Principal Xu Yongchu heads Shanghai’s only girl’s high school, which  encourages girls to be independent, speak their minds and pursue personal happiness, not material wealth and other people’s ideas of success.

The progressive curriculum at Shanghai’s No. 3 Girls’ High School is known as “IACE,” which stands for “independence, ability, caring and elegance.” In this case, “elegance” sums up a raft of personal female excellence.

In place for 10 years, it also emphasizes self-expression, creativity and imagination that are often stifled in young women.

Around 960 girls aged 16 to 18 attend in the school in Changning District.

Traditionally Chinese women and girls are supposed to be modest, reserved, deferential, obedient, gentle and quiet ­— definitely not assertive.

“We’ve noticed that girls don’t like asking questions and frequently hold back because they are afraid of being wrong. They are very concerned about other’s opinions and what others think of them,” said Xu, who has been principal since 2002. In 1998 she became vice principal. She also taught chemistry at a coed high school for 15 years.

To encourage the girls to be more proactive in class, Xu asked teachers to lower the difficulty of questions and gradually increase their difficulty to help girls feel more self-confident and willing to speak up. She urges teachers to pay attention to girls’ intellectual progress and not suddenly spring tough questions.

In a compulsory drama course girls are encouraged to express themselves on stage and later write and produce their own plays. The class emphasizes individual performance, creativity and teamwork. “At first they didn’t know what to do on stage. Some girls even wept when asked to use their body language to depict how a seed becomes a tree,” Xu said.

One of girls’ early advantages over boys is language expression. “However, girls dare not talk about their thinking because they listen too much to parents and teachers. So we put them in a theater, a virtual environment where they can play whatever role they want to express themselves.”

Many girls have lost imagination and initiative in the test-oriented education system that demands right answers, she observed.

“The biggest difference between this girls’ school and a mixed-gender school is that here girls are taught to develop themselves and pursue happiness and satisfaction in life, rather than ‘success’ in terms of position or wealth,” Xu said.

The school’s predecessors were St Mary’s Hall and the Methodist Girls’ High School set up by American missionaries 120 years ago. Only wealthy families could afford the tuition. Many prominent graduates include the Soong Sisters, novelist Zhang Ailing and organic chemist Huang Liang.

In 1952, the two schools merged into Shanghai No. 3 Girls’ High School. It recruited boys in the “cultural revolution” (1966-76) since the girls school was considered a capitalist remnant because of its privileged enrollment, and a vestige of Western superstition because of its religious roots.

In 1981, it again became a girls’  school and a research “laboratory” for effective girls’ education.

In addition to theater, required courses include electric piano, aerobics, psychology and a class on how to study sciences, such as physics and chemistry. The school has a science lab, a music classroom and a room for driving simulation to help girls learn to drive cars. The electric piano course gives girls a chance to play pop music.

It’s the theater course that provides the biggest challenge. “But they need to take that step, to try new things, and learn to think outside of their fixed way of thinking,” the principal said.

It’s now popular. Students write and rehearse, some acting, others directing and handling lights, music and props. Putting on a play is an exercise in teamwork.

Many performances are quite insightful. A teacher assigned the performance topic of “exam” or test. Girls then performed classroom test-taking, a physical exam and doctor-patient dispute, and an extra-marital affair that poses a test for husband, wife and mistress. They also staged the offer of a bribe to an official, which represented a test about temptation, duty and corruption.

“In their eyes, all these situations are variations of exams for humanity. I was happy to see the girls caring about social problems and using knowledge flexibly,” Xu said.

Many alumni have come from privileged families but devoted themselves to the Chinese revolution and nation building, the principal said. “They always had a positive attitude and dreams, despite hardship and suffering — we should learn from their spirit,” she said.

Xu said the school “can provide a ladder for girls to climb from the sensitive side to the rational side to help them realize their dreams.”

Of all the schools’ goals — independence, ability, caring and elegance — being truly elegant is the most difficult, the principal said.

“Elegance” is a popular word in China, usually meaning stylish and refined. Here it refers to attitude, moral integrity, generosity, refinement in manner, and the appreciation of beauty (not just physical beauty).

Despite a widespread perception that girls are chatty and say nasty things behind others’ backs, Xu says there’s much less tension and conflict in a girls-only school than a coed school.

One problem with the program is lack of contact with boys, Xu said.

“In the West, girls’ and boys’ schools are often close together. They can have very different curriculums to bring out the best in each gender, but they always share activities so girls and boys can communicate,” she said.

She said it’s unfortunate that girls’ junior and senior high schools were separated in 2000. Behavior and outlooks are shaped early, she said, and by the time girls are in high school, it’s harder to break old patterns and change attitudes about independence and self expression, and the ability to be creative.

Xu is a member of the executive committee of the Shanghai Women’s Federation, which oversees women’s and children’s issues.