Soong Ching Ling School

Soong Ching Ling School is on Ye Hui (Yehui) Road in the Zhaoxiang area of Qingpu District, on the western edge of Shanghai; the school gives the campus a suburban, residential setting. The website lists the campus address as No.2 Yehui Rd, Qingpu District (Zhaoxiang), and the school's own profile describes a large, green campus in Zhaoxiang.

The school comprises both Domestic and International divisions and offers primary, middle and high school provision; the International Division serves grades 1–12.

Soong Ching Ling is a co-educational day school with separate Domestic and International divisions operating on the same campus. The public information does not indicate boarding provision.

The school describes bilingual/co-teaching arrangements (Chinese and Western teachers in classes) and separate Chinese-language tracks for native speakers and additional‑language learners, which supports language differentiation. The website does not publish a detailed public policy about formal Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, so parents requiring specific SEN services should contact Admissions to discuss individual needs and available support.

SCLS is a Chinese school founded and funded by the China Welfare Institute (established in memory of Madame Soong Ching Ling); it is not affiliated to a foreign country.

The school does not list any religious affiliation; its materials present an educational and cultural mission rather than a faith-based one.

Public listings indicate a typical school day beginning in the early morning and finishing in the mid‑afternoon (examples found: about 08:00–15:30 or 08:15–15:50 in third‑party school listings). Exact daily start/finish times and break/lunch schedules can vary by division and year, so please confirm current hours with Admissions.

The school operates a formal school-bus service with multiple morning and afternoon routes for Primary, Middle and High School; route maps and timetables are published on the school website. The school's published fees (2024–25 pages) list bus transport charges in the range RMB 1,000–1,200 per month (distance-dependent). Parents can view route details and downloadable timetables on the school's School Bus Service pages or contact Admissions for route availability at your address.

Soong Ching Ling School's International Division teaches primarily in English and follows an American-style Common Core framework with Advanced Placement (AP) options in the upper years; the school holds Cognia accreditation and operates as an AP and SAT test center.
Primary (Grades 1–5) combines the Chinese national curriculum with U.S. Common Core standards; most subjects are taught in English while Chinese and mathematics begin in Chinese and mathematics transitions to English around Grade 5.
Middle school covers seven core disciplines (English, math, science, social studies, arts, world languages, PE/health) and requires students from Grade 6 to study an additional language (currently French or Spanish).
High school follows a “fusion” model with English-language modules, UCLA modules, and a range of elective AP courses across disciplines (including AP Chinese, sciences and arts) to prepare students for university admission; AP courses are offered as optional accelerated electives.
The school also runs extracurricular and competitive programmes (AMC, Waterloo Math, IMMC, robotics, debate, etc.) and maintains separate native‑speaker and additional‑language Chinese tracks to meet differing student language backgrounds.

The school publishes an active Student Council (middle and high school councils) that organises events, runs outreach projects (for example donations and student–teacher salons) and acts as a formal channel between students and the school. The International Division describes its learning environment as “loving, encouraging, challenging and rigorous,” and highlights co‑curricular events (culture week, festivals, sports carnival) that contribute to student engagement. Homeroom and faculty structures (Chinese and international staff working together) are emphasised as part of daily student life. These elements together indicate school-level provision for student voice, community activities and pastoral relationships. (Sources: school Student Council page; International Division overview).

The school's public website does not set out a named Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision or a list of the specific types of SEN it can support. The site does, however, list a Director of Faculty Support Centre & Student Service Specialist and a School Counselor among staff, which indicates there are staff roles linked to student support but the school does not publicly describe a formal SEN programme or whether it is a specialist SEN institution. For admissions and detailed placement information the school refers applicants to its admissions guide rather than to a SEN policy on the public site. If you need precise SEN support details (eligibility, assessment, reasonable adjustments) I can contact the school admissions office for clarification or point you to the admissions contact listed on the website.

The school states that instruction is in English for the International Division and lists multiple English-language teachers and Western faculty in its staff directory. However, the public website does not describe a dedicated EAL/ESL programme, entry-level language assessment, or named EAL specialist provision. The school's staffing model (Chinese and Western homeroom teachers; many English teachers) suggests bilingual classroom support is part of daily delivery, but a specific EAL programme is not published. If you need confirmation about targeted EAL lessons or assessment processes, the admissions office or international division can be asked to provide their current policy.

The school lists a named School Counselor role and a Director of Faculty Support Centre & Student Service Specialist on its staff pages, indicating designated staff for student welfare. The Student Council and regular co‑curricular activities (culture week, sports carnival, arts events) are described on the site and are used to foster community and student engagement. The Health & Safety section emphasises protecting children's dignity, privacy and emotional wellbeing as a school priority. The website does not publish a detailed, standalone mental‑health programme (for example, tiered counselling pathways or external clinical partnerships) on the public pages; you can request further detail from the school if required.

The school's Health & Safety page states “Safety is Our Highest Priority” and sets out principles about protecting children's rights, dignity and emotional wellbeing, which serves as the school's published safeguarding statement. The site affirms that protecting students' best interests guides all actions involving children, and it provides contact points for admissions and administration. The school also lists counselling and student‑service staff (School Counselor; Director of Faculty Support Centre & Student Service Specialist) who are named on the staff directory. The public site does not reproduce a detailed child‑protection policy text or named Designated Safeguarding Lead on the international pages, so for the school's full safeguarding policy or the named safeguarding lead you would need to request the policy directly from the school.

1. Confirm eligibility and category. Before you start an application, check that your family meets one of the school's admission categories (for the International Division these include: a working parent who holds a foreign passport with an alien employment permit in Shanghai; families from Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan working in Shanghai; a PRC parent with a child who has a foreign birth certificate; or a family holding a SHMEC waiver). Parents should review these categories carefully because eligibility is governed by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (SHMEC) rules and the school requires applicants to fall into one of the listed categories.

2. Download the admissions booklet and check grade/age placement. The school publishes an Admissions Booklet and a Grade Level Placement chart (the Grade 1 age cut‑off is noted on the site — e.g., children entering Grade 1 should be 6 years old with a birthdate no later than August 31). Download and read those documents so you understand age cut‑offs, required certifications and any local policy references before you complete the application.

3. Create an online account and submit the application. For Grades 6–12 the site directs applicants to create an account and apply through the school's online portal (the page links to the school's application portal and confirms you will receive a confirmation email after submission); follow the portal instructions and check your email (including spam folders) for next steps. Use the portal linked on the school's admissions pages and keep the account credentials — the school uses that account for event registration and follow‑up correspondence.

4. Prepare and upload required documents. The school's admissions pages list documents you should have ready: passports or ID, evidence of parent work/permit status (where required), the child's birth certificate, and student school reports (the site specifically requests the past two years' school reports for transfer applicants and notes that Grade 1 applicants are an exception).

5. Note agency/fee and technical details. The school states you do not need to use agencies to apply and that the school does not charge a registration fee during the application; technical recommendations (preferred browsers) are provided to avoid submission problems. Parents should rely on the school's official portal and the admissions email rather than third‑party intermediaries.

6. Expect follow‑up from admissions and (if necessary) requests for additional information. The admissions pages do not provide a step‑by‑step description of assessments or interviews on the public pages, so after you submit the application watch for school emails asking for more documents, interview scheduling, placement checks or other next steps. If you need to confirm whether an assessment or interview will be required for your child's grade, contact the admissions centre directly (phone and email appear on the admissions pages).

7. Offers, acceptance and fees. The school publishes tuition figures and other fees on its admissions pages (see the school's 2024–2025 fee schedule linked on the site) — if an offer is made the admissions office will issue next steps about acceptance and payment. Because published fees can change and the school's pages include a fee‑change disclaimer, confirm the exact fees and payment deadlines with the admissions office for the year you plan to enroll.

The school's International Division admissions pages do not list any routine tuition scholarships or financial‑aid programs for applicants. The public pages focus on eligibility, application procedures and published tuition/meal/transport fees (for example, the site shows tuition and optional meal and bus charges for the 2024–2025 year) and do not describe merit or need‑based awards for International Division students. The broader Soong Ching Ling/China Welfare Institute history references Soong Ching Ling awards in other contexts, but that is not the same as an advertised school tuition scholarship on the International Division admissions pages. If you are seeking fee assistance, scholarships, or awards, ask the Admissions Office directly which (if any) financial‑support options or external awards may be available to enrolled students and whether there are separate application steps for them.

The school's public admissions pages for the International Division do not describe a formal waitlist or pool system. The admissions information focuses on eligibility categories, required documents and online application steps but does not state whether applicants who cannot be placed immediately are added to an official waitlist. Because many Shanghai international schools manage limited places and local demand can fluctuate, if you need to know current availability or whether the school operates a waitlist for your child's grade, contact the Admission Center (admission.center@scls-sh.org or the phone numbers listed on the school site) and ask how they handle overflow and waiting applicants.