International Schools

As the number of foreign residents of China increases, so does the number and size of international schools educating their offspring. These range from informal one room affairs in provincial cities to huge campuses in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

These schools offer foreign curriculums, delivered by foreign teachers, and charge fees accordingly - the tab is usually picked up by multi-national companies and embassies which have little option but to keep their employees happy.

International schools do not just dole out jobs to those who happen to drop in on a Monday morning with a resume and a smile - you'll need to be a qualified teacher in your own country, preferably with experience of living abroad.

There are sometimes vacancies for TEFL teachers at these schools, and you may be able to pick up work as a local hire. Although you are unlikely to get the benefits package your chemistry-teaching colleagues will get, it should be a very good job compared to what your counterparts in the 345th Middle School are doing

If you are interested in this kind of work, keep an eye on the usual teacher recruitment sites in your home country - these schools rarely recruit locally. International school jobs are often sought after, and recruitment will be done well in advance of the starting date. However, it's fair to say that China is not yet the most popular destination.

It is important to distinguish between these international schools, which teach international courses with an entirely international staff, and Chinese private schools which stick the word 'international' into their name and download some pictures of cheery-looking Oxford graduates to put in their brochure - often the only thing international about these schools are the name, the fact that that owner spends the profits in Singapore, and of course - you.