TLC International School

TLC International School is in Niushan, Dongcheng District, Dongguan, Guangdong, China — the campus address is listed as 1 East of Yu Qing Li Industrial Zone, Dongguan 523128. The school site describes a purpose-built campus with kindergarten, elementary and secondary buildings plus sports facilities. Parents should note the campus sits in an urban/industrial district of Dongguan; check local bus routes or contact the school for advice on door-to-door travel.

The school offers early education for three- and four-year-olds and follows an American-based curriculum from Nursery through Grade 12 (K–12). Curriculum pages describe separate kindergarten/elementary and secondary programmes with downloadable grade handbooks.

TLC is a private, co-educational international day school in Dongguan delivering an American-style, college-preparatory programme; the website notes ACSI accreditation for K5–12. The school presents itself as a day school — no boarding facilities are listed on the campus/facilities pages.

The website describes an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) programme for primary grades to support non-native English speakers and refers to a school counselor in communications to parents. The site does not publish detailed, formal Special Educational Needs (SEN) or additional-learning-needs provisions, so contact the admissions office for specifics and assessment arrangements.

The school is based in the People's Republic of China (Dongguan) but delivers an American-based curriculum; the site also notes that many core teachers are recruited from the USA.

TLC describes a spiritual dimension to its mission and is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), indicating a Christian affiliation.

The school's website explains that timetables are organised for each division (elementary/secondary) but does not publish specific daily start/end times or the exact timing of breaks and lunch. Prospective parents should ask admissions for the current daily schedule for the grades they are considering.

The school's public pages do not list an official school-bus programme or provider; the campus/facility pages likewise do not reference boarding or transport operators. Local public-bus routes and city transport serve Dongguan generally, but for any organised pick-up/drop-off service (routes, cost, safety procedures) contact the school's admissions or operations office directly. }

TLC International School in Dongguan delivers an American‑based, standards‑aligned curriculum from Nursery (N3) through Grade 12 and operates an early‑education program for three- and four‑year‑olds. Early years (N3, K4, K5) emphasize language, phonics, mathematics, science and social studies through teacher‑directed and interactive activities, with particular focus on reading and phonics in K4–K5. Elementary (Grades 1–5) follows standards‑based unit plans delivered using the Gradual Release of Responsibility model and includes core subjects plus electives such as PE, music, art, computer, library and character education; a full EFL program supports non‑native English speakers. Secondary (Grades 6–12) uses AERO (American Education Reaches Out) standards, teaching English/reading, mathematics, science, social studies, PE and Mandarin, with a variety of high‑school electives (art, public speaking, advanced Chinese, journalism, etc.). The school describes its high school as a college‑preparatory program and is accredited by ACSI for K5–12 while pursuing WASC candidacy.

TLC's published mission and vision state the school supports character training and the development of social skills as part of student development. The website also describes partnering with parents and spiritual mentoring as part of students' personal development. The faculty page notes weekly professional development for staff and a diverse core teaching team, which the school presents as part of its approach to student growth. The site does not, however, publish a named SEL curriculum, a dedicated SEL coordinator role, or specific classroom programmes labelled explicitly “SEL.”

The school's public website does not publish a Special Educational Needs (SEN) policy or detail specific learning-support programmes. The site does not list which types of SEN it can support and does not describe itself as a specialist SEN institution. For parents seeking clarification the site provides a contact route through the school office; therefore families are directed to contact the school directly for up-to-date SEN information.

TLC's public website does not describe a dedicated English-as-an-Additional-Language (EAL/ESL) programme, nor does it list specific EAL staff or withdrawal-language classes. There are no pages on the site that set out an EAL policy or structured language-support pathway. For language-support queries the school's contact page is the advised route for parents to request current information.

The school's published communications advise that students and parents should contact the school counselor for psychological or mental-health concerns and that core/class teachers are points of contact for student welfare. In a public letter the school described arrangements during the COVID period that included online classes and active teacher contact for students' academic and welfare needs. The website does not publish a separate, detailed wellbeing policy or list named mental-health staff or structured programmes on its public pages.

TLC publishes a Statement of Nondiscrimination and states it is accredited with ACSI on its public site. The school's communications also advise reporting concerns to class teachers and to the school counselor, as described in a parent letter. However, the school does not post a formal child-protection or safeguarding policy document or a named Designated Safeguarding Lead on its public website, and such formal policy documents are not available from the site's public pages. For formal safeguarding policy text and named contacts, the site directs parents to contact the school office.

1. Initial enquiry and campus visit. Start by contacting the school to request a campus tour or information meeting so you can see the facilities and confirm the curriculum stream (American AERO program / the school's separate "小牛津书院" A‑Level pathway). The school encourages in-person visits and will provide an admissions contact for scheduling; make note of the school's published telephone numbers on the school's site when you contact them.

2. Complete the online application and pay the application fee. Parents must fill out the school's application form and pay a non‑refundable application fee (the school's online “Apply Now” page states an application fee of RMB 500, which is deducted from tuition on successful enrolment). Keep the payment receipt and confirm whether the fee is refundable or transferable — the school's page explicitly calls the fee non‑refundable.

3. Prepare and submit required documents. Most international schools (and TLC's affiliated listings) ask for standard documents such as the child's passport, parents' IDs, recent school reports, and up‑to‑date immunization records; the exact checklist is not fully listed on the public Apply page, so confirm the school's current document list with admissions before submitting original documents. Provide translated/notarized copies as requested, and bring originals to any in‑person meeting — missing or incorrectly formatted documents can delay processing.

4. Entrance assessment and interview. TLC's Apply Now page says all applicants take an age‑appropriate entrance assessment and interview; for the 小牛津书院 (the school's A‑Level/IGCSE pathway) published Q&A indicates testing includes English and mathematics (math may be set in Chinese for that track) and an English interview with the principal. Plan to allow time for both written testing and a separate interview; ask whether assessments are administered in English, whether there is an EFL placement track, and whether online testing is available if you are applying from abroad.

5. Offer, acceptance and payment steps. If the school offers a place, it will send an acceptance/offer with next steps and payment instructions; the school's public pages do not list a standard deposit/acceptance fee or exact payment schedule for every grade, so confirm the required deposit amount, payment methods (bank transfer / in‑person) and refund policies before accepting. Also ask about sibling discounts, payment deadlines, and whether the stated tuition includes textbooks, meals, bus service or other extras — third‑party listings show tuition figures but extras and payment schedules vary by year and grade.

6. Placement, EFL support and start‑of‑term formalities. After enrollment you may be asked to attend orientation and, for non‑native English speakers, an EFL/placement programme is available (the school publishes an EFL programme for younger grades and limited secondary EFL places). Clarify start‑of‑term requirements such as health checks, uniform orders, school‑provided insurance (if any), and the calendar for the academic year so you can arrange visas, travel and housing if relevant.

TLC's publicly available local listings and recent school‑affiliated announcements for the 小牛津书院 (the school's A‑Level/IGCSE pathway) describe a formal scholarship scheme that includes two main tiers: full tuition scholarships (tuition fully waived) and half‑tuition scholarships (50% tuition reduction). Those materials state that scholarship awards are based on entrance assessment performance and that the school re‑evaluates or stages assessments annually (scholarships are subject to periodic review and typically do not cover extras such as international exam fees or school trips unless explicitly stated). Scholarship details and eligibility (number of awards, selection rubric, renewal conditions and whether scholarships apply to all streams/grades) are described in third‑party summaries of the school's announcements — you should request the school's official scholarship policy and the current scholarship application/timetable from Admissions, because public summaries warn that exact amounts, the number of awards and renewal rules can change year to year.