The Senior High section of RGS Guildford Nanjing has an excellent and experienced team of teachers. The foreign principal, Matthew Ford, served as the Director of International Education at the Royal Grammar School, and taught in the UK, Abu Dhabi, and China. Having 25 years of teaching experience, he encourages the use of effective teaching strategies throughout the school in order to achieve high academic success. The other High School teachers hold a master’s degree or above, and many of them have graduated from top universities. Among them, Roy Lane has a Masters in Organic Chemistry Research from Cambridge University, Steve Armstrong has a Master of Education from Oxford University, and Ian Barker has a Master of Education from the University of London (UCL).
In the Senior High School, we offer our students a range of A level subjects.
The Senior High offers various A-Level academic courses including: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Computer Science/ICT, Art and Design, and Design & Technology.
Senior High courses are taught through a range of contemporary teaching methods including investigative and problem-based learning. Teaching styles and methods will vary in order to maximise the learning potential of our students and prepare them for academic success. Throughout their courses our students are encouraged to become critical thinkers and to adopt positive learning attitudes.
During the first semester of Grade 10 our students study a Pre-A course which allows them to understand the needs and requirements of A level study, as well as to familiarise them with the content of each subject. Students will be encouraged to develop their own interests and be supported in their aspirations. Students receive 8 lessons of IELTS English study to improve their English proficiency and to help them integrate into the English academic courses.
A level courses are officially taught in the second semester of Grade 10. Students are allowed to take 3-4 courses based on their own interests and abilities. To ensure effective teaching, the number of students in each class is limited.
For Chinese students with good further mathematics performance, advanced mathematics will be offered at G11 for them to choose.
RGS Guildford Nanjing is a bilingual school. To match the bilingual nature of our school a “humanities course” is specifically designed for high school students, which is based on Chinese curriculum subject areas. This course incorporates international sinology, and assimilates Chinese and foreign history and philosophy, aiming to guide students to analyze current affairs from the perspective of a “global citizen”.
The Royal Art Class is for students who wish to specialise in Art with a goal of being admitted into the top 30 art colleges and universities.
In G10 these students study Art in place of sciences, and in G11 they pursue at least one Art A level, and receive additional lessons in Art to help them prepare their portfolios. We use external expertise in this area.
The Senior High of RGS Guildford Nanjing follows a similar system to our British parent school, RGSG, in terms of assessing students’ progress. We test our students twice a semester, and issue an assessment report to parents. The report objectively analyses a student’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their academic performance. Teachers will give comments to highlight ways in which students can improve over the next half-semester. Because we believe that parents form a crucial part in a student’s education, we also meet with parents following the issuing of the reports so that any academic and pastoral matters can be discussed.
