ABSTRACT
As a first step to understanding the Chinese educational system of the 1960s, it is necessary to realize that a broad consensus regarding the importance of a university education prevailed among students, middle school officials and the central leadership. While the basic educational structure remained unchanged, over the 1960-1966 period the state did at times alter its priorities and some of its policies, to conform to changing conceptions of the mission of the educational system. The early 1960s witnessed the high tide of academic achievement as the main criterion for university enrollment in China. The situation at the good middle schools was a bit different from that of the true elite schools. The number of cadre children at the true elite schools was always much higher than at the good schools. Both Guangya and Huafu, the two best schools in Guangzhou, recruited citywide and their students thus tended to come from outside the immediate neighborhood.
