:00:01. > :00:04.documentary strand, Our World. From Shanghai, this week's programme
:00:04. > :00:07.profiles the lives of three of the nine million students throughout
:00:07. > :00:12.China this year, preparing to take the country's notoriously tough
:00:12. > :00:18.university entrance exam, the gaokao.
:00:18. > :00:22.It is a New Year at Zhabei Number 8 High School. For some pupils, the
:00:22. > :00:32.drumbeat of the levy this study is reaching a crescendo and this will
:00:32. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:55.be the toughest deal of their lives. This is the story of one school. A
:00:56. > :00:59.small part of the extraordinary national effort as more than 9
:00:59. > :01:09.million students prepare for China's university entrance exam,
:01:09. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:50.For this teacher's class of final year students, there is less than
:01:50. > :01:55.one year until the final moment. For Chinese students, their
:01:55. > :02:00.academic career and very life chances depend on their performance
:02:00. > :02:07.in the university entrance exam for gaokao. Our cameras have been
:02:07. > :02:13.allowed in to witness the next nine months of exhausting preparation.
:02:13. > :02:18.This 18 the world is one of the teacher's model students. She is
:02:18. > :02:28.hoping to attend a prestigious Top Gear University and needs to score
:02:28. > :02:50.
:02:50. > :03:00.Eat is a long school day from 7am until 5:30pm. -- the tears. But
:03:00. > :03:04.even then there is no time to relax. It's not cheap to live in Shanghai
:03:04. > :03:07.and the family car migrants who moved from the Western Sichuan
:03:07. > :03:11.province. They have made big sacrifices for her education,
:03:11. > :03:21.recently moving house and paying higher rent in order to live closer
:03:21. > :03:49.
:03:49. > :03:59.She does an extra six hours of study every night and still she
:03:59. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:05.says there is not enough time to Shanghai is top of the world in
:04:05. > :04:09.terms of its maths, science and leading test scores, according to
:04:09. > :04:13.one Idlib to study carried out by the OECD. The Organisation for
:04:13. > :04:16.Economic Co-operation and Development. In terms of the
:04:16. > :04:22.ability of its intake, Zhabei Number 8 High School is slightly
:04:22. > :04:26.below the city average but it still sends 80% of its students to
:04:26. > :04:31.university. The city's educational authorities are proud of how they
:04:31. > :04:38.have narrowed the gap between the most advantage at disadvantaged
:04:38. > :04:42.students. But of course there are gaokao casualties and sung, like
:04:42. > :04:50.this one, made the difficult choice of repeating their final year in
:04:50. > :04:57.the hope of improving their test scores. And Finn Class everything
:04:57. > :05:00.is geared towards including scare - - test scores. It is of constantly
:05:01. > :05:08.trilling papers and perfecting answers. But over time I notice
:05:08. > :05:11.something else. One can't help but be impressed. The students in this
:05:11. > :05:15.school are meant to be the struggling once and yet the
:05:15. > :05:25.discipline and concentration on display would be the envy of many
:05:25. > :05:54.
:05:54. > :05:59.elsewhere with more resources and Each class spend the day in its own
:05:59. > :06:03.room, visited by a succession of teachers for the various subjects.
:06:03. > :06:12.And as the first term progresses, time is marked by this constant
:06:12. > :06:22.ritual of study. Punctuated at regular intervals by the school
:06:22. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:30.bell, the fizz -- civilising sound Off course, like school systems
:06:30. > :06:34.everywhere, there are students less well stupid -- suited to exam based
:06:34. > :06:40.learning. This student is a refreshing antidote to the
:06:40. > :06:45.stereotype of China's results obsessed student masses. He has set
:06:45. > :06:49.his sights relatively low and plans to study interior-design at a
:06:49. > :06:53.second here private college. And so he is cons -- coasting, confident
:06:53. > :07:03.he will make the marks he needs and is doing barely any extra study
:07:03. > :07:37.
:07:37. > :07:41.It's important to stay alert. Every day, the whole school stops for a
:07:41. > :07:50.moment to take part in these eye exercises. For the senior students,
:07:50. > :07:55.it is a brief respite from the gaokao treadmill. There is almost
:07:55. > :08:00.no new learning it will this year. Every class is focused on revising
:08:00. > :08:10.and perfecting only what is already been learned. Day-in, day-out for a
:08:10. > :08:20.full nine months. The teachers feel the pressure too. Not least because
:08:20. > :08:45.
:08:45. > :08:50.their end-of-year bonus depends on In terms of results, Zhabei Number
:08:50. > :08:54.8 High School is one of Shanghai's most improved schools. But the head
:08:54. > :09:04.teacher worries that the Chinese system puts too much emphasis on
:09:04. > :09:24.
:09:24. > :09:29.tests, leaving little room for Ha you suggesting that although
:09:29. > :09:39.they show great success in exams, the real picture is that there is
:09:39. > :10:05.
:10:05. > :10:11.One new has the rare day off from coming to get the result she failed
:10:11. > :10:15.to get last time round. How old high-school friends are already at
:10:15. > :10:25.university while she repeats her high-school year. She is there to
:10:25. > :10:27.
:10:27. > :10:31.get a glimpse of the future she She failed to get the gaokao great
:10:31. > :10:36.she needed by only a narrow margin but it has cost her a whole year.
:10:36. > :10:41.How old classmates are now enjoying university while she is still at
:10:41. > :10:51.school. If she does pass second time around, she wants to come here
:10:51. > :11:23.
:11:23. > :11:30.It's springtime in Shanghai and for the final year students, the
:11:31. > :11:38.looming gaokao is the only cloud on the horizon. The mock tests come
:11:38. > :11:46.around every month and are made as real as possible. The gaokao itself
:11:46. > :11:49.will take place over two days in June with papers in maths, English,
:11:49. > :11:59.Chinese and a fourth of the student's own choosing. The
:11:59. > :11:59.
:11:59. > :12:05.pressure is really beginning to China's policy makers admit the
:12:05. > :12:10.system puts too much stress on families and robs children of their
:12:10. > :12:18.social life. So why then is it proving so hard to change? We have
:12:18. > :12:24.a - more than 2,000 years. We have more than 2,000 years of
:12:24. > :12:28.compensations, a you cannot say in one night all the -- of xmination,
:12:28. > :12:33.you cannot say in one night all the behaviour should change. If you
:12:33. > :12:39.spoke to parents of maybe a 7-year- old student in Shanghai, that
:12:39. > :12:44.parent is thinking that in another 10 years time their son or daughter
:12:44. > :12:49.will be preparing for the Gaokao, do you think that young child in 10
:12:49. > :12:54.years time will be facing 6-7 hours of extra study, weekend schooling,
:12:54. > :12:59.or do you think it will change in that time? Yes, I think it will
:12:59. > :13:05.surely change. For example, in this year, our Government already had a
:13:05. > :13:14.slogan, let the students let every day have one more hour to sleep,
:13:14. > :13:20.and one more hour to do sports. So this is the struggle of this year.
:13:20. > :13:25.At Java No.8, sport is a low priority. To piped music from the
:13:25. > :13:35.school's loud speaker system, this twice-daily routine ensures a few
:13:35. > :14:01.
:14:01. > :14:05.minutes of stretching. (MUSIC PLAYS)
:14:05. > :14:10.Final year students are excused from having to go outside. They do
:14:10. > :14:18.the short bout of physical exercise indoors, or sometimes skip it
:14:18. > :14:23.altogether. And as for the promise of an extra hour of sleep a day -
:14:23. > :14:33.this probably isn't what the Government has in mind. The
:14:33. > :14:35.
:14:35. > :14:45.exhausted students snatching a nap between lessons. It's early on
:14:45. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:53.Sunday morning. Ma Li is preparing to go to a private tuition class.
:14:53. > :14:57.Such classes are expensive for families on an average wage, but
:14:57. > :15:02.there is little choice. The Gaokao is a competitive exam, the higher
:15:02. > :15:09.you score, the better the chance of a good university place. For those
:15:09. > :15:16.children who don't go to the extra lessons, they risk falling behind.
:15:16. > :15:21.The Gaokao is fast approaching. The school canteen still offers a brief
:15:21. > :15:28.schap from the classroom. Now there are only -- escape from the
:15:28. > :15:34.classrooms, now there are only a few more lunchtimes yes. Ding
:15:34. > :15:44.Zhenwei is staying with his aunt to be closer to the school. But he is
:15:44. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :16:24.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds
:16:24. > :16:29.Almost anyone who's been through the Gaokao will sympathise. These
:16:29. > :16:37.are dark, tough days, and counting down the hours not even the most
:16:38. > :16:42.relaxed student can escape the weight of expectation. Gaokao Day
:16:42. > :16:49.is a national event. In towns and cities across the vast country the
:16:49. > :16:59.scene is the same. The road blocks ensure that not even traffic noise
:16:59. > :16:59.
:16:59. > :17:03.disturbs China's stressed out students. "I'll meet you over
:17:03. > :17:09.there", Ma Li's mum explains, then her daughter heads off. It's the
:17:09. > :17:16.moment she's been preparing for her whole school life. Teacher, Gin, is
:17:16. > :17:19.here, a comforting, familiar place for her pupils as they pass the
:17:19. > :17:24.security checks. Our cameras are allowed no further. We join the
:17:24. > :17:29.ranks of parents at the school gates. Many choose to stay, waiting,
:17:29. > :17:34.as if by simply being here they can will their children to succeed
:17:34. > :17:39.inside the exam hall. It's almost as if after 18 years of investment,
:17:39. > :17:43.bringing up to child, this is the moment when that product is meeting
:17:43. > :17:49.its quality control moment. How successful have they been in
:17:49. > :17:53.raising their children. Add to that the fact that for many of this gern
:17:53. > :17:58.I suggest, the cultural -- generation, the cultural revolution
:17:58. > :18:03.that robbed them of a chance to learn, you can see why it really
:18:04. > :18:10.does matter. Meanwhile, enterprising salesmen offering
:18:10. > :18:16.everything from careers' advice to half-price pizzas, make the most of
:18:16. > :18:22.the opportunity. Suddenly there's a commotion at the school gate. One
:18:22. > :18:28.young man has been brought out of the Gaokao, clearly unwell. He is
:18:28. > :18:32.given medical treatment. He's in no state to return to the test. It's a
:18:32. > :18:39.deep, personal tragedy. The Gaokao takes place once a year. There are
:18:39. > :18:43.no other chances to Rae take. As he's driven a-- retake, as he's
:18:43. > :18:49.driven away, he knows all that preparation, work and revision have
:18:49. > :18:59.been in vein. The tests take two full days. The scene is the same
:18:59. > :18:59.
:18:59. > :19:02.for each paper. Anxious students, ainks parents. Ding Zhenwei --
:19:02. > :19:08.anxious parents. Ding Zhenwei on his way to the final paper thinks
:19:08. > :19:17.it's gone well. What has been the worst paper so far? Maths. Good
:19:17. > :19:27.luck. There's a final wave from Wong Yu, and there's two more hours
:19:27. > :19:32.
:19:32. > :19:36.to go. And when it is all over, the relief is palpable. It's a Joyous
:19:37. > :19:40.moment, another generation of Chinees students survived the
:19:40. > :19:50.Gaokao ordeal. The results will come later, of course, but for now,
:19:50. > :19:53.
:19:53. > :20:02.their parents are rightly proud. The students take the chance to do
:20:02. > :20:07.the things they have been unable to do for months. This is their first
:20:07. > :20:11.summer of freedom. For many, the first time in their whole scoor
:20:11. > :20:15.careers that they don't have homework or private -- school
:20:15. > :20:25.careers that they don't have homework or private classes to go
:20:25. > :20:34.to. The end of year photo is the last moment for classes together as
:20:34. > :20:40.a group. A few weeks later, the results are in. Ma Li, an exemplary
:20:40. > :20:46.student has scored enough Gaokao to make it into her chosen university
:20:46. > :20:53.to study logigistics. There's good news for Ding Zhenwei, he set his
:20:53. > :20:57.sites relatively low and got enough. He's now off to study interior
:20:57. > :21:01.design. As for Wang Yu, desperate to pass second time around, she's
:21:01. > :21:08.made it. She did better than last year, and is preparing to study
:21:08. > :21:14.advertising at the same university as her old classmates. Talk of