The Times: British grammar schools target pupils from China for cash boost

Ten state grammar schools are in talks to be paid to teach thousands of ambitious Chinese teenagers — snatching them away from private schools that charge up to £40,000 a year.

The plans, being developed with officials in China, include 16 and 17-year-olds being taught A-levels for up to six months and given help to apply to British universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, from next September.

It could mean British schools adding tai chi exercises to the curriculum and will come as a culture shock to some British sixth-formers. Chinese children have a ferocious work ethic — studying up to 12 hours a day — and are deeply respectful to teachers.

The charge per pupil, due to be negotiated at a meeting in China this month, could be up to £2,000 per sixth-former for a six-month stay. The money paid by China may help to pay for more teachers in the state schools, which have struggled with cuts in recent years.

The consortium of grammar schools working with officials in China’s Jiangxi province is led by Desmond Deehan, headteacher at Townley grammar in Bexleyheath, southeast London, which featured in a BBC TV documentary.

The full online article can be found here.