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 student body comes from families with overseas returnee backgrounds, while over 70% of parents hold master’s or doctoral degrees. A cumulative total of more than 300 children from families recognized as high-level talents by  Organization Department of the Administrative Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park（SIP）have enrolled in our school. Since its founding, nearly 1,000 student families have received tuition subsidies for high-level talent children provided SIP government. The school has truly established itself as a distinctive educational institution catering to 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

September 2017

• The school’s north campus officially opened and began enrolling primary school students, adopting small-class bilingual education.

May 2018

• With the completion of the south campus and the expansion of its educational scope, the school relocated to the south campus and formally became a K12 (15-year) private non-profit school.
• The school spans 66 acres with a total floor area of over 50,000 square meters, accommodating up to 2,300 students.
• It received authorization as an IB-DP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) school.

August 2020

• It was certified as an IB-PYP (Primary Years Programme) school.

June 2022

• It achieved authorization as an IB-MYP (Middle Years Programme) school, making it the first full IB World School in Suzhou eligible to enroll both Chinese and international students.
• The school earned accreditation from the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), officially becoming a globally recognized “Cambridge International School.” This distinction positioned it among a select few schools worldwide with dual authorization for both IB and Cambridge International curricula.
• Its first two graduating classes have been admitted to prestigious institutions worldwide, with its inaugural graduates securing offers from the University of Cambridge.

2024

• The school obtained accreditation from Cognia, a leading global education certification organization. This recognition signifies that the school meets global benchmarks in educational quality, student engagement, campus culture, effective learning environments, data-driven education, and administrative management, placing it among the world’s top international schools.

2025 (The Presence)

• Concord Education Group became the new investor and officially took over school operations. Leveraging its premium resources, Concord aims to empower the school’s development and establish it as a benchmark for international education.

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 of OCAC  adheres to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate (IB) while deeply integrating China’s national core curriculum. Additionally, it has meticulously developed a series of specialized courses spanning advantageous fields such as humanities, arts, and science & technology. This curriculum framework provides students with a holistic development platform, fostering balanced growth in intellectual, social, emotional, and physical domains.

Students can tailor their academic pathways based on individual strengths, university aspirations, and personalized needs, selecting from a flexible range of course systems. This approach ensures diverse post-secondary options, laying a strong foundation for their future educational journeys.

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

Our school’s faculty is distinguished by its high-caliber, globally oriented composition. In terms of academic qualifications, 62% of teachers hold master’s or doctoral degrees, including 9 Ph.D. holders and postdoctoral researchers, with our secondary school divisions reaching an impressive 80% mastery-level qualification rate.

Faculty Demographics:

• 225 Chinese teachers (78%), including 96 (43%) with overseas study or work experience, reflecting strong international exposure.
• 65 foreign/overseas Chinese teachers (22%), including 2 from Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan.

Geographic Diversity:

Our team of 290 educators represents a blend of local and global talent:

• 56 hail from Suzhou, ensuring deep integration with the regional educational context.
• 169 join from other provinces across China, bringing diverse pedagogical perspectives.
• 65 are international or overseas Chinese educators, fostering a dynamic, culturally inclusive learning environment.

This fusion of expertise creates an innovative educational ecosystem that seamlessly integrates Eastern and Western pedagogical strengths.

Graduate Achievements

To date, all five graduating cohorts of OCAC have achieved remarkable university admission results:
• 90% of graduates have been accepted into Top 50 universities worldwide (as ranked by global academic authorities such as QS or THE).
• 100% of art students have secured offers from the world’s leading art and design institutions.

To date, our five graduating cohorts—comprising 158 students—have collectively secured 900+ offers from prestigious universities worldwide.

Notable Admissions by Region:

United Kingdom

• University of Cambridge
• Imperial College London
• University College London (UCL)
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• University of Edinburgh
• King’s College London
• University of Warwick
• University of Manchester

United States

• New York University
• Emory University
• University of Richmond
• Mount Holyoke College
• Boston University
• University of Washington
• University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
• University of California, Davis (UCD)

Hong Kong, China

• University of Hong Kong (HKU)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)
• Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• City University of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Baptist University

Canada

• University of Toronto
• McGill University
• University of British Columbia (UBC)
• University of Alberta
• Western University

Australia

• University of Melbourne
• University of Sydney
• Australian National University (ANU)
• Monash University
• University of Queensland (UQ)

Other Countries/Regions

• University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• emlyon Business School (France)
• Institut Polytechnique de Paris (France)
• Ghent University (Belgium)
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)

Art & Design Institutions

• University of the Arts London (UAL)
• Goldsmiths, University of London
• Parsons School of Design (The New School)
• School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York
• Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
• Pratt Institute
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
• Berklee College of Music
• New York Film Academy

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.