HADYN Adams will be the head-teacher of the new Shanghai Rego International School, due to open on September 1 this year. It will be the most demanding post in his career so far.

　　The school is being set up by a registered charity based in the Netherlands called the "Foundation for Training Chinese Talent" (FTCT).

　　They have already launched an international school in Tianjin and after the success of that venture, it was decided that Shanghai was the next optimum location. The company has plans to expand with other projects throughout China in the future.

　　Adams first visited Shanghai six years ago and loved it. "It's everything I expected and more," he said. He's now been in the city for two years "off and on" and is amazed at the rate of development here.

　　Finding a career

　　He was born in the town of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and educated at Durham and Cambridge Universities, two of the most prominent and acclaimed educational establishments in England, and even internationally.

　　At the age of 43, Adams achieved his first head-teacher's post at Poole Grammar School in Dorset, England. He progressed further in his profession in Britain when he became a university lecturer and later, an examiner for the Edexcel examinations board.

　　"I've never been the type of person who really plans things. I deliberately wentsintosteaching" Adams said. But he never considered working internationally until he was seconded to the Anglia Polytechnic University to work in Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province, in 1998.

　　This diverse teaching background has equipped Adams with countless skills which he can effectively utilize in the Shanghai Rego International School.

　　The establishment will be located on Dongzha Road in the Minhang District and will follow Britain's academic curriculum, but with term dates adapted to fit in with both the British and Chinese calendars.

　　As any teacher knows, especially one with as much experience as Adams, launching any new school is an arduous task. But when that school is an international one, in a different country, the venture becomes ten times harder.

　　"The biggest challenge is trying to satisfy the international community," Adams said. The school will be teaching people from different backgrounds and often with different first languages.

　　Providing the highest standard of education to such a broad range of pupils is obviously a daunting task, but one that Hadyn Adams is ready to face head-on.

　　More than a teacher

　　On top of his teaching career, he is also an accomplished writer and contributed works to a poetry anthology entitled "It's The World That Makes The Love Go Round" which was published by Corgi in the late 1960s.

　　Since then, he has produced four small poetry collections, including one about China, which was published in 1999 and sold to raise money for charity.

　　"I still write and am trying to get a novel published," Adams said. But this avocation has got to take the back seat for now.

　　Playing the French horn is another favourite pastime, but when asked if he would be playing it for his students, Adams simply gave a coy little smile.

　　"I haven't got it here with me," he said. "But I might be involved in some musical activities."

　　He is keen to get involved in all aspects of the school and wants to encourage as many extra-curricular events as possible, which are known to stimulate social interaction amongst children.

　　The school will be well equipped with various facilities for these activities, such as the indoor swimming pool, which is currently under construction.

　　As the institution plans to follow the UK curriculum, the majority of students will be from that region. Nevertheless, there has also been much interest from European families and the school is open to all nationalities.

　　"The only conditions are that entrants must be foreign passport holders and, depending on their age, have a reasonable grasp of the English language."

　　The school will open with between 100 and 150 children, but will expand as it becomes more established. There will be a maximum of only 18 pupils per class, which should encourage close student-teacher relationships.

　　The principal, along with marketing manager, Ruth Feyaerts, sidestepped many staffing problems by initiating the applications process early, so that most Western teaching positions are now filled.

　　School for expats

　　A total of 29 Western teachers will be employed to focus on the UK curriculum as well as nine locals to integrate aspects of Chinese culturesintosthe school, including teaching Mandarin to each year group.

　　It hasn't been at all difficult finding teachers who want to move to Shanghai. They see the opportunity to live and work abroad as a huge step forward in their teaching careers and it opens up the chance to travel and even learn a new language.

　　But Adams stressed the importance of a thorough recruiting process. "You have to make sure people want to come for the right reasons and are prepared to work hard."

　　The cultural diversity often makes teaching abroad far more challenging and the children require extra support depending on their background.

　　They need help to overcome obstacles such as living in an unfamiliar country, following a different curriculum, or even studying in a foreign language.

　　A key department of the school will focus on languages, particularly Mandarin, which will be taught to all ages.

　　Adams unfortunately had to abandon his language studies when his last post in China came to an end. But he is keen to pick up the local language again now that he is living in Shanghai.

　　"Now I am back here, I intend to restart lessons once I get some time to spare from my current very, very busy duties." Adams said. "Meanwhile, I am trying to recall what I did learn and am listening hard to pick up a little more."