A total of 21 local high schools have been chosen for a trial of international curriculum following a study by the Shanghai Education Commission, officials said yesterday.

The schools ­— 11 public schools and 10 private ones — will begin admissions from this year, providing an option of mixed Sino-foreign education for local students.

Students who want to learn international curriculum need to sit for a pre-admission exam held by the school. They must attend the city’s unified entrance exam for high schools as well, according to the SEC.

Even before the commission’s study last year, 33 schools had their own international curriculums since Shanghai began encouraging the measure to diversify school syllabus in a bid to meet different needs of a varying crop of students.

These schools offered 18 kinds of international courses, including IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Program), A-level (General Certificate of Education Advanced Level) and AP (Advanced Placement).

The 21 schools were selected based on strict evaluation and discussions to ensure quality, the commission said.

Chinese language, ideology and politics, history and geography subjects will still be mandatory for students who opt for international syllabus as they are part of the national curriculum, said Ni Minjing, director of the SEC’s basic education department.

Ni said the integrated curriculum and textbooks will be scrutinized by the commission before classes begin.

Authorized public schools include No. 2 High School of East China Normal University, High School affiliated to Fudan University, and High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Private schools include Shanghai International Studies University Xiwai International School and Shanghai United International School.

Source: www.shanghaidaily.com