A new international school is to be opened in Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province, according to a press briefing held on June 12.

Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School will be located in the city’s New district. The school plans to open during the 2017-2018 school year. The brand new school will be partnering with a prominent US high school, and will welcome international students from Wuxi and neighboring cities.

A press briefing is held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, announcing a new international school to be opened in the city, June 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Gu Wanchun, deputy director of the bureau of education, culture and sports in Wuxi’s New district, Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School has been listed as one of the key government-funded projects during the 2016-2020 period to promote international education in the district. Gu expressed his hopes that the international school, founded in one of the most vibrant foreign investment clusters in the city, will become a first-class international school with a sizable enrollment, high academic standards, and global vision.

An artist’s impression of Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School which is to be built in the city’s New district. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School was built with local government investment of 350 million yuan ($51.5 million) and will enroll students aged between 18 months to 18 years old (pre-kindergarten to grade 12).

The school is endorsed by St Joseph High School of Connecticut, United States, which is committed to sharing its educational resources and creating a world-class international education system in partnership with this new international school.

St Joseph High school was founded in 1962 in Trumbull, Connecticut. It has a strong record of students entering college. In 2016, 100 percent of students went on to complete college courses, and the students of St Joseph High School received over $22 million in college scholarships and financial assistance. Recent graduates have gone on to attend several highly selective colleges and universities, including Harvard University, MIT, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University.

The school is currently under construction and will open to the public in September. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

To meet the diverse needs of the international students, Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School plans to offer the three most globally recognized international study programs, which are the IB (International Baccalaureate) program, the A-level program from the UK, and the AP (Advanced Placement) program from the US. The high school curriculum will mirror the academic standards of St Joseph High School in Connecticut. Qualified high school graduates of Wuxi Boston St Joseph International School will be eligible to receive a high school diploma from its US partner school.

An artist’s impression of a student’s dorm room [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]