More Chinese attending high school overseas

(Ecns.cn) -- The average age of Chinese students studying abroad has been going down year by year, with an increasing number starting as early as middle school, according to Xinmin Weekly.

Statistics from the US Department of Homeland Security show that a total of 6,725 Chinese students attended the country's middle schools between 2010 and 2011, while only 65 did so between 2005 and 2006.

In countries such as the UK, Canada and Australia, Chinese faces are also looking much younger than before, with many more pursuing educational goals earlier than college.

Head start

Since 2008, the number of Chinese students choosing to study overseas has seen explosive growth, hitting a record high of 350,000 last year.

The trend is particularly noticeable in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, with many high school students ignoring China's national college entrance examination and focusing instead on overseas institutions.

Moreover, the number of TOEFL test takers under the age of 18 doubled in the three cities last year, a clear signal that more youngsters are choosing to follow their dreams abroad.

Alexis is one of them. He was admitted to a top private high school in the US in 2008, which pushed him three years ahead of his parents' original plan.

Nurtured in a well-educated family, Alexis has been interested in the English language since childhood and has obtained a PETS certificate of the highest grade, which qualifies him for academic studies abroad.

Yin Yu, Alexis's father, is an active blogger who likes to share his parenting experiences with Web users. In 2007, a reader commented that Yin's son should be very capable of studying in the US.

At that time Alexis was only a junior middle-school student, but Yin nevertheless began looking into high schools in the US. He also registered his son to take the SSAT and TOEFL tests, on which the boy scored very high.

Alexis was finally admitted to a top boarding school and became a fellow alumnus of former US President John F. Kennedy.

Struggling to fit in

Zom and Yami, who were roommates in China, are now at different high schools in different countries, according to Xinmin Weekly.

Worried that America's academic environment is too open, Zom's parents sent her to a British middle school. At first, Zom didn't like it, but later found that the school's culture encouraged her to calm down and immerse herself in books.

Yami's parents insisted on the American style and sent her to a California day school famous for its art courses.

Both of the girls say they have had problems fitting in to their new environments.

Yami thought she would mingle with her schoolmates easily, but found that many students from countries other than the US discriminated against her.

Zom has also frequently been provoked by her classmates, but has had to swallow her frustration.

Wider horizons?

By sending them abroad, most parents hope to broaden their children's horizons and put them in an ideal environment to obtain better opportunities.

A poll for the latest China Education Xiaokang Index found that almost 40 percent of Chinese people believe that the best time for someone to study abroad is at the undergraduate level, while about 21 percent said it is during high school.

Many believe that the educational level of foreign countries is higher, and that studying abroad can create more opportunities.