A Century of Learning: SUIS Peiming Celebrates Milestone

The "Chinese Roots and Global Wings" International Education Forum took place at the Shanghai United International School Peiming Campus (SUIS Peiming) on November 26.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of SUIS Peiming, and a heartfelt centenary promotional film opened the event, evoking nostalgia and emotion.

Maxine Lu, general principal of Xiehe Education and principal of SUIS Peiming, opened the forum with a keynote speech that guided participants through a century of history – from Peiming's beginnings as a private girls' school, to its development as a public middle school and on to its ongoing exploration of new pathways in international education.

Chinese and international students performed nursery rhymes in the Shanghai dialect, along with excerpts from musical theater.

These performances embodied the SUIS's educational philosophy of "Developing in Harmony, where East Meets West," allowing guests to experience the campus's open and inclusive cultural atmosphere.

Guests, alumni, descendants of the school founding principal Xu Junheng, as well as representatives from the student body, family members, and faculty, attended the event.

The campus itself embodies this dual heritage – its combination of Suzhou-style gardens and Western architectural aesthetics stands as an excellent historic architecture, a living museum where heritage and modern learning coexist.

The School Museum, "The Unfading Flame Peiming's 100 Years of Educational Excellence," showcased the institution's development and its rich legacy.

Guests toured the museum, the learning resource center, and the study spaces for overseas students. Through the fluent bilingual presentations by student guides, attendees experienced first hand the educational environment and cultural charm of this century-old institution, which seamlessly integrates Eastern and Western educational traditions.

Additionally, students presented the historical drama "A Century of Peiming: Magnolias in Bloom," recounting the journey of how students at the Peiming School for Girls found enlightenment and pursued their ideals in 1936.

Among the keynote speakers was Rod Smith, group managing director of International Education at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, who spoke on the long-term partnership and ongoing cooperation between Cambridge and SUIS.

The Peiming School was founded in 1925, and in 2022, Xiehe Education was entrusted with fully managing the school, which is now the Shanghai United International School Peiming Campus.

As a public middle school, with strong support from the Jing'an District Government, it integrates SUIS's philosophy. The school also serves as a pilot institution in Jing'an, and the only one in Shanghai, for enrolling children of foreign residents in its International Stream, providing high-quality basic education and exploring best practices for international education within a public school setting in the compulsory education stage.

Nowadays, there are students currently from the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Russia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan of China. Upon completing the middle school stage education here, they are able to seamlessly articulate into SUIS Gubei and other SUIS high schools.