Kensington Wade is the first prep school in the UK to offer a bilingual immersive English-Chinese education to students aged three to 11.

Located in central London, Kensington Wade is a bilingual nursery and prep day school offering a English-Chinese education for children aged three to 11. While several UK independent schools offer Chinese as a second language, Kensington Wade is the first of its kind in the UK by teaching Chinese as a bilingual subject.

Opened in 2017, this is a small school of around 100 students that combines a traditional British early years and prep school curriculum with a Chinese education that works towards fluency. It’s an ambitious concept, but one that has become very successful in its six short years so far. 

Kensington Wade follows a traditional British prep school model that is focused on preparing students for 11-plus assessments and other entrance exams to leading senior schools. This doesn’t sound out of the ordinary – but half the lessons are taught in English and half in Chinese.

It’s a unique bilingual prep education that offers advantages such as improved cognitive abilities, cultural awareness, better communication skills; and by knowing Chinese, students are given “an extra edge in the increasingly global economy”.

The school takes its name from Sir Thomas Wade, a British diplomat who spent over 40 years in China in senior government positions and later became the first Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge.

Founding Head Joanna Wallace was previously Head of Putney High Junior School. 

Huw May has been appointed the new head, starting from September this year. Mr May is joining the  school from Eaton House Belgravia where he is Head of School. Having grown up in a bilingual school in Wales, Mr May has first-hand experience of bilingualism.

The school says:

"It is notable that a majority of pupils at his current school are bilingual, and a significant proportion are of Chinese heritage: the incorporation of Chinese culture into school life has played an increasingly important role in recent years at Eaton House. Mr May looks forward to building on this experience within our wonderful bilingual and bicultural school."

The school was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022. Inspectors noted that students "seamlessly change from one language to the other".

Curriculum

Kensington Wade offers something quite unique, something that will appeal to families looking for a typically British prep school education but with a bilingual mindset. 

The daily timetable covers English, maths, music, science, PE and reading, just as you’d expect from any other prep school; the key difference is that for half the day those lessons are taught in Chinese. Kensington Wade uses a completely immersive approach where all subjects are taught in English and Chinese to give children equal exposure to both languages.

Chinese teachers are native speakers, English-speaking students sit alongside classmates who have Chinese as their first language (and vice versa), and English and Chinese classrooms are themed with displays that reflect the language.

Both English and Chinese influence the curriculum. For example, in geography, students study the ancient cultures of both the Nile and Yangtze rivers, art lessons cover Chinese calligraphy and Chinese artists; and Nursery students learn nursery rhymes in both languages. 

This all means that students are immersed in learning Chinese for longer periods of time than a daily after-school lesson, and the more exposure children receive to learning Chinese, the more fluent and confident they will become.

Teaching in Nursery follows the UK’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, with the key difference being that it is delivered through an immersive bilingual model that exposes students to both languages for equal amounts of time.

While it’s not essential for students to attend the Nursery here before moving into Reception, it does give them the advantage of studying both the Chinese and English languages from a young age. 

In Years 1-6, the curriculum covers art & design, Chinese, computing, English, geography, history, mathematics, music, philosophy and theology, PE, PSHE, Spanish (from Year 5) and science. There’s specialist teaching for music, swimming, sports, computing, Spanish and science. 

All teaching follows the National Curriculum for England, with the exception of maths which is taught using the Shanghai Approach (also called the Mastery Approach). From Year 3, students work towards the 11-plus exam with focused practice in non-verbal and verbal reasoning, English and maths, and writing assessments.

Kensington Wade has a slightly extended school day, allowing enough time to study more English and mathematics than many other prep schools as well as specialist teaching for computing, coding, STEM subjects, sport and music.

It’s a demanding curriculum that suits the more academic child – Ofsted inspectors described it as "rich and ambitious" – and is focused more on academic subjects than the creative arts. However, thanks to smaller class sizes, teachers have the ability to focus on the individual needs of each student.

Beyond the classroom

Life beyond the classroom keeps the focus on bilingualism. There are many opportunities to perform in both English and Chinese – in weekly assemblies and reading challenge competitions, for example. In Year 6, students taken an extended residential trip to mainland China to further develop their Chinese. There also opportunities for students to develop their bilingual skills in local and national competitions in English, art, Chinese Language, mathematics, sport, STEM and music. 

Timetabled lessons are also enriched by a wide range of extra-curricular clubs, activities and societies including African drumming, ballet, Chinese art, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese dance, Chinese music, Chinese story time, coding, musical theatre, orchestra, passport, programmable robotics, Spanish, tennis and yoga. The list is long and impressive; almost all students attend these after-school clubs, some every day of the week. 

Campus and facilities

Located in the well-heeled area of Kensington and Chelsea, the school has a small, modern building with classrooms, a small library, sports hall and rooftop playground. Students also use the nearby Charing Cross Sports Club and swimming pool for weekly swimming lessons and other activities, and Reception children visit a local Forest School each week.

The Nursery has a spacious, standalone building with its own outdoor space, a music room, a large hall and two outdoor playgrounds. It’s a comfortable and friendly environment for children as young as three to start learning two languages. 

The school continues to invest in new facilities; in September 2023 it opens a new West Wing with a STEAM room and additional classrooms. 

Admission and fees

Fees for the school year 2023–2024 are £6,830 per term (£20,490 per year). Kensington Wade offers a fixed number of scholarships to children entering Year 3 and Year 4 who can demonstrate exceptional ability at assessment in English and mathematics or music.

The majority of students joining the school in Nursery or Reception have no Chinese language skills; students are not streamed by ability but taught in mixed ability classes.

Our view

Good for: This is an excellent choice of bilingual school where your child will get a good prep school education, as well as learning to speak, understand, read and write Chinese.

 The benefits of children learning two languages simultaneously are supported by research, and it’s been found to stimulate the brain cells and sharpen the mind. It generally takes around five years to be proficient in a second language, so by putting your child into a bilingual prep school education you are giving them the best headstart.

Not for: While it does not matter if your family does not speak Chinese, (the school does provide support for help at home), you will need to come ready to fully embrace a bilingual model of education. The workload for learning two languages can be heavy though, and some students may struggle.

Parents also need to invest their own time and effort into a bilingual programme and support their child with learning the second language at home; this can be challenging if you do not speak the language.

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