VBS News Net: Southern Metropolis Daily published an article ‘Vanke Bilingual School: rebuilding a new international future-oriented school’ to give a comprehensive report on the results achieved by VBS. 

The article was as follows: 

VBS has demonstrated its unique characteristics over a year of establishment. Personalised small-sized class teaching space to fully implement quality education. Immersive bilingual teaching to establish students thinking in Chinese and English to apply both systems. Cooperation in education under a globalised setting to integrate top resources from society and to set future education standards. The school has a unique multiple curricula system to support individual developments and world leading learning methods to motivate learning potential. Professional teachers are here to safeguard the excellent growth of every student and the two-way promotion study path offers space for students to grow. 

Vanke Bilingual School: rebuilding a new international future-oriented school

Over here, Principal Yang welcomes  students with smiles every morning. She also plays with them during Children’s Day. In Science Fiesta, students explain their creations to gain votes. Journalists from Star TV are impressed by the big smiles on students’ face as the school is down to earth as if they come to a holiday resort. 

This is Vanke Bilingual School at Longhua District, Shenzhen which has just been established over a year.            

VBS has been established since September 2018 to offer students better education and based on high standards. It is a nine-year system private school under the national Compulsory Education as a key part of strategic transformation by the Fortune 500 company Vanke. Based on school philosophy 'Let students experience the future', the school adopts international small-sized class pattern (24 for Primary, 32 for Junior Secondary) to deliver national curriclum contents, takes in world's frontrunning education ideologies to pursue innovation in education and strives to nurture Chinese citizens with sound personality, academic excellence, international horizons, patriotism and the courage to create a better future as well as building a new international school.

Rebuildinf future-oriented learning space

The unique campus design is based on the idea of 'school rebuilding' which is about actively building future-oriented learning space. The loop teaching compound creates personalised and interdisciplinary teaching space, the mezzanine garden keeps students' curiosity to explore the nature. The world leading teaching facilities motivates students to learn. The reading corner at the rear of the classroom becomes the place where students gain knowledge. Top class sports facilities such as indoor swimming pool and climbing wall at competition level enable students to master two life-long sports. 

World leading learning methods

With high levels of IT accessiblity, VBS is one of the first ten pilot schools to install 5G network. Currently the installation of base station is complete, all rooms are connected into the network. Teachers are equipped with iMac and iPad which students are allowed to use iPads during lessons.

The unique AI classes start from Primary 1 and have been the favourite class among students whose IT capabilities are improved so that students embrace the AI era with confidence.

VBS Cloud lessons are established to integrate with the content taught in classroom to arouse study interests among students.

The school systematically initiates PBL studies to guide independent research and innovative development. 

Inter-disciplinary teaching encourages students to think freely and integrate knowledge from various subjects so that their creativity is improved.

VBS also organises various activities such as occupation trials, excursions and martyrs' memorial to enhance students' leadership and global competitiveness as they keep patriotism and broaden their horizons. 

Unique Integrated VBS multi-facet curriculum system

VBS has the bilingual, integrated, online-offline curriculum system to meet the students' needs and future-centric core capabilities. The national curriculum is implemented by schoo-based means to satisfy needs for further studies. The international quality develops bilingual skills in Chinese and English. Compulsory and elective curriculum enhances the individual development of students.

Implementing the national curriculum plan, VBS has all three levels of curriculum - national, regional and schoo-based. Apart from national curriculum, the school offers Booster program includes subjects Math、ESL、Science、Arts、Music、Drama、PE taught by international teachers and featured school-based curriculum on architecture, AI, Life planning and rock climbing. 45 electives are set up including baking, Japanese, basketball, 3D printing, badminton, student journalists, drama, band and Wushu and 72 student societies. The scale of curriculum covers every aspect of student's life to meet the needs for individual development. 

First class teaching staff

VBS has a group of professional and international teachers with experienced domestic teachers in pursuit of excellence and high-end education. Teachers are graduates from eminent universities across the globe and experienced key subject heads with international education background including backstroke swimming champion, footballer took part in the World Cup and engineers from Oracle and Huawei. 

All teachers aim to motivate students' inner drive to study when respecting difference in their personality. They set up student-centric classes via education through trials and interdisciplinary teaching to build a new international school. 

Significance in school running outcomes

Within a year since establishment, VBS gains public recognition - it has won 4th Nanfang Metropolis Daily innovation in education award - the school with most future features award, annual Meisha Education excellent school award. AI curriculum from VBS has been awarded First Prize in the IT Innovation Teaching Case Competition in the 2019 Guangdong Education IT and New Media Application in Teachers' Education and Teaching in collaboration with integration and innovation of IT and teaching in Education. the 'Constructing VBS Bank' project was awarded first prize in 'Project Design and Teaching Seminar during the third STEM education and innovation education academic forum and project-based learning', which was organised by China Education Information Innovation Research Center and Finland LUMA International StarT Center, guided by Information Center for Management in Education under the Ministry of Education of China, 'Basic Education Reference' editorial department.

Students attainments are improving as they clinch awards at many competitions inlcuding 11th Guangdong Rock Climbing Contest, Youth Science Innovation competition in Longhua District, 15th Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Cup English Competition for Primary and Secondary students. 

Principal Yang emphasises that the school follows the school philosophy 'Teaching for the unknowns, study for the future' and 'Let students experience the future' to nurture students for the future and perception of bigger picture as well as core qualities mentioned in the skill sets for 21st Century - critical thinking, inclusiveness, grit, creativity and multi-facet development. 'VBS is such a new international school to build a study platform which breaks boundaries and utilises various lessons to enable students to create and perceive. Over here, the culture of Orient and Occident, past and future come across. Students, parents and teachers become partners to grow altogether. Every student graduating from VBS will have the confidence from within and embrace the future fearlessly.' 

Author / Photographer : Linda

Formatting: Judy

Translated by DC Lai