Shenzhen · History
Harrow Shenzhen: a British school built for the Greater Bay Area
Opened in October 2020, Harrow International School Shenzhen Qianhai brought the AISL Harrow network into China's most dynamic technology hub, growing to around 900 pupils within five years.
Harrow International School Shenzhen Qianhai opened its doors on 19 October 2020, welcoming its first cohort to the Qianhai Cooperation Zone in Nanshan District. The campus sits within the Qianhai free-trade zone, a district designed explicitly to deepen links between mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. That geography was no accident. The school was licensed to serve the children of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents, expatriates and overseas passport holders, positioning it as a British international school with a deliberate Greater Bay Area remit from day one.
Origins
The school is operated by Asia International School Limited (AISL), the group that has licensed the Harrow name and badge from Harrow International Schools Limited, a trading subsidiary of the charity that owns Harrow School in the UK. AISL first brought Harrow to Asia with the opening of Harrow International School Bangkok in 1998, followed by AISL Harrow Beijing in 2005, Harrow International School Hong Kong in 2012 and Harrow International School Shanghai in 2016. Shenzhen and Haikou both joined the network in 2020, the most rapid expansion the group had undertaken.
The founding Head Master was David Shinkfield, who came to the role after leading AISL Harrow Beijing from 2014, where he had overseen growth to 1,500 pupils across two campuses. Before Beijing, Shinkfield had worked for twelve years at Rugby School in England, serving as a mathematics teacher, Senior House Master and Assistant Principal. His appointment to Shenzhen was his second Harrow headship in China.
Campus and capacity
The purpose-built campus in Qianhai spans a total construction area of approximately 60,000 square metres, with a teaching footprint of around 14,700 square metres. It was designed for a capacity of over 800 pupils and covers every stage from Early Years through to Sixth Form, including boarding. Sports and leisure areas, a library, breakout spaces, canteens and lecture halls all sit on a single site. When the school opened in October 2020, it ran from Pre-Nursery to Year 9; boarding and Year 10 enrolment followed in 2021. Current roll stands at around 900.
Pandemic conditions shaped the opening weeks. Students had their temperatures checked and hands sanitised before entering campus. Rather than a whole-school opening ceremony, each class held its own celebration, presenting pupils with enrolment certificates and specially designed founding gifts.
Curriculum and identity
The school follows the English National Curriculum from Early Years Foundation Stage through to Key Stage 3, then IGCSE in Years 10 and 11, and A Levels in the Sixth Form. English is the language of instruction throughout. The Harrow House System, the core values of Courage, Honour, Humility and Fellowship, and the Long Ducker charity run are all transplanted from the original Harrow School, founded in 1572 under a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I.
Harrow Shenzhen holds membership of HMC (the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference), FOBISIA (the Federation of British International Schools in Asia) and ACAMIS (the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools). It is also a CIS-accredited school and holds British Schools Overseas (BSO) certification, one of a small number of schools in mainland China to do so. The school's own head described the BSO award as recognition that the school meets the standards of leading independent schools in England against criteria covering academic quality, teaching, leadership, safeguarding and student experience.
Headship and results
David Shinkfield led the school through its founding years. Daniel Berry, previously Head Master of Kirkham Grammar School in the UK and a member of the HMC inspection panel, joined Harrow Shenzhen in 2023 and became Head Master. He remains in post. The 2025 A Level results set a school record: 33 percent A* grades against a UK national rate of 9.4 percent, with 60 percent of grades at A or A*. University offers have included Imperial College, UCL and the London School of Economics.
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