An academy in Hampshire will become the first English state school to run a school in China.

The Bohunt Education Trust (BET) has signed a deal to set up a private school in Wenzhou, eastern China, that will open in 2018.

The move could earn the trust tens of thousands of pounds every year, according to The Times.

Headteacher and BET chief executive Neil Strowger told the newspaper that the plan would have benefits for students in both the UK and China.

BET runs three schools including Bohunt School, Liphook, which featured in BBC documentary series Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School. Bohunt School, Liphook was also crowned TES School of the Year in 2014.

‘Stars of TV show’

The television programme featured five teachers from China taking over the education of 50 teenagers at Bohunt to see whether an East Asian approach could improve outcomes. The British pupils taught by the Chinese teachers ended up doing better in maths and science than their peers who had been taught by the school’s own staff.

On the plan for the new school, Mr Strowger said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this partnership, which will allow us to build on our offering in the UK while bringing our outstanding educational model to students in China.

“Our experience of the series further emphasised the importance of working with others and learning from them to deliver the very best education. This is exactly what this partnership is all about.”

More than 40 private schools in Britain have already opened campuses in Asia and the Middle East, including Harrow and Marlborough.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said earlier this year that English schools were facing a “brain drain” of teachers because they were being lured to private schools overseas.

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