RESPONSIBILITY DISCIPLINE FORTITUDE

Founded in 2015, RDF International School (RDFIS) is a private boarding school that adopts American-patterned education and offers both 5-day and 7-day boarding programs. Our school motto is: Responsibility, Discipline, Fortitude: inspiring students to have the courage to take on duties, pursue excellence, and move forward fearlessly.

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PARTNERSHIPS

RDFIS cooperates with the Washington Academy, in East Machias, Maine, United States of America. After passing an entrance exam, which includes an interview, students who choose to enroll at RDFIS are simultaneously enrolled at Washington Academy. Upon successfully completing RDFIS’ graduation requirements, students also complete the requirements for high school graduation in the state of Maine, and therefore also receive an American diploma.

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ACCREDITATION

RDFIS is accredited by Cognia under the name Shenzhen RDF Foreign Language School (see link: http://www.advanced.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary?institutionId=62921). Cognia is a worldwide association of major accreditation bodies, including from the United States, such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). In the "Forbes China · International School Annual Selection", RDFIS ascended from the 26th place in the whole country to the 16th, ranking 2nd in Shenzhen. It has been awarded the "Outstanding International School" for three consecutive years and selected into the "Top 10 American-style Featured Schools in China".

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ACADEMIC PROGRAM

The academic program is organized on a seven-period schedule. Students typically take 7.0 credits of classes per year, with some courses encompassing a full year (1.0 credit) and others encompassing a semester (0.5 credit). The weekly schedule includes seven 50-minute classes daily, Monday through Thursday, and seven 45-minute classes on Friday. All classes meet five times per week. The course offering of RDFIS can be found at http://en.rdfis.com/curriculum.html.

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ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP®) COURSES

The 24 AP® courses are or have been offered:
AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, AP Art History, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Music Theory, AP Physics 1: Algebra-based, AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Pre-Calculus, AP United States History, AP Human Geography, and AP World History.
To take an AP course, students much meet the following requirements:
1) Bein Grade 9-12;
2) Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5;
3) Have successfully completed the relevant prerequisites with grade B or above;
4) Receive permission from the instructor.

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Students who have taken AP courses at RDFIS are not required to sit for the College Board AP exams. Historically, about 80% of RDF students score “3” or higher on College Board AP exams, thus earning college credit at many colleges and universities while stillin high school.

 GRADING SYSTEM

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 GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) CALCULATION

GPA is computed using the above scale. Beginning with grade nine, all subjects, whether passed or failed, are included in the computation. AP classes are weighted by one additional point. We don’t report class rank.

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 ACADEMIC GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

A minimum of 25 credits is required for graduation, including 4 credits of English, 3 credits of Mathematics, 3 credits of Natural Sciences, 4 credits of Social Studies, 2 credits of Physical Education and Health, 1 credit of Arts, 1 credit of World Languages, 1 credit of Life Skills, 1 credit of Computer Science & Technology, and 5 credits of Elective Courses.

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 COMMUNITY SERVICE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

In addition to academic graduation requirements, each RDFIS student must complete 20 hours of community service each year of enrollment in order to qualify for graduation.

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 EXTRACURRICULAR OFFERINGS

Featuring over 30 student-led clubs, our school also offers extensive programs in athletics, performing and visual arts, along with regional, national, and international competitions. Among the competitions in which RDFIS students have participated include VEX Robotics, FIRST Robotics Competition, United States Academic Decathlon (USAD), United States Academic Pentathlon (USAP), Model United Nations, American Mathematics Competition, National Economics Challenge, High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling, Mathematics and Computing Contests of The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (University of Waterloo), and the Educational Theatre National Young Thespian Festival.

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 STANDARDIZED TEST RESULTS

RDFIS became an authorized ACT test center in July 2021. ACT exams are being taken by junior and senior students.

 SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION

Stephen R. Pellerine (Principal)
 stephen.p@rdfis.com

Darcy Zhu (College Counselor)
 darcy_counselor@rdfis.com

College Counseling Office
 director-counselor@rdfis.com

Academic Office
 academicoffice@rdfis.com

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 COLLEGES MATRICULATION

Our school achieved a 100% college acceptance rate, with over 80% of students admitted to the world’s top 50 universities. Matriculation data for Class 2019-2025:

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 United States of America

Academy of Art University
Adelphi University
American University
Arizona State University
Art Center College of Design
Auburn University
Babson College
Berklee College of Music
Boston Architectural College
Boston College
Boston University
Brigham Young University
California College of the Arts
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State University, Long Beach
Case Western Reserve University
Clark University
College for Creative Studies
College of the Canyons
Columbia College Chicago
Columbus College of Art & Design
DePauw University
Emerson College
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM)
Kenyon College
Ferris State University
Fordham University
Franklin & Marshall College
George Washington University
Gettysburg College
Hofstra University
Indiana University--Bloomington
Iowa State University
Kent State University
Lehigh University
LIM College
Los Angeles College of Music
Macalester College
Maryland Institute of the Arts
Miami University, Oxford
Michigan State University
Musicians Institute: College of Contemporary Music
New York Film Academy
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Ohio University
Oregon State University
Otis College of Art and Design
Parsons School of Design at The New School
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University, Altoona
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Pepperdine University
Pratt Institute
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island School of Design
Richard Bland College of William & Mary
Ringling School of Art and Design
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Saint Louis University
San Diego State University
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
School of Visual Arts
Smith College
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Stony Brook University--SUNY
Suffolk University
Syracuse University
Texas A & M University-College Station
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
The University of Arizona
The University of Iowa
Trinity University
Truman State University
Tulane University
University at Albany, State University of New York
University of Arizona
University at Binghamton, State University of New York
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
University of Oswego, State University of New York
University of Stony Brook, State University of New York
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Merced
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Florida
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Massachusetts, Boston
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Dakota
University of Oregon
University of Pittsburgh
University of Richmond
University of San Francisco
University of South California
University of South Florida
University of Virginia
University of Washington, Seattle
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Utah State University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Woodbury University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

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 Canada

Brock University
Canadian Aviation College
Carleton University
Concordia University
Mcgill University
McMaster University
Mount Royal University
Simon Fraser University
St. Thomas University
The University of British Columbia
Toronto Metropolitan University
University of Alberta
University of Calgary
University of Manitoba
University of Ottawa
University of Saskatchewan
University of Toronto
University of Victoria
University of Waterloo
University of Windsor
Western University
Wilfrid Laurier University
York University

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 United Kingdom

Birmingham City University
Camberwell College of Arts
Cardiff University
Coventry University London Campus
Durham University
Glasgow School of Art
Goldsmiths, University of London
King's College London
Kingston University London
Lancaster University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Newcastle University
Nottingham Trent University
Royal Holoway University of London
The University of Edinburgh
The University of Leeds
The University of London Royal Holloway
The University of Manchester
The University of Sheffield
University College London
University of Aberdeen
University of Birmingham
University of Brighton
University of East Anglia
University of Glasgow
University of Liverpool
University of Surrey
University of Southampton
University of Sussex
University of the Arts London - Central Saint Martins

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 Australia

Monash University
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
The Australian National University
The University of Melbourne
The University of New South Wales
The University of Queensland
The University of Sydney
The University of Western Australia
University of Technology Sydney

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 Mainland China

Beijing Normal University - Hong Kong Baptist University United - International College (UIC)
Chinese University of Hong Kong(Shenzhen)
Shenzhen University
University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Wenzhou-Kean University
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

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 Hong Kong S.A.R. China

Chinese University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Lingnan University
The Education University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Open University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong

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 Macau S.A.R. China

Macau University of Science and Technology

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 Europe

Constuctor University (Germany)
Culinary Arts Academy (Switzerland)
Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Hungary)
Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport (Poland)
Glion Institute of Higher Education (Switzerland)
Hotel Institute Montreux (Switzerland)
Les Roches Global Hospitality Education (Switzerland)
Norwegian Academy of Music (Norway)
Sibelius Academy (Finland)
Swiss Hotel Management School (Switzerland)
Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

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 Other Countries

National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore)
National University of Malaysia (Malaysia)
Tokyo World Japanese Language School (Japan)
University of Auckland (New Zealand)
Waseda University (Japan)
Yiea Tokyo Academy (Japan)