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British secondary school education still has remarkable cachet in the People's Republic of China. Large private schools such as Dulwich and Wellington colleges have established campuses in China because of the level of demand.

While more than 80,000 Mainland Chinese have studied at British universities since 2005, the number attending secondary schools is harder to establish. Entry to universities depends simply on exam results and an ability to pay fees, whereas state and private high schools have more complex admission requirements. So while Brighton College in Sussex has a high proportion of Chinese pupils, Eton, despite its renown in China, only has a handful.

Why are Chinese pupils attracted to Britain? In the past decade, the Chinese Ministry of Education has put huge efforts into establishing elite institutions in China. Money has been no object and highly qualified teachers and academics have been recruited from around the world. The bottom line, however, is that the education system fails to meet the rigorous expectations of the Chinese themselves. They want internationally recognised qualifications, and so far Chinese academies do not deliver these. For the Chinese elite a foreign education is still worth the very significant financial outlay.

There are other issues. Chinese exams have been accused of corruption and a lack of fairness. Entry requirements for China's new elite institutions in China mean even the best students fall foul of opaque demands and steep fees. Ironically, foreign schools and universities are seen as being fairer and less prone to pressure from rich parents to favour their children.

Kerry Brown, former Head, Asia Programme, Chatham House