Shanghai · History
Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi: Minhang's British School Since 2016
Opened in August 2016 as the ninth school in the Dulwich College International network, the Puxi campus brought a four-century British pedigree to the western edge of Shanghai.
Dulwich College was founded by Edward Alleyn on 21 June 1619 with letters patent from King James I. An actor linked to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Alleyn decided at the age of 47 to establish a school for boys in London built on sound learning, strong artistic pursuits, and good manners. That institution became the anchor of what is now a global network. A serendipitous meeting between a parent and Graham Able, then Master of Dulwich College London, planted the idea of opening an international Dulwich school in Shanghai, making it the first British independent school to take its practices and ethos to China.
Dulwich College International was co-founded in 2003 by Fraser White and Karen Yung. The first school in the Dulwich College International family opened in Pudong in 2003 with just 23 students, and now educates over 1,600 students from more than forty nationalities. Puxi families on the western side of the city had to cross town for more than a decade before the network addressed the gap.
Origins and Campus
Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi opened in August 2016 as the eighth college within the Dulwich College International family of schools. Later reckoned as the ninth as the network grew, it sits in the leafy, green west of Shanghai, in the Minhang district. The campus is located in South Minhang at 2000 Qian Pu Jing Road, set on approximately 40,000 square metres of green space.
The purpose-built campus includes light-filled classrooms, a 2,000-square-metre fully air-filtered triple gymnasium, a 50-metre Olympic-standard swimming pool, a 550-seat theatre, black-box theatre spaces, orchestra rooms, an outdoor amphitheatre, a film studio, editing suite, IT and science labs, robotics and Lego spaces, and three libraries. All students swim weekly in the 50-metre pool; a smaller training pool runs alongside for toddler and nursery-aged children building water confidence.
Founding Leadership
David Ingram served as founding Head of College at Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi, joining the Dulwich team in preparation for the 2016 opening. He spent nine years in that role, having begun his teaching career in Northamptonshire before moving to Asia in 2000. From August 2025 he moved to head Dulwich College Singapore. The Puxi campus is currently led by Dr. Mark Hardeman as Interim Head of College.
Curriculum and Accreditation
Students follow the National Curriculum for England and Wales through to Year 9, sit IGCSEs in Years 10 and 11, and then complete the IB Diploma Programme in Years 12 and 13. The English National Curriculum is enhanced to meet the needs of students in an international context, alongside a rigorous Mandarin programme taught daily and streamed for native speakers, second-language speakers, and beginners. Early Years runs as a dual-language programme, and the Junior School follows a creative curriculum.
The school has achieved international accreditation from the Council of International Schools (CIS). It joined FOBISIA in 2019. The college is also the first school in China to embark on becoming an accredited Curiosity Approach setting, extending its Early Years provision further. On the technology front, it was the first school in Asia to partner with Girls Make Games, the first in China to implement the AI tool CenturyTech, and the first K-12 school in the world to use PeerScholar.
Governance and Network
The college is operated by Education in Motion (EiM) under an agreement with Dulwich College London; local oversight is provided through a Board of Management and a Board of Trustees that includes parent representatives. In 2024, Hillhouse Investment Group acquired DCI's schools in Asia from EiM, continuing to support DCI's expansion and commitment to academic excellence across the region.
The college's links to Dulwich College London, founded in 1619, are maintained through close collaboration with other schools in the network, encouraging an international outlook in an extended community where academic ability is fostered, creativity is valued, and diversity is celebrated. Every four years all Dulwich schools compete together in the Dulwich Olympiad, a high-level competition spanning sports, athletics, and music.
Present Day
The school now enrols around 1,400 students, ages 2 to 18. In the Senior School, graduates achieve one of the top IB score averages among international schools in China, surpassing the global average by 8 points. The college educates children from Toddler age through Year 13, organised across DUCKS, Junior School, and Senior School. House life follows a tradition borrowed directly from London: new students are invited on stage at the Alleyn Theatre each year, where they try on the Dulwich Hat, which announces which of the four houses, Song, Moussa, Yung, or Shackleton, they will join.