AN increasing number of Shenzhen students are choosing to attend university in a foreign country after graduating from high school, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

The number of high school students going abroad to study has reached an annual 2,000 in recent years and is growing by 10 percent each year, statistics from agencies specializing in overseas education showed.

Xiao Shi is one such student now attending classes to help him prepare for overseas study.

"Honestly, I had no idea that they [the preparatory classes] were so popular now," said Xiao, a Senior Grade 1 student. Xiao said he had found a dozen institutions offering such courses, including 10 public schools, right after the new semester started.

The Daily said renowned public schools such as Shenzhen Middle School and Shenzhen Foreign Languages Schools are offering such classes. "Such classes provide our students with more options to help make their dreams come true," said Cao Yanqing, president of Shenzhen Experimental School. Last year nearly 20 percent of graduates from the experimental school chose to study overseas, he said.

Around 1,500 high school graduates from the city were last year admitted to overseas universities in the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain, and others, according to Zhou Suqiong, general manager of the Shenzhen branch of Qide Education Group, Guangdong Province.

Zhou said one of the main reasons that Shenzhen families allowed their children to pursue studies abroad is that Western institutions are perceived as providing a better environment for self-development. "Individuality is advocated in the West, and this has become crucial in self-achievement in today's Chinese society," she said.

The Daily said most preparatory classes are jointly operated by high schools and foreign education institutions. For example, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School has set up an express channel with the University of Toronto, through which students can be admitted without taking IELTS or TOEFL tests if they pass an interview and written test set by the university. Usually, Chinese student are required to produce IELTS or TOEFL results to apply for a foreign university.

Source:Shenzhen Daily