Time flies, and the graduation bell is ringing again. The graduates of 2021 are about to set sail for a new journey in life. The graduates have received a total of 70 offers. Among the students applying for the comprehensive direction, 33% of the students were admitted to the top 10 universities in the world. 83% of the students were admitted to the top 30 universities in the world. 100% of the students were admitted to the top 50 universities in the world. Among the students applying for the art direction, 80% of the students were admitted to the top 10 art schools in the world. A total of more than 3.3 million RMB scholarships was won!

Ceremony Scene

20 June 2021, the 2021 Secondary Graduation Ceremony was held in Ritz-Carlton hotel. The ceremony was hosted by Mr Samuel Man, A Level Co-ordinator and Ms Jennifer Liu, Careers and University Guidance Counsellor. At the ceremony, CEO and School Supervisor Dr Betty Chan expressed her best wishes to the graduates through a video address. Miss Judy Zheng, Director of Education, gave her speech to the graduates on the site to express her best wishes.

Mr Jeroen Gakes, Western Co-Principal cum Education Director, delivered speech, wishing the graduates a bright future. Ms Linda Lee, the Chinese Co-Principal, also gave a touching message to the students. The two principals presented awards to the graduates for their academic progress and achievements.

Louie Luo spoke as the student representative of the 2021 graduates. He shared his learning and life experience at Yew Wah and expressed his sincere gratitude to teachers, classmates and parents. Coco's father, Mr Ye, gave a wonderful speech as a parent speaker.

The principals were conferring diplomas on the graduates. Finally, Ms Maggie Zhou, Chinese Vice Principal, gave closing remarks.

Student Testimonials

Malanie Chen

The University of Edinburgh, UKBA Architecture

In the last year of high school, I was transferred to YWIES Shanghai Lingang. My life has changed a lot. I was lucky to meet a conscientious Business teacher, a knowledgeable and Creative Art CCA teacher; I was happy to co-operate with 11 student union members. I developed a sense of responsibility, empathy, and a positive mindset.

Yew Wah gave me a lot of opportunities to train my skills and improve my ability of time management. When I had to write IPQ, prepare the draft of student union activities, apply for university, prepare my portfolio and learn the A2 course well, I was under tremendous pressure. Occasionally I would go to talk with my core teacher. I was very touched by the fact that the Ayis, subject teachers, or even senior school leaders often came to ask about our lives and were willing to sit down and listen to our concerns and ideas. Everyone here is respected, and everyone is an integral part of the school.

Big and small touching moments are flashing in front of my eyes right now, but it is difficult to say out loud anything at the moment. I just want to say: it was good to meet you.

Hank Li

The University of Edinburgh, UKBSc Mathematics

Hello everyone, I am Hank Li. It feels like time flies when I study in Yew Wah. During my four years at Yew Wah, I have had a wonderful and fruitful time.

When I first came to Yew Wah four years ago, I was very timid because I was going to a totally strange learning environment and trying boarding life for the first time. However, the lively classroom atmosphere and humorous students and teachers in Yew Wah transformed me from an unknown observer in class to a speaker who rushed to the platform. In four years of training, I have gained a solid ability to take care of myself and now have sufficient confidence.

There are rich CCAs in Yew Wah. I was lucky enough to be chosen as the captain of the badminton team. During this period, I gained leadership and a teamwork spirit. In terms of my study, I also won a lot of awards. Besides these many awards, I also found the subject I love and the dream of striving for the future. I would like to express my special thanks to all the teachers in Yew Wah, especially my Computer Science teacher Chris Trela, who helped me step into the door of programming and discover the joy of programming. I am grateful to meet so many excellent teachers and classmates in this school. I will never forget everything between us!

Leo Lin

Art Center College of Design, USBS Product Design

During my six years in Yew Wah, I found my interest and the goal of my efforts. From the very beginning, I was just an ordinary actor on the stage, a participant in activities, and a singer in a concert. I slowly became a member of the backstage support volunteers, a planner of activities, and a stage co-ordinator in many concerts, and through those different areas I experienced a lot of different things, different difficulties, and met all kinds of people.

Those experiences have given me a different view of the future; I have made a lot of friends, and understood the importance of teamwork, and now I have clear goals! I am very grateful to the school for giving me these opportunities, and also to my classmates for letting me join this big family and letting me meet a better me!

Louie Luo

University of California, Davis, USBS Psychology

During my five years in Yew Wah, I have learned a lot from the rich curriculum and a large number of CCAs provided by the school.

In terms of studies, through the school's training, I have been ranked among the top 25% in the Euclid Mathematics Competition globally, which makes me feel like a duck to water on my way to higher education. Secondly, the holistic education philosophy of Yew Wah paid a lot of attention on the cultivation of each student's character, which makes me a cheerful and optimistic person.

In addition, I participated in a variety of sports in the school, such as table tennis, football, volleyball, and basketball. Besides, I had the honour to serve as the head of the basketball team, from which I cultivated my leadership skills. I led the team members to win the championship trophy in the basketball league last year. I also won the individual table tennis champion. These skills give me a solid foundation for the rest of my life.

Rida Hussain

City University of Hong KongBSc Chemistry

Yew Wah has provided me with the most ideal and safe environment for studying, performing Co-Curricular Activities, relaxing, and opening up about anything…anytime.

I came to Yew Wah with a fixed mindset; I would limit my choices and paths to follow, and deep down this personality trait of mine always bothered me. With the help and guidance of my extraordinarily supportive career counsellors, core teachers and subject teachers, I was able to think differently and look at the exact same things with different perspectives. I have started to develop a growth mindset and it’s the most important skill that I have learned in my 18 years of life so far.

I will cherish all the beautiful memories that I have made at YWIES and my experience here has definitely prepared me in the best way, for my near future.

Cindy Wang

National Taiwan Normal UniversityBFA

Chinese and Western Painting

The A Level courses of Yew Wah provide different professional choices. My last two years in high school became better without learning Mathematics, enabling me to put more energy and time into creating artistic works.

During my high school life, my Art teachers gave me profound guidance in art, which made me firmly follow the path of artistic creation. In terms of campus life, I have to say that the residence hall environment in Yew Wah is really comfortable, clean, and tidy. I will miss the residence hall life in Yew Wah very much after I leave. I will cherish the memories here as I step into my college life.

Carina Wu

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USBFA

New Media, Video, Film

During my study in Yew Wah, I have not only acquired new knowledge but also developed my personality. The rich curriculum of A Level allowed me to choose my interests and explore these areas with great fun. Small-class teaching gives each student sufficient attention and opportunities to show themselves. In the class of Yew Wah, I also became more daring to express myself and now dare to try new things.

In addition to study, the strict discipline and strict management of Yew Wah also made me more self-disciplined. I met a lot of exciting students at Yew Wah. We encouraged each other, made progress together, and spent many wonderful times together. Now my high school life is coming to an end, and I will never forget this time.

Giulio Xia

London College of Communication, UAL, UK BA

Interaction Design Arts

I have learned a lot during the nearly five years of study and life in Yew Wah, and I have enjoyed my study here very much. Through a series of activities in school, I have found a major suitable for myself. I have made continuous progress, explored my professional potential, and made efforts to adjust myself.

As an Art student, Yew Wah also gives us many opportunities to show our works. I participated in the planning and arrangement of the art exhibition this year. I have learned a lot of knowledge that I can't get in class at ordinary times, which has broadened my horizon and improved my professional skills.

I am also a core member of the basketball team. In this year's basketball league, our team won the championship, which made me understand the importance of teamwork and how to adjust my emotions. I also made a lot of good friends here. I am very grateful to Yew Wah for giving me a happy high school life.

Simon Yang

University College London, UK BSc Statistics,

Economics and Finance

My study life at Yew Wah is coming to an end, and I have gained a lot here. My first impression of Yew Wah is that compared with the local education in junior high school, the campus life here is more like the 'life' we expect than boring exam-oriented education.

In those four and a half years, I've changed a lot. I'm not as unsociable and in my world as I was when I first arrived. In addition to my academic progress, the most precious thing is the change in my personality. I have become more confident and independent, just like it said in Yew Wah's holistic education tenet.

In addition, I also like the courses at A Level very much, especially Economics. Not all kinds of knowledge learned are as simple as an armchair knowledge of the world; many examples will accompany each chapter's content to support my learning. The illustrations make Economics more understandable and vivid and cultivate my interest in Economics in real life.

While I am looking forward to my new life at the university, I will never forget the experiences I have had with my classmates and teachers in Yew Wah.

Coco Ye

University College London, UK BA Psychology with Education

During the years of study in Yew Wah, the school has provided us with rich learning resources both in and out of class, enabling us to develop our interests and hobbies while taking A Level courses. For example, in different CCAs, I have improved my hands-on ability and patience.

Thanks to Miss Fu, a charity knitter, and embroiderer, for opening such a loving project every year! Participating in these activities has made me a better person. I can not only gain more skills, but I can also help others. It was significant. I benefited a lot from my high school experience in YWIES Shanghai Lingang.

Isaac Zhang

School of Visual Arts, US BFA Illustration

My name is Isaac Zhang, and I will be studying illustration in New York this September. My love of art began with animation, and my interest grew out of video games. I think I built up a strong bond between animation and me from my early years. I remember being fascinated by Japanese anime, especially one called Gundam. So much so that I couldn't wait to see the latest episode. While I was eagerly looking forward to it, I also imagined creating new episodes of my own. As a result, this stimulated my interest in painting and creation. Although my choice of art has changed dramatically over the years, animations like Akira have always given me great satisfaction in terms of visual enjoyment.

My understanding of art in my childhood was based on animation, but it was not determined until I came to Yew Wah that I decided to become an Art student. Yew Wah played a crucial role in cultivating my artistic interest and improving my professional ability. The Art teachers are all my solid and reliable tutors. They let me determine my goal and work hard for it. In addition to the content of professional knowledge, it also cultivates my insights on other disciplines, broadens my horizon, and enables me to better carry out the next step of my studies.

Happy Graduation

It is a ceremony to mark the growth of the graduates, a ceremony to honour their academic achievements, and a ceremony filled with deep blessings.

After receiving the graduation certificates from the principals, they will begin a new journey. They are about to step into the palace of knowledge in the next stage of life. Hope you will take responsibility for yourself with diligence, and stride over the ocean of learning with pragmatism and truth. With the joy of growth, the imagination of the future, with warmth and expectations from friends, relatives and teachers, set off for the next station!

No matter where you are, please always remember Yew Wah, and always stick to the course of life. Seize the time of youth to study and use your wisdom to create the miracle of glorifying China!