Affiliated High School of Peking University

South gate

The Affiliated High School of Peking University (simplified Chinese: 北京大学附属中学; traditional Chinese: 北京大學附屬中學; pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué Fùshǔ Zhōngxué), abbreviated as Běidàfùzhōng (北大附中) or BDFZ, is the affiliated high school to Peking University that offers 7th-12th grade education. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious high schools in China. In a 2016 ranking of Chinese high schools that send students to study in American universities, BDFZ ranked number 12 in mainland China in terms of the number of students entering top American universities.^[1][2]

Located in Zhongguancun, the heart of the nation's R&D center for science and technology, the Affiliated High School of Peking University inherits from Peking University the pursuit for democracy and science since its foundation in 1960.^[3] The school's administration and faculty highly encourage students to pursue their intellectual interests in various realms.^[4] An environment in favor of student autonomy makes it possible for students at the Affiliated High School of Peking University to engage in various activities ranging from scientific research to environmental advocacy instead of the traditional way of pure textbook-studying.^[5]

The Affiliated High School of Peking University has an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students.^[6] The school has established partnerships and exchange programs with schools around the world.^[7] Distinguished alumni include Wang Yan, the founder of Sina, Mao Xinyu, Major General in the People's Liberation Army and grandson of Chairman Mao Zedong, and Zhang Zilin, Miss World 2007 and the first Miss World of Eastern Asian origin.

History

In 1951, the authorities started building a school for workers and farmers in an attempt to expand their horizons. In 1957, the facility was reorganized and designated as Beijing No. 104 High School. Three years later, the school was renamed to High School of Peking University under the direction of Peking University, serving as the second-stage rocket in its parent university’s four-staged educational sequence, the first, third and fourth stages being primary school, university and graduate school respectively.^[3]

Since the reformation led by Luping, the principal of Peking University in 1960, Peking University has attached high importance to improving the school.^[8] The then-School Counselor of Peking University Yin Qizhuo was appointed the first principal of the High School and 43 teaching staff from the university were seconded to the High as academic reinforcements. With the main support from the University, the High School of Peking University soon came to be regarded as one of the top schools in Beijing. At that time, it was one of the only two schools in Beijing to accept foreign students, one of them being the second son of King Sihanouk of Cambodia.

After the launch of the Cultural Revolution, the High School became the epicenter of the political storm because of its special political position. Motivated young students began to gather around the High School attached to Tsinghua University, forming the very first groups of Red Guards. Reportedly, people were found dead on campus of the High School during the period of the Cultural Revolution.^[9]

Having undergone the chaos of the early phase of the Revolution, the High School was gradually restored to peace. Dedicated teachers went on to provide the best education possible for the students in the circumstances, and graduates from the high school took the crowns in many provinces soon after the resumption of the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (gaokao) in 1978.

The educational system returned to normal after the Cultural Revolution. In the last three decades the school has seen significant changes on its faculty and campus, and it has also earned a high reputation in the academic circle. Current Principal Wang Zheng has made it a priority to rid China of poor running 'franchised' versions of the high school which were built due to a great deal of corruption that plagued the school since 2000.^[10]

Campus

The campus of the Affiliated High School of Peking University is located in the Zhongguancun district, its area being 46.7 hectares (115 acres) with an actual building area of 6.5 hectares (16 acres).^[6] It has seen great changes in the last decade, as most school facilities have been renewed or re-built during that period. But compare to the Chinese best school (The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China RDFZ)near by, it is much smaller.

The playground during Lunch Break

West Teaching Building (Senior High School)

Since its completion in 2003, this six-story building has served as the main teaching facility for senior students (grades 10-12) on campus. The building's teaching spaces include about 40 classrooms, 11 state-of-the-art science labs, and spaces for arts and technology education. In addition, the West Teaching Building houses three performance spaces: an 800- and 200-seat auditorium and "Black Box" theatre. It also hosts a two-story library, a student-run café, and the school's administrative offices.

East Teaching Building (Junior High School)

The East Teaching Building houses the Junior High School, and was completed in 1999, and subsequently renovated in 2007. In 2012 the building lost 2 classrooms on its east side to make way for a major construction project on campus.

The complex now consists of two sections. The laboratory section is located on the north side of the building, housing laboratories for physics, chemistry, biology, and technology education. Another section to the south holds 30 classrooms.

Dormitory, cafeteria and library

The dormitory was completed in 2003. Each room in the students' residence has the capability of holding up to 6 students. The residence for school staff and visitors stands 11-story high. Better conditions are provided in these rooms as they are all configured with an air conditioner, a television and a private washroom. The cafeteria, completed in 2004, is a five-storied building with an underground parking space. The first three stories are set to serve its enrollment, and the fourth floor is for staff and visitors. The fifth floor is basically a training facility for school's dance team, which may also be adapted to special uses when needed. The library is in fact a multi-function structure with an area of 3,000m² that saw its completion in 2009. It features a conference room and a multi-function hall. As for its fundamental function, the library holds a collection of 100,000 books with wireless network accessible.

Physical Education facilities

The campus also features a gymnasium in which the badminton courts and the table tennis tables are housed. The gymnasium may be re-deployed for special uses.

South Teaching Building (Dalton Academy)

The South Teaching Building was completed in 1960, making it the oldest building on campus. It underwent a major renovation in 2010. Currently it houses Dalton Academy (the school's international division) on the first and second floors, and provides temporary accommodation for about 500 students from the Peking University Resources Middle School (北达资源中学) on the third and fourth floors.

Extracurricular activities

Clubs

The earliest club of the Affiliated High School of Peking University dates back to 1980^[11] when the Literature Club was initially established. In nearly three decades, the school has developed more than 20 miscellaneous clubs.^[12] All of the clubs are hosted, maintained and operated by the students in this school, and every student is granted the privilege to create new clubs at their own will. These clubs, as listed below, are differentiated by their concerned fields.

The loose environment enables the students to join their favorite clubs more freely.^[14][15][16] It is said that almost everyone in this school holds membership of at least one club,^[17] as participating in club activities has been playing a major role in students' extracurricular time. These clubs feature lectures, experience sharing communication, as well as collaborative projects with groups outside the school.^[18][19]

Art Festival

The Art Festival was founded under scholastic authority in 1997. In 2002, the Students' Union succeeded to supervise the festival, converting the once new year party into a three-week festival held in December when distinctively talented students may show their skills to the fullest. It stands now as an integration of various special performances^[20] plus a new year celebration (also the closing ceremony of the festival) at the end of the month.

The Campus Singer Competition designates the climax of the entire festival. The first competition in 2004, involved only tiny amount of contestants. The figure of the contestants quickly jumped to 250^[21] as it develops, with approximately 800 audience viewing the final, the most anticipated event of the festival. The Students' Union of the Affiliated High School of Peking University has been collaborating with other schools to organize the competition at larger scale.^[22][23]

Magazine

Overhearing the High School of Peking University (偷听北大附中) is a school magazine hosted by the Students' Union of the High School of Peking University. Its first issue being published on campus on July 12, 2007, this quarterly magazine aims at spreading latest news in and out of the campus, selling approximately 500 copies for each issue, as stated by its editors. The school's Creative Media Workshop, a studio made up of dozen enthusiastic students, now takes charge of editing the magazine.

International communication

Exchange visits

The Affiliated High School of Peking University has established relationships with over 10 schools in the world. It offers not only various on-campus curriculum that covers Chinese/Mandarin, Chinese Painting, calligraphy, kungfu, but also programs outside the school to enable the foreign students to experience the Chinese culture in body. The following schools are said to have maintained regular visitation to the High School:

• Seifu Gakuen Junior & Senior High School, Japan^[24]
• College Claude Debussy, France^[25]
• Ressu upper secondary school, Finland^[26]
• St. Paul's Convent School, Hong Kong^[27]
• Cary Academy, USA^[28]
• Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia^[29]
• Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, Australia
• Heinrich Heine Gymnasium, Germany^[30]
• Waseda University Honjo Senior High School, Japan^[31]
• River Valley High School, Singapore^[32]

And the Affiliated High School of Peking University visits these schools every one or two years:

• College Claude Debussy, France^[33]
• St. Paul's Convent School, Hong Kong
• Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia^[34]
• Seifu Gakuen Junior & Senior High School, Japan
• Seiseiko Senior High School, Japan
• River Valley High School, Singapore
• Heinrich Heine Gymnasium, Germany
• Ressu Comprehensive School, Finland

SSAT Confucius Institute

The SSAT Confucius Institute was founded collaboratively by Peking University, the High School of Peking University and Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) in July, 2007.^[35] In virtue of the platform provided by SSAT, the High School of Peking University commits itself to the promotion of the Chinese language and the Chinese culture by sending teachers abroad and writing textbooks. The SSAT Confucius Institute was awarded the Confucius Institute of the Year 2008.^[36][37]

Dalton Academy (the International Division)

Dalton Academy was founded in 2010 as a “laboratory within a laboratory” to prepare Chinese students who aim to study abroad, primarily in North America. The program takes its name from progressive education activist Helen Parkhurst, an early twentieth-century American associate of John Dewey, who promoted the Dalton Plan as a task-based learning approach to promote student agency in the learning process.

Dalton Academy's curriculum is informed by best practices in both China and the wider world (including the International Baccalaureate program), but is an independent and evolving model that emphasizes bilingual Chinese and English liberal arts, interdisciplinary education, and independent student initiative and research. Its humanities-led curriculum is built around small seminar-style classes of 15 students designed to encourage discussion.^[38] Students begin the program with a foundation year that includes exposure to the Chinese and Western classics, a modern world history course, and a seminar on “What is Knowledge?” The program's roots in the humanities is coupled with a rigorous math and science curriculum that blends the strengths of the Chinese educational achievement with laboratory-based learning.

Experiential learning is an important component of the Dalton Academy program. Every Wednesday afternoon, teams of students conduct service learning in their community as part of a 3-year, 400-hour commitment to social practice. The program also organizes many trips abroad, including 13 trips across 4 continents during the 2013-14 academic year.^[39]

Study abroad

The school currently hosts two study-abroad programs with Scotch College, Melbourne and American Secondary Schools for International Students and Teachers (ASSIST). Every year, the High School sends two outstanding students to participate in an exchange program where the two participants will spend 8 to 9 weeks as ordinary students at Scotch College, and in the next year the corresponding students from the Scotch College will pay similar visits to the High School.^[29] The ASSIST program, provides opportunities for outstanding students in the High School to attend the finest American independent secondary schools on one-year scholarships.^[40]

Former principals

References and notes

External links

• Official Website (in Chinese)
• Official Website (in English) (Archive)
• The School's Photo Gallery (in Chinese)