Education Special: Elite Schools Tour eyeing applicants in Shanghai

The Elite Schools Tour will visit Shanghai from Oct 30 to 31 to interview applicants for Britain's top boarding schools.

The tour, led by Shanghai-based consultancy British Education (BE), aims to connect Britain's leading boarding schools with outstanding applicants from the Chinese mainland.

Participating schools include Eton College in Windsor, which is famous for producing British statesmen, Charterhouse College, Brighton College, and Roedean, an independent girl's school in East Sussex.

Luxury department store Harrods and British law firm Gherson are sponsoring the tour, which starts in Beijing on Oct 28 and continues on to Shanghai. A black tie dinner will be held for tour participants at the Hilton Wangfujing in the capital and the Langham Xintiandi in the nation's financial hub.

BE will supervise the recruitment process for, and assessment of, applicants. It will also take care of participants' travel and accommodation arrangements.

"The Elite Schools Tour is an unprecedented opportunity for the schools to interview top Chinese candidates in person," said Stephen Parkes, BE's general manager, adding that the face-to-face interviews required for admission to Britain's top boarding schools often present a logistical hurdle for Chinese students.

The Elite Schools Tour also seeks to draw Chinese parents' attention to the virtues of the UK educational system. For this reason, BE will hold a series of seminars during the tour. Topics include the schools' curricula, advice on selecting a school, students' personal experience in the UK, guardianship and preparing academic submissions in English.

BE has been providing educational consulting services to Chinese students aged 7 to 18 since 2003. In China it manages domestic schools, such as Qingdao Oxford International College in Shandong province, and educational publications like the The Schools Guide series. It also runs summer school programs for Eton and Charterhouse.

Placement is free of charge as BE works on behalf of British schools to recruit exceptional students.

BE determines students' academic abilities with a rigorous assessment service featuring testing in math and English, and a telephone interview with Emma Cairns, director of the company's overseas study program.

"Chinese students are academically talented and are increasingly showing their prowess in a wide range of extracurricular activities. A strong combination of both is critical for admission to a British boarding school," said Cairns.

One of BE's strongest assets is its familiarity with British boarding schools. Its team members understand what each school seeks in an applicant, enabling them to better match successful applicants with the most appropriate school, added Cairns.

For additional information about BE and the Elite Schools Tour, log on to www.eliteschoolstour.com

(China Daily 10/22/2010)