RGS to Establish an International Partnership with New Schools in China
Reigate Grammar School is close to a final agreement to work with Kaiyuan Education Fund (KEF), backed by the China Development Bank who plan to open up to five schools in China. Assuming all goes well, the first school is set to open in Nanjing in 2020 followed by a second in Shanghai in 2023. RGS would be offering support such as advice, guidance and quality assurance.
Headmaster Shaun Fenton signed a memorandum of understanding with the KEF in Shanghai today – Friday 2 February 2018. At the signing ceremony at the China UK Business Forum, in a week when Theresa May said she anticipates £9 billion of new deals will be agreed, Liam Fox spoke with Shaun Fenton and said
“Good luck, it sounds like an exciting project.”
This is a notable chapter in Reigate Grammar School’s history. By developing international connections we will be opening up cultural and learning links across continents, providing visit and exchange opportunities for students and staff which will further enrich the RGS community. It is good for our students to embrace being global citizens and links with different countries and cultures are only going to improve the educational experience at RGS. In addition, this partnership will return a financial contribution to RGS which will help strengthen investment into staffing, facilities and bursaries to the benefit of current and future generations of Reigatians, further improving the experience of children at RGS.
The new Chinese schools will be co-educational all-through (Kindergarten to Sixth Form) boarding schools and will be for Chinese (rather than expat) children. They will teach China’s national curriculum followed by A Levels in the latter two years. This will be further enriched by RGS’s advice and guidance in the sphere of education. RGS will not own the schools nor have responsibility for running them. They will run as separate schools with their own staff body and will not be part of the Reigate Grammar School charitable group of schools. They will however license the RGS name, intellectual property and educational expertise.
Many top UK schools have sought high calibre partners. Amongst many famous schools, we are pleased to have been selected by the Kaiyuan Education Fund as their partner of choice. Our record of success has not gone unnoticed by the international community. In addition to the Headmaster’s appointment to Chair HMC, RGS has been rated the Top Co-Educational Day School in Surrey for four years running by The Telegraph and Sunday Times. The school was also recently shortlisted by the Times Education Supplement (TES) for the Senior School of the Year award and in the most recent ISI Inspection, RGS was awarded ‘Exceptional’, the first co-ed day school in the UK to be awarded this outstanding recognition. Ultimately, KEF admires the RGS leadership and the ‘RGS way’ – a school based upon relationships prioritising pastoral care in an environment of rich extra-curricular opportunities that in turn delivers exceptional results and opens doors of opportunity. Our partnership will mean that RGS can help emulate this model for local children in China, thus strengthening the Chinese educational system.
Reigate Grammar School is one amongst many other leading independent HMC schools who are expanding internationally. Other examples include Westminster, Dulwich College, RGS Guildford, Whitgift, Cranleigh, Harrow and King’s College Wimbledon.