On June 14, the topic labeled “Small County Cancels High School Entrance Exam Selection All Students Directly Admitted to High School” topped the list of trending topics on Weibo.
According to Hai Bao News, the Shengsi Islands above the East China Sea in Zhejiang Province are about to enter another year of high school entrance exam season. In 2025, the county completely eliminated the selection function of the high school entrance exam and implemented “all students directly admitted” to high school. This small island county with a permanent population of only 65,000 quickly became the focus of attention nationwide.
Local elderly residents told the media that the unique island environment brings many inconveniences to work and life. Over the years, more and more young people have been leaving the county for study or work, leading to a decreasing trend in the school-age population.
Despite having only one high school in the entire county—Zhejiang Shengsi Middle School—the availability of high school spots is not tight. The reason is simple: in recent years, the county has only had about 300 junior high school graduates annually.
Previously, the local high school admission rate was around 70%, and some students missed out on high school by just a few points. Some ended up entering vocational schools or went to study on other islands, further exacerbating the outflow of students. Over time, this may lead to a vicious cycle of “population decrease – student drain – educational weakening.”
This topic quickly sparked widespread attention on the internet.
Photographer and Weibo influencer Anry-Young, signed with Ctrip, expressed that the news of Zhejiang Shengsi County canceling the high school entrance exam selection and implementing direct admission for all students flooded the news feed. Many people’s initial reaction was “envy,” thinking they no longer have to worry about exams, but looking closely at the background, this is more than just a simple “benefit”.
The blogger analyzed, “Shengsi is a small island county with a permanent population of only 65,000, with only about 300 junior high school graduates annually and one high school in the entire county. In the past, with the high school entrance exam selection, students who missed by a few points had to study elsewhere or attend vocational schools, resulting in an accelerated outflow of students. This reform is essentially a form of self-rescue for areas facing population decline, aiming to ‘keep children, save schools’.”
Netizens commented, “With a smaller population, if this isn’t done, schools will close”, “With only one high school and no tight spots, the high school entrance exam became a formality, that’s why it could be canceled.”
Some netizens also stated, “With the current population birth rate, we can’t sustain so many kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools. So sooner or later, there won’t be a high school entrance exam, students will voluntarily go to high school, those who want better education can take entrance exams for elite schools. Technical schools will be more popular in the future, probably harder to get into than universities.”
“Cancelling the high school entrance exam is a growing trend, vocational schools and colleges will face difficulties in enrollment, private universities will also face difficulties, the prestige of double first-class universities will decrease, as well as that of master’s and doctoral degrees.”
Public information shows that Shengsi County is a county under Zhoushan City, located to the east of Hangzhou Bay and southeast of the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is the easternmost part of Zhejiang Province and the northernmost part of the Zhoushan Archipelago, composed of a group of islands extending from the Tiantai Mountains into the sea.