Artist view of the new experimental school affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China's national academy for natural sciences, which is located in Juyuan New Area, Jiading district of Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An experimental school affiliated with Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) located in Juyuan New Area, Jiading district of Shanghai, is set to recruit 180 grade six students by the beginning of September 2017, the school council announced in a meeting on Mar 8.

With the school buildings still under construction, the council plans to borrow buildings from Jiading No. 1 High School as a temporary home until the project is complete.

The development of the school has come as a result of cooperation between CAS Shanghai branch and Jiading government first agreed in the beginning of January 2016. It caters to students from grade one to grade nine and anticipates having 49 classes.

The middle school, covering an overall floor area of 17,170 square meters, began construction on Jan 24 this year and is expected to complete construction by June 2018.

According to the design plan, the middle school will consist of four buildings. The buildings include two designated for classrooms and one set to include a dining hall, kitchens, and an indoor playground. An additional building will house reading rooms, multifunctional classrooms, and administrative offices.

The school will also include numerous communal green spaces, which have been designed in the hope of giving students relaxation and recreation space. The school is focused on science education and has a goal of ranking among Shanghai's top primary and secondary schools in the coming five years. The launch of the school is considered conducive to Jiading's education reform and its improvement of education quality.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is China's national academy for natural sciences. The academy houses the country's leading scientists and functions as the national scientific think tank as well as academic governing body. It also gives advice and helps to evaluate national issues such as the economy, social development, and science and technology progress.