The TES Story

Why does Taipei European School exist? The answer is a desire to help and a love for students.

A Few Words from Dr. C.V. Chen - Chairman of the Board of Directors

Looking back, I am so proud of how the school has developed. Joining TES in 1994 as Chair of the European Schools Foundation, I have seen the school's campuses in WenLin Road and Yang Ming Shan flourish and grow into a unique and friendly environment for students from fifty different countries worldwide. Due to the inspiring dedication of the administration and school community, and with help from the local TienMu and Taipei governments, TES completed its primary campus in 2007 offering fantastic educational and sports facilities. In 2020, a new building, at our secondary campus, was completed to further enhance the educational opportunities for our students.

Taipei European School is one of a kind, being the first school to have French, German and British curricula running parallel and intertwining. Being situated in Taiwan, TES allows students to also experience and embrace a culture and history outside of Europe, truly enabling them to think globally. TES is a model for the future and a great representation of the importance of common values and collaboration in a diverse international world.

The Story of Love

If people ask you:

What is the Taipei European School made of?

Where did the TES campuses come from?

How did all of this come about?

The answer is simply: "Love".

The Beginnings

Many, many years ago, the students of the Taipei British School (TBS), Ecole Francaise de Taipei (EFT) and Deutsche Schule Taipei (DST) did not have a campus of their own, moving from location to location. Then in 1992, when TBS raised NT$200,000 as part of a fund-raising activity launched by the Taiwan Red Cross Society for the benefit of mentally-challenged children called "讓愛穿透障礙" (Let Love Overcome Obstacles), Dr. C. V. Chen (陳長文) – Managing Partner of Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law, law professor and the then Deputy President of the Red Cross Society – was invited to the school by a volunteer parent of TBS, Mrs. Chooi Chooi Siew, to receive the donation and speak to the children about the "Red Cross Movement".

It took place at the Chien Tan Youth Activity Center where TBS was “leasing” several classrooms. Dr. Chen was shocked to observe that due to the lack of school facilities, the children could only listen to his speech sitting on the floor in the hallway, all crowded together. Even worse, Dr. Chen learned that TBS had yet to be relocated due to the expiry of the lease agreement. It was then that Dr. Chen, out of the same love and care that TBS had shown to the mentally-challenged children, offered to help.

A Secure, Shared Home

With the assistance of his friends in the government, Dr. Chen began on an important mission to find 'a better home' for the children. Dr. Chen first enlisted the help of Mr. John Chang (then Deputy Foreign Minister) and, in just a few months, the former campus of Taipei American School was secured as a location for the schools.

The 'Three Schools' for the first time began to share a single yet complete campus at Wen Lin Road (now Fu Guo Road), the site adjacent to where the Primary Campus is built. When, as previously agreed, the government requested the return of the old campus of Taipei American School in 1993, Dr. Chen approached Mr. Vincent Siew for assistance. Mr. Siew (then Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development of the Cabinet) did not hesitate to locate the Yang Ming Shan location (the exact site where the Swire European Secondary Campus is located), which was made available to the 'Three Schools' free of rent (or at a symbolic low rent).

Three Become One

In 1994, the Taipei European Schools Foundation was established with a donation from the Swire Group, and Dr. Chen was invited to be the Chairman of the Foundation. Shortly thereafter, the Foundation formally signed the lease for the YMS land, and the 'Three Schools' began to construct their campus facilities

In 2003, the 'Three Schools' were integrated into one and renamed the Taipei European School (TES). As a concerned citizen of the ROC on Taiwan, Dr. Chen felt proud that finally, his country had appropriately accommodated these expatriate children in Taiwan by furnishing a secure environment conducive to providing a multicultural education with the goal of fostering common values of freedom, harmony and solidarity – a place the students could call 'home'.

TES Flourishing

It is a great blessing that TES has continued to flourish and as said, receive the support and relentless assistance of the Taiwan government, private enterprises, and the Board of Directors, the Board of Governors, the faculty and staff (under the able leadership of MrJohn Nixon MBE) and parents of TES, among others. For Dr. Chen, who has always believed in the power of love and care as key elements of a meaningful education, TES's success is a reminder to us all that 'Virtue is Its Own Reward'. After all, although it was the Red Cross's Project of Love that revealed the difficulties of the 'Three Schools', the dream of the Swire campuses becoming a reality was a bounty springing from the legacy of love that TES created so many years ago.

In This Section

The TES Story

A Few Words from Dr. C.V. Chen - Chairman of the Board of Directors

The Story of Love

The Beginnings

A Secure, Shared Home

Three Become One

TES Flourishing

TES 30th Anniversary Europe Day Celebration - May 2022

About

Dr. C.V. Chen - Chairman of Board of Directors

Phase 3 Grand Opening Ceremony

Primary Campus Opening Ceremony

Primary Campus Opening Ceremony

Ex-UK PM Visit - Margaret Thatcher