The China expat parents choosing public over international schools, and how their kids cope

Thirteen-year-old Trey Crawford stands out at the high school affiliated to the University of Science and Technology Beijing. Trey, who is American, and a Dutch pupil are the only foreigners among the 39 students in their class at the public school in the Chinese capital.

“As a foreigner, I have more privileges than local Chinese classmates to do what I want,” Trey says. “The English classes are too easy for me. The English teacher lets me read [Chinese novels] during the classes. All my friends are local Chinese. I’ve studied in local schools throughout my school years so I am totally fluent in Chinese.”

Gloria Crawford, who runs an educational technology company in Beijing with her husband Terry, says she chose to send Trey to the local school because it would be the best way for him to master the Chinese language, and also instil in him resilience and discipline.

“At the primary level, Chinese schools provide a strong foundation in language training, which requires rote memorisation and repetitive copying to learn the strokes and everything,” she says. “How they teach languages also informs the way they teach everything else, like maths and science. My children’s maths skills are stronger than their friends’ when we go back to America. Because of the strict nature of the Chinese school system, they also have more resilience to be able to handle difficulties later in life.”

The Crawfords’ two younger children, Sean and Mia, are also receiving a local education in Beijing, at Jingcheng Experimental Primary School.

Gloria Crawford says another reason for enrolling her children in local schools is the exorbitant tuition fees charged by international schools.