GUANGZHOU, 9 October 2026. Harrow International School Guangzhou opened on 24 August and welcomed its first Founding Pupils to a new campus on Huanxin North Road in Huangpu District. It is the 15th school in the AISL Harrow network across Asia and the group's sixth in the Greater Bay Area.
The school is run by Asia International School Limited (AISL) and draws on the heritage of Harrow School in London, founded more than 450 years ago. The Guangzhou campus sits at No. 23 Huanxin North Road, in the eastern Huangpu District, and is led by Headmistress Ruth Whymark.
The first morning began with a tradition imported directly from Harrow: the Harrow Bill, a roll call held for the first time on the Guangzhou campus before pupils went to their classrooms for registration. In her account of the opening, the Headmistress said she had shared the proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" with families at Orientation Day, and described the Founding Pupils as children who are "helping to shape Harrow Guangzhou from the very beginning."
"There is something incredibly special about opening a school in its founding year."
Ruth Whymark, Headmistress, Harrow International School Guangzhou
The school follows a British curriculum organised in stages from Early Years and Primary through Years 6 to 9, Years 10 and 11 and Years 12 and 13, the route that leads to IGCSE and A Level examinations. Admissions are handled in two streams, Pre-K to Year 5 and Year 6 and above, and the school offers boarding.
Alongside the classrooms, the campus includes three group-wide facilities that AISL has rolled out across its network: the AISL Future Lab, focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, coding and STEAM; the AISL Entrepreneurship Centre; and the AISL Language Lab. Pastoral life is organised through a House system, and the school uses the Harrow values of Courage, Honour, Humility and Fellowship.
About Harrow International School Guangzhou
Harrow International School Guangzhou is a private British international day and boarding school in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, with sections from Pre-K and Early Years to Sixth Form (Years 12 and 13). It belongs to the AISL Harrow family of schools across Asia. Families can read the profile, fees and reviews of the school on International School Advisor.
What this means for families
For expatriate and Chinese families in Guangzhou, the opening adds a new British-curriculum option on the east side of the city, an area that has grown quickly with Huangpu's technology and industrial parks. Because the school opened in 2026, the first cohorts will help set its traditions, and places across year groups are likely to be more available than at long-established schools with waiting lists.
Parents comparing options should ask about the boarding programme, the entry age guidelines for each stage and the timeline for IGCSE and A Level provision as the first cohorts move up the school. Families weighing schools across the country can also browse the International School Advisor ranking of the best international schools in China.
