Concordia International School Shanghai vs Yew Chung International School of Shanghai
🇨🇳 Shanghai · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Concordia International School Shanghai nor Yew Chung International School of Shanghai sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. Curriculum is the core differentiator: Concordia International School Shanghai offers American while Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offers British, IB — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system.
Key Facts
| Concordia International School Shanghai | Yew Chung International School of Shanghai | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | American | British / IB |
| Ages | 3–18 | 2–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English, Chinese |
| Annual fees | ≈RMB 243,000–320,000/year (2025–26, third-party-reported) | not public |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | WASC, NLSA, EARCOS, College Board AP | CIS, Cambridge International, IB World School, EARCOS, ACAMIS |
Strengths
- ✓Full American curriculum with broad AP offering and US-style four-year college counselling — a clean pathway to US (and UK G5) universities
- ✓WASC accreditation (third cycle, June 2022) plus National Lutheran School Accreditation — credible, current external accreditation
- ✓Strong school-reported outcomes: 4.21 average AP score, 95% of AP exams at 3+, ACT 34, SAT 1460 (Class of 2025)
- ✓Favourable staffing: 1:8 teacher:student ratio, most faculty with master's degrees and North American backgrounds
- ✓Established (since 1998), purpose-built single campus with strong facilities (Phoenix Center, Rittmann fine-arts center, FIFA-certified pitch)
- ✓One of China's deepest English–Chinese bilingual models, with native-English + native-Chinese co-teachers in early years
- ✓Dual qualification pathway: Cambridge IGCSE (accredited exam centre) leading to the IB Diploma Programme
- ✓CIS-accredited and an IB World School, with Cambridge and IBO recognition
- ✓Long-established pioneer — founded 1993, the Yew Chung network's first mainland-China school, now six campuses
- ✓Large, diverse community: 2,500+ students from 50+ countries; teachers from 20+ countries
Trade-offs
- !No IB or Cambridge pathway — families wanting the IB Diploma are not served here
- !Tightly restricted eligibility (SHMEC categories); most mainland-Chinese families cannot enrol, and even eligible cases require specific documentation
- !Official tuition figures were not retrievable (school fees page returned 404); only a third-party fee range is available
- !Current enrolment and nationality counts are third-party-reported, not confirmed on the school's own site
- !All academic results are school-published and not independently verified
- !Foreign-passport-only — mainland Chinese national families are not eligible
- !Current tuition fees are not published in a publicly retrievable form (must contact admissions)
- !Dated, school-published IGCSE/IB results were not retrievable at research time, so claimed pass rates are unverified
- !No graded national inspectorate exists in China, so there is no independent government quality grade
- !IB offering is Diploma-only at confirmation; PYP/MYP could not be verified (IBO database inaccessible)
Best Fit For
- • Internationally-mobile expat families on the US university track
- • Families holding foreign / HK / Macau / Taiwan passports posted to Pudong / Jinqiao
- • Students who thrive in an AP-and-honors academic model rather than IB
- • Families wanting a faith-informed (Lutheran tradition) yet academically rigorous environment
- • Internationally-mobile / expat families holding foreign passports
- • Families who want genuine English–Chinese bilingual immersion, not Mandarin as a side subject
- • Students aiming for an IGCSE-to-IB-Diploma pathway
- • Families valuing a long-established, large, multinational school community in Shanghai
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Class of 2025 — 52% admitted to 'Top 30 US national universities,' 72% to 'Top 50,' 50% to 'UK G5,' alongside an average ACT of 34 and SAT of 1460. Figures are school-published and not independently verified.
School-reported, unverified: the school references a strong IB Diploma record (a 100% IBDP pass rate appeared in one source, undated), but a dated, official results page could not be retrieved. Treat any pass-rate or university-placement figure as school-reported until confirmed with admissions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Concordia International School Shanghai or Yew Chung International School of Shanghai?
Concordia International School Shanghai is best for: Internationally-mobile expat families on the US university track. Yew Chung International School of Shanghai is best for: Internationally-mobile / expat families holding foreign passports. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Concordia International School Shanghai and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai?
Concordia International School Shanghai: ≈RMB 243,000–320,000/year (2025–26, third-party-reported). Yew Chung International School of Shanghai: not public. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Concordia International School Shanghai and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offer?
Concordia International School Shanghai: American. Yew Chung International School of Shanghai: British, IB.
Do Concordia International School Shanghai or Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offer boarding?
Concordia International School Shanghai: day school only. Yew Chung International School of Shanghai: day school only.
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →