Hangzhou Wahaha International School (WIS)

WIS is authorised by the International Baccalaureate for the Primary Years Programme and the Middle Years Programme, and its curriculum is built on the IB framework and benchmarked against international standards. The school is also accredited by Cognia. The IB work is enriched with Chinese and international curricula rather than replacing them: the Chinese programme is designed so that students meet Chinese national curriculum standards, and mathematics materials are selected from IB, Cambridge Mathematics, the English National Curriculum, Singapore Mathematics and the Shanghai Education edition while retaining the strengths of Chinese mathematics teaching. The school refers to an IB Diploma Programme as upcoming, and its counsellor also advises families whose children will move on to boarding schools in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada or Australia.

WIS covers Grades 1 to 9. The Primary School runs Grades 1 to 5 for students aged roughly 6 to 11 and follows the IB Primary Years Programme; around 150 students were enrolled there at the time of writing. The Middle School covers Grades 6 to 9 and follows the IB Middle Years Programme; the school describes itself as still growing, small enough that almost everyone on campus knows each other, with small classes and close support from experienced teachers. Tuition is set by band: 162,500 CNY a year for Grades 1 to 5 and 180,500 CNY for Grades 6 to 9 in 2025-26. The school refers to an IB Diploma Programme as upcoming, which would extend the school upwards, but it does not currently publish Grades 10 to 12.

The school's mission is to educate, empower and encourage students to become caring, confident and responsible global citizens and lifelong learners. Its founder, Jane Du, describes the purpose of education as building character, inspiring the mind and developing talents, and wants students who are proficient in Chinese and deeply versed in Chinese culture while embracing cultural diversity, respecting others, acting responsibly and being willing to take risks. Classes are described as student-centred rather than teacher-centred, with inquiry-based teaching used to spark curiosity. WIS says it measures its success by whether its children find lifelong passions and pursue them. It aims to be a community that encourages students to ask questions, innovate and make mistakes while accepting each individual for who they are, and to send out graduates who can make a distinct Chinese voice heard in global conversations.

The campus covers 19,550 square metres a block away from the Qiantang River and is organised around a spacious, glass-roofed atrium that runs the length of the main building. It holds 30 classrooms, a science laboratory, a library, a STEAM room and a multi-purpose sports field. For the arts there are two art studios, two theatres, a music room with six individual practice rooms, a choir room and a dance studio, and for sport a gymnasium. The playground has a Corocord Spacenet climbing structure imported from Denmark, which the school says develops gross motor skills, spatial awareness and hand-eye coordination as well as imagination. There is also a cafeteria on campus. The school publishes a photo gallery covering the atrium, library, classrooms, sports field, gymnasium, theatre, practice rooms, technology spaces and cafeteria.

Every student is assigned a teacher advisor who tracks their academic, social and emotional development. A Student Support Team provides extra help with language and counselling. The School Counsellor works with families on the next step after Grade 9, helping them identify suitable high school options whether students stay at WIS for the planned IB Diploma Programme or move elsewhere, including the large and varied boarding school markets of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Meals are provided on campus and billed separately from tuition, at 8,000 CNY a year for PYP students and 8,600 CNY for MYP students, and an activity fee of 4,000 to 6,000 CNY a year is charged on the same basis. Parents buy two sets of school uniform and two sets of PE uniform from a designated online shop. The school has a PTA.

WIS runs more than fifty different after-school activity classes, grouped into athletics, arts, science and technology, and specialities. Sport includes climbing, Wushu and football. The arts strand covers music, dance and studio art. Science and technology covers STEAM, robotics and programming. Among the specialities are the Art of Emceeing, a Shakespeare Club, drama and conversational English. The school frames these not as add-ons but as project-based curriculum built on real-life practice, intended to help students find interests they will keep for life. The school year also includes a Winter Show, and the campus facilities - two theatres, six music practice rooms, a choir room, a dance studio, a gymnasium and a multi-purpose sports field - are used for this programme.