SPGS International School Chengdu
“The turnover rate at the school is roughly 1 teacher forced out per month.”
A commenter alleges long teaching days, extra academic activities, frequent forced departures and pressure to sign warning letters. They say such letters were used to threaten bonuses, references and visa-related consequences.
Reported topics: turnover · workload · unpaid overtime · termination · bonuses
3 other reports about this school
Additional Reddit accounts
Read Reddit source ↗ · [deleted] Reddit account
I know of 3-4 people that jumped ship early, and she let go of their entire leadership since I visited them last November. Keep your head down and keep quiet/be a 'yes man' to avoid her wrath.
Visitor and acquaintance account. A March 2026 reply says the head seems to have changed; this earlier allegation does not establish conditions under later management.
Read Reddit source ↗ · u/FirefighterOk6944
You will work from 8am (really 7am because you'll need to be printing/grading) until 6pm every day non-stop. Your lunch is always 20 minutes or less because of duties and mentoring. In the afternoon after 4pm you will have CDAs which translates to "classes that don't count as teaching hours but have all the trappings of same including homework grading".
These started as quaint after school activity clubs like model United Nations and have now metastasized into extra academic class hours you don't get paid for. They literally had H.R. announce to us at the daily morning meeting that they researched it and "this was legal" and they don't have to pay us overtime for this. So in addition to your 25 teaching hours minimum throw another 10 hours of classroom teaching onto the pyre and YES you will take attendance, track grades, homework and progress.
Fuller August comment from the reporter already quoted on this page. Hours and overtime treatment are allegations. The thread also contains a positive employee account and a June 2026 comment welcoming a new principal; neither establishes that this later complaint was resolved.
Comments
Workload can be a bit much (24 periods + a CCA + meetings + this and that) but the school has a very direct expectation and style they want from teachers (marking, styles, schedules). Meetings are repetitive but it just hammers home exactly what they want more and more. Money is good, location is GREAT! It's not a school where you stand around a water cooler commiserating, you come in, do you shit, and go home. I like it.
The only thing I would say could be a negative is the school is very much a well oiled machine so if you're super ambitious and want to move here and there, change a policy, implement something from your old school, you'll probably be disappointed. Administration is very solid and rigid.
Most teachers have been here a while and every one has their spot.
Like i said above it’s very structured. Admin is clear as day what they expect. Some people like it, others don’t, most are in between but there’s a LOT going on at all times. Parent meetings, college fairs, student council events, awards ceremonies, LOTS of focus on student advisement and reflection.
It very much feels like an actual school with clear goals for 5 years from now.
I dig it.
Just seen lots of readvertised vacancies from that school. I applied a job there, did an interview with HoS then I got ghosted for weeks. I followed up their HR they said they are still interviewing. Just seen recently the same job is being advertised again😂😂.
My hiring process was quite long. They had to phone call 3 references for verification.
Probably 3 months total, 4 interviews I think. Then the verification took a while
Most teachers have not "been there awhile" in fact exactly none of the foreign teachers currently employed were there 5 years prior when the school first opened. This is because the turnover rate is 30%+
I was actually searching for some info on another school and for some reason this thread came up in the search.
But just FYI for anyone who finds this thread in future, SPGS is getting a new whole-school principal, used to be the head of the high school at YK Pao. Great guy who looked out for the staff really well and was always fair, did a lot to reduce workload too.
Sounds like a lot of second or third hand info and some pretty vitriolic language.
Hello! Is this the current head? The head teacher seems to have changed now.
School or reporter?
Respond or request a correction.
Source
Reddit · u/FirefighterOk6944
detailed apparent first-person comment
Displayed Reddit post or comment date:
Original summary of the available public account, with a short saved quotation. The allegation has not been independently verified.
These are serious unverified allegations; no letters or personnel records are supplied.
Image: Aden Services ↗ (third-party service-provider article)
third-party service-provider article
Compiled by ExpatRights ·