Benenden School is delighted to have entered into an agreement with Suwon City which represents an important first stage in opening a new school in South Korea.
Suwon City is bidding to establish a Free Economic Zone which would see it develop a world-leading research and development hub and all the infrastructure to support it. If the bid is approved by the Korean government, the new zone would include the creation of a Benenden School campus.
Benenden has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Suwon City to form a collaborative partnership to explore the establishment of an international educational institution within the proposed new economic zone.
Benenden Headmistress Rachel Bailey and Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon signed the agreement during the Easter holidays at a ceremony in Suwon City Hall.
Ms Bailey said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Suwon City to explore this exciting opportunity to bring Benenden’s globally-renowned Complete Education to South Korea.
“During my visit to Suwon, I was highly impressed by the city’s forward-thinking approach, which would be an excellent fit for Benenden’s innovative approach to education.”
Mayor Lee Jae-joon said: “If advanced industries mark the beginning of a Free Economic Zone, then becoming a truly international city marks its completion.
“With Benenden School, Suwon has the potential to establish itself as a global research city attracting innovators from around the world.”
Should the Free Economic Zone bid be approved in November, the new school would be open from 2030 onwards. It would join the growing Benenden family of schools alongside Benenden Schools Guangzhou and Orwell Park School in the UK.
Suwon lies just outside the national capital, Seoul, and, with a population of 1.2 million, is the largest city of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea’s most populous province.
Suwon already plays an important economic role as it is home to Samsung Electronics, whose research and development centre is in eastern Suwon.