By Sun Wei in London

With dormitory accommodation, immersion in an English teaching environment, new international schoolmates and trips to ancient castles and campuses, "summer school" students at UK boarding schools get a Harry Potter style study experience.

Chinese kids are increasing in numbers among this group. The latest census by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) in the UK, revealed that in 2010, among 10,030 new non- British pupils, over one-third are from the Chinese mainland (1,543) and Hong Kong (1,854). Currently, there are 23,307 non-British pupils in 1,260 ISC schools with more than 500,000 children.

"For the last 10 years there has been a large demand from students in China in our College," said Petra Kondrova, marketing coordinator at d'Overbroeck's College Oxford. She said d'Overbroeck's is getting more applications from younger students aged 14 and 15 for its GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) programme, which "allows students to perfect their English in order to get the best possible A-level results they can achieve."

"A decade ago, most Chinese students in the UK were studying for a PhD. Gradually, there are more studying for a master's degree or a bachelor's degree, and now for A-level and GCSE courses," said Ying Dong, manager of an international student exchange programme.

Perseverance pays

Young students need to deal with a number of issues when arriving in the UK for the first time. Their family is far away, they have to speak English all the time, the education system is different, and the culture and even the food is unusual. Psychological fragility among young students is common.

"It's not easy to cope with such big change," said Jolin Qiu, an Oxford graduate who once studied at the Dauntsey School, a boarding institution founded five centuries ago. "My first three months were spent in tears. I felt lonely, homesick, and like I belonged nowhere."

Students in the UK can make up to six college choices for their undergraduate degrees, not listed in order of preference.

Performance in A-levels is key for a successful application.

Qiu got six offers and chose the University of Oxford. Her Chinese schoolmates at Dauntsey's enrolled in top 10 UK universities including Cambridge University, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics.

Rich and connected

The independent sector educates around 6.5 percent of the total number of schoolchildren in the UK.

According to the ISC census, the average annual boarding fees at an ISC school for 2009-10 are around 24,000 pounds ($37,000). And the fees are increasing above the inflation rate every year.

The economic downturn has hit the UK middle classes, who are being forced to pull their children out of private education, the Telegraph newspaper reported recently. A surge of Chinese students has filled the vacuum.

Most of these young Chinese students are so called "fuerdai" or the "second generation" out of rich families. As well as being able to afford the fees, these families buy properties nearby, with some parents even staying for one or two years to help their only child settle in.

The UK-Chinese Times reported that these students are bought LV and Gucci handbags to use as schoolbags, drive Mercedes Benz and BMW cars, and shuttle between luxury stores, bars, pubs and casinos.

Another Chinese group is known as "guanerdai" or "official second generation," who are more modest and cautious about their identities. Many don't need to worry about a job after graduation, as their parents have political connections.

"Wealth is becoming a boundary for studying abroad," according to Xu Xiaoping, an international education expert with the New Oriental Education and Technology Group. "It's worrying that the huge gap between the rich and the poor is being reflected in education," Xu said.

According to Xiong Bingqi, vice-dean at the 21st Century Education Research Institute, the reputation of Chinese universities has deteriorated in the past decade due to increasing enrollment, academic corruption and low employment rate after graduation.

"Education is a very important industry for our country. It is not good news for the Chinese education industry when people are driving other countries' GDP by paying the huge tuition fees," Xiong added.