- Britain’s Department of Education says 5,400 Hong Kong pupils studied in state schools in England in the 2022-23 academic year
- A quarter of them were studying at Key Stage Three, which covers students aged 12 to 14
The UK’s Home Office had received 172,500 BN(O) visa applications as of March this year, nearly a third of candidates were were under 18. Photo: APThe number of Hong Kong students at state-funded schools in England has surged more than 400 per cent in the past two years, following the UK’s launch of a pathway to citizenship for city residents, according to a British government survey.
Britain’s Department of Education said the latest data showed 5,400 Hong Kong pupils were studying in schools in England during the 2022-23 academic year, but noted the figures were not reflective of the true number as the annual poll was voluntary.
“This means that any count we provide of pupils known to be of Hong Kong origin will be an undercount to an unknown degree,” said Ann Claytor, a statistician with the department’s school census statistics team.
She also stressed that schools could just identify pupils within the wider “Chinese” grouping without specifying if they were from Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore
The survey also only covers schools in England.
According to the figures, the number of “Asian-Chinese” pupils at state-funded nurseries and schools rose from 37,943 in 2020-21 to 48,396 in 2021-22, before increasing to 58,731 a year later.
The census team told the Post that the number of Asian-Chinese students from Hong Kong stood at 1,081 in 2020-21, when the UK introduced the British National (Overseas) visa scheme.
The figure increased to 3,068 the next year and rose to 5,423 in 2022-23.
The visa scheme was launched in January 2021 in response to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 and allows city residents to apply for citizenship after spending five continuous years in the United Kingdom.
The UK’s Home Office had received up to 172,500 BN(O) visa applications as of March this year. Earlier figures showed about 27 per cent of candidates were below the age of 18.
Meanwhile, department data also showed that education authorities in Birmingham recorded the largest contingent of Hong Kong nursery and school pupils, at 795.
UK-based lawyer Catherine Lam Hoi-ling, who runs a Facebook group called “Hong Kong people in Birmingham” that has more than 10,000 members, said the area’s affordable housing prices had attracted many young families and led to high demand for schools.
“There are lots of young parents speaking Cantonese and carrying their young kids aged about 10 in Birmingham’s Chinatown. They probably just came from Hong Kong,” she said.
But she noted that the surge in Hongkongers going to Birmingham meant competition for highly prized schools had intensified.
The number of people joining the social media group, which Lam set up in 2015, surged after Britain introduced the BN (O) visa scheme, she added.
As the UK’s second-largest city, Birmingham could offer Hongkongers spacious homes at lower prices and desirable schools, Lam noted.
“Hongkongers moving to the UK would like to live in the big cities rather than remote regions,” she said. “But property prices in inner London are unaffordable for most, while outer London and suburban areas are also expensive.
“Renting a decent house with two to three bedrooms in [Birmingham’s] suburban areas only costs £1,000 to £1,500 [US$1,272 to US$1,908] a month.”
Lam added that those settling in the city generally found it easier to acclimatise since it shared some features with Hong Kong, citing ease of travel without relying on cars and an influx of eateries hoping to cater to the new arrivals.
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The census data also showed Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands and Barnet in northwest London ranked second and third respectively in terms of Hong Kong pupils, boasting about 500 each.
Essex, a county northeast of London, and Salford in Manchester logged the fourth- and fifth-largest contingents at 400 and 200 pupils.
A further breakdown of the survey indicated that about 35 per cent of the 5,400 Hong Kong pupils were studying at Key Stage Two, referring to forms in English schools for those aged eight to 11.
A quarter of the Hongkongers were studying at Key Stage Three, which covers students aged 12 to 14, while another 15 per cent were enrolled in Key Stage One for those aged five to seven.