Major makeover

He Qibing, the vice-principal, said the school has undergone a major makeover in the past 10 years.

When he first started working there a decade ago, the school had just a single three-story teaching building, a one-story office block and a two-story dormitory for the students. Now, it has five teaching buildings, two office buildings, two laboratory buildings, four student canteens, a canteen for the teachers and 11 student dormitory buildings. It also boasts a soccer field, 11 basketball courts and four volleyball courts.

A decade ago, the school only had 1,000 middle school students and less than 100 teachers. The numbers have risen to more than 7,000 middle and high school students and almost 500 teachers, making it the largest township secondary school in the county, He said.

Meanwhile, 10 years ago, the school was notorious for its poor academic performance and was ranked the lowest in the county.

Now, it is ranked in the top tier of Zhaotong city, which oversees the county, He said. In 2020, 649 of its graduates enrolled at universities, rising to 688 in 2021 and 821 last year, he added.