Harrow Shenzhen: a Qianhai campus built on four centuries of precedent

Eye Shenzhen reported that on 19 October 2020, Harrow International School Shenzhen Qianhai welcomed its first cohort to campus. Temperature checks, hand sanitising stations, and a month of prior online learning had preceded the day; a formal opening ceremony was impossible under pandemic-control rules. What the school could not celebrate in ceremony it marked in enrolment: students from kindergarten through to Year 9 filed through the gates of a purpose-built campus in the Qianhai Co-operation Zone, Nanshan District.

Origins

The school is an enterprise of Asia International School Limited (AISL), the Hong Kong-based group that operates all Harrow-branded schools across Asia. AISL had expanded methodically before Shenzhen: Harrow Bangkok opened in 1998, Harrow Beijing in 2005, Harrow Hong Kong in 2012, and Harrow Shanghai in 2016. The pace then accelerated sharply. Shenzhen and Haikou both joined the AISL family in 2020, part of a wave that added five China campuses within two years.

The Harrow name travels under a sub-licence granted by Harrow International Schools Limited, a trading subsidiary of the charity that owns Harrow School in London. Harrow School itself was founded in 1572 under a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I. AISL schools use that heritage, including the House System and the four core values of Courage, Honour, Humility, and Fellowship, and are subject to twice-yearly quality assurance visits by governors from London.

David Shinkfield served as headmaster and CEO at opening, describing the school's commitment to the holistic Harrow approach rooted in the network's then 450 years of educational experience. The campus itself, covering 14,700 square metres, was purpose-built to accommodate up to 800 students, with sports and leisure areas, a library, performing arts spaces, canteens, lecture halls, and boarding provision.

Early growth

At opening, the school enrolled students from kindergarten through to Year 9, aged two to thirteen. Grade 10 intake began in the 2021 academic year, at which point boarding services also became available, extending the school to a full K-12 offer from Early Years through to Sixth Form. The student body is drawn from holders of foreign passports and residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

In 2023, Mr Berry joined as Head Master, bringing experience from Kirkham Grammar School in the UK, where he had been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). His Deputy, Dr Sean Knox, arrived with prior leadership roles at both Harrow Shanghai and AISL Harrow Beijing.

Curriculum and accreditation

The school follows the English National Curriculum from Early Years Foundation Stage through to Sixth Form, with IGCSE at Key Stage 4 and A Levels in the upper school. English is the language of instruction throughout. Students are also taught Mandarin from Years 2 to 9.

The school has passed a British Schools Overseas (BSO) inspection, placing it among a small number of schools in China to hold that status. It is also a member of the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), and the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS).

Present day

The school now enrols around 900 students across its Early Years, Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior School, and Sixth Form on the single Qianhai campus. Fees for 2025/26 range from RMB 291,400 at Pre-Nursery level to RMB 360,300 for Years 9 to 13. Post-16 students sit A Levels, with university destinations spanning the UK, North America, and beyond. The Long Ducker, a sponsored run that is a tradition at Harrow School in London, has become an annual fixture on the Shenzhen calendar.

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