Developing students who are knowledgeable, principled, caring, and balanced
Our Middle School programme, as with our Primary School, offers a curriculum in line with the Shanghai government’s education requirements. However, our tailored middle school curriculum has been designed to allow progressively more choice and flexibility to families, recognizing that some families may wish to follow a programme that leads to high achievement in China’s middle school leaving exam (local high school entrance exam), the ‘Zhongkao’, while some may wish to follow an international programme that leads to admissions to top overseas universities.
Grades 6 and 7
In addition to providing courses meeting National and Shanghai education requirements, our Middle School offers students a range of international curriculum courses and SUIS-developed courses. As in our Primary School division, several subjects (e.g., art, music and physical education) are co-taught by fully-qualified Chinese and foreign teachers, creating an engaging, bilingual learning experience for students.
Grades 8 and 9
Grade 8 is an important stage for SUIS Qingpu students, as they are presented with choices that serve to meet students’ needs, desires and plans for high school and beyond. While all Grade 8 students engage in a range of compulsory, core courses, students choose between two tracks. One track offers a range of international curriculum (International General Certificate in Secondary Education (IGCSE)) courses geared towards preparing students for our High School’s international programme. Another track offers students a range of domestic courses geared towards preparing students for success in the middle school leaving exam, the Zhongkao. As in Grades 6 and 7, several subjects are co-taught by a Chinese and foreign teacher.
Students in Grade 9 continue to engage with compulsory courses and the courses in their chosen track.
A unique co-teaching approach
Many of our Middle School subject lessons are co-taught by two fully-qualified Co-Teachers, one native English-speaking teacher and one native Chinese-speaking teacher, who work together to create a bilingual learning environment for which SUIS schools are well-known for.
The Co-Teachers share equal authority in the classroom, and together they plan and implement lessons that are engaging, interactive, and that promote students’ critical thinking. They draw on the children’s interests to create units of study that follow the standards of the National Curriculum in England.
With two Co-Teachers in each classroom, every child benefits from personalised attention, and teachers are able to ensure that each child is treated with the utmost care and respect and that the children enjoy their learning.
Outdoor and Labour Education
Throughout the school year, our students take trips and excursions as an extension of their learning. From large Shanghai parks to museums, from Chinese cultural sites to farms, these field trips are integrated into the broader SUIS Qingpu curriculum. Students are encouraged to reflect with their Co-Teachers once they return to their classrooms.
Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) Programme
After the final lesson of the school day, students are actively engaged in the wide range of Co-Curricular Activities we offer at our campus. There is something for everyone, and students are encouraged to try their hand at the different options to develop their skills and interests.
Moral Education and Student Wellbeing Programme
Our Moral Education and Wellbeing Programme provides children with a focus on positive values and helps them develop the skills to become global citizens. The programme aims to support students in understanding themselves as individuals, developing healthy relationships with others, and the responsibilities of citizenship. There is also an important focus on personal safety and body awareness. Through meaningful lessons, this programme equips students with the skills to make informed decisions and choices and provides a focus on the development of moral character, the importance of helping others, and the desire to make a difference in the world around them.
Philosophy for Children (P4C)
As in our Primary School, our Middle School students continue to engage in Philosophy for Children (P4C) lessons. P4C is a structured pedagogical method that invites and enables children to search for rational and justified answers to important questions that have no simple answers.
P4C is not about the lives or thoughts of the great philosophers, but about the practical business of enhancing critical and creative thinking. P4C capitalizes on children’s natural curiosity to engage them in a philosophical dialogue, i.e., in a deep discussion of questions that have no clear answer and where different points of view can be developed, explained and justified. By engaging in discussion of conflicting points of view, children develop clearer reasons and justifications for their opinions, while they also understand how an argument is constructed. P4C is in use in over 60 countries in the world.
