Her parents, who had to curtail their formal education at primary school level, work in Baise, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It's about one hour on a high-speed train from their daughter's school in Guangnan.

Her father, Li Chuntian, 46, is both delighted and proud that she was admitted to the all-girl class. He says the village only has several female college graduates, and he's willing to continue funding and supporting her future studies, although, as he also has two sons, he sometimes has to borrow money from relatives to cover their tuition fees and other living expenses.

Empowering knowledge

Another pupil, Hou Shengli, 12, is also flourishing in the all-girl class. She visited the main town of Guangnan county for the first time when she enrolled at the school this year-actually it's the first place she visited other than her village. It's also the first time she has used a computer in class.

She and her two younger brothers only meet their parents once a year, because they're working in Guangdong province.

"I'm suited to this new life as I've made new friends. I like reading books and want to study hard to improve my math," Shengli says.

Besides ethnic-group culture classes, the primary school also offers biology classes and organizes talks about safety, such as protection against sexual assault.

To broaden their horizons, the school calls for students to join the program "learning science with my mother", which is organized by the Science Popularization Department at the China Association for Science and Technology.