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BEIJING LUHE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY (BLIA)
 
Founded in January 2005, Beijing Lu He International Academy is located at 10 Yudaihe Street West, Beijing Tongzhou District, where a substantial area of over 40,000 square meters has been devoted to providing high-quality facilities to meet the academic, residential and recreational needs of all our students.
Beijing Lu He International Academy, with the joint efforts made by the management team and our outstanding Chinese and foreign staff, has developed a unique curriculum and a multicultural learning environment which have laid a solid foundation for fulfilling the educational goals of the academy.
At present the main projects include: Sino-British and Sino-US high school courses, academic education programs for foreign students, short-term and long-term training programs for Chinese language learning, and TOEFL and IELTS tests and training projects; the academy has also been developing an extensive program of overseas educational exchanges to extend the international perspective of our students.
On completing their courses at Lu He, the majority of the foreign students in our international academy have obtained places at the leading Chinese higher education centers including Peking University and Tsinghua University; similarly, our local students in the Sino-British and Sino-US high school programs have continued their studies at major universities around the world such as the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London in the UK and Duke University in America.
Since 2009, Beijing Lu He International Academy has been a registered examination center for Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and Edexcel, the two leading British examination boards. It is also a registered teaching and examination school for US College Board AP courses and a recognized partner school with many well-known universities in the UK, America and elsewhere. In addition, Beijing Lu He International Academy has focused on extending Chinese language learning around the world: we are a base school for Han Ban(the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language)and for the Beijing Chinese Language Council, we are an HSK test center and a Chinese language teacher training center, and we are also a teaching and practicing resource school for post-graduate students from Beijing Normal University and Beijing Language University. 
Requires for September 2014 a suitably qualified, experienced and enthusiastic teacher of 
Academic English, Experience of teaching Cambridge IGCSE/IELTS/TOEFL desirable 
Music, Experience of teaching IGCSE Music and A level Music essential 
For Music vacancy - Able to perform on one instrument to at least diploma level (or graduate level if it formed a substantial part of the degree course), Coaching of student performers to at least ABRSM grade 8 standard - desirable
 
Biology, Experience of teaching Chemistry an advantage
BLIA (estd. 2006) is an established Cambridge International Education (CIE), EDEXCEL A level and Advance Placement (AP) centre of over 300 Chinese students who are taught in the medium of English in preparation for university study in the English-speaking world.  We plan to offer a new pathway in partnership with North East Carolina Prep School, for which we look for teachers who are suitably licensed and experienced to teach American curricula. BLIA is situated in Tongzhou District to the east of central Beijing, China and is part of one of the oldest and most prestigious state schools in China, Luhe High School (estd 1867).
 
Who are we looking for? 
An ideal candidate will have the following;
-       At least bachelors degree level qualification in the subject or closely related area
-        PGCE or equivalent, i.e. qualified to practice as a licensed teacher in their home country.
-        At least 2 years experience. Experience of teaching students doing Cambridge IGCSE, A level, IB, AP or similar board is desirable. Experience teaching in the US schools will be an added advantage.
-        Native speaker of English or Native speaker fluency of English
-        Experience of working abroad is desirable preferably with second language speakers. However, you must have some experience working in your own home country in a school setting.
Working at Luhe and Package 
Package highlight: USD 3400 – 4000 per month, insurance/flight for employee and the spouse. Head position attracts an extra responsibility allowance and reduced teaching load. 
The salary offered by the school is significantly more than is needed to live comfortably in Beijing and very competitive compared to similar employers. In addition the school offers an accommodation allowance to enable staff to rent a comfortable modern flat with western-style amenities close to the school, although accommodation can also be offered within the school if it is preferred for a short period of time. Teachers receive a package that includes insurance and flights allowance for their spouse.   
Contracts are normally for two years, renewable by mutual consent.  At the end of a two year contract a gratuity equivalent to two months’ salary is payable, subject to satisfactory appraisal in each of the two years.
 
Further details
 Potential candidates who would like further information are invited to contact Mr Shanker Bhatt, Academic Principal, with an up-to-date CV:
 Email:      recruitment@luheintl.com        
Website: http://www.luheintl.com 
CVs are welcome as an initial expression of interest.  We regret to inform you that only shortlisted candidates will be notified and this will be done within one week of your submission of interest to us.
 
Closing date for applications:  15 June 2014. Applications can still be sent after this date for future vacancies.
 
About the school
 
Introduction
BLIA opened in impressive new purpose-built accommodation in September 2006 and enrolled the first students on its English A level programme at the same time.  This programme is aimed at Chinese students who wish to apply to study at university in the UK or other English-speaking countries. 
The academy’s ‘parent’ school, Beijing Luhe High School, is a very famous, prestigious and highly achieving school within the Chinese school system and has a number of long-standing international links. 
Luhe High School is very unusual, if not unique, in the Chinese school system.  It was originally founded by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1867 as a missionary school when Tongzhou Boys’ Boarding School was opened.  By 1889, it had developed into an advanced academy called North China College that included a primary school, a middle school, a high school, a college and a seminary.  In 1918, the university part of the school was moved to west Beijing and later became the highly regarded Yenching University, while the secondary school that remained was named Luhe High School. 
It is situated 18km due east of Tian’anmen Square on a large, beautiful campus that features buildings from the beginning of the 20th century as well as extensive open green spaces with lawns, tree-lined avenues and a lake; it is particularly beautiful in spring when the trees are full of blossom.  The building of modern teaching facilities, administration areas and accommodation has been done in a style that retains the school’s traditional ambience. 
The school has many alumni who are distinguished within China and the wider world, including the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations in the mid-1980s. 
Luhe High School and its new International academy are the kind of places that attract able young people with ambition and the drive to succeed.
 
The Programme
The school currently offers A level teaching in Art, Music, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Accounting and Business studies. In many of the subjects – Macro and Micro Economics, Calculus, Statistics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry - we also prepare students for the American AP assessment. From this year, prior to entering into A level or AP pathway, most students – except some exceptionally talented ones doing it in one year -  are required to go through a rigorous two year program – Pre-A years - that aims at teaching IGCSE curricula. Students receive teaching in the medium of English from expatriate as well as the native teachers who are also proficient in English. In addition to taking Cambridge (CIE) and AP exams students are prepared for external tests such as SAT, IELTS and TOEFL. 
Students are taught in classes of about 25. In the pre-A years, they are taught the subjects they expect to follow and Academic English.  The aim of the courses taught in Pre-A years is to bring their knowledge and expertise to the point where they are ready to begin AS study; the development of their competence in English is especially important.  AS, A2 or AP are then followed in the normal way. School has plans to offer AP Music theory, Studio Arts, Computer Science and Environmental Science in near future. 
The development of the programme took place under the guidance of Tim Andrew, a highly experienced headteacher from the UK who was appointed Academic Principal from September 2007. Mr Andrew retired as head of Chesham High School, Buckinghamshire in 2007.  He had been a headteacher for 20 years in secondary modern, comprehensive and grammar schools, was national president of the Secondary Heads Association (now renamed ‘ASCL’) in 2004-5 and has been involved in a number of international education initiatives, especially in China. Mr Shanker Bhatt, took over the legacy left behind by Mr Andrew in 2012 to continue with the development work. Mr Bhatt has been instrumental in the development of international education in China for over ten years and successfully created and led international programs in some top educational institutions in Beijing, Nanjing and Xian.
 
Working at Luhe
The salary offered by the school is significantly more than is needed to live comfortably in Beijing and very competitive compared to similar employers. In addition the school offers an accommodation allowance to enable staff to rent a comfortable modern flat with western-style amenities close to the school, although accommodation can also be offered within the school if it is preferred. Teachers receive a package that includes insurance and flights allowance for their spouse.  
Contracts are normally for two years, renewable by mutual consent.  At the end of a two year contract a gratuity equivalent to two months’ salary is payable, subject to satisfactory appraisal in each of the two years. 
The school provides bilingual assistance to help with the obtaining of a work permit and residential visa, opening a local bank account and other administrative requirements.  Health care and flights to and from China are also paid for. 
The students are hard-working, respectful and well-behaved.  The biggest challenge is to get them to think and work independently, since the teaching methods used at A level or AP are very different from those they have been used to in their Chinese education.
 
The school is committed to providing the resources necessary to teach; it wants to ensure that its students have every chance of success. 
We want to appoint teachers who are keen to develop themselves professionally.  In 2009 we were accredited to provide the Cambridge International Examinations Certificate for Teachers and Trainers – the first centre in China to be so accredited, we understand – and we offer this professional level qualification to our teachers, running one programme per year.
 
Living in Beijing
Beijing is one of the world’s great cities, with a number of iconic world-renowned sites, including the Great Wall of China, Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.
It is heavily populated and the traffic can be congested, but the staging of the Olympics in 2008 brought massive investment in the city’s infrastructure, not least in the subway system to which new lines have been added. The subway was extended to Tongzhou a few years ago and there are trains every few minutes for the 40 minute ride to central Beijing, which costs a few British pence.
When Luhe opened in the 19th century it must have been situated in the countryside to the east of Beijing.  Now Tongzhou forms a large suburb that has seen great development in the last 10 years.  That development means that there is plenty of modern, well-built accommodation and facilities like a large Carrefour supermarket. There are also traditional open street markets where fruit, vegetables and other consumables can be purchased very cheaply.  A very famous shopping Mall, Wanda Plaza, is being constructed and due to complete in two years time. This will house various shopping outlets, a multiplex cinema and the Wal-Mart. 
Central Beijing, its heritage sites and international life are easily accessible from Tongzhou.  A ride back in a licensed taxi late at night takes less than 30 minutes on the expressway and costs about £7 (RMB 80). 
Summer can be hot and humid and winter very cold (but dry).  Autumn and spring are very pleasant and are the best times to travel and go sight-seeing. 
The staff of the school are very friendly and welcoming, as are the Chinese in general, and social events and trips are put on for the expatriate staff from time to time. 
Compared with other similar cities in other parts of the world, Beijing is very safe, although, like anywhere else, sensible precautions against pickpockets and the like need to be taken in crowded areas full of tourists.