China, Shanghai
Let the school know you're thinking of applying — they can share their prerequisites and help you through the process.
It's best to ask — circumstances can change at any time.
1. Submit an application and required documents (online or by email). Parents should apply online through the school's admissions portal and send copies of the child's ID (passport/residence card/birth certificate), the parent/guardian's ID, the child's most recent school reports (in Chinese or English or with an authorised translation), two passport-sized photos, and an artwork collection that shows the child's art/design work. The school requires payment of a registration fee by bank transfer as part of the application; the site gives the account name (上海长宁区耀华专修学校), account number (4546 5922 3465) and the receiving bank (中国银行上海市长宁路支行) — keep a copy of the transfer receipt to attach to your application. Mainland Chinese students must have completed nine years of compulsory education before enrolling; contact admissions if you are unsure about eligibility.
2. Entrance assessment (academic English and artwork). After the Admissions Office has your complete application package they arrange an entrance assessment that normally includes English written and oral tests (listening, speaking, reading, writing) plus an artwork review to assess the student's art and design competence. Parents should plan for the student to bring the recommended number of artworks/portfolio items and be prepared that the English assessment may be used to place the student in the appropriate class or recommend additional language support. The school's published notes emphasise that the assessment is used to understand academic, social and language levels so be candid about the child's current abilities.
3. Principal's interview (student and parent together). If the assessment is completed, the Admissions Office schedules a meeting with the principal; the principal will outline the school's education objectives and ask questions to learn more about the child and family. The principal may ask the family and student to sign a tripartite “Charter for Success” during this meeting — parents should read that document and ask for clarification about expectations before signing. Expect the interview to cover the student's academic goals, art/design interests and any pastoral or learning support needs.
4. Offer, acceptance and seat reservation. If the student passes the assessment and interview (and the Charter is signed where applicable), the school issues an Offer of Placement — the website says offers are issued within five working days. To confirm and reserve the place you must sign and return the Acceptance of Offer of Placement and pay the required fees shown on the school's Notice of Payment; the offer will expire if the signed acceptance and required payment are not received within ten working days. Because a place is definitively reserved only after the signed acceptance and payment, plan ahead so you can meet the deadline (especially when arranging international bank transfers).
5. Transfer students and campus visits. If you are a transfer student the Admissions Office asks that you contact them directly so they can advise any additional documentation or transfer procedures required. The school welcomes weekday campus visits but asks families to make an appointment in advance because the school's calendar does not follow public-school holidays; use the admissions contact channels to arrange a visit. If you are applying to specific year-level intakes such as Year 10, the school recommends following the published procedure early because those intakes often have a fixed start date (typically mid-August).
No public waitlist details are published on the school's admissions pages. The school's admissions information states that an offer is only guaranteed when the signed acceptance and required payment are received within ten working days of the offer; this implies a first-come, first-served seat reservation based on completing the acceptance/payment steps rather than an openly published waitlist procedure. If a cohort is full the school's Admissions Office can advise whether they hold a waiting pool, estimated wait times, or whether they will keep late applicants on a contact list — the site directs families to contact admissions for transfer or capacity questions. For short-notice or high-demand intakes (for example some spring or year-entry intakes where the school posts limited places), third‑party admissions notices also report small class sizes for particular intakes, so contact the admissions office as early as possible if you need to know whether a wait pool exists for the specific intake you are targeting.
YWIES Shanghai Gubei participates in the Yew Chung Yew Wah (YCYW) scholarship programme and also publishes its own enrolment incentives. At the network level, the YCYW Scholarship Programme offers several types of awards (examples published by the network):
- Madam Tsang Chor-hang Memorial Scholarship (Overall Achievement Award) — recipients may receive a 50%–100% tuition waiver for up to four years.
- YCYW Subject & Talent Award — awarded for excellence in a particular subject or talent; typical awards are 25%–50% tuition waivers for one year.
- IGCSE / IB / A Level Award — for strong performance in upper-secondary programmes; recipients may receive 50%–100% tuition waivers for two to four years.
- Special scholarships — individual campuses occasionally run special awards for particular talents or needs. External applicants normally must submit admissions materials and take the network-specified tests (CEM and CPT) before applying to the scholarship programme. The YCYW scholarship announcement also lists the campus-level rollout and deadline for each campus; for YWIES Shanghai Gubei the network's 2025–26 scholarship rollout was announced on 2 Jan 2025 with an internal/external deadline shown as 28 Feb 2025 in that announcement — always check the current year's schedule with the Admissions Office because deadlines change annually.
At the school (YWIES Shanghai Gubei) level the admissions/news pages also list entry‑related incentives: for the 2025–26 admissions notes the school published an “early‑bird” tuition incentive (a 10% reduction in the tuition portion if full tuition is paid by April 30) and a “new‑student scholarship” track that can include awards for art or academic performance lasting up to three consecutive years; the page asks families to contact the Admissions Office for details and application procedures (amounts and eligibility vary by year and by programme). If you are applying for a scholarship, start with the school admissions team (admission.shgb@ywies.com or +86 21 6275 4365) to confirm current scholarship categories, the application timeline, supporting documents required, and whether the scholarship is competitive or linked to a particular intake.
Yew Wah International Education School of Shanghai Gubei opened in 2001 and is at 600 Gubei Road, Changning District, Shanghai. The campus delivers an English‑taught, three‑year upper‑secondary art and design programme that emphasises portfolio preparation and university guidance for overseas applications. The school website lists facilities including art and design classrooms, a fashion and textiles studio, a digital media lab, a design and technology workshop, and a multifunctional exhibition hall. Boarding is available and the site describes curriculum pathways aligned with Cambridge Pre‑A/IGCSE and AS/A Level courses, with subjects such as digital media offered. Admissions information notes applicants complete English and art assessments and a principal interview. The site also describes a Western–Chinese co‑leadership model and names the school's senior leaders. The website lists recent university destinations including University of the Arts London and Parsons; news pages describe collaborations with fashion designers and showcases student exhibitions and competition entries regularly.