Cities / Guangzhou / BASIS International School Guangzhou
BASIS International School Guangzhou
The flagship China campus of the US BASIS network, opened August 2017 in Huangpu's Science City and now around 1,200 students from PreK to Grade 12. The pitch is academic intensity.
In brief
The flagship China campus of the US BASIS network, opened August 2017 in Huangpu's Science City and now around 1,200 students from PreK to Grade 12.
Students complete a minimum of eight AP courses by Grade 12, many doing twelve or more, and the China network's average AP score sits at 4.2 against a global 3.1. BASIS reports 78 percent of 2025 Guangzhou graduates admitted to US Top 30 or UK Top 5 universities, and the first 2021 cohort placed at Oxford, Cornell, Imperial and Toronto. Cognia accredited.
Families who thrive here accept a heavy homework load, exam-heavy assessment, and less project-based work than the IB schools across town. BASIS carries a waiting list for popular years, driven largely by local Chinese families willing to trade pressure for outcomes. Best fit for academically driven students aiming at top US or UK universities. Families wanting a softer experience should look at AISG or one of the IB schools.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| K2 (Pre-K) | 4 | CN¥211,200 |
| K3 (Kindergarten) | 5 | CN¥236,580 |
| Grade 1 | 6 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 2 | 7 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 3 | 8 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 4 | 9 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 5 | 10 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 6 | 11 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 7 | 12 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 8 | 13 | CN¥258,020 |
| Grade 9 (AP Track) | 14 | CN¥280,500 |
| Grade 10 (AP Track) | 15 | CN¥280,500 |
| Grade 11 (AP Track) | 16 | CN¥280,500 |
| Grade 12 (AP Track) | 17 | CN¥280,500 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee (non-refundable) | CN¥2,000 | |
| Enrolment Deposit | CN¥50,000 |
Reviews
BASIS opened the Guangzhou campus in 2017 out in Huangpu Science City, and it has grown to around 1,200 pupils across pre-K through grade 12. The pitch is American liberal-arts plus heavy AP loading from grade 9, and the school markets its university outcomes hard. It was also the first BASIS campus to offer weekday boarding, which carries from primary upward and shapes the daily rhythm for a chunk of the cohort. What parents and teachers actually say about life inside is sharper than the marketing: a results-driven, test-heavy machine, polite-Chinese in feel despite the international label, and a workload that everyone, kids and adults, ends up adjusting to rather than enjoying.
Positives
- Academic results. AP outcomes and university placement are the headline. The class of 2025 sent roughly three quarters of graduates into US top-30 or UK top-5 universities, and the network averages above-global AP scores. Strong students who can handle the pace come out with a credible transcript.
- Weekday boarding. Boarding runs Monday to Friday from primary age up, and the campus has the dorm infrastructure to back it. Useful for families commuting from outside Huangpu or sitting out the Pearl River Delta traffic.
Considerations
- Workload and culture. Chinese parents on local forums compare BASIS to Hengshui-style domestic cram schools, with heavy homework, strict device rules and a relentless assessment cadence. Tenth-graders typically carry two or three AP courses, and the daily rhythm is built around testing rather than around exploration.
- AP gatekeeping. Teachers across the BASIS network describe a practice of holding pupils back from sitting AP exams unless a 3 is near-certain, because teacher bonuses ride on pass rates. The published 100 percent pass figures need to be read with that filtering in mind.
- International in name. The international campus is overwhelmingly Chinese-passport adjacent, with the cohort dominated by mainland families holding a second passport. English levels in lower grades vary widely, and the social and cultural environment is closer to a Chinese private school than to a traditional international school.
- Teacher turnover and management. Teacher-side accounts across the BASIS network describe high contact hours, dense surveillance via student-perception surveys, and a top-down corporate management style. Guangzhou is regarded as one of the steadier campuses inside the group, but churn and contract disputes have hit the network repeatedly of late.
- Campus location and shared site. The school sits out in Huangpu Science City, well east of central Guangzhou, which suits some families and frustrates others. A new bilingual sister campus is due to open in 2026, with both schools sharing the existing site for a few years before separating.
Leadership
Jason Shorbe
Jason Shorbe has been part of the BASIS Curriculum Schools network since 2012. He began as the Head of School at BASIS Tucson where he led the team that developed the first primary school in the network. He then played a key role in the expansion of the BASIS Curriculum Schools network. In 2015, Mr. Shorbe moved to Shenzhen, China as the founding Head of School for the network's first international school. He first served as the Head of School at BASIS International School Guangzhou from 2018 to 2021. After a period leading BASIS Independent McLean in the United States, he returned to lead the Guangzhou campus again. He has extensive experience in starting and developing international student programs and western-style education in Asia.
Accreditations
- Cognia 01
Academic results
- Class of 2024 - US Top 30 acceptances 51%
- Class of 2024 - total university acceptances 267 (47 graduates)
- Class of 2024 - scholarships awarded US$1.12M