Over 8,000 students and 2,000 staff members, from all Yew Wah campuses across Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Yantai in mainland China and all YCIS campuses, honoured the milestone and gathered for a day of activities and special acknowledgements. Sports opportunities for all ages highlighted the school’s spirit of success, achievement and integration.

During the launching ceremony of the Founder’s Day in Hong Kong, Dr Betty Chan Po-king, Director of Director of Yew Wah International Education Foundation and daughter of the founder Madam Tsang Chor-hang, said the Founder’s Day is established to cherish the foundation laid by Madam Tsang. “She [Madam Tsang] placed great importance on whole person education, insisted on education on fundamentals, and tried to send the most precious message to our children, so that they understand the fragility of human and the great love of God. She believed this is the best gift for children.” Dr Chan inherited her mother’s vision and expanded it from the 1980s into international education and eventually into the global education system Yew Wah and Yew Chung have today.

Eighty years can be a lifetime. For Yew Wah it is a momentous stage and a chance to honour Madam Tsang and her legacy, which is still receiving world recognition today. Madam Tsang was inspired to provide education to young children, starting in 1932 in Hong Kong. Her strength, devotion and commitment bore fruits as she continued through decades of much change in the region.

The 21st century society is fast evolving from local to global with the horizons and perspectives widening at an unprecedented pace, and the traditional national education is no longer adequate. Yew Wah international education service is built upon the many decades of experience of YCIS in offering quality international education in Hong Kong and mainland China. Dr Chan and Professor Paul Yip Kwok-wah, Chairman of the Board of Yew Wah International Education Foundation, have founded the Yew Wah series of schools with a passion to bring international education to mainland Chinese students. YWIES integrates the essence of Eastern and Western education philosophies, fuses the Chinese National Curriculum of Primary and Secondary Education with the National Curriculum for England to create an international curriculum. With the provision of the Co-Principals and Co-Teaching models, professional foreign teachers, international curriculum and advanced educational philosophies, YWIES has created an authentic international atmosphere and learning environment in mainland China.

The strength of the foundation is identified through continuous worldwide recognition. Dr Chan was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in recognition of her success in advocating the best practices of both East and West in education and her outstanding contributions in early childhood education.

In 1998, Yew Wah International Education Centre was set up in Shanghai, and the first YWIES was founded in Yantai in 2000. Yew Wah continues to extend its education services by starting up Yew Wah International Education Kindergarten and Yew Wah Infant and Toddler Education Centre in Chongqing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. In the near future, YWIES will also be set up in Yizhuang, Beijing and Huadu, Guangzhou.

Photo captions (from top to bottom):

• Dr Chan gives a welcoming speech for the launching ceremony of the 80th anniversary cum Founder’s Day
• Dr Chan and several alumni and students are invited to officiate at the ribbon-cutting ceremony
• All students and teachers of YWIES Yantai enjoy the 80th anniversary cum Founder's Day celebrations
• Students and teachers of YWIES Shanghai and YCIS Shanghai jointly make up a “80” pattern to symbolise the 80th anniversary
• YWIES Yantai students demonstrate the school’s spirit of success by playing tug-of-war
• All students and teachers of YWIES Shanghai wear the orange T-shirt representing Yew Wah