Incheon Speeds Up Efforts to Attract and Establish Prestigious British International Schools in Songdo and Yeongjongdo

Yeongjongdo international school "Wycombe Abbey" set to open in 2028 under new agreement
Incheon pushes to attract 450-year-old "Rugby School" to Songdo

Incheon City is accelerating efforts to attract and establish prestigious British international schools in Songdo and Yeongjongdo in order to create a global educational environment.

The city announced on the 25th that Mayor Yoo Jeongbok, who is visiting the United Kingdom, visited Wycombe Abbey and Rugby School and signed separate memorandums of understanding with each institution.

On the 24th (local time), Mayor Yoo visited Wycombe Abbey School, the preferred bidder for the international school in Midan City on Yeongjongdo, toured the school facilities, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for early opening with Peter Warren, chairman of the board.

Wycombe Abbey, a British private school with a 130-year history, was selected in March last year as the preferred bidder for the Midan City international school and is currently in working-level negotiations with the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on matters such as the scale of classroom buildings and ancillary facilities. Both sides plan to sign a project agreement in the first half of this year and push ahead with the establishment of the school with the goal of opening in the second half of 2028.

Wycombe Abbey ranked third in the 2022 league table of British private schools selected by The Sunday Times. A total of 93% of its graduates have gone on to universities ranked in the global top 100 by QS, and over the past 10 years, around 30% of graduates have been admitted to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Yoo Jeongbok, Mayor of Incheon, is posing for a commemorative photo after signing a memorandum of understanding with Warren Peter, chairman of Wycombe Abbey of the UK, the preferred bidder for the Yeongjongdo International School, on the 24th (local time). Photo by Incheon City

Incheon City is also actively working to attract the Songdo campus of Rugby School, a British institution founded in 1567.

On the same day, Mayor Yoo visited Rugby School, met with Nicholas Bacon, chairman of the board, and Gareth Parker Jones, headmaster, toured the campus, and signed a memorandum of understanding to attract an international school to Songdo. The agreement includes Rugby School’s commitment to establishing a Songdo campus and Incheon City’s pledge to review administrative support.

Rugby School is a prestigious private school known as the birthplace of rugby football, and counts among its alumni Lewis Carroll, author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," social critic Matthew Arnold, Sir Austen Chamberlain, who served as the 66th and 71st Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, and Neville Chamberlain, the 60th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Chairman Nicholas Bacon said, "I hope Rugby School will soon put down roots in Incheon, and that the excellent talents nurtured through our educational philosophy of gentlemanly spirit, academic achievement, and moral character will be able to contribute to Incheon and Korean society."

Mayor Yoo emphasized, "We will swiftly continue concrete discussions so that Rugby School’s educational philosophy can be realized in Incheon. Establishing prestigious international schools is essential for creating a global educational environment, and we will develop Incheon into the best global education city in Korea."