UK-based boarding school Benenden, has announced that it will open a series of schools in China as part of a partnership with Hong Kong-based CTF Education Group.
Benenden aims to open its first Chinese campus in the Panyu district of Guangzhou in southern China, in late 2023 – and will use the revenue generated by the project to help fund bursaries for students in the UK.
“We are delighted to be opening a Benenden-branded school in South China”
The Chinese campus, which currently is unnamed, will teach 1,550 boys and girls from kindergarten through to Sixth Form, half of whom will be boarders.
“We are delighted to be opening a Benenden-branded school in South China and hope this will be the first of a number of such schools to support our ambitious bursary program,” said Benenden headmistress Samantha Price.
“As one of the leading independent schools in the UK, Benenden is committed to significantly widening access and the opportunities available for future generations of girls to benefit from our educational offering.
“We have been looking at various options in recent years and this first project in China is a wonderful opportunity to establish a fantastic new school,” she said.
Price said that the new campus will, in time, generate revenue that will supplement donations from its supporters to help offer more bursaries at Benenden.
CTFEG is part of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, a high-profile brand in China and Hong Kong, which has been operating schools for around 30 years and has a string of both international and local schools in Hong Kong.
The partnership has been developed with the support of a “Benenden Senior” in Hong Kong, Jennifer Ma, group chief strategy officer of CTF Education Group, who will remain closely involved with the project along with the strong CTFEG team.
“We are very excited to be working with CTFEG, who are vastly experienced and whose vision for educating young people matches our own,” Price said.
“We are very clear that these new schools will not just have Benenden’s name over the door, we are working very closely with our partners at CTFEG to ensure that these new schools reflect Benenden’s educational ethos and feel wherever possible,” she added.
