Chi Xiao, founder of the Curionesty School

Startup classes

Curionesty provides students with startup classes to make them financially independent by the time they turn 18, and also works with businesses to provide placements for its graduates.

With fees of about 60,000 yuan ($8,700) a year, Curionesty is run on a shoestring. Chi said the school plans further investment in an IT system to promote collaboration between teachers and further boost communication between teachers and students.

The exact number of micro schools in China is not known because no institution tracks them, but they are known to operate in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

With more micro schools springing up, innovation in education is starting from the bottom up, and personalized education needs to be further explored, according to Wang Feng, an expert on reform of the education system at the Education and Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education.

Zhang believes her future is now limitless: "I'm thinking of going overseas to study in the future. Or maybe I'll quit and start my own business. That sounds exciting. Anyway, I enjoy every second of my time at Curionesty."