Zheng Yalin, a Macao student who was among the first group of 16 students to enroll at the school, said her parents chose it because few alternatives were available, adding that it proved to be the right decision.

Everything appeared tough at first and students had to "feel their way", Zheng said.

However, after performing exceptionally well in the graduation examination, she enrolled at Renmin University of China－one of the nation's top higher education institutions－before furthering her studies at New York University.

Zheng attributes the smooth teaching process at the school to its strength in English and the way in which it has blended cultures. The strong foundations it has laid have helped many of her classmates to study or work overseas.

Noting that the school has a strong reputation among Hong Kong and Macao parents, Zheng said it should strengthen promotion work to attract more mainland students.

This suggestion is in line with an idea from Chen Haiyuan, who was appointed the school's new Shenzhen principal in 2019. With Liu gradually relinquishing many of his responsibilities due to age, Chen took over most of the managerial duties.

In 2013, the school's primary source of students was affected after the Hong Kong government banned non-permanent residents from giving birth in the city.

As a result, the number of students at the school from Hong Kong has fallen since last year and is expected to plummet further.

More than 200,000 children whose parents were not Hong Kong identity card holders have been born in the city since 2001－before the ban was introduced－spurring the development of a number of Hong Kong-oriented educational institutions in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen has two schools designated especially for Hong Kong children, including the Luohu facility. The city also has seven others offering classes for such children, along with standard mainland courses for local students.