BEIJING LUHE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTRE

Is seeking to recruit well-qualified, experienced and enthusiastic teachers of

Mathematics Physics Chemistry Biology Economics, Business and Accountancy Computing Geography English as a foreign language to Chinese national students who are following the Cambridge International A level and IELTS programme in order to study at university in the UK or elsewhere in the English-speaking world..

Part-time posts may be available for teachers already living in Beijing.

INFORMATION FOR EXPATRIATE APPLICANTS FOR TEACHING POSTS

Introduction

Beijing Luhe International Centre opened in impressive new purpose-built accommodation in September 2006 and enrolled the first students on its English A level programme at the same time. This programme is aimed at Chinese students who wish to apply to study at university in the UK or other English-speaking countries.

The Centre’s ‘parent’ school, Beijing Luhe High School, is a very famous, prestigious and highly achieving school within the Chinese school system and has a number of long-standing international links.

Luhe High School is very unusual, if not unique, in the Chinese school system. It was originally founded by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1867 as a missionary school when Tongzhou Boys’ Boarding School was opened. By 1889, it had

1 developed into an advanced academy called North China College that included a primary school, a middle school, a high school, a college and a seminary. In 1918, the university part of the school was moved to west Beijing and later became the highly regarded Yenching University, while the secondary school that remained was named Luhe High School.

It is situated 15km due east of Tian’anmen Square on a large, beautiful campus that features buildings from the beginning of the 20th century as well as extensive open green spaces with lawns, tree-lined avenues and a lake; it is particularly beautiful in spring when the trees are full of blossom. The building of modern teaching facilities, administration areas and accommodation has been done in a style that retains the school’s traditional ambience.

The school has many alumni who are distinguished within China and the wider world, including the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations in the mid-1980s.

Luhe High School and its new International Education Centre are the kind of places that attract able young people with ambition and the drive to succeed.

The Programme

The school currently offers A level teaching in mathematics, further mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics and business studies. Students receive teaching in the medium and English from expatriate teachers and in Chinese from native teachers. The Cambridge International Examination is taken. In addition they are prepared for the Cambridge IELTS certification of competency in English.

Students are taught in classes of about 20 and follow the A level programme for 3 years. In the pre-A year, they are taught the subjects they expect to follow and English. The aim of the year’s course is to bring their knowledge and expertise to the point where they are ready to begin AS study; the development of their competence in English is especially important. AS and A2 are then followed in the normal way.

A pilot group of about 20 students took AS in summer 2007. They achieved good grades and have received conditional offers from universities including Imperial College, University College London, Bath, Warwick, Edinburgh and Bristol. The school’s ambition is that by 2012 there will be about 150 students per year on the programme.

The development of the programme is taking place under the guidance of Tim Andrew, a highly experienced headteacher from the UK who was appointed Academic Principal from September 2007. Mr Andrew retired as head of Chesham High School, Buckinghamshire in 2007. He had been a headteacher for 20 years in secondary modern, comprehensive and grammar schools, was national president of the Secondary Heads Association (now renamed ‘ASCL’) in 2004-5 and has been involved in a number of international education initiatives, especially in China. He spends about 20 weeks per year in Beijing supporting Luhe’s A level project.

Working at Luhe

The salary offered by the school is significantly more than is needed to live comfortably in Beijing. In addition the school offers an accommodation allowance to allow staff to rent a comfortable modern flat with western-style amenities close to the school, although accommodation can be offered within the school if it is preferred.

Contracts are normally for two years, renewable by mutual consent. At the end of a two year contract a gratuity equivalent to two months’ salary is payable, subject to satisfactory appraisal in each of the two years.

The school provides bilingual assistance to help with the obtaining of a work permit and residential visa, opening a local bank account and other administrative requirements. Health care and flights to and from China are also paid for.

2 The students are hard-working, respectful and well-behaved. The biggest challenge is to get them to think and work independently, since the teaching methods used at A level are very different from those they have been used to in their Chinese education.

The school is committed to providing the resources necessary to teach A level well; it wants to ensure that its students have every chance of success.

Living in Beijing

Beijing is one of the world’s great cities, with a number of iconic world-renowned sites, including the Great Wall of China, Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.

It is heavily populated and the traffic can be congested, but the staging of the Olympics in 2008 has brought massive investment in the city’s infrastructure, not least in the subway system to which new lines have been added. The subway was extended to Tongzhou a few years ago and there are trains every few minutes for the 40 minute ride to central Beijing, which costs a few British pence.

When Luhe opened in the 19th century it must have been situated in the countryside to the east of Beijing. Now Tongzhou forms a large suburb that has seen great development in the last 10 years. That development means that there is plenty of modern, well-built accommodation and facilities like a large Carrefour supermarket. There are also traditional open street markets where fruit, vegetables and other consumables can be purchased very cheaply. As an example, in October 2008, a kilo of potatoes could be bought for 1Yuan (about 10p) and a 600ml bottle of local beer (very drinkable!) for 2 Yuan.

Central Beijing, its heritage sites and international life are easily accessible from Tongzhou. A ride back in a licensed taxi late at night takes less than 30 minutes on the expressway and costs less than £6.

Summer can be hot and humid and winter very cold (but dry). Autumn and spring are very pleasant and are the best times to travel and go sight-seeing.

The staff of the school are very friendly and welcoming, as are the Chinese in general, and social events and trips are put on for the expatriate staff from time to time.

Compared with other similar cities in other parts of the world, Beijing is very safe, although, like anywhere else, sensible precautions against pickpockets and the like need to be taken in crowded areas full of tourists.

Who are we looking for?

The school is looking for experienced teachers of A level who will come to work in Beijing and join enthusiastically in supporting the development of the project by offering excellent teaching in the medium of English.

The post will suit someone who has some experience of teaching A level and wants to take a break from their career or to seeks to continue teaching in a new environment. Similarly, it will suit someone who has reached, or is close to, retirement age who would like to give up their current job but has the energy and enthusiasm to want to continue teaching their subject in a different setting to students who are appreciative, hard-working and want to learn.

The post also offers the chance to join the project in its early stages and to be part of the team who establish it and make it successful. The centre is expanding rapidly and at the same time we want to expanding the number of subjects we offer to the students; applications are especially welcomed from candidates who are able to offer more than one of the subjects listed.

Part-time employment will be considered for applicants already resident in Beijing.

3 Further details

Potential candidates who would like further information are invited to contact Tim Andrew, Academic Principal, Beijing Luhe International Education Centre:

Email: [email protected]

UK Phone/fax 01494 771265 Mobile 07850 693974

China Phone/fax 00 86 10 8050 4828 Mobile 00 86 139 1072 0573

He will be in the UK from 22 January until 2 March and in Beijing from 3 March until 14 April 2009.

Interviews

Interviews will take place in Central London. Reasonable travel expenses within the UK (standard class rail fare, budget flights and overnight accommodation) will be reimbursed against receipts. Candidates must discuss their travel and accommodation arrangements with Tim Andrew before making any firm bookings.

Candidates invited to interview will be required to bring photographic identity (preferably their passport), a recent utility bill or similar as evidence of residential address and original copies of qualification certificates.

4