The first of a new generation of international schools designed to cater for Macau's influx of expatriates and its own growing middle class, is to be built near the border with the Mainland as part of a 370 million pataca (US$ 46.3 million) project.
The scheme, by the Inter-University Institute, is on a site designed to have low environmental impact in the aptly-named Ilha Verde district. Construction will begin in October of this year and should be completed around Christmas 2007. According to Professor Ruben de Freitas Cabral, Inter-University Institute Rector, the project, which will house Institute facilities as well as an international school to replace an existing one, will comprise 30,000 square metres of usable floor area on a parcel of land covering 1.3 hectares.
Dr Richard Whitfield, Pro-Rector for Organizational Development, says that the Institute's present facilities in NAPE occupy 3,500 square metres, so the new complex will be ten times that building's size. Designed by architect Yagi Koji of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, it will include dormitories, faculty residences, the "biggest bookstore in Macau," sports facilities, a music and performing arts centre, and a chapel, he says.
"We want the campus to be a strong statement about the University," Dr Whitefield explains. "It will be very modern, very green." The Australian academic came to Macau in 2000, after having been in Hong Kong for nine years. He says that the new campus will be based on the Melbourne Foundation, and will incorporate sophisticated energy-saving technology that will use only 10 per cent of the water and one-third of the electricity that more conventional structures require.
The land, provided by the Diocese of Macau, is presently occupied by the 90-year old San Jos? Diocesan School, which will be torn down to make way for the construction of the new school. "The government sees it as in their interests to use the land for educational purposes in a part of the city they want to redevelop," Dr Whitefield explains.

All Change
The medium of instruction will be English, with some Chinese, he says. "San Jos? want to reposition themselves. All schools in Macau want to reposition," he continues, "Macau is changing very fast and the schools must change accordingly, using the 'lingua franca' of the world, which is now English." While the school will be run by the Diocese of Macau, Inter-University Institute will play an advisory role, he explains, "and we are advising them to do a lot of English."
They are also negotiating for government subsidies and also seeking sources of funding for the project outside Macau. One of the reasons for the expansion, he says, is to "put us into a position where we are financially self-sustaining."
The school will accept some 800 secondary (grades 9 to 12) students and about 1,500 University students. Although San Jose students have been largely local Chinese, the new school aims to serve the international community. "We already serve a lot of expats at the University, Professor Cabral explains, "all our undergraduate and graduate courses are taught in English, and about one-third of the students are from overseas."
"Our by-laws state that all degrees conferred by us are also awarded by the Catholic University of Portugal," Professor Cabral explains. "This is why we attract many expat students," he says, "they want the accreditation when they return to Europe."
A mix of local and overseas students is also the long-term goal of the University, because "it's important to have a mix of cultures represented," Dr Whitfield says. Similarly, faculty members come from the US, Europe, Australia and the region.
Professor Cabral cites another goal that also applies to the new school: "We want the University to be small, personalised, and on the forefront of teaching methodology." Examples of that include "open discussion and research-based methodology that stresses critical thinking. For many students it represents a paradigm shift in learning." He calls the system "learning-based as opposed to teaching-based."
His experience at the Cambridge Latin School in Massachusetts has a strong influence on his aspirations for the new school. "We had a high school where students spoke 38 different languages and came from 70 different countries. We taught the curriculum in six different languages."

Multiple Choice
International schools are not the only option available to the children of English-speaking expatriate professionals living and working in Macau. Some families have opted to send their children overseas to boarding school. Others chose correspondence-based courses or home schooling. A small number of native English speaking students found themselves totally immersed in a foreign language in the Chinese or Portuguese systems.
One American professional living in Macau for several years has tried several different options for her two primary school children, and finally decided to send one to a local school and the other to an older international school that accepts many local students as well as children of expats. "We had to decide what we wanted for our kids and what they needed to get from a school. We believed we could provide them with English," she began, adding that the local-system school was strong in maths and the teaching of study skills. "International schools can't provide a real-life atmosphere for kids," she continued. "Students' parents are usually from a certain kind of industry and in a certain economic stratum. They're living in a bubble; they don't learn about Macau."
"Chinese is the language of the future," she says. Some other westerners share this view, believing that having their children taught in Chinese at locals schools will give their offspring a useful language skill in later life.
"After six months [in the local system] my 12-year-old can converse easily in Cantonese," she says with some satisfaction.
Not all families who arrive here from western countries have the same priorities, though. Some know they will be moving on to a different country in due course, and just want continuity in the education their children are getting. As more and more such families join Macau's expatriate community, a gap in the local educational facilities is becoming evident.
One family with a high-school age child couldn't find a satisfactory solution here.
"The situation is different right now, with more choices available, but a while back when our son was sixteen there was no place for him in the leading international school because they didn't have his grade level," the parent of one boy explains. "If what is here doesn't work out for you, you have to look elsewhere. So we checked out schools in the region, and decided to send him to a boarding school in Australia. Of course, this is an expensive way to go. We're paying several times what we would pay in Macau," she admits.

Casino Families
The positive changes she referred to are being brought about because of the casino-driven development boom. The demographics are increasingly favouring the establishment of quality international schools, and the local government and private sector are providing generous support, both in the spirit of community service and in their own interests. As a result, two new international schools, one already established, and one still on the drawing board, are coming to the forefront of the local educational scene.
How many international schools does Macau need? Neil Johnston, a member of Board of Supervisors of The International School, that opened in Cotai in 2002, says, "How many we need here depends on the rate of expansion and how much pressure local families put on us. Casinos tell us they're bringing in thousands of new employees, and an average of 100 students will arrive with the opening of each new property." By way of contrast, he points out that Hong Kong has 48 international schools.
Locally, he says, "I'm looking at the major players. Crown, Sands, Wynn, Galaxy and others. Casinos are also going to bring other operators. We see the school fulfilling an important role."
Funding all this expansion are donations from casino operators like Sands, who recently gave 1.4 million, an amount Johnston says is soon to be matched by rivals Wynn Resorts.
"We've been promoting a programme called 'business supports' education'", he explains adding that donors' names will be inscribed on a wall in the new school and they will be given a page in the school's yearbook. "Businesses, especially casinos, want to be good corporate citizens. One way is to support education."

Second Site
At the end of August, coinciding with the arrival of their new principal, The International School will move into even newer facilities near the building they presently occupy on the campus of the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). The new MOP 60 million school will be located on a grant of land from MUST, and students can use many MUST facilities, such as their library.
In addition to music, art, and science rooms and laboratories, two iMac computer laboratories and two libraries, the new school's plans include 45 regular classrooms, enough to accommodate an estimated 900 students arriving in September for the new school term. Within two years, a second phase will be completed that will be large enough for an estimated student body of 1,500.
Presently, TIS student body comprises 55 per cent local and 45 per cent expat students, with 32 nationalities represented. This is, according to Johnston, "a better international mix than many Hong Kong schools, where they have more local students. Classes range from pre-kindergarten and will soon extend through twelfth grade, and graduates will receive a Canadian diploma awarded by the province of Alberta, an important qualification for students intending to continue their studies abroad. Alberta's test scores are the highest in Canada, he points out, and among the highest in the world. Graduates can be accepted at any university that uses English as a medium of instruction without needing to take TESL exams. TIS pays for the privilege of offering the Alberta curriculum and further support from what Johnston calls its "excellent online programmes."
"Alberta recommended we be their first offshore school," Johnston says with some pride. "They recognise we have an excellent educational product."
"The Canadian system offers students a wide variety of choices. Students are able to take credits whether they're university-bound or planning to enter the workforce. Mobility is important for expat families." Plus, he adds, "Canada doesn't carry a lot of historical baggage or political overtones, so many American expats feel comfortable here."
Those are not the only reasons for their comfort, he suggests. "Financial realities are that you can buy a place to live here for a fraction of what it would cost in Hong Kong and send your kids to school here for less, and have a better quality of life than you could in Hong Kong."
The ratio of students to teachers is 12:1, which includes library staff, Chinese language instructors and others. Most are from Canada, but also from the US, Australia, Macau and Mainland China. Class size averages between 15 and 20 students. "We're leaving room for new people to move in as the year progresses. We still get applications every week. We're staffing for 600 in September," but "if we need to open additional classes, we have the capability to do that."
He looks to the future with justifiable optimism. "People are creating legacies out here. This is something for Macau for many years to come. It's raising the benchmark for education in Macau. We've hired good staff, with a range of ages among our teachers. I've purposely done that because new teachers bring energy and excitement, but older teachers bring wisdom. You need both."

By Lois Iwase