The British School of Beijing
The British School of Beijing (BSB) was the first school established by the British Schools Foundation. It was also the first British school to be established in the Chinese capital. The school was founded at a time of acute need for schooling among the expatriate community of Beijing. China was in the midst of a period of double digit economic growth and expatriates working for multinationals and embassies were flowing into the Chinese capital.
It was in this climate that BSB opened its doors for the first time in August 2004 in a small but well appointed campus in the heart of the Sanlitun embassy district. Within two years, the school had opened its second larger campus in the popular residential district of Shunyi. British Ambassadors Christopher Hum and William Ehrman respectively inaugurated each of the campuses as the school went on to become an institution in the Chinese capital.
The British School of Beijing set the template for future BSF schools. It established an expectation of high standards and pioneered many of the programmes and policies that would be adopted by future BSF schools. Many of the teachers and staff of BSB went on to positions within the organisation, with five senior members of staff going on eventually to become Headteachers at other BSF schools.