ISA Tianhe International School vs NAS Guangzhou Panyu

	I ISA Tianhe International School Guangzhou, China	N NAS Guangzhou Panyu Guangzhou, China
Snapshot	Snapshot
Fees / year	Fees / year RMB 173,000 - 187,000	Fees / year RMB 158,000 - 176,000
Age range	Age range 2 - 11 years	Age range 6 - 18 years
Type	Type Co-educational	Type Co-educational, Co-educational (boarding)
Curriculum	Curriculum IB (PYP), IB (MYP), British Curriculum, Cambridge IGCSE	Curriculum Chinese National Curriculum, IB (PYP), IB (MYP)
Pupils	Pupils —	Pupils —
Typical class size	Typical class size 24	Typical class size 8
Instruction language	Instruction language English, Mandarin	Instruction language Mandarin, English
Opened	Opened 2015	Opened —
Bus service	Bus service No	Bus service No
Essentials	Essentials
Location	Location Address: Block C2-2 Redtory, No.128 Siheng Road (Yuan Village), Tianhe District, Guangzhou — the school is located in the Zhujiang New Town / Tianhe CBD area (Redtory creative-park campus). It is in the city centre with road and public-transport links into the Zhujiang New Town district; the Redtory area is within walking distance of Yuancun metro (Line 5) and several bus routes.	Location The school is in Panyu District (Nancun / Xihe Road area) of Guangzhou — address listed as Xihe Road No. 88. The website describes the campus as close to the local CBD and with convenient transport links; for exact commute times from a specific neighbourhood, contact admissions.
Stages	Stages ISA Tianhe enrols early years and primary pupils — the school accepts children aged about 2 to 11 (EY1–EY4 and Years 1–5). The school describes its programme as Early Years through Primary and delivers IB-aligned primary programmes.	Stages The website describes Primary and Middle/Secondary phases. One page lists Primary (6–12) and Secondary (13–18), while another page refers to an intake range of about 6–15, so the published upper age varies between pages — confirm the precise age/grade ranges with admissions.
School type	School type ISA Tianhe is a co‑educational day school (no boarding provision is advertised). It is part of the ISA International Education Group and operates as an international school located in Guangzhou.	School type NAS Guangzhou Panyu is a bilingual, co‑educational school that offers both day places and boarding. The site explicitly states it provides day (走读) and boarding (寄宿) options and describes separate accommodation arrangements for boys and girls.
Pupil nationality mix	Pupil nationality mix —	Pupil nationality mix —
Additional learning support	Additional learning support The ISA group follows an Access & Inclusion / learning‑support approach and ISA schools publish tiered learning‑support arrangements (screening, in‑class differentiation, small‑group or individualized plans) in line with IB inclusion guidance; ISA Wuhan's Access & Inclusion policy describes this approach as used within the ISA group. ISA Tianhe's website does not detail a full SEN handbook online, so parents should speak with admissions about specific provisions, assessment and any individual plans.	Additional learning support The site highlights personalised learning, small classes and bilingual support (including programmes for students who arrive with limited English) and says teachers use assessment data to tailor learning. The website does not show a clearly labelled public page describing a formal SEN/ALN team or exact referral/IEP procedures; the parent handbook (download) or the admissions team are the recommended sources for detailed SEN/ALN provisions.
Country affiliation	Country affiliation The school is an international school in China and a member of the ISA International Education Group; it is not affiliated with a single foreign national school system.	Country affiliation The school is part of the Nord Anglia Education global group (an international school network headquartered in the UK) rather than being affiliated to a particular national curriculum authority.
Religious affiliation	Religious affiliation No religious affiliation is stated on the school website; the school presents itself as a secular international school.	Religious affiliation No religious affiliation is stated on the school website. The school presents itself as a secular bilingual international school.
School day structure	School day structure The school website describes curriculum and school life but does not publish a standard daily start/end timetable for all year groups. For exact hours, drop‑off/pick‑up windows and break/lunch arrangements, contact the admissions office or request the parent handbook.	School day structure The campus page lists general opening hours of Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM; the boarding pages note a structured daily routine for boarders and 24‑hour on‑site medical care. For precise start/end times by year group (and break / lunch timings), ask admissions or consult the parent handbook.
Bus service details	Bus service details —	Bus service details Admissions notices and school documents reference school‑bus (校车) costs being charged as part of fees, which indicates a school bus service is available; the website does not publish detailed routes, providers or pickup times publicly. Parents should request route maps, stops and fee details from the admissions office or in the parent handbook.
Fees	Fees
Fee details	Fee details Application fee - Non‑refundable application fee: RMB 1,500. Tuition fees by year group (annual) - Nursery 2 (age 2): RMB 166,000 per year. - Kindergarten / Early Years (Kindg.1 / age 3; Kindg.2 / age 4; Kindg.3 / age 5): RMB 173,000 per year. - Grade 1 to Grade 5 (age 6–10): RMB 187,000 per year. Per‑term amounts (calculated) - The school publishes annual tuition amounts; the following per‑term figures are calculated by dividing each published annual fee by three to give a termly figure (calculation noted as an inference from the published annual rates). - Nursery 2: RMB 55,333 per term (approx.). - Kindergarten (Kindg.1–3): RMB 57,667 per term (approx.). - Grades 1–5: RMB 62,333 per term (approx.). Billing schedule and payment terms - The school's publicly available materials list the application fee and the annual tuition levels above, but a specific, detailed public statement of the regular billing schedule (for example: annual vs. termly invoicing, instalment deadlines, late‑payment penalties, or mandatory seat‑deposit amounts for guaranteed places) was not located in the school pages and fee summaries reviewed. Boarding fees - ISA Tianhe operates as a day school for ages 2–11; no boarding fees are indicated for this campus. Other costs / typical additional charges (items found in school or programme notices) - Summer‑school specific items (separate to regular tuition): lunch for summer school listed at RMB 250 per week; summer‑school transport indicated around RMB 300–400 per week (weekly rates shown on the school summer programme pages). These are programme‑specific charges and not the regular annual tuition. - No specific published amounts for regular school items such as uniform costs, textbook/technology fees, elective or co‑curricular fees, or school‑bus annual fees were found in the publicly available fee summaries reviewed. Refund information - A refund window and deadline are shown for the 2025 summer‑school programme (refunds permitted only before 18 June 2025 for that programme). A clear, itemised refund policy for regular enrolment tuition or deposits was not found in the public fee material reviewed. Fee payment options - No explicit, itemised list of accepted payment methods (for example: credit card, bank transfer, Alipay, WeChat Pay, etc.) for regular tuition was located in the public fee summaries consulted. The school's admissions contact details are published for payment queries. Summary of sources and limitations of publicly available information - Published annual tuition levels and the non‑refundable application fee are available in school fee summaries and third‑party school directories; these were used for the figures above. The school's public materials and the fee summaries reviewed do not include a detailed, public billing schedule, a complete list of routine additional fees (uniform, bus, technology, etc.) with amounts, nor a full statement of regular refund or payment‑method policies. Where per‑term figures are shown above, they are calculated approximations derived from the published annual tuition (annual ÷ 3) and are explicitly presented as such.	Fee details Application fees - The school's public admissions pages list the online application process and application portal but do not publish a separate application or non‑refundable application fee amount. Parents complete an online application form to begin the process. Tuition fees (2025/2026 academic year) — amounts per year and per term - Primary (小学): Annual tuition ¥158,000. Billed as two equal term payments of ¥79,000 (first term ¥79,000; second term ¥79,000). - Middle / Junior Secondary (初中): Annual tuition ¥176,000. Billed as two equal term payments of ¥88,000 (first term ¥88,000; second term ¥88,000). - Third‑party fee listings that break down annual fees by grade show the same two‑tier structure (grades commonly in the lower/primary tier and upper/middle tier at the listed amounts). Miscellaneous items such as boarding, catering, school bus and uniforms are noted separately by external fee databases. Billing schedule and payment terms - Tuition for the 2025/2026 school year is presented by the school as two term instalments (first term / second term) with the term amounts shown above. The published 2025/2026 first‑term dates are Monday 1 September 2025 to Saturday 31 January 2026; the school presents its academic calendar alongside the term billing split. The school's public pages do not publish a detailed list of payment‑deadline dates or step‑by‑step invoicing timings beyond the term structure. Boarding fees (where applicable) - The school provides boarding (walk‑in description and full boarding programme available). A Nord Anglia group listing indicates boarding charges for NAS Guangzhou Panyu shown as “from ¥24,412 per annum” for boarding services; the school's boarding pages describe boarding arrangements and pastoral care but do not present a detailed numeric boarding tariff on the public boarding page. Other costs and typical additional fees - School bus (校车), school uniform (校服), school meals/catering, and occasional programme or trip charges are listed as separate additional costs and are charged in addition to tuition — the school's admissions notices and news items explicitly note that bus, uniform and meal costs are charged according to actual use/arrangements. The school also publishes a parent handbook (downloadable) that covers uniform details and other day‑to‑day costs. External school fee databases similarly list transport, catering and other extras as chargeable items. Typical additional items mentioned in public sources include: - School bus (annual cost varies by route) - School uniform (summer/winter and sports kit; procurement details in parent handbook) - Meals / catering (charged separately) - Extracurricular trips and activities (charged as applicable) - Equipment or device purchases (e.g., laptop requirements for older students may be an extra cost) These items are not given single fixed prices on the school's public admissions pages. Refund information - The school's public admissions and terms pages do not publish a detailed fee‑refund schedule or specific refund percentages/conditions on the pages reviewed. The parent handbook and formal terms and conditions are referenced for school policies; a specific fee‑refund policy was not located on the admissions page itself. Parents should expect that formal refund terms (for deposits, enrollment confirmations and tuition) are set out in the school's full enrolment documentation / terms. Fee payment options - The school's public admissions and parent‑essentials pages do not list specific accepted payment channels (for example, named bank account, credit card, Alipay or WeChat Pay) on the pages reviewed. No payment method details were found on the publicly visible admissions pages or in the downloadable parent‑essentials area. Short practical summary for parents - Tuition (2025/2026): Primary ¥158,000/year (¥79,000 per term); Middle ¥176,000/year (¥88,000 per term). - Boarding: boarding is available; a group listing shows boarding costs starting from ¥24,412 per year and the school describes boarding provision on its site. - Extra charges: bus, uniforms, meals and trips are charged in addition to tuition. - Application fee, detailed refund schedule and specific payment channels are not published on the admissions pages that list tuition and term information; these items are handled in the school's enrolment documentation/parent handbook or via the school's admissions office. If you require the figures above presented in a specific format for your database, the key numeric items to import are: Primary annual ¥158,000 (term ¥79,000); Middle annual ¥176,000 (term ¥88,000); boarding starting from ¥24,412 p.a.; additional charges for bus, uniform and meals applied separately.
Diving deeper	Diving deeper
Boarding arrangements	Boarding arrangements —	Boarding arrangements —
Uniform requirement	Uniform requirement —	Uniform requirement —
Food options	Food options —	Food options —
House system	House system —	House system —
Governance and ownership	Governance and ownership —	Governance and ownership —
Academics	Academics
Curriculum details	Curriculum details The school is an IB World School with authorization for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the Middle Years Programme (MYP). The education system fuses the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme with UK National Curriculum standards and outcomes. It emphasizes inquiry-based teaching and holistic education. It includes an outstanding Chinese language programme, a Mother Tongue programme, and a Co-curriculum. ISA Tianhe serves students from early years to primary (ages 2–11) and enrolls children from over 30 countries. It is designated as an IGCSE examination centre and houses a LAMDA centre for drama.	Curriculum details NAS Guangzhou, Panyu delivers a bilingual programme built around the Chinese National Curriculum: primary (approx. ages 6–12) follows the national primary syllabus (moral education, Chinese language, mathematics, English, music, art, PE, science, humanities etc.). The middle‑school phase (approx. ages 13–15) continues the Chinese national secondary curriculum delivered in both Chinese and English using cross‑disciplinary, project‑based approaches to develop inquiry and critical thinking. The school reports that its senior students progress into internationally recognised upper‑secondary pathways via “three major senior programmes,” and NAS Guangzhou is an approved Oxford AQA examination centre (enabling on‑campus administration of OxfordAQA international exams such as IGCSE/A‑level). NAS Guangzhou is also a candidate school for the IB Primary Years and Middle Years Programmes (PYP and MYP), signalling an institutional move to align primary and lower‑secondary pedagogy with IB frameworks. Throughout all stages the curriculum is supplemented by Nord Anglia global partnerships (Juilliard, MIT, UNICEF), STEAM and co‑curricular programmes and personalised assessment to prepare students for national assessments and international qualifications.
Student teacher ratio	Student teacher ratio —	Student teacher ratio —
Exam results	Exam results The school is an IB World School with authorization for PYP and MYP. It is a designated IGCSE examination centre and hosts a LAMDA centre. The school has earned recognitions including Hurun Education Top 20 International Schools in China (2020) and New Insight International School of the Year (2020). Students have participated in the American Math Olympiad (AMO), with medals earned by ISA Tianhe students.	Exam results —
Higher education progression	Higher education progression —	Higher education progression —
Gifted and talented	Gifted and talented —	Gifted and talented —
Academic calendar	Academic calendar —	Academic calendar —
Wellbeing & support	Wellbeing & support
Social & emotional learning	Social & emotional learning —	Social & emotional learning —
Special educational needs (SEN)	Special educational needs (SEN) —	Special educational needs (SEN) —
English as an additional language	English as an additional language —	English as an additional language —
Mental wellbeing	Mental wellbeing —	Mental wellbeing —
Safeguarding	Safeguarding —	Safeguarding —
Safeguarding policy	Safeguarding policy —	Safeguarding policy —
Facilities	Facilities
Facilities overview	Facilities overview —	Facilities overview —
Sports facilities	Sports facilities —	Sports facilities —
Academic facilities	Academic facilities —	Academic facilities —
Extra curricular facilities	Extra curricular facilities —	Extra curricular facilities —
Parent experience	Parent experience
History	History —	History —
Community	Community —	Community —
Parent teacher association	Parent teacher association —	Parent teacher association —
Extra-curricular	Extra-curricular
Academic & intellectual	Academic & intellectual —	Academic & intellectual —
Arts & creative	Arts & creative —	Arts & creative —
Cultural & language	Cultural & language —	Cultural & language —
Social & hobbies	Social & hobbies —	Social & hobbies —
Community & service	Community & service —	Community & service —
Leadership & professional	Leadership & professional —	Leadership & professional —
Lifestyle & wellbeing	Lifestyle & wellbeing —	Lifestyle & wellbeing —
Language provision	Language provision
Language provision	Language provision —	Language provision —
Bilingual teaching	Bilingual teaching —	Bilingual teaching —
Immersion programs	Immersion programs —	Immersion programs —
Reputation	Reputation
Awards	Awards —	Awards —
Accreditations	Accreditations —	Accreditations —
Admissions	Admissions
Admissions	Admissions —	Admissions 1. Initial enquiry and advice (what to do first). Contact the Admissions team by completing the online enquiry or by email/phone to start the process; the school says the team will respond and help with next steps. Parents should be ready to ask about preferred intake month, day vs boarding, and any time-sensitive requirements (local classification/分批招生 rules may apply). 2. School visit / information sessions. Parents are encouraged to attend a campus tour, parent briefing or an organised open day to see the campus and ask detailed questions about curriculum and boarding; the site lists regular visit/experience events and a “校长面对面” option. Bring a list of practical questions (transport, boarding routines, ECA, language support) and confirm the dates of published experience days before you travel. 3. Submit the online application and upload documents. Complete the school's online application form (you must create an account) and upload the required documents: parents' passport/ID and household book, and for each child a passport/ID or birth certificate, recent photo, copy of last school report, vaccination and recent medical report. The form specifies file types and size limits and allows up to five children per account; make sure scanned copies are clear and that you select the correct preferred enrolment month and day/boarding preference. 4. School assessment and family interview. After the application is reviewed the admissions team will contact you to arrange a family interview and any age-appropriate assessments (the site advertises English assessment days and school-arranged meetings). Parents should prepare copies of recent school reports and any information on additional educational needs (AEN/SEND) or medical requirements—these are explicitly requested on the application form. Ask in advance what the assessment format will be for your child's year group so you can prepare (dates for public assessment or assessment days are posted in the Parent Essentials area). 5. Offer of place. If the school decides to offer a place, you will receive a formal offer/acceptance letter by email; the admissions page explains offers are issued by email as the next formal step. Read the offer carefully for the deadline to accept, any conditions (e.g., required documentation, medical clearance), and the payment terms required to secure the place. If you need more time or have questions about the offer conditions (start date, year placement), contact Admissions immediately using the contact details on the site. 6. Confirm acceptance and pay required fees to secure the place. To confirm a place you must follow the offer instructions, which normally include signing paperwork and paying the stated fees or deposits; the admissions page notes that acceptance and payment secure the enrolment. Be aware of the published annual fees for the relevant year (the site lists 2025/2026 tuition figures by phase), and that additional charges (boarding, meals, uniform, transport, exams or activity costs) may be charged separately—check the Parent Handbook or ask Admissions for the full breakdown and refund/withdrawal terms before you pay. Keep receipts and confirm the date by which the fee must be paid to avoid losing the place.
Scholarships	Scholarships —	Scholarships The school website does not publish any general scholarship or means-tested financial-aid programme. Public pages (admissions, parent essentials and news) include tuition, references to staff/employee priority for some classified enrolment rounds and standard additional charges (bus, uniform, catering), but no advertised scholarship awards or application process for fee assistance. If you are seeking fee support, sibling or staff discounts, or any case-by-case concessions, the admissions office is the appropriate contact — ask them for the current policy and any required paperwork, because such arrangements (if available) are not described on the public site.
Waitlist	Waitlist —	Waitlist The school's public admissions pages do not describe a formal, published waitlist process. The admissions page explains the application → assessment → offer workflow but does not set out an explicit waiting-list policy for oversubscription; when intake is regulated the school has in the past followed municipal classification and, if numbers exceed places, a computerised allocation (派位) for certain cohorts. If you need to know whether a waiting list will be kept for a particular year group or whether the school can hold a place pending payment, contact Admissions directly (the site provides phone numbers and an email for the Guangzhou admissions team).
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