Open Day in April

Walking in Harrow Beijing campus, you’ll notice Harrow students speaking English as fluently as native speakers. Harrow students receive IELTS 9 in three years, 88% of students receive IELTS 7 and above. How does those excellence results happen? Because of students’ English proficiency? Or the teaching methodalogy of Harrow teachers? Or high rate of international teachers and international learning environment?

However, many of them did not initially possess such English proficiency. So, how does Harrow Beijing rapidly improve students of varying English levels, enabling them to achieve academic excellence and enter top global universities without any language barriers?

1. Synchronous Development of Subject Knowledge and English Proficiency

At Harrow Beijing, subject knowledge and English proficiency develop synchronously. Through The Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, teachers facilitate both academic and language advancement. Most of our teachers are international teachers, which will help students to learn subject knowledge as well as English vocabulary.

This blended teaching method boosts students’ English proficiency alongside subject learning, making language acquisition more natural and effective. Through discussions, reading, and writing tasks, students regularly engage with English in class, guided by teachers who design challenging academic projects to foster English thinking and expression.

To ensure a consistent teaching standard, all teachers receive training and CPD in best practice in CLIL and EAL, drawing from global best practices and integrating them into daily teaching. Additionally, CLIL and L&L specialists provide further support and guidance to both students and teachers across the subjects.

2. Tailoring English Language Learning Courses

Newcomers to Harrow Beijing are timetabled with a greater number of Language & Learning classes where appropriate in order to support students at their differing levels of ability. These classes have an extremely low student-to-teacher ratio which means that each student is able to interact with their teacher on a regular basis and receive ample pastoral support. At Harrow Beijing, the low student-to-teacher ratio enabled Language and Learning teachers to tailor study plans for individual student.

We have clear GSE targets for each year group. All students take GSE tests at least twice per year. This enables teachers to promptly assess students’ language development and provide further support based on individual needs.

Students in the Sixth Form are scheduled for lessons called ‘English for Academic Purposes (EAP)‘. These lessons are focussed towards helping students prepare for IELTS and TOEFL tests, which are often required for admission top universities in the world.

Rachel B，Year 13, IELTS 8

“Our teacher in EAP class presents interesting articles for analysis, leading to writing, debating, and learning new vocabulary and grammar. This comprehensive approach prepares us well for all aspects of the IELTS exam. I continue to attend EAP because I enjoy the teacher’s classes.”

3. Utilizing multiple resources within the school to improve English proficiency

Harrow Beijing provides diverse extracurricular, cultural and sports activities, and House activities, fostering ample opportunities for students to practice English in an immersive learning environment.

LAMDA

LAMDA stands out among numerous extracurricular offerings. Harrow Beijing are proud to be the Centre of LAMDA and test center since 2014. Most of our outstanding graduates, who have been admitted to top universities in the UK and the US, have experience in participating in LAMDA courses. We offer courses at Harrow Beijing which is including Speaking in Public, Prose and Poetry, Acting, Musical Theatre, The Shakespeare Qualification and the PCERT Diploma. Through LAMDA， students can experience a genuine British education and rapidly advancing their English language proficiency, while also enhancing their overall competence to meet future challenges.

Accelerated Reader Program

Reading has always been a language learning method strongly advocated by Harrow Beijing.

“Many students feel overwhelmed when they are faced with the wide selection of books in a book shop or the library. Equally, many parents are unsure what books their children should be reading. Harrow Beijing’s Accelerated Reader Program effectively addresses this, greatly benefiting students’ language proficiency,” the Upper School Assistant Director of Studies and Upper School Head of L&L, Mr Ben Coldham said.

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a fantastic programme which consists of two main aspects: firstly, students take a Star Reading assessment. This provides them with an accurate reading level. Following this, students select books within their level from the library. There are thousands of AR books in the library. Once students have read the book, they then login to the AR platform to complete a quiz. This gives students a chance to demonstrate their understanding of the book. Finally, the AR system also recommends books to students based on their level and the books they’ve already read. 

At Harrow, all Year 6 and 7 students have access to Accelerated Reader. Almost all students have completed a number of quizzes with some students having already read over 1 million words. As a school (Year 6 and 7), students have already read nearly 80 million words this year.

Sylvia X, Year 6, Reading Super Star

“Before coming to Harrow Beijing, my English level was not very good. Since joining in Year 3, my English has steadily improved. Currently, I have read 90 books as part of the Accelerated Reading Program. The book I am currently reading is ‘Keeper of the Lost Cities’.”