Introduction
Establishment Background
To better meet the educational needs of high-level talents in the Yangtze River Delta region, including overseas returnees and leading professionals, for their children to receive an international education, Overseas Chinese Academy of Concord Suzhou (OCAC-Suzhou) was officially founded in April 2016 with strong support from the Administrative Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park. It is the first school in China specifically designed for children of overseas returnees, overseas Chinese, and students wishing to receive a Chinese-international education.
As of April 2025, 50% of our current students come from families with overseas returnee backgrounds, and over 70% of our parents hold master’s or doctoral degrees. In total, more than 300 children from families recognized as high-level talents by the Organizational Department of the Suzhou Industrial Park have enrolled in our school. Since its founding, nearly 1,000 student families have received tuition subsidies for high-level talent children provided by the park’s government. Our school has truly become a distinctive educational institution for the children of high-level talents.
Campus Culture
Mission
Chinese origins, Global originality. We cultivate lifelong learners to face the global challenges of the 21st century.
Vision
We aspire to become a model of Chinese-international education.
Values
The school community collectively upholds the values of open-mindedness, courage, altruism, and collaboration to realize our vision and mission.
School Motto
Inclusive, Genuine
School Ethos
Chinese Origins, Global Originality
Teaching & Learning Ethos
Open-minded, Courage, Altruism, and Collaboration
Development Trajectory
In September 2017, the North Campus of the school officially opened and began enrolling primary school students, implementing small-class bilingual education. In May 2018, with the completion of the South Campus and the expansion of the school’s scope, the entire school relocated to the South Campus and officially became a K12 fifteen-year private non-profit school. The school covers an area of 66 acres with a building area of over 50,000 square meters, accommodating up to 2,300 students.
In June 2022, the school received certification from the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), officially becoming a globally recognized “Cambridge International School.” This also made it one of the few schools worldwide with dual certification in both the IB and Cambridge International curricula.
Curriculum System
OCAC-Suzhou provides a fifteen-year Chinese-English bilingual education from kindergarten to high school. Since its inception, the school has adhered to the Chinese National Curriculum as its framework and content, integrating inquiry-based teaching methods to explore a path of Chinese-international education. With its outstanding teaching quality and educational achievements, the school has earned high recognition from parents, society, and the education industry, becoming a distinctive (a term meaning “symbol” or “icon”) of international education in Suzhou Industrial Park and beyond.
Kindergarten
The OCAC kindergarten adheres to the educational philosophy of “Chinese Origin Global Originality“ combining advanced educational ideas, modern teaching methods, and excellent traditional Chinese culture to provide children with an innovative Chinese education with international characteristics.
The inquiry-based curriculum draws inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach and is guided by the IB Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) framework. Through play-based learning, children, with the help and guidance of teachers, integrate their interests and experiences into their studies. Through active interaction with people and objects, they personally experience and perceive the world they live in.
According to the developmental patterns of language learning in young children, Chinese and English are used in varying proportions as teaching languages across different grade levels. Additionally, the kindergarten offers specialized courses in performing arts, visual arts, library studies, and physical education to support balanced development in thinking, social-emotional skills, motor abilities, and language.
Primary School
The OCAC primary school curriculum is based on the Chinese National Curriculum and framed by the inquiry-based, concept-driven International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP). It provides students with multiple opportunities to deeply understand concepts, skills, knowledge, and the IB Learner Profile attributes, aiming to cultivate lifelong learners.
The uniqueness of the curriculum lies in its seamless integration of Chinese National Curriculum content with the IB framework, providing students with a learning platform that allows them to maintain their Chinese cultural roots while continuously creating and innovating on a global scale.
The primary school curriculum is structured around six transdisciplinary themes through units of inquiry. In addition to Chinese and English units of inquiry, specialized courses in English mathematics, visual arts, performing arts, library studies, physical education, ICT, and STEAM are offered.
Lower Secondary School
The lower secondary school curriculum integrates the knowledge content of the Chinese National Curriculum (CNC) with the assessment framework of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP). It follows an inquiry-based, concept-oriented teaching philosophy, conducting instruction in a global context.
The curriculum is divided into eight subject groups and includes interdisciplinary units. Learning methods, inquiry methods, and global contexts are incorporated into teaching units across all grades and subjects, cultivating students’ inquiry abilities and thinking skills to prepare them for future challenges.
Additionally, unique school-based courses such as career education, learning methods, library studies, mental health, community projects, and Olympic Sports Center sports days comprehensively support student growth.
Upper Secondary School
The upper secondary school adheres to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate (IB), integrating it deeply with the national basic curriculum while meticulously developing a series of distinctive courses spanning advantageous fields such as humanities, arts, and science and technology. This curriculum design provides students with a comprehensive development platform, supporting their balanced growth across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical dimensions. Students can flexibly select a curriculum system that aligns with their individual academic strengths, college aspirations, and other personalized needs, thereby enjoying diverse pathways for further education and laying a solid foundation for their future academic pursuits.
Through high-quality academic advisors, abundant thesis resources, professional competition coaching, and high-end academic expansion projects like the “Leading Program,” the school builds a solid academic foundation for students and exposes them to cutting-edge academic fields.
The upper secondary school offers a rich array of practical inquiry and expansion courses, ranging from “Wall-less Week” to the “Duke of Edinburgh’s Award,” and from school-based ECA and CCA courses to the IBDP’s CAS program. Through diverse in-school and off-campus experiential learning and exploration projects, students broaden their horizons, cultivate their abilities, and enhance their backgrounds.
Simultaneously, comprehensive moral education and career development planning provide students with psychological and emotional support, as well as personalized guidance for further education planning.
Co-Curricular Activities (CCA)
The CCA program is an integral part of the school’s curriculum. To better develop students’ potential for creativity, innovation, and artistic expression, the school has creatively reinterpreted the ancient Chinese “Six Arts” according to IB learning methods, establishing its own CCA framework.
This academic year, the kindergarten offers over 20 CCA courses in both the South and North campuses, covering language and literature, performing arts, visual arts, sports skills, and technological innovation, meeting children’s diverse and personalized interest development needs.
The primary school offers a total of 60 CCA courses, covering academics, science and innovation, arts, and sports, focusing on cultivating students’ language literacy, thinking abilities, and interest specialties. Most courses are taught by outstanding primary school teachers, while some high-quality external resources are also introduced to provide children with a high-quality learning experience.
The secondary school CCA courses cover four major categories: arts, service, sports, and academics, with service-oriented clubs, brand projects, subject competitions, and student-led clubs as the highlights.
Sports and Performing Arts Teams
Excellent sports and performing arts teams stimulate pride and participation among students, parents, teachers, and the entire community. The school has assembled a strong faculty to provide professional training support for hundreds of students.
Currently, OCAC boasts over a dozen sports teams, including swimming, golf, fencing, rock climbing, football, basketball, baseball, table tennis, badminton, and ice hockey, as well as high-level music performing teams in symphony, strings, wind, percussion, musical theater, and chorus.
Faculty
As of April 2025, the school has over 300 Chinese and foreign teachers, with over 60% holding master’s or doctoral degrees. Chinese teachers account for 70%, while foreign teachers account for 30%. The teachers come from 18 countries, with an average teaching experience of 10 years.
University Admission Results
From 2021 to 2024, the school’s first four cohorts of high school graduates achieved remarkable results. 90% of graduates were admitted to universities ranked in the top 50 worldwide. Art students were all admitted to the world’s top art universities.
As of April 2025, the 2025 cohort of 53 graduates has received a total of 311 admission offers from prestigious universities worldwide, including Emory University, University of Richmond, University of California, Davis, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Edinburgh, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Amsterdam, KEDGE Business School, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of the Arts London, and School of Visual Arts in New York.
Campus Facilities
The school’s total building area is 52,460 square meters, encompassing a main teaching building, comprehensive building, kindergarten, cafeteria, gymnasium, dormitory buildings, and outdoor activity areas.
In front of the comprehensive building stands the school’s educational philosophy—”Chinese origins, Global originality”—while the “IB Ten Learner Profile Attributes” written in three languages represent the school’s high expectations for all students.
The school’s architectural style perfectly blends tradition and modernity, drawing inspiration from three sources: cultural heritage, dialogue with nature, and the connection of lines.
The school’s architectural design meets the diverse learning needs of students across four educational stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school. Each division has its unique characteristics while creating a “center” that provides opportunities for interaction among students from all four stages.
Social Honors
The school has consistently ranked among the top 100 international schools in China on the Hurun Education Top International Schools in China and Forbes China’s Top International Schools lists, recognized as a “TOP 50 International School” in the field of international education. In March 2025, the school ranked 23rd nationwide on the “KingLead China International School Brand Value Top 100 List.”
In July 2024, the school received official certification from Cognia, the world’s largest non-profit accreditation agency for international schools, indicating that the school ranks among the world’s excellent international schools in terms of educational and teaching management, curriculum system and quality, student development models, and campus culture construction.
