More than 1,700 pupils around 10 years old attended the entrance examination for the prodigy class at Beijing No 8 Middle School on Sunday, the Beijing Times reported Monday.

Only 30 of them will have the chance to study in the class and take the country's college entrance examination four years later.

The number of participants this year was 500 more than last year, the highest since the school started the prodigy class program. But the school had no plans to expand its enrollment, the newspaper said, citing Wang Zhuying, who is in charge of the class.

Wang said students who are admitted to the class will have half a year to adapt to the class' teaching mode. At that point, they can choose to return to their original school if they wish. However, no one has made that choice in the class' 20-year history, Wang said.