More than 20 teenagers from poor rural families have arrived on Qi'ao Island in Zhuhai to begin three years of free study at a boarding school, reports Yangcheng Evening News.

They were recommended to the "blue-bird class" of the Zhuhai Experimental School Attached to Peking University by Project Hope, a charity aiding the education of poor students.

All of them had scored excellent marks on their senior middle school admission exams but had little or no chance of continuing their studies - with annual family incomes below 2,000 yuan (US$240), said Tan Xiaolian, a Project Hope official.

The school has set aside a 2-million yuan (US$240,960) fund to cover expenses for "blue-bird class" students, according to headmaster Fang Li.

"It's like heaven," said Guo Feixiang after seeing the campus and her dormitory room.

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