Jiangsu Xishan Senior High School in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]

Tang Jiangpeng, the principal of Jiangsu Xishan Senior High School in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, gave a speech on improving high school education during a news conference held by the Ministry of Education on July 5.

Tang's school was the only high school invited to the event, which was themed on the development of China's high school education over the past decade.

According to Tang, the school has taken a series of measures to cultivate students who have a sense of responsibility and problem-solving skills. For example, it offers a wide range of elective courses and ensures that students perform the following: exercise for an hour every day, do 40 hours of voluntary services, read at least six million characters in classic books, conduct 40 experiments and finish a creative project during their three years in high school.

The school has also set up facilities such as a post office, bank, supermarket and food inspection center on campus where students can learn more about related jobs through practical experience. This could also ease the academic pressure on students, said Tang.

To promote students' future development, the school encourages students to take up promising careers and guides them in selecting related courses. Due to the efforts, students at the school who want to work on clinical medicine and engineering technology now account for 14 percent and 42 percent respectively, according to Tang.