UK's Uppingham School to open first overseas campus in Chongqing

A design sketch of the Uppingham School in Chongqing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This week, Uppingham School and its investor China Investment Development Co, Ltd signed an agreement with Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and the new campus will open in September 2019.

Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, founded in 2010, is the third national development and opening zone in China - and the first in the inland - approved by the State Council, after Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area.

Uppingham School, founded in 1584, is one of the leading British boarding schools for boys and girls aged 13 to 18.

"We have searched for the right place for our China campus for five years and finally we fell in love with Chongqing," said Patrick Mulvihill, development director of the school.

"Chongqing is a pioneering city and so far there is no such British school here."

According to the director, there are about eight or nine UK schools that have set up campuses in China and Uppingham will not miss out the opportunity to expand overseas.

"Uppingham is going to open five campuses in China and the next one will be in Kunming," he said.

Charles Cao Quin, senior adviser of the school, is helping the location search in China.

"Chongqing is a very important city as it is the only municipality in western China," said. "Also, Chongqing and Leicester have been sister cities since 1993."

The new campus plans to recruit 1,500 high school students and they will study for three years there. The first year is the foundation year to prepare Chinese students for British education.

"The new campus of Uppingham School will help enhance the international education quality in Liangjiang New Area and promote the local economy," said Zhu Yongze, deputy general manager of Longxing Industrial Park where the campus will be located.

The park, a 30-minute drive from the downtown area of Chongqing, is an important national base for strategic emerging industries and an influential area gathering enterprises of advanced manufacturing industries.

"We are trying to introduce more world first-class education resources, including primary schools, middle schools, universities and vocational schools to our New Area," he said.

A file photo shows the Uppingham School. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]