Beijing · History
From Sanlitun to Shunyi: Beijing's Longest-Standing British School
Founded in 2003 as part of the King's Schools group, The British School of Beijing grew from a single site into a two-campus operation before the Shunyi campus became its own institution, cementing its place as Beijing's oldest British international school.
The British School of Beijing traces its origins to 2003, when it was established under the King's Schools group and opened its first campus in Sanlitun, Chaoyang. The school was a founding member of the British Schools Foundation and operated with backing tied to the British diplomatic community in the capital. It was originally planned to open in September 2004, but the doors opened ahead of schedule on 29 March 2004.
Two Campuses, Then Two Schools
Demand from Beijing's growing expatriate population, concentrated in the Shunyi district northeast of the city centre, prompted the next move. According to the school's own account, the British School of Beijing expanded to its Shunyi campus in 2009. For several years both sites, Sanlitun and Shunyi, operated under a single institutional identity. In 2013 they were administratively separated into distinct schools. The Sanlitun campus thereafter focused on Early Years and Primary, taking children up to age eleven. The Shunyi campus became the all-through school, running from eighteen months to eighteen years.
The transition to Nord Anglia Education brought the school into one of the world's largest premium schools networks. Nord Anglia, founded in 1972 and now operating more than eighty schools across thirty-seven countries, gave BSB Shunyi access to group-wide partnerships with MIT, The Juilliard School, and UNICEF that have since become central to its curricular offer.
Curriculum and Qualifications
The Shunyi campus follows the English National Curriculum through to IGCSE at age sixteen. Sixth-form students historically completed A Levels; that pathway was replaced by the IB Diploma Programme, which became the school's post-sixteen qualification. More recently, the school announced the reintroduction of A Level pathways alongside the IB, giving older students greater flexibility at post-sixteen. The school also runs a German Primary Programme for native German speakers, reflecting the sizeable German community in Shunyi.
Academic results at post-sixteen are material. The school's average IB Diploma score of 37 sits well above the global average of 33. In recent cohorts, two in three IBDP students achieved scores sufficient for entry to a top-100 university worldwide, and two students recorded perfect scores of 45 points.
Accreditation and Recognition
In May 2025, BSB Shunyi received full accreditation from the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), formalising its alignment with UK inspection standards. The school holds memberships with ACAMIS, AoBSO, and FOBISIA, and operates with approval from the Beijing Municipal Education Commission. The COBIS inspection in 2025 described the curriculum as "broad and balanced" with Mandarin instruction achieving "consistent high-quality teaching" across both native and non-native streams.
Present Day
The campus sits at South Side, No. 9 An Hua Street, Shunyi District, in the heart of Beijing's principal expatriate residential zone. Its maximum capacity is 1,500 students drawn from more than sixty nationalities, with British, German, American, South Korean, and Hong Kong families among the most represented communities. Facilities include an air-filtered sports dome, a black-box theatre, an MIT Maker Space, and dedicated science laboratories. The school is led by Principal Jayne Needham. It was named one of the five most popular international schools in Beijing by the International Schools Database in 2025.
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