Introduction
ISA International School is a name many families use when looking for an ISA school in Guangzhou or Wuhan. However, ISA is not just one school. ISA International Education Group (爱莎国际教育集团), also known as ISA or 爱莎教育, has several schools and education programmes for children from early years through high school.
The ISA name can be confusing because schools on the same campus may follow different rules. Alifa Education checked the group’s Chinese licence documents and found nine separately licensed schools across four main campuses. Four are schools for children of foreign nationals, while five are private Chinese schools. The licence affects who can apply, which grades and curricula are available, and what fees a family may need to pay.
This guide makes those differences easy to understand. It compares each ISA school by location, passport requirements, approved student capacity, curriculum, fees, boarding and scholarships. The information comes from ISA’s official website, Chinese government records and education registers. If a current detail could not be confirmed, we clearly say so instead of guessing.
ISA International School: Key Facts at a Glance
These facts combine information from ISA's official website with Chinese government licence records reviewed by Alifa Education. ISA counts schools and programmes together, while government records count separate legal schools. This is why the totals may look different.
| School detail | Current information |
|---|---|
| Official group name | ISA International Education Group |
| Chinese name | 爱莎国际教育集团 |
| Common names | ISA, ISA Education and 爱莎教育 |
| First ISA school | ISA Tianhe, established in 2015 |
| Main locations | Tianhe, Science City and Liwan in Guangzhou, plus Wuhan |
| Licensed schools covered | Nine licensed schools across four main ISA campuses |
| School types | Four schools for children of foreign nationals and five private Chinese schools |
| Official network | Four international schools, two K–12 ISA Wenhua schools and two partner senior-years programmes |
| Student age range | Early years through Grade 12, depending on the school |
| Curriculum options | IB, A Level, AP, Chinese National Curriculum, Japanese Programme, visual arts, music, performance and STEAM |
| School community | More than 4,000 students from over 40 countries and regions, according to ISA |
| Boarding | Available at selected campuses, including Science City, Liwan and Wuhan |
| Who can apply? | Eligibility depends on the legal school, nationality, passport and intended grade |
| Fees and scholarships | Costs and awards vary by school, grade, programme and academic year |
Source and verification: Group figures and curriculum information come from the official ISA website . Legal school numbers, licence types and admission rules come from Chinese government records reviewed by Alifa Education. Confirm current fees, available places and admission requirements before applying.
What Is ISA International School?
Short answer: ISA International School is not one single legal school. It is a common name used for a network of schools and education programmes connected to ISA International Education Group (爱莎国际教育集团), also known as ISA or ISAIEG.
According to ISA's official history, the network began with ISA Tianhe in Guangzhou in 2015. ISA Science City and the Guangzhou Foreign Language School ISA programme followed in 2020. ISA International Academy opened in 2021, while the Liwan and Wuhan campuses were added in 2022.
ISA's current official overview lists four international schools: ISA Tianhe, ISA Science City, ISA Liwan and ISA Wuhan International School. It also lists two K–12 ISA Wenhua schools and senior-years programmes operated in partnership with Guangzhou Foreign Language School and Wuhan No.2 High School.
The group offers different education routes from early years through Grade 12. ISA lists IB, A Level, AP, Chinese National Curriculum, Japanese Programme, visual arts, music, performance and STEAM among its available pathways. The exact curriculum depends on the school, grade and legal entity.
Campus
A campus is the physical place where students study. One campus may contain more than one legally registered school.
Licensed school
A licensed school is a legal education provider. Its licence controls who can enrol and which education stages it may offer.
Partner programme
A partner programme is delivered with another school. It should not automatically be counted as a separate ISA-licensed school.
The Four Main ISA School Campuses
ISA Tianhe
ISA's first school opened in Guangzhou in 2015. The current official admissions page lists kindergarten and primary-school enrolment.
ISA Science City
Located in Guangzhou's Huangpu District, Science City serves students from early years through high school and provides day-school and boarding options.
ISA Liwan
The Guangzhou campus includes ISA Liwan International School and ISA Wenhua Liwan pathways. Its official page describes K–12 study and boarding for primary, middle and high-school students.
ISA Wuhan
The Wuhan campus includes an international school and ISA Wenhua pathways. Its official page describes K–12 education, several university routes and boarding services.
Why does the legal school name matter?
Alifa Education's review of Chinese government records found nine separately licensed schools across the four main ISA campuses. This is different from ISA's public list of schools and programmes because a single campus can contain several legal schools.
Families should therefore check the exact school name on the application form. The licence can affect passport eligibility, available grades, curriculum, fees and the final qualification a student receives.
Sources and verification: This section uses ISA's official group overview, official history, current admissions page and official campus pages. The nine-school legal count comes from Chinese government licence records reviewed by Alifa Education. School descriptions and group totals are school-reported. Last checked: .
Nine ISA School Licences Across Four Main Campuses
Chinese schools receive separate licences. Each licence controls the school type, approved student capacity and who may enrol. Alifa Education found nine licensed ISA schools across Tianhe, Science City, Liwan and Wuhan.
Guangzhou Tianhe
1 schoolISA Tianhe
广州爱莎外籍人员子女学校Not officially published
Guangzhou Science City
1 schoolISA Science City International School
广州科学城爱莎外籍人员子女学校Confirmed
School-reported
Guangzhou Liwan
3 schoolsISA Liwan International School
广州荔湾爱莎外籍人员子女学校Confirmed
ISA Wenhua Liwan School
广州荔湾爱莎文华学校Confirmed
ISA Wenhua Senior High, Guangzhou
广州市爱莎文华高中Confirmed
Wuhan
4 schoolsISA Wuhan International School
武汉爱莎外籍人员子女学校Publicly reported
ISA Wenhua Wuhan School
武汉爱莎文华学校Confirmed
ISA Wenhua Wuhan Senior High
武汉爱莎文华高级中学Confirmed
ISA Wenhua Kindergarten, Wuhan
武汉经开区爱莎文华幼儿园Confirmed
Not separate licensed schools: The ISA Wenhua A Level Centre and Liwan Joint Exam Centre operate inside existing schools. The IB Diploma programmes at Guangzhou Foreign Language School and Wuhan No. 2 High School are partner-hosted programmes.
Sources and verification: Campus names and enrolment stages were checked against the official ISA admissions page . Legal school names, licence types, approved student capacities and eligibility rules come from Chinese government records reviewed by Alifa Education. Student-capacity figures show approved places, not current enrolment. ISA Science City reports space for 2,200 students and boarding for 500 students. The Wuhan International School figure of about 1,000 is publicly reported because its licence capacity has not been published.
ISA Liwan Student Capacity: Why Only 340 Places Are for Foreign-Passport Students
Three licensed schools share the ISA Liwan campus. ISA Liwan International School has 340 approved places for eligible foreign-passport students. ISA Wenhua Liwan School has 1,296 places, while ISA Wenhua Senior High has 1,800 places.
Together, the campus has 3,436 approved student places. However, only 340 belong to the school specifically licensed for children of foreign nationals. The other 3,096 places belong to the two private Chinese schools, which follow different admission rules.
Source: Alifa Education calculated these figures from three Guangzhou Education Bureau licence records.
Which ISA Campus Is the Main Campus?
No. ISA has no head school and no branch schools. Each of the nine holds its own licence, sets its own fees and runs its own admissions.
- Tianhe is the oldest, approved by 广东省教育厅 on 2015-08-31. Oldest is not parent.
- Science City is the largest site, which is why people call it the flagship. Flagship is a description; it does not mean the other schools report to it. Science City is authorised for PYP, MYP and DP, while ISA Wuhan International School is authorised for PYP, MYP, DP and CP.
- Liwan and Wuhan are multi-licence campuses opened in 2022, each holding three or four separate schools.
ISA School Fees and Government-Filed Charges
Two details determine how a school fee should be understood: whether it was filed with a government authority and whether it is charged per year or per semester. A Chinese school year normally has two semesters, so a per-semester fee must be doubled to calculate the estimated annual cost.
Government-Filed Fees
These figures come from Chinese government price approvals. They are the most reliable fee figures available for the schools listed below.
| School | Stage | Filed fee | Unit | Estimated annual fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISA Wenhua Liwan School | Primary | RMB 102,000 | Per semester | RMB 204,000 | Confirmed |
| ISA Wenhua Liwan School | Junior high | RMB 111,000 | Per semester | RMB 222,000 | Confirmed |
| ISA Wenhua Liwan School | Boarding | RMB 25,000 | Per semester | RMB 50,000 | Confirmed |
|
Guangzhou Foreign Language School Cardiff-licensed project |
IB Diploma direction | RMB 114,000 | Per semester | RMB 228,000 | Confirmed |
|
Guangzhou Foreign Language School Cardiff-licensed project |
AP / A-Level directions | RMB 94,000 | Per semester | RMB 188,000 | Confirmed |
Scroll sideways to see all fee details →
The ISA Wenhua Liwan School figures come from government approval 穗发改价批〔2024〕94号, issued by the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission on August 26, 2024. The approval applies from autumn 2024 for four school years.
An earlier approval, 穗发改价批〔2023〕43号, set the same amounts from autumn 2022. The school’s own website also publishes those figures. This means the school and the government price authority report the same fees. Confirmed
The IB Diploma project at Guangzhou Foreign Language School is licensed to a different foreign partner.
ISA describes itself as delivering an IB Diploma programme at Guangzhou Foreign Language School. However, the reviewed government records name Cardiff Sixth Form College as the licensed foreign partner for the school’s Sino-foreign cooperative education project.
- The Guangdong provincial licence names Cardiff Sixth Form College as the foreign partner. The licence is valid from April 4, 2023, to December 31, 2028.
- The Guangzhou senior-high admissions catalogue lists one project with AP, A-Level and IB Diploma course directions.
- The government price approval sets the project’s fees and also names Cardiff.
Alifa Education found no government document naming ISA as the licensed foreign partner at this school. ISA may have a teaching or operating role, but its formal role could not be confirmed from the reviewed government records.
Cardiff licence confirmed ISA’s formal role not currently confirmed
The government-filed fees are maximum approved prices. The school may charge less.
ISA Science City Published Fees, 2026–2027
The following figures come from the school’s fee page titled Fee Structure 2026–2027. The school labels these amounts as tuition per school year, so they are annual fees rather than per-semester charges.
| Grade band | Annual tuition | Grade band | Annual tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| EY1–EY2 | RMB 220,000 | G4–G5 | RMB 280,000 |
| EY3–EY4 | RMB 250,000 | G6–G8 | RMB 310,000 |
| G1–G3 | RMB 270,000 | G9–G10 | RMB 320,000 |
| — | — | G11–G12 | RMB 328,000 |
Scroll sideways to see all grade bands →
Confirmed Source: ISA Science City’s official 2026–2027 fee page, reviewed August 22, 2026.
Additional Costs on Top of Tuition
| Item | Amount | What families should know |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | RMB 3,000 | Not refundable |
| Place-holding deposit | RMB 30,000 | Refundable, but not transferable and not deducted from tuition |
| Five-day boarding | RMB 53,000 + RMB 27,000 for meals | Annual charge. Boarding and boarding meals are billed separately for 2026–2027. |
| Seven-day boarding | RMB 63,000 + RMB 37,000 for meals | Annual charge |
| Technology fee |
Kindergarten: RMB 0 Primary: RMB 7,500 Secondary: RMB 10,000 |
Annual charge |
| Kindergarten day meals | RMB 11,765 or RMB 16,265 | Two snacks and lunch, or the higher package with breakfast added |
| Primary and secondary day meals | RMB 10,236 or RMB 14,736 | One snack and lunch, or the higher package with breakfast added |
| School uniform | Charged at actual cost | Not included in tuition |
Scroll sideways to see the details of each charge →
Confirmed Source: ISA Science City’s official fee page. A fee of RMB 1,200 appears on some third-party websites, but it does not match the school’s published application fee of RMB 3,000.
Example total for a Grade 11 seven-day boarder:
- Annual tuition: RMB 328,000
- Seven-day boarding: RMB 63,000
- Boarding meals: RMB 37,000
- Technology fee: RMB 10,000
Estimated starting total: RMB 438,000 per year.
This total does not include the application fee, refundable deposit, uniform or personal expenses. Estimated Calculated by Alifa Education using the confirmed charges above. It is not a total directly published by the school.
Fees We Could Not Establish
- ISA Liwan International School of Guangzhou. No government fee approval was found for this school. The campus fee page publishes figures for the neighbouring private school instead. Figures between about RMB 208,000 and RMB 328,000 per year appear on third-party websites, but none has a traceable original source. Therefore, we do not publish them as verified tuition fees. This is the 340-place school with a government-confirmed student capacity but no traceable tuition figure. Not currently confirmed
- ISA Wenhua Senior High, Guangzhou. One research pass found fees of RMB 149,000 per semester for Grade 10 and RMB 154,000 per semester for Grades 11 and 12 in a municipal admissions document. A second search of the government price-approval channel did not find these figures. Not currently confirmed
- ISA Tianhe. No current-year tuition appears in an accepted source. The school reports a non-refundable application fee of RMB 1,500. School-reported
- ISA Wuhan schools’ international tracks. The relevant fee pages were unreachable. A 2022 municipal admissions table lists ISA Wenhua Wuhan Senior High at RMB 147,500 per semester, with boarding at RMB 20,000 per semester. Historical
Admissions and Passport Eligibility
外籍人员子女学校 — schools for children of foreign nationals
Schools 1, 2, 3 and 6 hold this licence. The Tianhe certificate names its admission group in its own words: 广州市内持有居留证件的外籍人员子女及少量港澳台学生. In English: children of foreign nationals who hold residence permits in Guangzhou, plus a small number of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan students. A residence permit is the multi-year visa endorsement that allows a foreign national to live in China. Confirmed 穗教政审〔2022〕20号, 2022-04-11
Note the phrase "a small number of". Places for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan students at these schools are limited by the licence itself, not only by demand.
民办学校 — the private Chinese schools
Schools 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 are private Chinese schools and admit Chinese nationals. Whether they also admit foreign-passport children is asked constantly and rarely answered. The Liwan nine-year school answered it in its own admissions notice: 我校面向全市招生，含港澳台外籍户籍符合报读要求的小学应届毕业生. In English: the school recruits across the whole city, including applicants with Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan or foreign household status who meet the entry requirements. School-reported School official WeChat account, 2026-05-21
That is a real opening rather than a guarantee. The phrase 符合报读要求 carries conditions set by the municipal admissions platform, so confirm your child's specific case with the school.
The senior-high route is an examination route
广州市爱莎文华高中 admits through 广州招考办 (Guangzhou Admissions Office), the city system for senior high school places. You enter it by sitting the 中考. A student outside the Chinese school system generally cannot enter that way. The same applies to 武汉爱莎文华高级中学 through 武汉中招, the equivalent system in Wuhan, and to both partner-hosted IB programmes, which recruit through their host schools' examination intakes.
The Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan route
ISA runs a 港澳台联考 (gǎng ào tái lián kǎo) centre inside the Liwan senior high. This is the joint entrance exam route to mainland Chinese universities, preparing Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan status students for the joint entrance exam used for mainland university admission. This is a status route, not a nationality route: a foreign passport alone does not qualify without Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan status. Publicly reported
Curriculum and exit diploma
Every ISA school leads to a recognised leaving qualification — but which one depends on the school. Science City offers PYP, MYP and DP. Wuhan International offers those three programmes plus the Career-related Programme. Liwan adds A-Level and AP routes. The 爱莎文华 private schools follow the Chinese curriculum with some international options on top. Here is each school, what it teaches, and the qualification a student leaves with.
| School or programme | What it teaches | Leaving qualification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA Science City | PYP, MYP and DP from kindergarten to Grade 12. A Hong Kong route (HKDSE) was added in 2026. | IB Diploma; HKDSE, the Hong Kong leaving certificate | School-reported |
| ISA Tianhe | IB Primary Years Programme, up to Year 5 | None — the school stops at primary | School-reported |
| ISA Liwan (外籍) | IB framework, then IGCSE (international exams at about age 16), then a choice of IB Diploma, A-Level or AP (US college-level courses taken at school) | IB Diploma / A-Level / AP | School-reported |
| 广州荔湾爱莎文华学校 Liwan private school | Chinese national curriculum, the nine-year compulsory stage | Junior-high graduation certificate | Confirmed |
| 广州市爱莎文华高中 Guangzhou senior high | Chinese 高考 track; A-Level with an art & design option; HKDSE; 港澳台联考 (the joint exam for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan students) | Chinese senior-high diploma / A-Level / HKDSE / 联考 | School-reported |
| ISA Wuhan (外籍) | PYP, MYP, DP and CP, plus IGCSE, A-Level and AP options | IB Diploma / IB Career-related Programme / A-Level / AP | School-reported |
| 武汉爱莎文华 schools | Chinese national curriculum with IB frameworks; the senior high adds IB Diploma, A-Level, AP, HKDSE and the 高考 track | Several | School-reported |
| 广州外国语学校 IB Diploma | IB Diploma taught inside a public school | IB Diploma plus the host school's diploma | School-reported |
| 武汉二中 IB Diploma | IB Diploma — most teaching on the host campus, with one day a week at ISA's Wuhan site | IB Diploma plus the host school's diploma | School-reported |
Scroll the table sideways to see leaving qualifications →
"Teaches the IB" and "is authorised by the IB" are not the same claim. Current IB registry records identify ISA Science City as code 062016 (PYP, MYP and DP), ISA Tianhe as code 051849 (PYP), ISA Liwan International as code 062926 (PYP and MYP), and ISA Wuhan International as code 062986 (PYP, MYP, DP and CP). Confirmed
For the partner-hosted programmes, it matters where the authorisation sits. At 武汉二中, the IB authorisation and the student's official school record belong to the host school, and ISA provides teaching support. That decides which school issues the diploma — and which one you are really enrolling with.
Scholarships, school by school
ISA has no single, group-wide scholarship. Each school sets its own, and who can apply usually follows the licence. At the schools for foreign nationals, every student holds a foreign passport, so every award reaches them. At the private Chinese schools, most awards depend on 中考 or 高考 results — exams a student outside the Chinese school system does not sit.
| School | Award | Value | Open to a foreign passport? | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISA Liwan campus | 爱莎英才奖学金 Talent Scholarship |
Three years of tuition waived, stated total RMB 1,212,000, if the student meets the full-award standard in each of the three years | No. The only route is interview grade A plus a 2025 Guangzhou 中考 score at least 30 points above the first-tier line | School-reported · 2025-04-17 |
| ISA Liwan campus | 爱莎先锋奖学金 Pioneer Scholarship, four tiers |
特等 (top) 100% and 一等 (first) 70%, Grades 9–10 · 二等 (second) 50% and 三等 (third) 30%, Grades 6–10. Academic awards run 30%–100% for up to three years | Possibly. Each tier has two routes: a strong result in the school's own entrance assessment, or a 中考 score. The first route states no nationality condition | Historical · stated valid for 2025-2026 only |
| ISA Wuhan (外籍) | School scholarship, EY1 to DP1 | 20%–100% of tuition, judged on an entrance test, a scholarship interview, past school results and shown talent | Estimated — yes | School-reported |
| ISA Science City | Scholarship Seed Programme | Up to 100% of tuition, across academic, arts, sport, community-service and entrepreneurship categories | Estimated — yes | Historical · 2023-24 cycle |
| 广州市爱莎文华高中 | 先锋 / 卓越 / 菁英 tiers | Full and half waivers, plus bands of 5% to 30%, tied to 中考 tier lines | Not stated; the way in is the 中考 | Historical · 2023 |
| 武汉爱莎文华 | 英才少年 talent scholarship | 24 students at RMB 900,000 each, across three years of senior high | No — tied to the 中考 | Historical · 2023 intake |
| 武汉爱莎文华 | Domestic-track entry awards | Junior high 35%–100%; senior high 50%–100%, set against 调考 practice-exam and 中考 results | No — tied to the 中考 | School-reported |
| 广州外国语学校 IB | New-student and yearly merit awards | A full scholarship is possible; no figure is published | Not stated; the way in is the 中考 | School-reported |
| ISA Tianhe | None published | Alifa searched the school website, its official WeChat account and its application pack across three research passes and found no scholarship of any kind. A sibling discount is not a scholarship. | — | Confirmed |
| 武汉二中 IB programme | None published | No award specific to this programme was found | — | Not currently confirmed |
Scroll the table sideways to see eligibility and status →
Why two rows say "Estimated — yes". No ISA scholarship document Alifa read contains a nationality rule. But ISA Wuhan and ISA Science City are licensed as 外籍人员子女学校, so they may only take foreign-passport students and students with Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan status. An award offered to their own students is therefore, by definition, open to foreign-passport holders. That is Alifa working it out from the licence type — it is not a statement by the school, and we label it that way. The Liwan rows no longer need this reasoning, because that school publishes its real entry conditions. Inputs: the school's licence category, and the absence of any nationality rule in the award terms.
The numbers do not add up, and that is worth asking about. The 英才 award waives tuition for three years and is stated at RMB 1,212,000 — about RMB 404,000 a year. You enter through the Guangzhou 中考, so the award belongs to the senior high. That school's government-catalogue tuition is RMB 298,000 in Grade 10 and RMB 308,000 in Grades 11 and 12. Over three years that is RMB 914,000, or RMB 974,000 on the art track. The school's stated total is roughly RMB 240,000 higher than its own listed fees for the same period. The gap may be an international-track price that is not in the municipal admissions catalogue, or it may cover things beyond tuition. Alifa could not establish which, so we print the award as stated and take no tuition figure from it. Estimated Inputs: RMB 1,212,000 over three years, compared with the listed senior-high tuition in the municipal admissions catalogue.
Two claims in circulation that ISA has never made
- "Gold, Silver and Bronze scholarships at 100%, 50% and 25%." Alifa read both relevant announcements in full — Science City's admissions announcement of 2025-09-24 and Liwan's scholarship announcement of 2025-04-17. Neither contains 金奖, 银奖 or 铜奖 — the Chinese for gold, silver and bronze award — and neither contains the English words. Not once. Liwan's real tiers are named 特等, 一等, 二等 and 三等 — top, first, second and third — at 100%, 70%, 50% and 30%. The only place the word "Gold" appears anywhere in ISA's material is a WELL Gold v2 building rating for the Science City campus, which has nothing to do with scholarships. It is true that an award can reach 100% of tuition. The tier names are not ISA's. Confirmed as an absence.
- "A 10 million RMB scholarship fund." No group fund is published. Two separate campus programmes give totals: Liwan says 奖学金总额达千万 — a scholarship total reaching RMB 10 million — while the Wuhan talent programme states a separate running total above RMB 20 million. Both are single-campus programme totals, not a group fund, and quoting one in the other city's context is a common mistake. School-reported
Alifa Education checks each ISA scholarship against the school's own channel before listing it. Where we cannot confirm an award, we mark it unconfirmed. We do not repeat figures from agent websites that give no source.
Prefer to listen? Alifa's five-minute podcast Inside ISA Guangzhou's Scholarship Program walks through how the awards are presented to families and what to ask before applying. The table above is the verified record; the podcast is the orientation.
What Changed Recently at ISA Schools?
- A Level courses are now listed at ISA Liwan. Older ISA information placed the separate A Level Centre at Science City, but no relocation notice was found. Not currently confirmed.
- ISA Science City launched an HKDSE pathway in March 2026. Official school announcement School-reported.
- Wuhan No. 2 High School’s ISA IB programme received IB authorisation on May 5, 2026. Official IB record Confirmed.
- Three ISA private-school entities in Wuhan passed their 2025 annual inspections. The results were published on April 24, 2026. Government notice Confirmed.
- ISA Wenhua Liwan School’s government-filed fees remain unchanged. The current approval applies from autumn 2024 for four school years. Government approval Confirmed.
What Alifa Verified About ISA International Schools
Quick answer: Alifa Education verified ISA’s licence structure, selected tuition fees, admission rules and student capacities using official school and government records. Information without a current primary source is clearly marked.
ISA School Tuition Fees
ConfirmedISA Science City publishes annual tuition of RMB 220,000–328,000, depending on the grade.
Government-filed tuition at ISA Wenhua Liwan School is RMB 102,000 per semester for primary and RMB 111,000 per semester for junior high.
Source: Guangzhou government fee approval , August 26, 2024, and ISA Science City’s 2026–2027 fee page.
Estimated Grade 11 Boarding Cost
EstimatedA Grade 11 seven-day boarder at ISA Science City starts at about RMB 438,000 per year.
This calculation includes tuition, boarding, boarding meals and the technology fee. It excludes the application fee, refundable deposit, uniform and personal expenses.
Source: Alifa Education calculation using confirmed items from the school’s 2026–2027 fee page. The school does not publish this combined total.
Passport and Admission Eligibility
ConfirmedISA’s schools licensed for children of foreign nationals primarily admit eligible foreign-passport students with the required residence documents.
The Tianhe licence also allows a limited number of eligible students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Source: Guangzhou Education Bureau approval , April 11, 2022.
ISA Liwan Student Capacity
ConfirmedThe three licensed schools at the Liwan campus have a combined approved capacity of 3,436 students.
Only 340 places belong to ISA Liwan International School of Guangzhou, the school for children of foreign nationals.
Source: Three Guangzhou Education Bureau licence documents: 穗教函〔2022〕89号, 穗教政审〔2022〕40号 and 穗教函〔2022〕90号.
Wuhan Annual Inspections
ConfirmedISA Wenhua Wuhan School, ISA Wenhua Wuhan Senior High and ISA Wenhua Kindergarten Wuhan all passed their 2025 annual inspections.
Source: Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone notice , published April 24, 2026.
Curricula and Exit Pathways
School-reportedISA reports IB, A Level, AP, HKDSE and Chinese national curriculum pathways across its schools and partner programmes.
These options are not available at every ISA school, so families should check the exact programme and final qualification before applying.
Source: ISA International Education Group’s official overview .
How this guide was checked: Alifa Education prioritised government licence records, government price approvals, official school pages and the International Baccalaureate directory. Third-party directory figures were not treated as confirmed without a traceable primary source.
Last reviewed: . Families should confirm current fees, available places and admission requirements directly with the relevant school before applying.
ISA International Schools: Frequently Asked Questions
How many schools does ISA actually operate?
Government records reviewed by Alifa Education show nine separately licensed schools across four ISA campuses in Guangzhou and Wuhan. ISA also describes IB Diploma programmes delivered at two partner schools. One of those partner schools appears in the IB registry; the other no longer does. Directories may count the group, its campuses and its licences differently.
Sources: Guangzhou and Wuhan government licence records cited in the Sources section of this guide, and the IB registry entry for Wuhan No. 2 High School.
Is 爱莎科学 the main campus of ISA?
No. 爱莎科学 usually refers to ISA Science City. It is one licensed school among nine, not the group’s head school, and the other ISA schools are not its branches. It is the largest site, which is why people call it the flagship. The IB registry gives each school its own entry and programme record: Science City is authorised for PYP, MYP and DP; ISA Tianhe for PYP; ISA Liwan International for PYP and MYP; and ISA Wuhan International for PYP, MYP, DP and CP.
Sources: IB registry entries 062016, 051849, 062926 and 062986.
How many ISA Liwan places are open to foreign-passport students?
The ISA Liwan International School licence approves 340 places. The two private Chinese schools on the same campus are approved for 1,296 and 1,800 places, giving 3,436 places in total. The foreign-passport school therefore represents about 10% of the campus’s approved capacity.
Sources: Guangzhou Education Bureau licence documents 穗教函〔2022〕89号, 穗教政审〔2022〕40号 and 穗教函〔2022〕90号.
Can a Chinese national attend an ISA school?
Yes. Chinese nationals can apply to the ISA Wenhua private schools in Guangzhou and Wuhan, subject to local admission rules. ISA schools licensed for children of foreign nationals generally require a foreign passport, with limited eligibility for qualifying students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Sources: The school licences cited in this guide, and the ISA Wenhua Liwan junior high admissions notice, 2026-05-22.
Can a foreign-passport child attend an ISA Wenhua private school?
Possibly. ISA Wenhua Liwan’s admissions notice says it recruits across the whole city, including applicants with foreign, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan household status who meet the entry requirements. One of those requirements is a Guangdong residence permit held by the child or a parent. Admission is not automatic, and at the compulsory stage places are allocated by a computerised lottery rather than by assessment.
Source: ISA Wenhua Liwan official admissions notice, 2026-05-22.
What is the difference between ISA and ISA Wenhua?
ISA without the Wenhua name usually refers to a school for children of foreign nationals. ISA Wenhua refers to the private Chinese schools and the programmes attached to them. They may share a campus, but they hold different licences. At Liwan, the senior high is licensed as for-profit while the neighbouring compulsory-stage school is non-profit.
Sources: 穗教函〔2022〕90号 and the other licence records cited in this guide.
Does ISA offer scholarships to foreign students?
Yes, but ISA does not publish one group-wide scholarship policy. ISA Liwan advertises tuition waivers from 30% to 100%, renewable for up to three years, and ISA Wuhan International School advertises 20% to 100%. Awards at the private Chinese schools are generally tied to Chinese entrance examination results. Eligibility and renewal rules differ by school.
Sources: Official school scholarship pages for ISA Liwan and ISA Wuhan, and the ISA Liwan scholarship announcement, 2025-04-17.
Does ISA have Gold, Silver and Bronze scholarship tiers?
No. Alifa Education read both current scholarship announcements in full and neither uses gold, silver or bronze naming in English or in Chinese. The published tiers at ISA Liwan are 特等, 一等, 二等 and 三等, at 100%, 70%, 50% and 30% of tuition. The only appearance of the word Gold in ISA material is a WELL Gold building certification, which is not a student award.
Sources: ISA Liwan scholarship announcement, 2025-04-17, and the ISA Science City admissions prospectus, 2025-09-24.
Alifa Education Services
Not Sure Which ISA School Is Right for Your Child?
Alifa Education Services helps international, expatriate, returning and Chinese families compare ISA schools in Guangzhou and Wuhan. If you are considering ISA Tianhe, ISA Science City , ISA Liwan, ISA Wuhan or one of ISA’s partner-hosted IB Diploma programmes, send us your child’s passport status, current grade, preferred city, curriculum and boarding needs. We can help identify the correct licensed school, explain who can apply and show which fees, scholarships and admission requirements should be confirmed before you pay an application fee.
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Sources and verification
Every figure in this article is traceable to one of the sources below. Chinese government documents come first, because they are the only sources that can confirm a licence, a capacity or a filed fee.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026 by Alifa Education. Next scheduled review November 2026.
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