Frequently Asked Questions

Can Chinese National Students register in the school?

Yes. We are a bilingual international school that recruits students from the whole society. Both Chinese Nationals and Foreign Passport holders may apply. We provide unified courses for all students.

What criteria are most important to the Assessment Team?

The Admissions process is selective at all year groups and the nature of the assessment tools used are dependent on the year group for which the student is applying.

Our school is interested in students of strong character, who have demonstrated at their prior school(s) that they have the intelligence, curiosity, and motivation needed to succeed in our classrooms. In addition, the Admissions Team looks for students who have the ability to contribute to the extracurricular life of the School, be it artistically or athletically. The primary academic criteria are a student's former grades and teacher recommendations. We seek students that we believe will be successful under the holistic development of our school.

What’s the connection between The Bromsgrove School Mission Hills and The Bromsgrove School UK？

As a member of the Bromsgrove School UK family of schools, Bromsgrove School Mission Hills (BMH) integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches, supports each student to achieve the very most they can and aims to be a pre-eminent, progressive, internationalized, bilingual school with Chinese roots and global connections.

Bromsgrove School Mission Hills ideal is quite different. The partnership, based on a unified ethos, entails full-scale collaboration on all levels including school management, teacher recruitment and professional development, curriculum design and enrichment, teacher and student exchange programmes, sporting excellence and ongoing review and improvement ensuring highest possible quality of educational provision. It is mainly reflected in the following areas:

• The Headmaster of Bromsgrove UK is the Honorary Headmaster of BMH;
• The Headmaster of Bromsgrove UK is the President of BMH Advisory Board, who is deeply involved in discussions and decisions on major issues of BMH, including but not limited to the determination of Vision and Mission of BMH, the full recruitment process of Executive Headmaster of BMH, development and review of BMH policies and procedures, quality assurance, curriculum design, discussion and review, teacher exchange, professional development and appraisal, etc.;
• Assessing students from certain year groups of BMH and selecting excellent candidates to continue their senior year studies at Bromsgrove UK;
• Annually,2 BMH students are selected as "Ambassadors" to study at Bromsgrove School in UK for a whole term.
• Each summer, families of current students can travel to B Bromsgrove School in UK for a summer school program.

If I want to take the international route for further studies, how can I get into Bromsgrove School in UK?

The application for admission to Bromsgrove UK Senior School is very competitive. In addition to the applications of excellent local students in the UK (the admission rate of local students in the UK is very competitive), there are also international students from more than 55 countries and regions around the world who compete fiercely for places at Bromsgrove (the admission rate of international students is also very competitive).

BMH students have multiple chances from Prep 4 and up to secure the places at Bromsgrove UK Senior School. The timing of when students take the CAT4 test, the Oxford Online test, and sit for interviews hosted by Bromsgrove UK’s Assistant Head will be subject to Executive Headmaster and SLT’s review and recommendation, based on students’ readiness. Students who do not receive an offer will be recommended a list of alternative British boarding schools with the help of the UK Board.

Can BMH Prep School graduates transfer to local school?

Thanks to the blended curriculum of BMH Prep School, our Prep School graduates have an opportunity to decide whether to continue internationalised education, or to transfer to public Junior High schools and pursuit the local school pathway.

What is the language of instruction? How much in terms of percentages are English and Chinese used in the school?

We are a bilingual international school, both Chinese and English are the common languages of instruction at the school. In Pre and Prep school, the ratio of Chinese to English is about 50%/50%, and as the grades increase, the ratio of English increases. At the Senior school, English is used 60% or 70% of the time.

What are the teachers’ backgrounds and how do we encourage them to remain at BMH?

All of our teachers have passed strict interviews and background checks, and have the appropriate educational backgrounds, qualifications and experience in teaching. Our foreign teachers are mainly from native English-speaking countries such as the UK and the USA, and have extensive teaching experience in international schools. Most of our Chinese teachers have a master's degree or higher. Who have studied or worked overseas.

The school attaches great importance to the development of our staffs and actively organizes, leads, supports and finances their professional development programs. With the supportive policy of providing teachers with professional training and study visits, we are confident that BMH of Foreign Languages will be a vibrant place with opportunities for staff at different stages of their career to develop professionally in different directions.

Does the school offer Boarding?

The school offers English boarding for students in Prep3 and above. Dorm rooms are built to the highest standards, fully-equipped two or three-bedded rooms and managed by a professional boarding team. BMH Boarding built around mixed age housing, concentrate on holistic growth and character development, presents student with appropriate challenges to building resilience. A House Parent House Matron, Assistant House Parents, and a dedicated team of tutors and support staff are responsible for the wellbeing and happiness of students within the House. Together they professionally and wholeheartedly serve in loco parentis whilst also offering inspirational teaching and coaching. At BMH, we model our boarding on the offer and success of our UK partner school providing rich extension opportunities in the realms of academic and holistic learning as well as wrap¬around pastoral care to meet the needs of each individual student in our care.

Do you offer school bus services to and from school?

Yes. We currently have multiple school bus lines travelling to destinations near and far across the city. Our Admissions Team can provide details of the latest bus routes.

Does the school offer School Meals?

Yes, all students enjoy our BMH Menu including tasty and nutritious morning and afternoon snacks as well as a wide array of lunchtime dishes. Additional meal fees are charged for this service. Special dietary requirements are usually able to be met. Western and Chinese dishes are offered to our students with plenty of fruit each day.

What is the school's homework policy?

Homework is an integral part of school life and helps children to understand that learning also takes place outside of school. Homework is relevant to class work and teachers give what they believe the child can handle independently. Pre School students are encouraged to read regularly and document their learning to share with teachers using our online platform, ManageBac. Prep Junior students have around 30 minutes of homework each day, with daily reading expected. Prep Senior students are expected to complete around 90 minutes of homework each day for their various subjects.

Especially for Pre School and Prep School students, how can parents help with their child's language learning?

Parental support is always very important for a child's learning and parents are encouraged to provide an environment at home which encourages their child to use both English and Mandarin at home. Mealtimes, story times and daily discussions connected to learning posted on ManageBac (our online learning communication platform) are great ways to promote social aspects of language and thinking for young children.

Parents are also encouraged to maintain close contact with their child's class teachers as well as attend our school's workshops which we conduct from time to time to better understand their child's learning.

How does the school communicate with the parents?

There are a multitude of ways including:

• Face to face meetings with individuals and groups
• Coffee Morning information sessions and workshops
• Formal 2-Way and 3-Way conferences to review academic progress and set targets
• Parent Engagement events and learning showcases
• PTA and Class Parents
• WeChat for impromptu messages
• Email for formal communication
• ManageBac for ongoing sharing of learning and progress