Cities / Beijing / Western Academy of Beijing
Western Academy of Beijing
Beijing's most internationally diverse school, with a constitutional cap of 20% per nationality and an open IB enrolment policy. Non-profit, Chaoyang-based, and known for innovation - named China's Most Innovative International School five years running (KingLead 2025).
In brief
WAB sits at the top of Beijing's expat shortlist alongside ISB, founded in 1994 by parents and teachers and run as a non-profit IB World School from PYP through Diploma. Around 1,400 students from roughly 60 countries on a campus in Lai Guang Ying that families consistently describe as one of the best-resourced in the city.
The character that comes through is IB-purist and progressive. Embassy and corporate families pick WAB when they want the full PYP/MYP/DP continuum and a community ethos rather than the more academically selective and American-leaning ISB. Admissions are reputed to be more open than ISB's, though the waiting list is long and timing matters.
Reputational consensus is warm. Onboarding is well organised, the parent community is active, and the staff package is regarded as one of the strongest in the city, which feeds into teacher retention. The honest considerations are fees that have climbed steadily, traffic to the Chaoyang campus, and a culture that suits families who want breadth and inquiry over a more pressured academic path.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| EY Half Day | 3 | CN¥148,000 |
| EY Full Day | 3 | CN¥249,000 |
| Grade 1 / JG1-SG1 | 6 | CN¥296,000 |
| Grades 2-5 | 7 | CN¥317,400 |
| MS Grades 6-8 | 11 | CN¥336,800 |
| HS Grades 9-10 | 14 | CN¥370,800 |
| HS Grades 11-12 | 16 | CN¥380,500 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee (non-refundable) | CN¥2,100 | |
| Non-refundable Enrolment Fee | CN¥30,000 |
Reviews
A non-profit IB continuum in Chaoyang's Laiguangying area, founded 1994, with around 1,400 students and a constitutional cap of 20% from any one nationality that keeps the campus the most internationally mixed of Beijing's top tier. Reputation sits opposite ISB on the same shelf: WAB is the more student-centred, arts-leaning, SEL-forward one, ISB the more sport- and academics-coded one. Teachers talk about it as a lottery offer, and offers tend to come after a long, deliberate hiring process. The trade-off most discussed by both parents and faculty is the same: the wraparound, the diversity and the wellbeing emphasis are real, and so is the slightly softer academic ceiling than the most exam-driven competitors at the same fee level.
Positives
- Diverse student body. The 20% nationality cap is written into the school's constitution, and the resulting mix is the most genuinely international in Beijing. Families coming from heavily Chinese or heavily American campuses notice the difference immediately, and it is one of the most repeated reasons parents pick WAB over its peers.
- Social-emotional learning and pastoral wrap. SEL is explicitly central rather than bolted on, and pastoral care reads as a first-order priority. Students described as artsy, creative or non-competitive tend to settle in well, and the school's framing as the more humane option in the Beijing top tier holds up in how teachers and parents talk about day-to-day life.
- Full IB continuum, PYP through DP. PYP, MYP and DP all run, with a particularly strong reputation for the primary years. Beijing primary-school searchers looking for PYP outside ISB are routinely pointed here first. The MYP carries the same interdisciplinary, project-led texture rather than reading as a holding pattern before the Diploma.
- Campus and facilities. Around 99,000 m2 in Laiguangying with three libraries, design and tech studios, three full-size gyms, an indoor pool, and the usual range of music, drama and outdoor spaces. The site supports the broad enrichment programme without the rotation pressure smaller campuses run into.
- Teacher experience. Within the international-teacher circuit WAB is one of the schools people are told to take if the offer comes. Wellbeing, workload and parent culture are described as manageable, and the package and stability sit at the top of the China market alongside ISB and Dulwich Beijing.
Considerations
- Academic ceiling vs the most exam-driven peers. Average IB Diploma scores sit a touch behind the most academically focused Beijing schools, and faculty from more exam-coded environments describe the culture as SEL-first, subject-rigour-second. For families optimising purely for top-tier university outcomes the comparison with Dulwich Beijing or Keystone comes up; for families weighing breadth, the WAB shape is the point.
- Post-COVID Beijing market shifts. Beijing's international-school market has thinned since 2020, with expat families slower to return and admissions less of a lottery than a decade ago. WAB has held its place at the top of the city, though the demographic mix and competitive landscape are no longer the ones the school's reputation was built on.
- Fees and value framing. Senior-grade fees around RMB 365,000 sit at the top of the Beijing market, slightly above ISB and broadly in line with Dulwich Beijing. The package buys the non-profit governance, the diverse cohort and the full IB stack rather than a stronger raw academic record than the peer group.
Leadership
Dr. Marta Medved Krajnovic
Dr. Marta Medved Krajnovic has two decades of academic research and teaching experience and 15 years in international school governance and leadership. Before joining WAB in 2018, she served as the Director of Stockholm International School for five years and was an Associate Professor at the University of Zagreb. She has authored books on second-language acquisition and serves on several international boards, including the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).
Accreditations
- Council of International Schools 01
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges 02
Academic results
- IB Average (2025) 30.6
- IB Pass Rate (2025) 94.5%
- IB Perfect Scores (2025) 2