Parents in Shanghai are willing to pay more for co-curricular services to help their children become more academically competitive from an earlier age, according to a study by online education platform changingedu.com.

Parents of high school students spent an average 2,535 yuan ($385) per month for their children to take additional tutoring courses, while the spending reached 2,103 yuan for middle school students, and 1,463 yuan for primary pupils.

Of the families who paid for tutoring, 48.44 percent paid for primary pupils, 33.06 for middle school students, and 18.50 for high school students.

Parents in Shanghai's financial hub Pudong New District were more interested in one-to-one private teaching, and about 22 percent asked tutors to assist at the family home.

Local resident Wang Wei said his family felt stressed spending about 3,000 yuan a month on tutoring for his son, who would sit tests next year to go to high school.

Wang said he had no other choice to ensure that his son would be admitted to a better high school.

The study found middle school students did 10.34 hours a month of tutoring, high school students, 10.15 hours, and primary pupils, 8.88 hours.

Math, English and Chinese were three subjects that dominated the tutoring market, accounting for 35.72 percent, 28.05 percent and 16.58 percent respectively. The quality in a tutor most sought after by Shanghai parents was patience (48 percent), followed by interesting teaching (16 percent) and humor (12 percent).

Students in top-tier cities may enjoy better educational resources than their peers in other regions, but they also face higher competition to enter better schools and greater pressure from parents, the report added.