YK Pao School is unique in its mission to create a school for tomorrow’s China. This is more than a statement of intent, it is the lived reality of all those in the YK Pao School community. After around thirty years in education and twenty as a head of two schools in the UK, I can reflect that I have never worked in as dynamic, exciting and friendly an environment as here at YK Pao School.
At Pao School, educators and staff alike endeavour to build a world-class school for tomorrow’s China with an international perspective. We aim not only for the highest standards in everything we do but also for the school to serve the community from across the world, and for our students to be prepared for their futures, which is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. As we accumulate greater wealth and better health, we also face more challenging decisions as a community as well as individually. At the same time as we value Chinese traditions and culture, we prepare our students for a worldly outlook – we nurture their creativity and equip them with the best skills and competencies to lead in this modern age of knowledge. More importantly, we help students develop a healthy balance of work and personal interests, mental and psychological stamina, and strength of character to make informed decisions in our complex and ever-changing world.
Our young people are at the centre of all the decisions we make due to the school being a non-profit model. All the resources of YK Pao School are hypothecated back to the student experience: be this through the development of first-class teaching and learning spaces across our campuses, or in the recruitment of high quality teachers, from China and around the world, who enthuse our students with the passion they hold for their subject. The development of our teaching staff is as important to us as the experience our students receive. Teachers are professionally inquisitive and given opportunities to develop their practice through training, participation in action research and peer-to-peer support. They collaborate and share pedagogical approaches between Chinese and international colleagues.
Above all, YK Pao School is a community: one where everyone learns together in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Partnerships lie at the heart of this process, where the school works with parents to make sure that the experience their children receive at YK Pao School not only realises their academic potential, but develops character that will set them up for life. These are based on the overarching values set down by our Founders of compassion, integrity and balance, honouring the School’s namesake, Sir YK Pao, whose influence and example remaining a guiding principle to us all.
Our values run like a golden thread through all we do at YK Pao School. However, the School’s mission to blend the best of Chinese and international education continues to be both contemporary and forward-focussed. We realise that our students will go on to positions of influence both in China and around the world and, therefore, need the skills developed at school to complement their formal qualifications. Academic excellence sits at the centre of this, and our students achieve outstanding outcomes in national and international examinations. However, we encourage them to develop interests and talents in all areas of school life: be these artistic, creative or sporting. As a result, our students are intellectually curious about the world around them and motivated to make a difference through their lives beyond school as a result of their experience at YK Pao School.
The bilingual and bicultural nature of YK Pao School encourages this global perspective. Not only do students become fully proficient in both Mandarin and English, they develop deeper awareness of their own culture that helps to form an empathetic view of others. Our young people are growing up in a complex and complicated world, but one that has endless opportunity and adventure. At YK Pao School we support them on this wonderful journey with experiences that will resonate throughout their lives.
I hope you enjoy the introduction to YK Pao School contained on our website and would be delighted to welcome you to our school community in the future.
Iain Kilpatrick BA, MEd, FRSA
Executive Headmaster
