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The 2026 priority window
Beijing international schools follow a northern-hemisphere year that begins in mid-August, so the working deadline for a September 2026 cohort runs through the preceding autumn and winter. In practice the priority window opens around September 2025, and the most sought-after entry years, typically Reception and the early primary grades alongside Year 7, are often closed to new applications by January 2026. Senior places, particularly the IB Diploma intake in Year 12, tend to fill by spring. After those points schools move to a rolling model, releasing any remaining seats until the start of term. The honest reading is that the earlier deadlines are soft but decisive: missing them rarely closes a city, but it routinely closes a specific school or year group.
This pattern matters most for families arriving on a fixed corporate timeline. If your relocation only confirms in spring 2026, treat that as the lower bound of the realistic window and widen your shortlist accordingly. For the seasonal rhythm around term dates and statutory holidays that shapes these windows, see our Beijing school holidays and term dates 2026 guide.
Main intake points by school
The leading schools publish their own intake structure, and knowing it tells you where the genuine deadlines bite. The table below summarises the confirmed pattern at three of the largest campuses.
| School | Confirmed admissions pattern for 2026 |
|---|---|
| International School of Beijing (ISB), Shunyi | Accepts applications year-round and offers places where available; recommends an August start with peers or a January second-semester entry. Non-refundable application fee of RMB 2,800. |
| Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Chaoyang | A limited number of places are offered as early as February, with the bulk of offers made April to June and places continuing until the mid-August start. |
| Dulwich College Beijing (DCB), Shunyi | Main intake points at preschool, Grade 1, Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 10, with a class maximum of 24; apply early in the September to January window. |
Two points follow. First, rolling admission does not mean unlimited availability: ISB and WAB both add places on a first-come basis, so an early file beats a late one for the same year group. Second, schools such as Dulwich concentrate new entry at defined grades, which means a mid-phase transfer into a non-intake year depends entirely on a place opening up. For families weighing the IB route specifically, our IB curriculum hub explains how the Diploma intake differs from earlier entry.
Not sure which deadlines apply to your child?
The school finder filters Beijing schools by curriculum, district and entry year, so you can see which schools still have your year group open.
Use the school finderDocument and fee deadlines
The quiet deadline that derails more Beijing applications than any application form is documentation. Schools require the child's birth certificate and the last two full school reports to be notarised and apostilled in the country that issued them, then translated into English or Chinese. Allow four to eight weeks for that chain, because an offer can be provisional until the paperwork clears. Application and assessment fees are charged at the point of applying rather than on acceptance, so budget for those alongside the deposit. Tuition itself is billed by semester, with the larger invoice falling around the August restart; our guide to international school fees in Beijing sets out the bands and timing. If you want the application steps in order rather than the deadlines alone, our how to apply to international schools in Beijing walkthrough covers the full sequence.
How to time your application
Three practical rules hold across the city. Begin the document chain the moment your move is likely, not confirmed, because apostille and translation are the slowest links and the only ones you cannot accelerate at the school's end. Apply to a portfolio rather than a single school, mixing a first-choice campus with a school known to have rolling availability in your child's year. And confirm in writing whether an early enquiry counts as an application, because some schools only start the clock once the fee is paid. For families still deciding when in the year to move, our best time to move to Beijing for schools guide weighs the August and January entry points against the relocation calendar. Younger families can also see stage-specific timing in our Beijing primary schools guide.
Beijing admissions deadlines 2026: FAQ
There is no single citywide deadline. Most Beijing international schools run a priority window from around September of the previous year, with popular entry year groups such as Reception, Grade 1 and Year 7 often full by January 2026 and senior IB Diploma places filling by spring. Schools then continue to offer remaining places on a rolling basis until the August start, so applying early widens your choice rather than meeting a hard cut-off.
The International School of Beijing accepts applications throughout the year and offers places where available, recommending that students start in August with their peers or at the second-semester start in January. It charges a non-refundable application fee, so there is a rolling rather than fixed deadline, but popular year groups still fill earliest.
Dulwich College Beijing in Shunyi publishes main intake points at preschool, Grade 1, Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 10, with a class maximum of 24 students. Applications for these entry years should be made as early as possible in the September to January window before an August start.
Allow four to eight weeks. Beijing schools require the child's birth certificate and the last two school reports to be notarised and apostilled in the issuing country, then translated into English or Chinese. Starting this process early is the most common way families avoid a delayed enrolment.