in 2005. One of the few large IB schools sitting inside central Beijing rather than out in Shunyi, which is the whole point of choosing it.
Around 1,300 to 1,400 students across PYP, MYP and Diploma, capped at roughly 20 per class, with mandatory Mandarin through Grade 6. CIS and WASC accredited. Long waiting lists are normal, especially in the lower years. 2024 senior tuition was around 290,500 RMB.
BCIS has a settled reputation for a genuinely diverse student body and a collaborative culture rather than a hothouse one. Families based in the CBD pick it primarily because the commute to Shunyi-cluster schools is brutal, and because the IB delivery is solid across all three programmes. The school is not for parents looking for British-style structure or rankings-table pressure. The MYP and DP results are strong without being marketed that way, and university destinations skew US and UK.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Toddler | 2 | CN¥244,000 |
| Nursery | 3 | CN¥265,000 |
| Pre-KG | 4 | CN¥285,000 |
| KG | 5 | CN¥285,000 |
| Grades 1-5 | 6 | CN¥298,000 |
| Grades 6-8 | 11 | CN¥323,000 |
| Grades 9-10 | 14 | CN¥337,000 |
| Grades 11-12 | 16 | CN¥349,000 |
Reviews
One of the few full IB through-schools sitting inside the CBD rather than out at the Shunyi villa belt, BCIS draws a downtown, mixed-passport crowd and runs an English-medium, broadly American-feeling programme from toddler through Grade 12. Facilities are a clear strength: a 51,000 sq m main campus on Baiziwan, a LEED Gold early childhood centre, and the MAD-designed Courtyard Kindergarten wrapped around a heritage siheyuan. Admissions are talked about as hard, and the school is unusually direct about wanting English-confident parents as well as English-confident children. The community is smaller and more compact than ISB or WAB, which families read either as warm and connected or as a thinner expat bench depending on what they have come from.
Positives
- CBD location. Inside the Third Ring Road in Chaoyang, walkable from much of the CBD apartment stock. A genuine downtown alternative to the Shunyi schools, which matters for dual-career families who do not want a 90-minute commute each way.
- Campus and facilities. Purpose-built across three sites: the main Grade 1-12 building, an ECC that holds LEED Gold, and the MAD-designed Courtyard Kindergarten built around a preserved Beijing courtyard. Pool, theatre, science and design labs, and PM2.5 filtration through the buildings.
- IB continuum. Authorised for PYP, MYP and DP, so children can sit the same framework from early years to Grade 12 without changing programme. WASC and CIS accreditation on top.
- Community feel. Around 1,300 students from roughly 30 nationalities, with a faculty drawn from a similar spread. Parents describe a school that is small enough to be recognised in the corridor but still has the programme depth of a full international IB school.
Considerations
- Admissions intensity. Admissions are spoken about as rigorous, with English assessment for children and an English interview for parents. The school is clear about it; families coming from a less selective system find the process more involved than expected.
- Anglophone tilt. English is the working language and the cultural register reads as broadly American or international, with Chinese taught as a core subject rather than as a bilingual track. Families looking for a true 50:50 bilingual model usually end up elsewhere.
- Fees. Annual tuition runs from roughly RMB 244,000 in the lower years to RMB 332,000 in Grades 11-12 for 2024-25, with a 15,000 RMB enrolment fee and a 3,000 RMB application fee on top. In line with the top tier of Beijing internationals rather than below it.
- Regulatory backdrop. Like every international school operating in Beijing, BCIS sits inside the post-2021 framework that requires Chinese curriculum content and limits how Chinese-passport students are taught. Around a fifth of the roll are Chinese nationals, and the programme is built around that constraint rather than around it.
Leadership
Tom Egerton
Tom Egerton is the Head of Beijing City International School (BCIS), bringing over 30 years of experience in international education across Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar, Germany, and China. Currently in his 17th year as a Head of School and 4th year at BCIS, Tom’s career was inspired by his diverse upbringing in Papua New Guinea and teaching experiences in Fiji and England. He is a passionate advocate for future-focused education, believing that schools must empower students with the mental flexibility and emotional intelligence to navigate a rapidly changing world. Tom holds a degree in education and focuses on fostering inclusive communities where students can realize their potential through personalized and collaborative learning. Outside of work, he is an avid runner and reader with a keen interest in leadership development.
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (Accrediting Commission for Schools) 02
Academic results
- IB Average (2025) 34.0
- IB Candidates (2025) 52
- IB DP Pass Rate (2024) 83%