Queuing for UK study

Maggie Li never considered boarding school in England for her two children, but when the opportunity arose, she went for it.

Her son Andi studied at Diocesan Boys' School, a top-ranked school in Hong Kong, but he 'struggled a lot', Li said. 'Everyday he was exhausted when he came home, but he still needed tutorial classes. He was not happy.'

Hoping to revive his spirits, she sent Andi to a summer English programme at Dulwich College, in southeast London. Andi liked the atmosphere and lobbied his mother to attend full time. 'At the time, he was 11 but he said, 'Mum, can I go to the UK?' I was quite shocked because he was just a little boy.'

Knowing that he was unhappy, she gave her blessing after he secured a spot at Dulwich. The family has been happy with the move and Li's daughter followed in her big brother's footsteps, attending boarding school in England when she reached the sixth form.

Li's experience is becoming more common. While British expatriates make up a big part of the student body at boarding schools in Britain, a growing number of Asians - particularly from China - are attending secondary schools in Britain.

According to last year's Independent Schools report, published annually by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) in Britain, non-British pupils with parents living overseas make up 5.2 per cent of the student body at ISC schools, or 11,252 pupils in total.

ISC represents more than 1,200 independent schools in Britain. Of the non-British pupils, 23 per cent were from Hong Kong and 14 per cent from the mainland.