Dulwich College Seoul Head Vows Education Quality
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Dulwich College Seoul, a new school for expatriate students, aims to offer a quality education in keeping with the 400-year-old brand of its mother school in London.
That promise comes at a time when English-speaking foreign schools in Korea have been involved in admission irregularities due to Korean parents bypassing regulations to enroll their children.
One American school was warned by Seoul education authorities for admitting unqualified children, and another international school was used by a lawmaker to establish a slush fund as well as accepting ineligible students, according to the Gyeonggi Province Education Office.
Some Korean parents have even gone to the U.S. to give birth or bought foreign passports to secure admission to international schools, causing the government to revise regulations regarding these institutions.
However, it will be different for Dulwich College Seoul, which is scheduled to open Sept. 2 in Seoul, this year, Daryl Orchard, head of the British school, told The Korea Times in an interview, Thursday.
"We have a very thorough admissions process whereby each child is tested. Because of our quality and commitment to this process, the head of the Dulwich early years program in Beijing is coming over here three days a week to help assess children. That shows how seriously we are taking admissions," Orchard said.
He added that applicants will have to take tests in the English language and mathematics along with interviews depending on their school year.
The London-based school, which can accommodate up to 500 pupils, will recruit 270 for its first year in 14 classes from nursery through primary grade 5.
Under an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korean students can make up 25 percent of total admissions, if they have lived overseas for three years. Dulwich, located on 10,500 square meters in Seocho-gu, has already hired 24 teachers.
Now, the British school is in discussions for a secondary facility. Orchard said the secondary school will open in 2012 on a site 3.5 kilometers from the primary school.
He added that up to 1,000 students will be able to study at the secondary school.
"I believe we are very lucky to get this offer from the Seoul government; we will show people our education quality and expand courses for secondary school students."
Dulwich will be the first-ever school offering a British curricula for all school aged children. Tuition has been set at 24.8 million won per year.
Asked to identify how the school differs from other foreign schools in Korea, the head said Dulwich takes a secular approach. "We teach religion comparatively. We do not emphasize one religion," he said. "I think that is appropriate given our multi-cultural character."
With its long tradition, Dulwich College has a growing "family" of international schools. Especially, it has made tremendous success in China with three schools there.
"Our school in Shanghai is among the top five international schools in the world. We want to bring that quality here," Orchard said.
The school also plans to offer scholarships to children from low-income families, although the details have yet to be announced. "We very much hope to develop this scholarship program," Orchard said.