[2] Eminent scientists including Tsung-Dao Lee, C. N. Yang, and Samuel C. C. Ting proposed creating the program, and the then Vice-premier of the State Council Fang Yi backed it.
The Special Class for the Gifted Young upholds the guiding principle of "selecting talents despite their age and cater to their individual potentials."
This kind of real research environment not only provides valuable opportunities for them to apply what they have learned in the classroom and give their initiative and creativity full play, but also enhances the spirit of teamwork and cultivates personal integrity.
SCGY has strict [definition needed] age limit; for instance, to enroll in 2016, the student must have a birth date after January 1, 2000.
The class aims to select talents and explore ways to nurture promising youth without the widely criticized[16] Gaokao and other standardized tests.
After passing final exams of high school courses, students can directly become undergraduates of XJTU without taking Gaokao.
Alumni of Youth Class include Zhou Hongyi, co-founder of Chinese antivirus software company Qihoo, Xi Chen, a Presidential Scholar and associate professor at Columbia University,[19] and Haitao Zheng, a 2005 TR35 innovator selected by MIT Technology Review.