With 14 years of experience in international education, a background spanning Chinese and British education and school management, and roles as an examiner for both CAIE and Edexcel, Yolanda brings a well-established educational philosophy to FCG. She also holds a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard University, the UK's National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and a Chinese secondary school principal qualification.
As she puts it:
“I’m not here to learn a new system. I’m here to make a system I already know well even better.”
Yolanda’s academic and professional journey spans both China and the UK. Early in her career, she worked at a Confucius Institute, teaching IGCSE and A-Level Chinese to British students. The experience gave her a valuable perspective: the ability to view Chinese education from the outside while also understanding the workings of the British education system from within.
After returning to China, she worked at several international schools. Over the past 14 years, she has progressed from classroom teaching to a senior leadership role with responsibility for teaching and management across both the middle and high school. At every stage, her work has sat at the interdiv of education and leadership.
One qualification stands out in particular: Yolanda is an IGCSE and A-Level Chinese examiner for both CAIE and Edexcel. This means she understands not only the art of teaching, but also the standards by which learning is assessed. Combined with her training in school leadership and her principal qualifications in both China and the UK, these experiences have given her a strong foundation in international school leadership.
This journey from the classroom to the bigger picture has shaped her understanding of school management. A good leader, she believes, must first and foremost be a good educator.
For an experienced school leader with an established career, the choice of a next step is rarely just about salary or title. The more important question is: is this a place worth investing the next five years in?
For Yolanda, the answer lies in four qualities she sees at FCG.
A strong professional fit. “FCG’s curriculum – IGCSE, A-Level and BTEC – is closely aligned with the areas I have worked in for the past 14 years.” There is no need to spend time adapting to an unfamiliar system. Instead, she can focus her energy on one question: how can it be made even better?
Room to grow. FCG is developing rapidly. “I can turn the experience I have gained over the years into a more systematic framework, rather than simply making small adjustments within an already mature system.” For a leader with experience in building systems, a growing school can be far more appealing than one whose structures are already fixed.
A genuine culture of integration. “The co-headship model, the dual homeroom teacher system and the collaboration between Chinese and international teachers – these are not just slogans. They are mechanisms that are genuinely in operation.” Yolanda places particular emphasis on the word genuine. Too often, international education talks about integration without fully achieving it. At FCG, she sees the foundations for meaningful collaboration.
A shared passion for education. “During the interview process, and as I learned more about the school, I could feel a genuine passion for education among both the leadership and teaching teams. People are not simply doing a job; they are building a school with a long-term vision.” This convinced her that FCG has both the space and the momentum to support her broader vision for international education.
Yolanda’s understanding of international education has deepened over 14 years of practice.
When she first moved into school leadership, she focused on achieving a balance of form: half Chinese curriculum and half British curriculum; half Chinese teachers and half international teachers. But students’ experiences could still feel fragmented. She came to realise that genuine integration is not about structural symmetry, but about continuity in learning.
Students should not feel that they are constantly switching between “a Chinese-style lesson” and “a British-style lesson”. Instead, they should learn within one coherent educational framework, using different approaches to solve different problems.
Good international education is not about placing one system on top of another. It is about building bridges – giving students both roots and wings.
Roots mean a strong academic foundation through the Chinese National Curriculum, and a secure sense of connection with their language and cultural identity.
Wings mean openness to diversity, critical thinking, intercultural understanding and the ability to learn independently.
Yolanda sees three major changes shaping the future of education.
Assessment is changing. IGCSE and A-Level programmes are placing greater emphasis on coursework and reducing the focus on pure memorisation. The answer is not to try to predict exam questions, but to help students genuinely understand the logic of their subjects.
University expectations are changing. Leading universities increasingly value critical thinking, research skills and a sense of social responsibility. The answer is not last-minute packaging of applications, but the integration of university preparation into everyday learning.
The world of work is changing. AI may replace repetitive tasks, but creativity, critical thinking and human collaboration will remain essential. The answer is not simply to add more technological terminology to the curriculum, but to develop these fundamental capabilities through meaningful, real-world learning.
In many schools, the middle school years focus on immediate academic progress, while the high school years focus on university admissions. Too often, there is not enough continuity between the two. Students may only begin preparing seriously for university in their upper years, and miss valuable opportunities for long-term development.
As an all-through school from Early Years to Senior School, FCG has the opportunity to plan a coherent pathway for its students. For Yolanda, this means designing the journey from G6 to G12 with the end in mind.
“G6-G7 is about building foundations. G8 is about broadening horizons. G9 is about making a confident transition. G10 to G12 are about progressing towards university. Each stage should grow naturally from the one before.”
Yolanda has always believed that academic excellence helps children move faster, while pastoral care helps them go further.
At a previous school, she noticed a student whose academic performance was above average, but who had suddenly become withdrawn. He walked with his head down and often sat alone in the corner at lunchtime.
She arranged an informal conversation. There was no discussion of grades. She asked:
“How have you been recently?”
After a long silence, the student explained that his family was going through a difficult time. He felt that he “wasn’t needed anywhere” and had even begun to question the point of applying to university. “No one really cares where I end up anyway,” he said.
At that moment, Yolanda realised that what he needed was not another study plan, but a support network that would help him feel safe, valued and connected.
She took three steps. She arranged regular sessions with the school counsellor and spoke with his homeroom and boarding staff to ensure that someone checked in with him naturally each day, so that he knew his presence was noticed. When she discovered his interest in photography, she encouraged him to join the school media club. She also spoke with his parents on several occasions – not to report problems, but to share how he was doing and to help them adjust the way they communicated with him.
One semester later, the student put himself forward as a student council representative. By graduation, he had received an offer from a QS Top 50 university.
The experience strengthened Yolanda’s belief that character education and pastoral care should not begin only when a problem appears. Schools need to create a daily support system in which every child is seen.
Children do not always say, “I need help.” But their behaviour, expressions, attendance and approach to schoolwork can all send signals. The key question is whether a school has adults observant enough, and a support network closely connected enough, to recognise those signals and respond.
At FCG, the house system, mentoring and boarding provision already form an integrated framework for pastoral care. At the same time, more than 200 CCA opportunities and student leadership platforms give every child the chance to be seen and valued. Yolanda’s role is to help this established system move from being comprehensive to being truly excellent – ensuring that every part of the support network genuinely reaches the children at its heart.
Boarding tutors and homeroom teachers are often the adults closest to students. Their role extends beyond attendance and academic performance to include emotional wellbeing, relationships and changes in behaviour.
“Homeroom teachers should have regular, informal conversations with students and build relationships based on trust, so that there is a natural outlet when a child wants to talk,” Yolanda explains. “We should not wait until something goes wrong before reaching out. Support needs to be part of everyday school life.”
The educational vision Yolanda hopes to help build at FCG Secondary School is now gradually taking shape: a school with clear academic pathways, warm and consistent support, and children who are seen as whole individuals.
And from that foundation, each of them can move forward in their own direction – and towards a future that reaches further.
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