The efforts of Noble and Greenough School, one of the best private schools in the US, to enter the Jeju market are in high gear.
Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) signed an MOU with Noble and Greenough School (Nobles) to establish an international school at the Jeju Global Education City. The signing of the agreement took place on the school's campus in Dedham, near Boston, USA, on April 8, 2011 (April 7, at 1:00 p.m. local time). This agreement is a follow-up to the discussions held in July 2010 between the two parties regarding a feasibility study to establish an affiliated school on Jeju Island.
Noble and Greenough School, founded in 1866, is a co-educational college preparatory school for students in grades 7 to 12. In terms of admission to the Ivy League in 2010, the private school ranked fourth by PrepReview.com, which provides rankings of top schools in the US. It was also ranked as the 18th best US prep school in 2010 by Forbes magazine.
Under the agreement, Nobles will take aggressive steps to establish a presence at the Jeju Global Education City. It will reportedly attract strong support from the school's board and stakeholders based on the results of the feasibility study.
The feasibility study will run into October. Nobles's board members and stakeholders are scheduled to visit Jeju in July. After the study, Nobles will have detailed discussions with JDC and sign a formal contract early next year - at the earliest - to establish and run an international school in Jeju.
Nobles appointed staff dedicated to the Jeju project in July 2010 and then submitted a letter of intent in November to JDC signaling its strong commitment to advance into Jeju.
The MOU signed with Nobles comes as NLCS Jeju, which will open in September, has drawn attention in Korea and abroad for its successful entry into Jeju. In this regard, it has significant implications.
If Nobles takes its place in Jeju, following NLCS Jeju and Branksome Hall Asia, which is on track to open in September 2012, Jeju will emerge as one of the best education cities, being home to premier private schools from three major English-speaking countries -the US, UK and Canada.
"The Jeju Global Education City is an educational hub of Northeast Asia and the best place for global education, situated in beautiful Jeju, which aims to turn itself into Jeju Free International City," said JDC Chairman Byon Jong-il during the MOU signing ceremony.
Meanwhile, interior and exterior construction for NLCS Jeju is well underway after the building's steel construction was completed this March. After construction is completed this July, there will be pilot testing. Preparations are going smoothly to open the school in September, such as student admissions and faculty recruitment. About 1,300 students have applied for 584 places in the school - even in the first year after foundation, drawing considerable attention to the Jeju Global Education City's greater potential.
