Program · Ages 6–12 · 1 day – 8 weeks
Primary School Immersion
The fastest way for a child to learn Chinese is to live a school day in it. Our placement program (插班) enrols children aged 6–12 in a partner Beijing primary school, where they take regular classes — maths, PE, music, art — side by side with local classmates.
- When
- March – June & September – December intakes
- Where
- Partner primary schools, Beijing
- Class size
- One local class per child · groups of 10+ welcome
- Ages
- 6–12
- Price
- Ask for a quote
How placement works
Your child joins one local class and follows its real timetable — not a program built about Chinese school, but Chinese school itself. Core subjects run all day, and the school week also brings calligraphy, martial arts, traditional crafts, and culture classes. Children stand with their classmates at the Monday flag-raising ceremony and join whatever the school has planned that week.
Three ways in, depending on your plans:
- One-day experience — for visiting groups of ten or more children, a full school day with a local class.
- Short-term placement — one to eight weeks for individual children, enrolment starting any week during the intake windows.
- Long-term placement — for families relocating to Beijing on work visas, we place children for a term or longer and support the transition.
A school day
Drop-off is between 7:40 and 8:00 AM at the school gate. Classes run from 8:00 AM to 3:15 PM, with lunch and a rest break from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. Your child eats what classmates eat, plays what classmates play, and — this is the point — uses Chinese all day for real reasons. Parents receive the school’s schedule and a contact teacher, and a Capital Mandarin coordinator checks in during the first week.
Who it’s for
Placement suits children aged 6–12 with any level of Chinese, including none: younger children in particular absorb the classroom fast. Overseas Chinese families use it to give kids a living connection to the language; non-Chinese families use it as the deepest immersion a short stay can buy. For structured lessons around the placement, our YCT course and Spoken Chinese classes run at our Gaobeidian campus nearby.
Applying
Apply one to two months before your start date — placement takes 10–15 working days once documents are in. You’ll need:
- A recent formal electronic photo of your child
- Passport copies for the child and the accompanying parent
- A medical examination report or doctor’s certificate
Intake windows run March–June and September–December, following the Chinese school year. Tell us your dates and we’ll confirm what’s possible.
In pictures
What it looks like
Good to know
Your questions, answered
Does my child need to speak Chinese to join a local school?
No — children join with any level, including none. Younger children in particular pick up classroom Chinese remarkably fast because every hour of the day gives them a reason to use it. If you'd like support alongside the placement, our YCT and Spoken Chinese classes pair well with it.
How is my child supported on the first days?
Your child joins one class with its own head teacher, and you receive the school's daily schedule and a contact teacher before the start. A Capital Mandarin coordinator checks in during the first week and stays your point of contact in English throughout the placement.
How far in advance do we need to apply?
Apply one to two months before your intended start. Placement takes 10–15 working days once we have the documents — a recent formal photo, passport copies for the child and accompanying parent, and a medical examination report or doctor's certificate.
Can my child go for just one day?
One-day school experiences run for visiting groups of ten or more children — popular with sister schools and tour groups. Individual children enrol for one to eight weeks, and longer placements are possible for families relocating to Beijing on work visas.
What does my child do in class before understanding everything?
The timetable helps: maths, PE, music, art, calligraphy, and martial arts all communicate beyond words, and classmates adopt a visiting child quickly. Understanding grows daily — that's the program working, not a problem to solve.
Student voices
From someone who did it
A welcoming atmosphere and a pace I could actually keep up with. I advanced more in a few months here than in two years at home.
Get in touch
Tell us who's learning
Ready when you are
One conversation is enough to check dates, fit, and the right level.