Beijing BISS International School was founded in 1994 by its sister school, the International School Singapore, as an independent proprietary, co-educational, English-language day school offering an international curriculum for Kindergarten - grade 12 students from the expatriate community of Beijing. BISS was the first International School licensed by The Beijing Educational Commission, and the first school in Beijing to offer all three IB programs. In 2018 the school encountered a temporary closure, citing financial issues, and teachers went on strike as they failed to receive their wages in a timely manner. In response to ongoing non-payment of staff salaries and entitlements BISS teachers went on strike on September 20, 2018. Some current and former staff are owed as much as 120,000 yuan. Teachers wrote parents a letter stating that "Faculty contracts have not been honored and wages, health insurance. and housing allowances have not been paid". The Head of School, Mr. Randal Eplin then sent an email to staff stating that the school would be closed the next 2 school days for "internal business reasons". He also wrote "During this time the business office staff will work with the owner of BISS to bring stability to the financial challenges that the school is facing.
Campus
The school's 11,000 square meter campus is located near major expatriate residential areas in central Beijing, just off the North Third Ring Road. The campus is close to central Beijing, the Asian Games Village and the Olympic Stadium, the Bird Nest. The main building holds more than thirty classrooms, a central library, music, drama and art studios, science labs, design and technology lab, multi-purpose auditorium, cafeteria and administration offices. There is a five aside football pitch with a newly constructed multi-sport dome for badminton, volleyball and basketball. Air purifiers are installed in every hallway of the building.
Program
Curriculum
BISS offers the Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme to all students, from kindergarten through grade 12.
Accreditations, Authorizations, Memberships and Licences
Authorized by the International Baccalaureate : BISS was the first school in Beijing and one of the first in China to be authorized to offer all three IB programs
BISS provides instruction for kindergarten to grade 12 students from the expatriate community of Beijing. As of 2012, 340 students from 40 different nationalities attend the school.
Class sizes
BISS maintains a relatively low student to teacher class ratios, with classes typically having 15 students or less to 1 teacher. Luo Wangshu of the Shanghai Daily reported that "BISS believes that smaller class sizes make for better academic performance and communication."
Faculty
BISS faculty members hail from the USA, Canada, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Japan, the Philippines, Portugal, and the U.K. In 2017, Search Associates, the most reputable international schools' recruitment agency disassociated itself from BISS because of unpaid fees. As a result, BISS now recruits most of its faculty through its website.
Tuition
As of 2009 the school tuition ranges from lower for kindergarteners to higher for older students. Kindergarteners each had a tuition of 96,000 yuan while a high school senior had a tuition of 172,000 yuan. For kindergarten and first grade classes, as of 2012 the school charged up to 109,800 yuan yearly per pupil. In 2015 the tuition for the year was 300,000 renminbi. China Daily ranked BISS as the most expensive private school in Beijing.
