Affiliated High School of Peking University

The school was established in 1960, with roots in Beijing No. 104 Secondary School.^[1] Its first principal was Yin Qizhuo, then a deputy director of academic affairs at Peking University, and the university sent 43 young assistants and lecturers to help form the initial teaching staff.^[1] From the beginning, the school was part of Peking University's broader educational system, a relationship the school later described as part of the university's "four-level" pathway linking primary school, secondary school, undergraduate education, and graduate education.^[1]

In 1997, Peking University Second Affiliated High School was merged into the school.^[1] A major turning point came under principal Wang Zheng, who led BDFZ from 2009 to 2021. Beginning in 2010, the senior secondary division moved away from the traditional fixed homeroom structure and adopted class mobility, staged progression, student units, faculty mentors, and peer leadership arrangements. Dalton Academy, the school's international division, was also established in 2010.^[1][4][5]

The reforms attracted sustained attention in Chinese media and were widely discussed as one of the most visible secondary-school reform experiments of the 2010s. An educational statement associated with the Wang period described the school's aim as cultivating "outstanding citizens" (Chinese: 个性鲜明、充满自信、敢于负责、具有思想力、领导力、创新力的杰出公民。他们无论身在何处，都能热忱服务社会，并在其中表现出对自然的尊重和对他人的关爱。). The corresponding English statement reads: "The Affiliated High School of Peking University is committed to developing unique, confident and responsible citizens with creative ideas and strong leadership. Wherever they are, they all are dedicated to serving the community, respecting nature and caring for others."^[6][7]

In 2017, the BDFZ Education Group was established. In 2022, Ma Yuguo became principal.^[1][8]

BDFZ is administered as a public school. Since 16 March 2022, the principal has been Ma Yuguo, a chemist and professor who completed his doctorate at UIUC and previously served as dean of Peking University's College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering.^[8]

The school is also part of the BDFZ Education Group, which includes affiliated and partner schools in Fengtai, Haikou, Shijingshan, Putian, and Shenzhen.^[1]

The campus is in northwestern Haidian, in an academic district closely associated with Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhongguancun, and institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This setting has long shaped the school's identity as a university-affiliated secondary school within one of Beijing's principal education and research clusters.^[9][1]

The campus includes north, south, east, and west teaching buildings, a library, and the Xinjian Gymnasium.^[10] The west teaching building opened in 2002, the school library became a branch of the Peking University Library in 2009, and the Xinjian Gymnasium was completed in 2016.^[1]

Part of the campus was redesigned in the 2010s by Crossboundaries, which described the project as a 26,000-square-metre renovation and extension of the existing school site.^[11]

The senior secondary division is organized around six academies and a preparatory division.^[12] Xingzhi Academy follows the standard national curriculum, while Yuanpei Academy and Boya Academy function as the school's principal extension tracks in advanced science and the humanities respectively.^[12][13] The school also operates Weiming Academy, Shuren Academy, Dalton Academy, and a Preparatory Division.^[12]

Yuanpei Academy is oriented toward students with strong interests in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and information science, while Boya Academy emphasizes the humanities and draws on resources associated with departments at Peking University such as Chinese, History, and Philosophy.^[13] Weiming Academy focuses on students who need closer support with study habits and academic management, and Shuren Academy developed out of the school's visual and performing arts, athletics, and information and general technology centers.^[12]

Dalton Academy, founded in 2010, is the school's international division for students planning undergraduate study abroad. It serves students in grades 10 through 12 and offers an international curriculum built around seminars, projects, experiential learning, and independent research.^[14][15][16]

The founding faculty included 43 young assistants and lecturers transferred from departments of Peking University.^[1] The current teaching structure is organized by subject, with academic leads in Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, and politics, as well as separate responsibility areas for competition training, visual and performing arts, athletics, and information and general technology.^[17][1]

Recent recruitment notices indicate that regular teaching positions are generally aimed at applicants with master's degrees or above. For experienced teachers, the school gives preference to applicants with at least three years of secondary-school teaching experience and to those who have received district- or municipal-level recognition as subject leaders or backbone teachers. The same notices also cover competition coaches, bilingual teachers, and university counseling posts in the international division.^[18][19][20]

Student life is organized through academies, houses, student associations, and competitions.^[21] The house system combines features associated with Western house models and the Chinese academy tradition.^[21] Houses identified in school materials include Zhengxin, Gewu, Zhizhi, Chengyi, Mingde, Hongyi, Xijing, Zhishan, and Xinmin.^[22]

House life forms a visible part of everyday campus culture, with activities spanning orientation, clubs, arts, athletics, technology, and house-based events.^[21][23]

In May 2021, a short video titled A Day at the Affiliated High School of Peking University circulated widely on Chinese social media and trended on Weibo. By foregrounding an 8 a.m. start time, elective-style classes, and activities such as fencing and drama, the clip became a flashpoint in a broader online debate about educational inequality, elite schooling, and social privilege in China.^[24][25]

The discussion extended beyond the school itself and was folded into wider criticism of unequal access to educational resources in Beijing, especially the concentration of elite institutions in Haidian. Later reports said the footage had originally been filmed during a campus open day, though reposted versions continued to circulate after the original video was deleted.^[26]

BDFZ is known for strong university placement in both the domestic and overseas tracks. In 2023, the school recorded 35 combined admissions to Peking University and Tsinghua University. In 2024, more than half of graduates entered 985 universities, while around three-quarters entered 211 universities.^[27][28]

For overseas study, Dalton Academy serves as the school's international division. Its graduates have matriculated at institutions including Brown, Johns Hopkins, Oxford, Cambridge, Northwestern, NYU, the University of California system, and the University of Washington, as well as liberal arts colleges such as Middlebury, Mount Holyoke, and Wesleyan, together with universities in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, France, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.^[29]

• Zhang Zilin, model, actress, and Miss World 2007.^[30]
• Xu Bing, artist and former vice president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.^[31]
• Chen Xiaonan, television host and journalist.^[32]
• Wang Jisi, scholar of international relations and former dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University.^[33]
• Mao Xinyu, military officer and grandson of Mao Zedong.^[34]