Education in Motion

What does Education in Motion own?

EiM owns and operates a portfolio of seven education brands: Dulwich College International (seven K-12 Colleges and two International High School Programmes in China, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand from August 2026), Dehong International Chinese Schools (three bilingual schools in China), Green School International (Bali, Indonesia), Sherfield School (Hampshire, UK), Hochalpines Institut Ftan AG (Switzerland), Ignite (outdoor residential programme), and Wo Hui Mandarin (Chinese-language learning platform). The group operates 15 schools across 6 countries with over 11,500 students from more than 70 nationalities. Each brand targets a distinct segment of the premium education market.

Is Education in Motion publicly traded?

No. EiM is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange. The company does not publish public financial reports or disclose annual revenue. In 2024, Hillhouse Investment, a Singapore-headquartered alternative investment manager, became a strategic financial backer. The financial terms of this arrangement were not publicly disclosed by EiM.

Who founded Education in Motion?

Fraser White and Karen Yung founded EiM's first school, Dulwich College International Shanghai, in 2003. White is a qualified lawyer who practiced in Asia for over 15 years, including as managing partner of Clifford Chance's Vietnam and Shanghai offices. He serves as Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. The couple started the school because they could not find a suitable education option for their three children in Shanghai.

Where is Education in Motion headquartered?

EiM maintains head offices in Singapore and Shanghai. The Singapore office is located at 101 Thomson Road, United Square, #19-01/05, Singapore 307591. The Shanghai office is at Plaza 66, No. 1266 West Nanjing Road, 11F Office Tower 2, Shanghai 200040. The corporate team of approximately 80 employees is distributed across 11 countries.

How many brands does Education in Motion own?

EiM owns seven education brands: Dulwich College International, Dehong International Chinese Schools, Green School International, Sherfield School, Hochalpines Institut Ftan AG, Ignite, and Wo Hui Mandarin. These brands operate 15 schools across 6 countries. The group's brandSlugs on this site include Sherfield School, which has a dedicated brand page.

Who owns Education in Motion?

EiM is a privately held company. Fraser White, the founder, serves as Chairman and CEO. In 2024, Hillhouse Investment became the primary financial backer, replacing earlier investors including Chinese private equity firm CPE. The exact ownership percentages and structure are not publicly disclosed. EiM has described Hillhouse as one of "a group of long-term-oriented, Asia-based global investors" backing the group.

Has Education in Motion made major acquisitions recently?

In August 2023, EiM acquired Sherfield School in Hampshire, UK, from GEMS Bellevue, a subsidiary of GEMS Education. This marked the group's first school in the United Kingdom. In May 2021, EiM assumed management of Green School International in Bali. The most significant transaction was the 2024 Hillhouse Investment deal, reported at approximately $600 million, which involved a change in the group's financial backing structure.

What is Education in Motion's approach to AI in education?

In January 2026, EiM launched a group-wide AI in education initiative led by Chief Innovation Officer Crispian Farrow, in partnership with Professor Rose Luckin of University College London and her consultancy Educate Ventures Research. The programme aims to develop a scalable AI framework, a research-based AI playbook for teachers, and an age-differentiated curriculum for AI literacy. The Education Advisory Board held its inaugural AI-focused summit in Singapore in April 2026.

In 2003, Fraser White and Karen Yung, parents of three children living in Shanghai, could not find a school that met their expectations for holistic education. White, a qualified lawyer who had practiced in Asia for over 15 years, had served as managing partner of Clifford Chance's Vietnam offices (1993-1996) and Shanghai office (1996-2000), and as counsel to the US law firm Altheimer and Gray. During his legal career, he advised several education institutions and investors on establishment and operations in China, acquiring deep knowledge of the Chinese education system.

White partnered with Dulwich College, one of the UK's oldest independent schools (founded in London in 1619), to establish the first Dulwich College International school in Shanghai in 2003. The school opened with approximately 40 students. This campus became the foundation of what would grow into the EiM group.

The expansion model was straightforward: replicate the Dulwich College International brand across major Asian cities with significant expatriate populations. Dulwich College Beijing opened in 2005, followed by Suzhou in 2007. Each school was built as a premium British-curriculum institution serving both expatriate families and affluent local families seeking international education.

Over the following decade, the group expanded its geographic footprint. Dulwich College Seoul opened in 2010, and Dulwich College Singapore followed in 2014. The Singapore campus, located on a 36-hectare site, became one of the largest international schools in the country. By 2016, the group also operated Dulwich International High School Programmes in China, offering A-level and international curricula to Chinese students preparing for overseas university study.

In 2016, the group launched Wo Hui Mandarin, a Chinese-language learning and teaching platform designed to support Mandarin acquisition across its schools and externally. This was the group's first non-school brand.

The next major brand expansion came in 2019 with the launch of Dehong International Chinese Schools. These bilingual schools, designed for Chinese nationals, offered a curriculum combining Chinese national requirements with international educational approaches. Dehong schools opened in Shanghai, Beijing, and Xi'an, targeting a different market segment from the expatriate-focused Dulwich College International schools.

In May 2021, EiM assumed management of Green School International in Bali, Indonesia. Founded in 2008 by John and Cynthia Hardy, Green School Bali was known for its bamboo campus and sustainability-focused curriculum. The partnership brought Green School under EiM's operational umbrella while the Hardys remained involved as ambassadors. This acquisition added Indonesia as the group's fifth country of operation and introduced a distinct educational philosophy to the portfolio.

The group formally rebranded as Education in Motion in 2021, consolidating its various school brands under a single corporate identity. The name reflected the group's ambition to be more than a school operator: a multi-brand education company with shared values and cross-brand innovation.

In August 2023, EiM acquired Sherfield School in Hampshire, United Kingdom, from GEMS Bellevue, a subsidiary of GEMS Education. The acquisition was completed on 31 August 2023, with Education in Motion UK Limited registered as the person with significant control at Companies House. This marked EiM's first school in the UK and its sixth country of operation. Sherfield School is a co-educational day and boarding school for students aged 3 months to 18 years.

The group also added Hochalpines Institut Ftan AG (HIF), a boarding school in Switzerland, and Ignite, an outdoors-based overseas residential programme, to its portfolio. These additions expanded the brand range from traditional British-curriculum schools to experiential and outdoor education.

In 2024, EiM faced significant changes in its ownership structure. Chinese private equity firm CPE, which had been a shareholder in EiM, was exiting its position as its fund commitment period ended. At the same time, China's education sector faced growing regulatory pressure. A new "patriotic" education law and restrictions on private education had led to the closure of several international schools, including Dulwich College International's preschool in Shenzhen. Foreign student numbers in China were declining.

In August 2024, Hillhouse Investment, a Singapore-headquartered alternative investment manager founded by Zhang Lei, reached an agreement to acquire Dulwich College International schools in Asia from EiM in a deal valued at approximately $600 million. EiM described Hillhouse as one of "a group of long-term-oriented, Asia-based global investors" backing the education group. Fraser White remained as Founder, Chairman, and CEO. The financial terms were not publicly disclosed by EiM.

In May 2024, EiM announced a partnership with Thai developer Sakol Sathapat to establish Dulwich College Bangkok. The school is scheduled to open in August 2026, initially accommodating up to 1,000 students aged 3 to 11 in Early Years and Junior School. The campus is designed to achieve LEED Gold and WELL Gold certifications. Bangkok will become the group's seventh country of operation and its first campus in Thailand.

In September 2025, EiM launched its Education Advisory Board, co-chaired by Lesley Meyer, Chief Education Officer of EiM, and Richard Levin, former President of Yale University (1993-2013) and former CEO of Coursera. Board members include Professor Rose Luckin of University College London, David Leebron (former President of Rice University), Andrew Hamilton (former Vice Chancellor of Oxford and former President of NYU), and Doris Sohmen-Pao (former trustee of Princeton University). The Board held its inaugural summit in Singapore on 27-28 April 2026, focused on AI in education.

In January 2026, EiM announced a group-wide AI in education initiative led by Chief Innovation Officer Crispian Farrow, in partnership with Professor Rose Luckin's consultancy Educate Ventures Research. The programme aims to develop a scalable AI framework, a research-based AI playbook for teachers, and an age-differentiated curriculum for AI literacy across all EiM schools.

In May 2026, EiM and the Royal Shakespeare Company won the Cultural Partnership of the Year award at the inaugural UK-China Business Awards, recognising a decade-long partnership that brings Shakespeare education to over 2,000 students, teachers, and parents annually across EiM schools in China, Singapore, and Seoul.

EiM has published annual ESG reports since the 2020-2021 academic year, making it one of the few pre-tertiary education groups with systematic sustainability reporting. The group's ESG framework is organised around four pillars: Learning, Planet, People, and Policy. These reports are first-party documents and have not been independently audited.

The group's most notable sustainability achievement is The Greenhouse at Dulwich College Singapore, which became the first and only K-12 international school building in Singapore to achieve Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy certification from the Building and Construction Authority in May 2023. The building uses building-integrated photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting systems.

At Green School Bali, "The Arc" structure won the 2022 Institution of Structural Engineers Supreme Award for Structural Excellence, recognised for advancing the structural application of low-carbon materials. The campus is built primarily from bamboo and uses renewable energy including solar and micro-hydro power.

EiM implements a group-wide method for measuring its carbon footprint. The group acknowledges that post-COVID, its overall carbon footprint increased due to campus reactivation, but reports improved understanding of its carbon roadmap. The group has not publicly committed to a net-zero target date or Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation.

The group introduced School Progress Indicator Reports at individual schools, complementing the group-level ESG report. These reports allow school communities to track progress against sustainability targets. EiM is not a certified B Corporation, and none of its brands carry independent sustainability certifications beyond the building-level certifications noted above.

Dulwich College Bangkok, opening in August 2026, is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification for green building design and WELL Gold certification for health and well-being. If achieved, it would be Thailand's first international school with both certifications.

EiM and its schools have received several independent awards and recognitions:

In May 2026, EiM and the Royal Shakespeare Company won the Cultural Partnership of the Year award at the inaugural UK-China Business Awards in London. The award recognised a decade-long partnership that brings Shakespeare education to over 2,000 students, teachers, and parents annually across EiM schools in China, Singapore, and Seoul.

The Greenhouse at Dulwich College Singapore received Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy certification from Singapore's Building and Construction Authority in May 2023, the first K-12 international school building in the country to achieve this standard.

The Arc at Green School Bali won the 2022 Institution of Structural Engineers Supreme Award for Structural Excellence, recognised for its innovative use of low-carbon bamboo structural materials.

In 2022, three EiM schools were shortlisted as finalists across four categories at the China Schools Awards: Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi (Diversity and Inclusion Award, Staff Development and Wellbeing Award), Dulwich College Suzhou (Pastoral Care Award), and Dehong Beijing International Chinese School (Students for Sustainability Award).

Dulwich College International schools have ranked top in the China IB League for four consecutive years as of 2025.

EiM has faced significant regulatory challenges in China, its largest market. In 2021, the Chinese government introduced the Implementation Regulations of the Private Education Promotion Law, tightening restrictions on private and international education. A new "patriotic" education law, effective from 2024, increased pressure on international schools to incorporate national security and patriotism content into curricula. These regulations contributed to the closure of several international schools across China, including Dulwich College International's preschool in Shenzhen.

The regulatory environment, combined with a slowing Chinese economy and declining foreign student numbers, was a contributing factor in EiM's 2024 decision to bring in Hillhouse Investment as a financial partner. Reuters reported in November 2023 that shareholders of Dulwich College International were in talks for a sale, citing the turmoil in China's $570 billion education industry. Fraser White stated that the group's original investors had committed funds for a fixed period, and that period was ending.

The reported $600 million deal with Hillhouse drew attention from financial press. Bloomberg reported that Hillhouse was seeking a loan of approximately $250 million from a consortium of banks to finance the acquisition. EiM declined to disclose the financial terms publicly.

Green School Bali has faced criticism over its high tuition fees, with annual costs exceeding $20,000 for upper year students. Some commentators have questioned whether a school promoting sustainability and simplicity is compatible with premium pricing. The school's supporters argue that its educational model and environmental impact justify the cost.

The 2024 Hillhouse transaction itself raised questions about the future of EiM's China operations under foreign investment ownership, though Hillhouse is headquartered in Singapore and its founder Zhang Lei was born in China, which may ease regulatory concerns.