Harrow Shanghai: A British Standard Planted in Pudong Since 2016

Harrow International School Shanghai opened its doors in August 2016 on a purpose-built campus at No. 588 Gaoxi Road, in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone of Pudong. It was the fourth school in Asia to carry the Harrow name, arriving eighteen years after Harrow Bangkok became the first in 1998, and following Harrow Beijing (2005) and Harrow Hong Kong (2012).

Origins and Operator

The school is owned and operated by Asia International School Limited (AISL), a Hong Kong-based education group whose founding partner Daniel Chiu established the Harrow international network from Bangkok in 1998. AISL holds a licence from Harrow International Schools Limited, a subsidiary of the charitable corporation that owns Harrow School in London, permitting use of the Harrow name and arms under board-level oversight. The original Harrow School was founded in 1572 under a Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I to John Lyon. Harrow Shanghai draws on that lineage, adopting the same four Harrow values: Courage, Honour, Humility, and Fellowship.

A 2015 candidate information pack circulated ahead of the opening described the site as part of the Sunland mixed-use development in Waigaoqiao, roughly thirty minutes from central Shanghai by road and metro. The campus covers 25,000 square metres with a 70% green space ratio, purpose-built from the ground up rather than occupying a converted facility. Boarding was planned at opening but has not materialised; the school operates as a day school.

Campus and Structure

All phases of the school share a single campus. The school is organised into Early Years (K1 and K2, following the Early Years Foundation Stage), Pre-Prep (Years 1 to 4), Prep (Years 5 to 8) and Senior School including the Sixth Form (Years 9 to 13). It is co-educational and accepts pupils from 18 months to 18 years. The Upper School has science laboratories, ICT suites and art studios. The Early Years wing occupies its own designated section of the building. The campus sits in the northern part of Pudong, accessible by road and rail from both Pudong and Puxi.

Every pupil is placed in one of four Houses: Byron, Churchill, Rothschild and Shaftesbury. The House system, mirroring Harrow School in London, sits at the centre of pastoral care and leadership development across all year groups.

Curriculum and Identity

Teaching is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and the English National Curriculum, leading to IGCSEs in Years 10 and 11 and A Levels in the Sixth Form. Chinese studies, for both native and second-language speakers, run alongside the main academic programme, incorporating Putonghua, cultural education, visits to historic sites and charitable service.

In January 2025, at a Seal Conferment Ceremony marking the school's connection to Harrow's 453-year heritage, Harrow Shanghai announced the launch of Advanced Placement (AP) courses, becoming, according to AISL, the first international school in Shanghai to operate a combined British-American curriculum model. The first AP examination cohort sat in May 2026. The school is also the first within the AISL Harrow network to introduce AP.

A school-wide Leadership and Service programme runs from Early Years through to Senior School. In the lower years it introduces structured teamwork and community awareness; in the Senior School it becomes increasingly pupil-led. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and expeditions sit within the broader co-curricular offer. The school's stated motto is 'Leadership for a Better World'.

Accreditation and Results

In April 2024, as reported by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, the school underwent its first British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspection, carried out by the ISI on behalf of the UK Department for Education. The school met all applicable BSO standards. It is one of only two Harrow International schools in mainland China, alongside Harrow Beijing, to hold BSO accreditation.

On A Level results, the school records a five-year average of 67% A*/A grades, well above the UK national average of 27.8% A*/A. The school has produced Cambridge University offers in each of the last five consecutive years. In 2024, across the AISL network, students secured 1,244 university offers averaging four per student, including Ivy League and Oxbridge placements.

Present Day

Alexander B. Reed, a Cambridge English literature graduate, serves as Headmaster. Current enrolment stands at approximately 800 pupils. The school accepts foreign passport holders whose families hold valid Chinese work and residence permits. Within the wider AISL expansion, a ninth Harrow International school is due to open in Guangzhou in September 2026, underlining the continued growth of the network of which Shanghai was the mainland bridgehead a decade ago.

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