Welcome to the new academic year

Huili Shanghai welcomes the new academic year after a summer holiday recharge. After being apart for nearly two months, we eagerly look forward to starting the new journey with all the Huili people.

Huili is determined to provide a caring and inspiring learning environment that is conducive to emotional, social, physical and academic development. Over the past two months, both the school and nursery have undergone some exciting changes.

Huili Nursery’s outdoor areas were renovated after careful design consideration. We believe the new features will inspire pupils to unleash their imagination and help them to develop in a safe environment.

▲Huili Nursery’s outdoor garden

Huili School finally opened its High School building. High-quality facilities such as our grand theatre and sports hall will bring more opportunities for enrichment to our pupils. Additionally, playgrounds for primary pupils in the phase 1 area were also revamped.

What is more exciting than improvement of our facilities is that the nursery has welcomed its new Head of Early Years, Ms Charlotte Knight-Benjafield. Charlotte comes from the UK and is a graduate of Oxford University. She has rich experience in Early Years education. We are confident that, together with Huili School Shanghai, Charlotte will take the Nursery to a higher level and achieve excellence.

Charlotte Knight-Benjafield

Head of Early Years

With the establishment of Huili High School, the school’s leadership team has expanded as well. This year, we have four new leadership roles.  

Mr David Shaw takes positions of Assistant Head of High School and IBDP Coordinator. As a member of the leadership team, David participated in founding a new school in London which received an 'excellent' rating. We look forward to his joint efforts with Ms Kulas as they build a specialised and efficient High School team and support our pupils as they make history.   

David Shaw

Assistant Head High School and

IBDP Coordinator

Ms Isabelle Charrot-Grinsdale, with whom we are all quite familiar, was promoted to be Director of Arts this August. She will oversee our music, performing arts, visual arts and design & technology teams. Her passion for the arts and expertise are sure to elevate our thriving arts programme.

Isabelle Charrot-Grinsdale

Director of Arts

We also welcomed a new Director of Sports, Ms Kelly Shaw. Kelly has experience in management and has served as Head of Sports, Director of Sports and housemaster at schools in London and the Caribbean. Kelly is a former gymnast and has ranked fifth in the Scottish national badminton tournament. We expect that Kelly will do great things with our sports department.

Kelly Shaw

Director of Sports

Ms Alyssa Casallo is our new Head of Higher Education and Careers. Alyssa has extensive experience, having guided over 500 pupils through the university application process. 60% of them were accepted at the world's top 30 universities. She will create an open line of communication with pupils and parents to learn their needs and she is committed to building a strong support team to support our pupils in their pursuit of higher education.

Alyssa Casallo

Head of Higher Education and Careers

Although pandemic is well under control in China, we still must be vigilant. Huili School will continue to take rigorous measures to protect our pupils. Our China-based staff have been in Shanghai since 9th August and have undergone all the requisite health management protocols. Newly employed staff members arriving from overseas may only enter the school grounds upon confirmation that they are in good health. They are also required to do a 14-day centralised quarantine and an additional seven-day home quarantine in accordance with the regulation.

I want to call on all parents to please cooperate with the school and help us do our part in pandemic prevention. For the safety of Huili Community, please do not leave Shanghai if it is unnecessary. If you must leave, please report to the school office as soon as possible. Upon returning to Shanghai, you will be required to undergo a health screening. Other measures include wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and remaining vigilant about personal hygiene and safety.

With the help of our pupils, staff and parents, Huili Shanghai has made great strides since 2016. For educators and parents, there is nothing more rewarding than witnessing children’s development.

From young Early Years pupils to independent Primary pupils, from Junior High pupils to High School, it is an honour to witness the growth of our pupils. Our pupils’ excellence lies in their passion for learning their sense of personal responsibility and aspiration to achieve.

We see pupils who are full of creativity and who also possess a sense of humour. We see pupils with an immense capacity for empathy, who care deeply about social issues and participate in all types of charitable activities. These pupils all reflect the Huili Identities of being Inspired, Intellectual, Independent, Individual and Inclusive. This is central to the caring and supportive campus culture that we have spent years cultivating.

At Huili, we are never satisfied with the attitudes such as ‘okay’, ‘almost’ or ‘not bad’. On the journey of following our original intention of providing the best bilingual education, we hold fast in our beliefs. An ascendant China requires a wealth of extraordinary talent across a variety of fields. 

The roots must be planted firmly in Chinese culture while maintaining an international outlook. Only through strong cross-cultural understanding can tell Huili pupils serve as a bridge from China to the rest of the world.