The number of students from the Chinese mainland applying to gain entry to universities in Hong Kong continued to increase this year, and the number of gaokao champions admitted to one of the top universities hit a record high.

According to the University of Hong Kong, more than 12,000 students from the Chinese mainland, most of whom scored top marks in the gaokao in their regions, applied for the school, with 363 gaining admission. The number of applicants and admissions were both more than 20 percent higher than last year.

The number of city and provincial gaokao champions who gained admission to HKU this year was 21, up from 17 in 2011. In addition to overall gaokao champions, HKU also recruited some students who achieved the highest marks in a single subject. This year, that number included six students who achieved top marks in mathematics and one who scored 149 points out of a possible 150 in the English language test.

According to a university representative, some students had won gold medals in what are known as national Olympic competitions and various other domestic and international exams. "In recent years, instead of choosing top universities on the mainland, such as Peking University and Tsinghua University, some top gaokao candidates have chosen universities in Hong Kong. The number increases every year, which in some sense underlines the competition to attract talent that exists between universities in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland," said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences.