ISA Science City International School
🇨🇳 Guangzhou · Founded 2020 · IB · Ages 2–18
A large, purpose-built foreign-passport IB continuum school (广州科学城爱莎外籍人员子女学校, opened 2020) — flagship of the ISA (爱莎) group — running PYP, MYP and DP with substantial boarding capacity, rare in the Greater Bay Area. New, so no long DP track record yet. Cannot enrol mainland Chinese nationals.
Curricula
IB
Age range
2–18
Languages of instruction
English
Annual fees
SGD approx. RMB 220,000–328,000/year (year unconfirmed)
Boarding
Yes
IB authorised
PYP, MYP, DP
Accreditations
IB World School, CIS
Tier Profile
We only tier dimensions backed by a public inspection verdict or verifiable accreditation. Other dimensions show a data flag — never a guessed score.
BrightKey's Assessment
ISA Science City International School (广州科学城爱莎外籍人员子女学校) opened in December 2020 in Huangpu District's Science City as the foreign-passport flagship of the ISA (爱莎) International Education Group. Its registered Chinese name confirms it is a 外籍人员子女学校 — a foreign-passport-only school that does not admit mainland Chinese nationals.
It runs the full IB continuum — PYP, MYP and DP all authorized (IB World School, authorized July 2021) — across a large ~78,000 m² campus designed for around 2,200 students, with a purpose-built boarding house offering roughly 500 boarding places for Grades 6–12 (uncommon in the GBA). It joined the Council of International Schools (CIS) in 2024, adding an external-review layer.
Note: the ISA group also runs separate Guangzhou campuses (ISA Liwan and ISA Tianhe) that are Guangzhou-regulated bilingual schools admitting mainland nationals — a different regulatory category from this foreign-passport flagship.
Fees are reported at roughly RMB 220,000–328,000/year, but the official fee schedule was not retrievable (site WAF-blocked outside China), so the figure and academic year are approximate. As a school opened in 2020, it has no mature DP results history. China has no graded national inspectorate, so the tier reflects accreditation + curriculum depth — capped at A.
Why These Ratings?
Inspection & AccreditationA — Excellent
China has no graded national inspectorate. ISA Science City demonstrates quality through full IB continuum authorization (PYP/MYP/DP since 2021) and CIS membership (2024). These are solid independently-verifiable signals placing it at the A ceiling for this market, though as a 2020-opened school it lacks a mature DP track record; no S-tier route exists without a graded inspectorate.
Strengths & Trade-offs
Strengths
- Full IB continuum (PYP + MYP + DP) on one large purpose-built campus
- Substantial boarding capacity (~500 places, Grades 6–12) — rare in the GBA
- CIS membership (2024) adds an external-review layer
- Major facilities — ~78,000 m² campus designed for ~2,200 students
- Flagship of the established ISA (爱莎) education group
Trade-offs
- Foreign-passport-only — mainland Chinese nationals ineligible
- Opened 2020 — no long IB DP results track record
- Official fee schedule not externally retrievable (site WAF-blocked) — fees approximate
- Easily confused with the group's bilingual ISA Liwan/Tianhe campuses (different category)
- Bilingual emphasis referenced but not fully verifiable from public sources
Is It Right For You?
Best For
- ✓Foreign-passport families in the GBA wanting a full IB continuum plus boarding
- ✓Families needing boarding for Grades 6–12 in southern China
- ✓Families valuing large modern facilities and CIS membership
- ✓Students seeking an IB pathway near the Science City tech corridor
Not Ideal For
- ✕Mainland-national families (ineligible by category)
- ✕Families wanting a long-established DP results history
- ✕Families needing fully published, verifiable fee schedules before applying
- ✕Families seeking British A-Level or American AP tracks
Curriculum
Full IB continuum — PYP, MYP and DP all authorized (IB World School, July 2021). References blending IB with Chinese basic-education curriculum. No British/Cambridge or AP track.
Fees
Approximate (year unconfirmed): roughly RMB 220,000–328,000/year per directory listings. The official fee schedule was not retrievable (site WAF/Great-Firewall-blocked outside China), so treat the figure as indicative, not confirmed.
Admissions
Foreign-passport-only (外籍人员子女学校, per the registered Chinese name) — does not admit mainland Chinese nationals. Separate ISA Liwan and ISA Tianhe campuses are Guangzhou-regulated bilingual schools admitting mainland nationals (different category).
Campus Life
Huangpu District, Science City (~78,000 m² campus). Purpose-built boarding house with ~500 places for Grades 6–12; day attendance also available.
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
No DP score data publicly retrievable; as a 2020-opened school it has no mature results history. Any placement claims would be school-reported, unverified.
Sources
Every verifiable fact carries a public source — verify it yourself.
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