Shanghai American School vs Yew Chung International School of Shanghai
🇨🇳 Shanghai · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Shanghai American School 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: Shanghai American School offers American, IB while Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offers British, IB — the choice should follow the family's target qualification system.
Key Facts
| Shanghai American School | Yew Chung International School of Shanghai | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | American / IB | British / IB |
| Ages | 3–18 | 2–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English, Chinese |
| Annual fees | RMB 246,000–311,000/year (2026–27) | not public |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | WASC, CIS, IB World School, College Board AP, EARCOS | CIS, Cambridge International, IB World School, EARCOS, ACAMIS |
Strengths
- ✓Dual AP + IB Diploma Programme — rare flexibility for upper-school students
- ✓WASC and CIS dual accreditation — strongest independently verifiable quality signal in China
- ✓110+ year heritage (founded 1912) — among the oldest international schools in China
- ✓Two large purpose-built campuses (Puxi 29 acres, Pudong 22 acres) covering both sides of the city
- ✓Large, multinational faculty (reportedly ~388 staff from 51 countries)
- ✓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
- !Foreign-passport-only — most mainland Chinese families are ineligible
- !Premium fees (RMB ~246k–311k/yr) plus one-time enrollment + entry fees
- !No publicly published AP/IB results or pass rates — outcomes cannot be verified
- !IB offering appears limited to the Diploma Programme; PYP/MYP authorization is not publicly confirmed
- !China-hosted/IBO sources can be intermittently inaccessible, limiting external verification of some claims
- !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
- • Expat families holding foreign passports relocating to Shanghai
- • Students wanting a genuine choice between AP and IB Diploma pathways
- • Families prioritising strong international accreditation (WASC/CIS) and US university pathways
- • Families wanting a campus on either side of Shanghai (Puxi or Pudong)
- • 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: SAS links a Class of 2025 University Matriculation resource but publishes no AP/IB score distributions or pass rates; no placement statistics could be 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 Shanghai American School or Yew Chung International School of Shanghai?
Shanghai American School is best for: Expat families holding foreign passports relocating to Shanghai. 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 Shanghai American School and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai?
Shanghai American School: RMB 246,000–311,000/year (2026–27). 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 Shanghai American School and Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offer?
Shanghai American School: American, IB. Yew Chung International School of Shanghai: British, IB.
Do Shanghai American School or Yew Chung International School of Shanghai offer boarding?
Shanghai American School: 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 →