Boarding
Please note all school rules apply to our boarding programme. There is no distinction between being a boarder or being a day student in our school. All school rules, norms, routines apply equally whether during the school day or evening or weekend.
Boarding at Alleyn House
Dulwich International High School Programme, Suzhou (DHSZ) operates its own boarding facility on campus, Alleyn House, which accommodates up to 254 boarders. Alleyn House is within walking distance of the school and follows all the policies, procedures and standards set by DHSZ, and every member of boarding staff is expected to maintain the highest standards of safety, welfare and support for the students in their care. DHSZ was recognised as Best International Boarding School in East Asia (2024/25) at the ABSA International School of the Year Awards, and was the first school in the region to receive international boarding accreditation. In 2025/26 the DHSZ boarding programme was also a finalist for the International School of the Year, by the Boarding School Association (BSA).
Weekly and termly boarders
Priority for a place at Alleyn House is given to termly students, and to Year 12 and Year 13 students. The house offers single, double and quad rooms, and remains open at weekends, except during designated school holidays.
Weekly boarders live in Alleyn House from Sunday night to Friday afternoon and wear yellow and blue lanyards. Termly boarders usually live outside the Suzhou area and return home during school holidays and extended weekends where possible. They wear pink lanyards.
Leave from boarding
Year 10 boarding students may not leave boarding during the week, except for emergencies, pre-arranged sporting activities, or family commitments. Any leave between 3.40 pm and 7.50 am requires parents to submit a request by email to the official boarding email account.
Year 11, IG1, Year 12 and Year 13 boarders may request leave for academic tutoring. This request must be submitted electronically by 9 pm on the Sunday before, and confirmed by a parental email. Requests received after this deadline, or without parental confirmation, will not be approved. Boarding staff reserve the right to withdraw this privilege if mid-week leave is misused.
Termly boarders may leave campus without submitting an individual leave form after school on Fridays, and after 10.00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, provided parents have given general consent at the start of each term. If a termly boarder wishes to leave campus for classes or activities during the weekend, parents and the duty Assistant House Parent must approve a specific leave request in advance.
In all cases, leave depends on parental approval, and late return to boarding may affect approval of future leave requests.
Communication between staff and students
Microsoft Teams is the primary channel for communication between boarding staff and students. A WeChat group may also be used for boarding activities such as weekend excursions, and any such group is deleted within 24 hours. Boarding staff are not permitted to accept friend requests from students on WeChat or any other social media platform, and all individual communication with students takes place through Microsoft Teams. When staff and students meet in person, this takes place in clearly visible areas, ideally covered by CCTV. Communication with parents by email is our preferred mode of contact.
Accommodation and facilities
Alleyn House offers single, double and quad rooms, with premium ensuite options for weekly and termly boarders. Rooms are equipped with bedding, storage, study desks and power adaptors, and are cleaned daily. Each floor has a shared common room, and the house includes collaborative study areas, a pool table, a movie room and reliable Wi-Fi, alongside up to three supervised academic prep sessions each evening.
Boarding students also have access to boarding facilities and, at designated times, to extended facilities in the teaching wing, including the gym, dance studio, lecture theatre, swimming pool and outdoor sports areas. Students using these facilities are supervised by boarding staff, and are accompanied back to the main teaching building or Alleyn House at the end of any activity outside the DHSZ boundary wall.
Wellbeing and pastoral life
Boarding life at DHSZ is built around five pillars: Communication, Collaboration, Trust, Contribution and Gratitude. These underpin a weekly programme of wellbeing activities and weekend events, alongside leadership and service opportunities, and are supported by wellness staff and catering on site.
Further information
Further detail on boarding procedures is available in the Student Boarding Handbook, which is updated annually. Please find the handbook below: