The first teachers of BNDS were selected from the land, air and naval forces, who were armed with both knowledge and a strong sense of responsibility. Yueqin, Senior Colonel of Red Army, became the principal at the time when economic development of New China was in initial stages and teachers and students were leading a hard life. Principal Lin loved students and cared for teachers. When she went to work, she always carried a basket with hometown snacks made by herself, which were prepared for teachers who didn't have time for breakfast and children of martyrs who were in need of nutrition.

The pioneer revolutionaries deeply cared for the school. Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Ye Jianying, Luo Ronghuan and other generals often visited the school for inspection and guidance. Children lived happily and grew up healthily in school. Zhu De and Kang Keqing once played the game of throwing handkerchiefs with students. Their friendly and easygoing demeanor was unforgettable.

Li Jiangxing was the first student in BNDS to go abroad. On behalf of children in Beijing, he went to Bulgaria to participate in the international summer camp, and had activities and exchanges with children from countries around the world. He enhanced his friendship with foreign peers, realized the joy of "flowers of friendship blooming everywhere" and got a taste of European customs.

For children's healthy and happy growth, teachers took on the important responsibility of caring students in the boarding management featured by militarization. For many years, teachers were giving their students motherly love, bathing them, tucking their quilts and drying their mattresses … Many students spent more time with their teachers than with their mothers, and teachers were like mothers, even better than mothers.

A boy who was naughty or even bullied girls was punished by the head teacher, his punishment was to dance with a girl at a gathering party. The boy won praise and self-esteem by the special punishment. He even found his artistic potential, and embarked on the road of obeying the rules and disciplines and loving art. A "punishment" changed his life.

Many students' parents were PLA generals who had commanded thousands of soldiers. However, they were humble and showed great respect for teachers in BNDS. They often came to school for cooperating with teachers to educate students, helping with some labor, or telling revolutionary stories. They were often seated in small benches for students in a lighted spirit.

Liu Tiancheng was a "trouble" student who had strong self-esteem and “united” boys to disturb teachers. After Liu Tiancheng gaining some progress, in order to encourage him, the school specially held a special ceremony for him joining the Young Communist League in the large auditorium that can accommodate a thousand people. He was shocked, exhilarated and full of hope. Later on, his experience inspired more “trouble” students to discipline themselves and join the League.

General Zhu De often visited BNDS and teachers’ homes many times, caring about their lives. During an inspection, he found that a teacher was wearing thin shoes in winter. The next day, a staff was sent to give the teacher a pair of cotton-padded military shoes. It was a pair of ordinary shoes, but gave special warmth.

A teacher was complained by the students because of his on-the-job training and reduced energy in class. The teacher studied the needs of the students in time, visited each home one by one, and moved the students and parents with his sincere feelings. By displaying wisdom and virtue, the crisis was reversed and a deep relationship was established between the teacher and students... Later, this class became a model class.

During difficult times, theft occurred in school cafeteria, which alerted the Military Commission and the General Political Security Department. The truth of the incident is that the students stole steamed buns at midnight because of hunger. The school did not simply punish the students for stealing. Instead, taking into account that students were in need of nutrition, BNDS tried each possible means to make the students as full as possible. This way of handling, after many years, still makes students excited.

BNDS never gives up on a single student, even the most rebellious one, who enraged the teacher into tears, bit off a monkey's paw and left many teachers powerless. Mr. Wei Zhaolin has communicated with his parents many times to formulate incentive education measures by making contact manuals and small award certificates. A special reward for chasing the horse-drawn artillery cart changed the student. He was no longer a concern for the teachers and became a good student.

In order to arouse students’ interest, the school has established a number of extracurricular study groups. In 1963, the first "radio technology team" was established. During the training, the students overcame a variety of difficulties and achieved remarkable results. Several students won the title of junior athlete in the assessment of the Beijing Radio Club. One student was hired by China Civil Aviation for his expertise.

Giving praise and encouragement has been a good tradition of BNDS. Students' small progress was praised sincerely by teachers, and solemn recognition could inspire students for a lifetime. The simple certificates of merit contained the expectations and love of teachers, and students preserved them like a treasure. These items accompanied the owner for nearly half a century.

Meng Chuan modeled himself not only after Lei Feng, but also Lei Gang, a model student of BNDS for learning from Lei Feng and doing good deeds. Meng Chuan observed, imitated and learned from Leigang, and grew from a backward to a model student. He led a group to perform well in the activity honoring Lei Feng and became a role model for the entire school.

Thanks to the foundation accumulated by years of education and the deep affection established between teachers and students, BNDS teachers supported students and successfully protected the school property, cadres and teachers during the unsettled year.

For many years, BNDS was investing the clinic with as many human and material resources as possible to serve the health of students. For example, the clinic was equipped with more than 50 beds and sofas that were rare at that time. The school sent the sleeping car that Marshal Luo Ronghuan gave to the school to the clinic specially for sending students to hospital.

It was the first time that BNDS had enrolled the children of workers and peasants. Teachers lined up to welcome students into the school. The school grew from a few hundred people to more than 3,000 people, and at the same time the school maintained good teaching order and atmosphere. 

When students went to Wangzuo Township, Fengtai District to participate in labor, the weather was scorching. It was the time when the tempting apricots went ripe. Although students were hungry and thirsty, they didn’t pick a single apricot. Everyone obeyed the rules, which moved the villagers. The local leaders sent two baskets of apricots for students, but the students politely declined.

BNDS launched an ink factory, and all the ink used at school was manufactured by teachers and students themselves. In 1970, a school-run factory was established, with 7,000 teachers and students working in the factory, and more than 40,000 sets of eight teaching instruments were produced and sold to 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

BNDS launched military training activities that embody the spirit of the times. During the severe winter, students camped in Haidian, Changping, Yanqing and other places, and marched in the wild for 24 consecutive days, with a journey of more than 800 miles. During the long journey, students cared for each other, encouraged each other, worked hard and had fun along the way, which in return exercised their will and enhanced their friendship.

During this period, BNDS still strengthened the teaching and educating management, especially emphasizing on foreign language teaching, which enabled students to lay a good foundation for English. After the resumption of Gaokao, a number of BNDS students were successfully admitted to universities. Because of their good foreign language foundation, many students were able to go abroad for further study.

BNDS built a art publicizing team where a large number of students were studying drama. The rehearsal and successful performance of the drama Red Women Soldiers remained unforgettable for many students. Many students later became the backbone of Beijing People’s Art Theatre, Comrade-In-Arm Art Troupe and China Coal Mine Art Troupe, for example, Cui Ning, Vice President of Beijing People’s Art Theatre.

BNDS teachers applied their talents to make teaching aids for mathematics, biology, foreign languages and other subjects by themselves. For example, Mr. Zhao Guangzhi manufactured cellos, violins and other musical instruments of high technical level by himself, which saved much funds and facilitated drama and art courses.

In the practical course of combining education and production, students at the rural branch school were eager to learn the use and maintenance of agricultural machinery. Everyone enjoyed the class.

In the activities of practical-skill courses, Mr. Tian Fengqi led the students to conduct independent experiments in the chemical workshop, turning waste into treasure. For example, he and his students reprocessed the residue of wine production to produce potassium and sodium tartrate. In the experimental teaching courses, he creatively demonstrated the magic of technology turning waste into treasure for students.

The rural branch school is located in Yongfeng Commune, a rural area on the outskirts of Beijing, far away from the urban area. Teachers and students were learning there and applying the knowledge in the work. They transported fertilizer, planted seeds, harvested; made bricks, and built houses. All students went home once a month. Even though the round-trip distance was 110 kilometers, all students have honed their will and enjoyed it.

For the first time, the school tried to start 4 reforming classes in the junior high school: Fang Fang (a famous financial expert), Ju Ping (a famous program host), Miao Jie (an outstanding teacher in BNDS), and Wang Chunyan (an outstanding teacher in BNDS) joined the program. This program created a relaxed learning environment for students, focused on the development of students' specialties, and emphasized the cultivation of hands-on practical ability. The experimental results are gratifying. Six years later, after, all students were admitted to the universities through the university entrance examination.

The sincere relationship between teachers and students will be there forever. No matter where students go, they were always concerned by their teachers (Mr. Liu Xiuying). On the battlefield of counterattack, students received passionate letters from their teachers. Students were moved and inspired, which was like a scene described in a poem "in the beacon fire, a family letter is worth 10,000 gold".

Du Qiang was a student at BNDS. After he entered BNDS, he had always insisted on his ideal - to be a mathematician. He studied and practiced for his dream with great concentration. He was good at independent learning and self-encouragement. In 1980, 14-year-old Du Qiang was admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China, majoring in mathematics. Now he is the chief scientist of "Large-scale Scientific Computing Research" in the Main National Basic Research Development Project.

Yang Heling, a top-level teacher, condensed his educational practice and summed up the "three transformations" necessary for the development of teachers: morally, transforming from "making a living" to "dedication"; intellectually, transforming from “knowledge-oriented” to “wisdom-oriented”; in teaching method, transforming from "artisan-type" to "research-oriented".

Sceneries at a school can reflect the norms of school management. In BNDS, thousands of bicycles were placed, and everyone kept their bicycles to the regulations, creating a unique and beautiful landscape in BNDS. "Beijing Daily" once reported on the "special scenic spots".

The amiable teacher Wang Guixian devoted herself to cultivating students' love of art. Her class was like the moisture of spring wind and rain, which encouraged all students to like and appreciate music. She buried the seeds of music in students’ hearts and waited for the flowers to bloom patiently.

Teachers at BNDS diligently pursue a career and keep improving in class. Many teachers are not satisfied with the present teaching skills and continue to innovate and improve. Teacher Zheng Ling is an excellent representative among teachers. He had studied physics teaching assiduously for four years to create a perfect class.

In the era of rapid social development, to improve the quality of school teaching and administration, BNDS started a program with the University of Science and Technology of China to provide trainings for teachers. This was a new attempt and a breakthrough.

The school invited four top chemistry experts to guide teaching work and students’ study. With the assistance, teachers and students improved rapidly in science subjects. In the 1986 Beijing Teaching Achievement Exhibition, the teaching instruments and video clips made by two teachers from BNDS won awards. In the same year, the students achieved excellent results in the chemistry competition, and one of them won the first prize in the national chemistry competition.

Under the guidance of Professor Lu Zhongheng from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, BNDS started a research program named "mathematics self-study tutoring and teaching" in several classes in junior high school and achieved impressive results. Students’ academic performance, self-learning ability, and creative thinking ability in the class were better than those in the parallel class. Teachers from all over the country came to study and learn the new teaching method.

With the support of the school's party, the school has successfully implemented the principal responsibility system, the personnel employment system, and the structural wage system. To avoid corruption, the school established the teacher’s congress to vote for the principal. If the voting rate is less than 50%, the principal and his team must resign immediately. This democratic evaluation supervises the school’s administration system, which is ahead of the times.

To improve teaching quality and teachers’ professional skills, BNDS seized the opportunity and recruited many graduates from top universities such as Beijing Normal University. Since then, Beijing Normal University, graduates from Northeast Normal University, Peking University, and Tsinghua University have joined the teaching team of BNDS.

On Teachers' Day in 1990, in the Great Hall of the People, Principal Li Jinchu, as a representative of the advanced collective of moral education in Beijing, made a speech at the conference on how to improve moral education and management at the school. He introduced the achievement of moral education at BNDS, such as self-discipline, caring for public property, awareness of rules, and being polite anytime. This speech had been appreciated in the meeting.

The school conducted a research project on the integration of modern educational technology and curriculum by using audio-visual methods for computer-aided teaching. Many teachers wrote their software programs to improve their teaching efficiency. During the period, the Central Audio-visual Education Museum and other organizations had come to BNDS to record a series of audio-visual films for teaching.

In China, BNDS was the first school to put forward the idea of "five autonomy" in administration: raising daily school fund, enrolling student, recruiting teachers, distributing salaries, and applying education and teaching reform autonomously. In 1995, the school officially operated the state-owned and privately-run model, pioneering the reform of the state-owned public school system.

To solve the disadvantages of traditional education such as unicity, enclosed system, and conservation, BNDS set up the first "comprehensive practical class" in the country. Through experience and practical activity, students constructed self-values and meanings, enhanced problem-solving abilities, strengthened teamwork services and promoted all-around development. This achievement won the Outstanding Teaching and Research Achievement Award during the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" period in Beijing.

Because of the drawbacks of students studying in one fixed class, BNDS tried out “stratified teaching" and implemented the optional class-taking system. In the system, "there are choices, but no eliminations". For the first time, students owned the right to choose courses. Due to "providing differentiated education for children with differences", all students had been well developed. Because of the excellent teaching results, BNDS won the Hu Chunan Teaching Award.

The Youth League branch of BNDS conducts a voluntary activity. Every year, the Youth League Branch of G10 would take the responsibility of taking care of a lonely elderly in Shawo. They visited the lady once a week, chatting with her and helping clean the house and prepare firewood, rice, oil, and salt...The students benefited a lot during the ten years of visit.

After becoming a pilot school for the education-system reform in Beijing. BNDS puts forward six "resolutions" to carry out reforms, such as: determined to gradually get rid of the curriculum system centered on high-stake exams, and establish a curriculum system centered on the comprehensive development of students; determined to focus on characteristic development... Six "determinations" ensure the progress of classroom teaching reform.

Because the reform of implementation of the state-owned and privately-run system has attracted the attention of state leaders. Principal Li Jinchu was invited to Zhongnanhai to participate in the "Symposium on reviewing the achievements of 15th National Congress of Education in the Capital" hosted by Vice Premier Li Lanqing and delivered a speech.

On Teachers' Day in 1998, Minister of Education Chen Zhili inspected BNDS. The Minister's evaluation of the school reform was: "The reform is very successful, and there are many good practices." Subsequently, the "China Education News" sent a director reporter to the school to conduct in-depth and detailed interviews, and wrote a long series of reports for publication, providing a typical example of successful reform of national primary and secondary schools. 

The school began to carry out the experiment of the reform of the six-year school system in middle school (from the first year of junior high school to the third year of high school, adopt the model of exempting from the middle school entrance exam, going straight to high school, and not being eliminated. Later it developed into the "second and fourth" model), and at the same time, it carried out the curriculum reform experiment of the high school science experimental class . In the experiment, the most outstanding thing is to create and test the "four-link" teaching, and the students' autonomy and initiative have been fully developed.

Student Xu Zhen is a leukemia patient. Although she was often hospitalized due to illness, with tenacious perseverance, she ranked among the best in her grades in all subjects. She received the "Golden Sail Award" in 1999, the highest honor for middle school students in Beijing, and joined Chinese Communist Party with this special honor in 2000.

In the implementation of "subjective moral education", the school made it clear that the individual student is the real object of moral education, established the working principles of trust, respect and understanding, and built the basic framework of subject moral education.  In response to the existing problems in traditional teaching, the school regarded the implementation of student-oriented teaching as the focus of classroom teaching reform, and vigorously promoted high-quality classroom teaching.

General Quotations Wall is a unique "moral education textbook" and a unique cultural landscape of the school. The inscriptions of 109 generals including Nie Rongzhen and Xu Xiangqian are engraved on the wall of the monument, describing the earnest teaching and ardent hope of the founding fathers for the future generation, which has become a valuable spiritual wealth of the school.

Principal Li Jinchu, as a natural person, undertook the second round of the reform of the school's government-owned and private-run school system, making the school a "government-owned and private-run" in the true sense. After four years of hard work, the school has become a model school for high schools in Beijing; remarkable achievements have been made in the reform of independent education; a first-class team of excellent teachers has been built. The school has produced a wide range of influences and won praise from all walks of life.

In September 2004, the school officially established the International Department, and the next year, the first batch of foreign students was recruited. Since 2009, the International Department has successively introduced and opened Sino-British cooperative high school courses (A Level), Sino-US cooperative high school courses (AP) and International Baccalaureate courses (IB). At the same time, relying on the International Department, the school has organized a series of courses such as "Foreign Culture Day", and carried out a variety of foreign affairs reception and international exchange activities. The campus has an increasingly international atmosphere. Our school is known by the society as the flagship school of international education.

In 2005, Huang Chenliang won the gold medal in the 10th International Astronomical Olympiad, achieving a breakthrough of zero gold medals in the Astronomical Olympiad in the country; in 2006, Shi Hui won the gold medal in the C6A-level project of the 13th World Navigation Model Simulation Project Championship; in 2006, Han Yueyang won the first place in the Silver Award of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Astronomy Olympiad, and the Best Measured Award.

On June 29, 2006, the Ministry of Personnel of the People's Republic of China approved BNDS to recruit post-doctoral full-time researchers in the project of "Constructing the Theoretical and Practical Research of a 'Cultivation-Research School'". From 2007 to 2010, eight postdoctoral researchers completed their research. This is a research-based growth path that helps the teaching staff.

Teacher Gan Lanyou has worked in BNDS for 42 years. On Teachers' Day in 2007, he was awarded the honorable title of "National Excellent Teacher". He loves education, and for education, he dedicates all his time. Mr. Gan Lanyou's chair will always remain in the hearts of teachers and students.

The school deepened the subject education, took the curriculum reform and classroom teaching reform goals as the guide, promoted the harmonious development of students as its purpose, focused on researching and solving teachers' classroom teaching problems and improving teaching basic skills, re-engineering the teaching process, eliminating ineffective teaching links, and adjusting the teaching relationship, which promoted the improvement of classroom teaching quality.

Taking the intelligence of the whole school, the school initiated an action plan (trial). 15 chapters and 100 trial regulations were put forward, including school development strategies and key success factors. It has become a programmatic document for the school to cultivate students and develop education, and has penetrated into the hearts of teachers and students in the school.

In the school's teaching reform, curriculum reform and innovative multi-education model, teachers have grown rapidly, and a group of key teachers have been walking on the road of growing into teacher educators. In the "Chinese Teacher Educator Growth Project" jointly initiated by "China Teachers Daily" and BNDS, 14 teachers were selected from the school.

To provide a suitable education for each student, the school prepares its own curriculum for each student, each with an individualized timetable. Students choose their own learning content and methods according to their own needs, and take classes according to their own timetable. This is the true sense of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and needs.

Implement course selection system, and replace the administrative class teaching system with stratified teaching; implement the mentor system, the original head teacher responsibility is shared by all subject teachers; each teacher is not only an academic teacher, but also a life mentor, and they all shoulder some educational and administrative responsibilities. 

In order to utilize the seniors’ experiences as resources, the school launched the "Senior's Appointment" activity, allowing seniors to share knowledge or experience with their younger fellow students, helping them clarify their aspirations and expand their horizons. On March 16, 2014, senior Wu Hanxiao started off his appointment with tree planting activities with the juniors. Since then, there have been five more "sharing trees" exclusively for students on the BNDS campus.

Sharing can let us affect everyone around us with our hearts! Starting from this, the school has successively planted trees with different meanings such as apology tree and forgiveness tree.

On September 9, after years of hard work, the school won the special prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award for "Practical Research on the Innovation of Educational Models in Ordinary High Schools and School Transformation", and was commended by the State Council. The school leaders were cordially received by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping. Liu Yandong, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, presented the school with an award certificate.

On February 27 of the same year, the Ministry of Education held a special press conference in our school to introduce the typical experience of our school's education reform. Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, CCTV, Guangming Daily, Central People's Broadcasting Station, China Youth Daily, China Education News and other media have focused on the school's educational reform many times.

On November 23, the first student creative products fair of BNDS - "Red Window Fair" opened. On the day of the event, the school set up nearly 70 stores, allowing students to take out their creative products and trade with others, monetize their works, and use their strengths to connect with others. The purpose of the Red Window Fair is to drive learning motivation from the end of the course chain, improve the implementation of courses, and stimulate students' internal motivation through homework-based work and creative productization.

On December 12, the 12th Teachers' Congress of BNDS passed a resolution to start "standards-based learning", determine learning goals based on detailed standards, provide a variety of resources, and provide students with different growth paths to meet the needs of the students, helping students develop their own advantages, and forming their own personalized growth methods.

Based on this, the China Academy of Education and Teaching cooperated with our school to establish the "Learning and Teaching Research Center", through the combination of the most powerful research force of educational philosophy and the most active practice place of middle school education, to jointly explore the most cutting-edge and in-depth research topics in China's basic education.

On September 14, Minister of Education Chen Baosheng came to our school to conduct research on the comprehensive reform of basic education. Minister Chen watched the special short film "Five-Year Footprints of the Comprehensive Education Reform Experiment in BNDS", visited the subject classrooms, and felt the changes and growth of teachers and students in our school since the implementation of the comprehensive education reform in 2010. Walking to the "Student Works Exhibition and Sale Area" on the fourth floor of Aspiration Building, which coincided with the exhibition and sale of students' photographic works, Minister Chen observed each work with great interest, especially showed strong interest in Li Tunan's work "Heroic", and immediately spent 200 yuan to buy the photo on-site.

At the symposium after the investigation, Minister Chen summarized the teaching mode of BNDS as a "Confucius-style" teaching mode that realized "teaching according to aptitude", which is a beneficial exploration for the comprehensive deepening of the reform of basic education.

On May 1, under the witness of the former teachers, Hall of Ties ushered in the first alumni wedding. Two Class of 2005 high school alumni entered the palace of marriage here.

The school hopes that Hall of Ties can become a link between the school and the students, tying the hearts of the students tightly, so that their stories with their alma mater will not only stay in the good memories of the past, but also continue to create more intimate and unforgettable memories.

The BNDS School Alliance officially launched the research on the K-12 education model, focusing on the research and development of the learning blueprint, implementing the simultaneous development of five education, realizing all-round education for all employees, and implementing the national curriculum plan and curriculum standards to each grade, each semester, to provide effective guidance for teachers' classroom teaching and students' classroom learning.

Various disciplines conducted discussions on "analyzing curriculum standards, designing core tasks, and developing tools and resources". More than 20 alliance schools facing different challenges are actively exploring the road of transformation, proposing diverse and unique solutions, and strive to run a good school at their doorstep, benefit more students and families, and contribute to the modernization of China's education in 2035 with more experience and samples.

In July, the Multilingual Studies Center on the fifth floor of the library was officially opened. During the construction process, teachers and students deeply participated in the design of the learning space, and combined with the characteristics of multilingual subjects, granting each classroom its own unique characteristics. The completion of the Multilingual Studies Center has built more platforms for teachers and students to communicate and study abroad, and establish a wider connection with the world.

In 2021, Wei Chen was selected for the national team and won the gold medal in the 62nd International Olympiad in Mathematics (IMO), creating a new brilliance for the school's competition curriculum. Wei Chen has a pure love for mathematics, and almost all pursuits and happiness in life stem from mathematics. Although he experienced countless hardships and setbacks, he never gave up, but moved forward in constant thinking and exploration. Wei Chen's perseverance inspired other fellow students to bravely climb the peak despite difficulties.

In September, 2021, BNDS-North Campus, a community featuring full-time companionship and well-round educations for students, officially opened. The school explores the study and life mode of middle school students, and provides students with all-round care for their studies, health and life.

In the spring of 2022, when Fang Jian, a health tutor, was observing students' eating habits, he found a student addicted to fried chicken. Out of his parents' constraints, the student has a generous portion of fried chicken and rice for lunch three days a week. By planning a "coincidental encounter" in the cafeteria, Mr. Fang explained the nutritional value of each dish to him with the opportunity of eating at the same table, so that the student took a "nutrition diet class" unconsciously. Later, Mr. Fang was delighted to notice that the number of times that student ate fried chicken decreased, and the student started to have mixture of various dishes containing different nutrients.

Li Sixian, Liu Zikuan, and Zhao Jianhao from Grade 12, share a deep passion for sports. Identifying drawbacks in the school gym located on the underground second floor of the gymnasium——poor ventilation, inadequate lighting, and an imperfect functional area——they envisioned enhancing the gym’s overall quality.

Embarking on a campus-wide exploration for an optimal gym location, they discovered a space beneath the gymnasium’s grand steps which previously used for debris storage. Eager to assess the renovation’s viability, they consulted professionals on building safety, crafted a floor plan diagram, delved into fitness expertise, and structured three key zones for aerobic, resistance, and functional training. This comprehensive proposal for gym renovation and expansion earned its spot among the “Ten Essential Actions” of 2023.

The transformed gym, a testament to student innovation, earned acclaim from both teachers and peers, securing the top spot in the year-end satisfaction survey organized by the student union.