Schools for Hong Kong and Macao students in the mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have seen a growing number of enrolments this year, driven by deepening regional integration, diversified higher education pathways and a favorable language environment.

The Affiliated School of JNU for Hong Kong and Macao Students in Dongguan has seen the number of its senior high-school classes rise from four in the 2025-26 school year to five this year. The school now has over 700 students across its kindergarten, primary, junior high and senior high sections, with some growth compared to last year.

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“Overall, enrolment has been growing steadily,” said Samuel Kam, executive principal of the school. “But because of limited campus capacity, we are not pursuing large-scale expansion, but maintaining a moderate pace of growth.”

Kam said mounting application interest has become more noticeable during this year's admission season as students with scores above 750 in the local senior high-school entrance examination being applied.

He attributed the rising demand to several factors, including the availability of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) pathway, a combined teaching team of Hong Kong and mainland teachers as well as strong university admission results.

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The school’s status as a DSE participating school allows eligible students to sit Hong Kong’s university entrance exam at the school, providing a route to Hong Kong and overseas universities while they remain on the Chinese mainland.

Language is another factor that drives more Hong Kong and Macao students to study in the mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, Kam added.

“Some students have difficulty following classroom instruction when pursuing studies in Hong Kong or Macao due to their limited command of Cantonese. By comparison, schools for Hong Kong and Macao children in the mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area provide a Mandarin speaking environment, which is easier for them.”

Shenzhen Hong Kong Pui Kiu College Longhua Xinyi School enrolled over 3,100 students this year, hitting a historic high and representing a 5 percent increase from last year. Among them, 70 percent are from Hong Kong, Macao and overseas, and 30 percent are from the mainland.

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The school receives over 4,000 applications each year, which is on a steady growth track, Vice-Principal Wong Wai-shing said.

Wong noted that some families who moved to Hong Kong under the city’s talent admission programs and capital investment immigration policies have returned to the mainland after the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the increase in demand for studies for their children over the past few years.

He believes the momentum will continue in the future as regional integration deepens and cross-boundary travel becomes more convenient.

“An increasing number of Hong Kong residents are working in Shenzhen, with many purchasing properties there and arranging for their children to study locally. The booming job market in the Greater Bay Area is also drawing more Hong Kong professionals to relocate with their families,” he said.

There were 12 dedicated schools for Hong Kong and Macao students in Guangdong province, with nearly 110,000 students from the two special administrative regions and Taiwan being enrolled in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools across the province, according to figures from the Guangdong Foreign Affairs Office released earlier this year.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com

Chen Yanshan contributed to this story.