Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

The King’s School, Canterbury, with a history of more than 1,400 years, will open its first overseas branch in Nanshan District. The Pre-prep section for children aged 2 to 6 will start enrollment in autumn this year while the Junior and Senior sections for children aged 6 to 18 will open in 2020.

An activity, called Education for the Future at The King’s School, was held last Saturday, at which members of the school’s management team including Geoff Cocksworth, the founding executive principal of The King’s School Shenzhen International, and John Astbury, head of Pre-prep section from the U.K., delivered a speech, introducing the new school and sharing their stories on education.

“Shenzhen is an exciting and young city. People are young and there is a huge appetite for education among Chinese,” said Cocksworth when asked about the reason for bringing Canterbury opened in Shenzhen.

“I believe very much in global education when people with different cultures can work together. I have seen this in Canterbury and I really want to bring this to China,” added Cocksworth.

Their aim is to anchor a 21st- century education within the illustrious history and traditions of both King’s in Canterbury and those of modern China. Apart from ensuring academic excellence that leads students to top universities, they also provide co-curriculum opportunities for all-encompassing education, supported by the highest standard of pastoral care.

Astbury said in his speech that he came to China in 2001 and has had almost 20 years of experience in education so far.

“We want our children to be curious about the world around them. We want them to use their imagination. We want to encourage them and not have limitation in what they are thinking,” said Astbury when introducing his concepts on early childhood education.

Additionally, he mentioned active learning, which is closely related to focus and creating and thinking critically.

The King’s School Shenzhen International plans to be one of the very best schools in Asia.

“I very much look forward to meeting as many as people as possible in Shenzhen and to educating children of all nationalities,” said Cocksworth.