First Leap
First Leap (励步) is a TAL Education Group children’s education brand offering early-childhood, English-learning, and broader child-development programs in China.
Last updated October 12, 2026
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Overview
First Leap (励步), also presented on its website as 励步少儿教育 and 励步儿童成长中心, is a Chinese children’s education brand under TAL Education Group (好未来集团). The company says it was established in 2008 and focuses on children’s quality-oriented education, describing its approach as child-centered and intended to support Chinese children’s physical, cognitive, and broader development. The brand’s stated educational aim is to help children build capabilities such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, cooperation, and cultural understanding. Its offerings span early childhood and language learning as well as a wider range of enrichment programs. The official site lists thematic bilingual early education for ages 2–3, English introduction for ages 2–6, and programs in drama, reasoning, public speaking, arts, and reading. It also presents short-term courses, study-tour camps, and online learning. The about page describes a blended model: in-person learning provides real-world situations and opportunities for international social interaction, while its self-developed 励步云 app is intended to provide language-use scenarios and frequent online practice. First Leap operates learning spaces under the 励步儿童成长中心 name and also promotes authorization and cooperation opportunities. Its homepage reports locations in nearly 80 Chinese cities, nearly 200 offline learning spaces, and more than one million learner-service instances; the about page gives the same scale figures. These are company-reported figures, and the supplied pages do not specify the date to which they apply. The authorization page separately describes a network of more than 100 centers, so the site’s reported figures vary by page and context. The brand is owned within the TAL Education Group structure. Its about page records that TAL fully acquired First Leap English in September 2015. The current website presents a broader children’s development identity than the historical First Leap English name, while continuing to include English learning among its offerings. First Leap’s stated positioning centers on interest-led, child-centered development, combining offline centers, online learning, educational resources, and standardized teaching and operating support for authorized partners.
History
First Leap says it was established in 2008 and has developed as a children’s education brand under TAL Education Group. Its early development included English-language and internationalized course offerings. The official history page records that the brand introduced an early-education product for children under three in March 2012, broadening its course pathway, and added the GESE children’s English examination in June of that year. In 2014, it launched advanced courses designed to connect with overseas middle schools, introduced its first 励步云 online-learning app in November, and reported operating more than 50 teaching centers in nearly 30 cities by December. In 2015, First Leap added a second version of its online-learning app. In September, TAL Education Group fully acquired First Leap English, placing the brand within the group’s ownership structure. The company’s page also records that more than a thousand First Leap students took GESE examinations in February 2015, with a reported pass rate above 98%; this is a company-published claim rather than an independently verified result in the supplied evidence. The brand continued to combine classroom instruction and digital learning. In 2016 it introduced a new visual identity, launched the Magic Power English app (魔力童英语), brought Reading A-Z graded-reading materials into its offerings, and upgraded First Leap English 2.0. The official description of that upgrade emphasized all-English, cross-subject, and multi-scenario learning, supported by the FCS cloud-learning platform, OPAS online practice and assessment, interactive live lessons with foreign teachers, and graded-reading live lessons. In 2017, the company released FCS cloud learning 2.1 with First Leap TV interactive live lessons and announced the higher-level brand 励步高阶 for an international middle-school preparation program. In 2018, First Leap announced teacher-training cooperation with Pearson and BELL and introduced Oxford Reading Tree materials through its cloud-learning service. In October it released its “new decade” 3.0 learning product. The company’s reported awards in 2017–2019 included foreign-language education and quality-education brand recognitions, as well as a technology-innovation award in the early-childhood education category. Today, the official site presents First Leap as a broader child-development and quality-education brand, with early-childhood bilingual education, English learning, drama, reasoning, public speaking, arts, reading, short-term courses, study-tour camps, and online learning. It describes a blended approach involving offline centers and its self-developed online learning service. The homepage and about page report nearly 80 cities, nearly 200 offline learning spaces, and more than one million learner-service instances; the authorization page gives a different center count, so those figures should be understood as page-specific company statements rather than a single reconciled current total. The website also offers an authorization partnership program with brand, operations, and teaching support.
First Leap says the brand was established.
[2]Introduced an early-education product for children under three.
[2]Introduced the GESE children’s English examination.
[2]Launched advanced courses designed to connect with overseas middle schools.
[2]Launched the 励步云 online-learning app.
[2]Released version 2.0 of the 励步云 learning app.
[2]TAL Education Group fully acquired First Leap English.
[2]Introduced a new visual identity as part of a brand strategy upgrade.
[2]The Magic Power English (魔力童英语) app was launched.
[2]Introduced Reading A-Z graded-reading materials.
[2]
Products and positioning
A child-centered, interest-led children’s development and quality-education brand combining offline learning centers, online learning, language education, and enrichment programs.
Thematic bilingual early-education courses
The official homepage lists this offering for ages 2–3.
English introduction courses
The official homepage lists this offering for ages 2–6.
Drama, reasoning, public speaking, arts, and reading programs
Listed by the official site as part of First Leap’s quality-education products.
励步云 learning
An online-learning service described by the company as part of its blended-learning approach.
First Leap English 2.0
A 2016 upgrade described as an all-English, cross-subject, multi-scenario learning model with online practice and live lessons.
Magic Power English (魔力童英语) app
An app launched in March 2016, according to the official history page.
Controversies
Brand decisions
Sources6 sources
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