TWO boys yesterday jumped to their deaths from their high school dormitory building in Changde, central China’s Hunan Province, in an apparent joint suicide.

The youngsters, surnamed Long and You, were 10th-graders at the No. 1 High School of Linli County, which is administered by Changde. They leapt from the fifth floor of the building just minutes after midnight, Xinhua news agency reported, without giving their ages.

A teacher at the school was alerted to the incident and informed the Linli County Public Security Bureau shortly before 1am yesterday, the report said.

One of the boys died at the scene, while the other died later in hospital, the teacher was quoted as saying.

According to police, Long and You confided in a fellow student about their pact, and showed him their suicide notes.

The pair were also witnessed leaving the dormitory and sitting on a handrail outside.

Several students tried to talk the pair out of jumping, but Long and You convinced them they were just getting some fresh air. They then made their fatal leap, the report said.

Police found the two suicide notes on the boys’ beds. Both had written that they felt under too much pressure at school, and that their grades were not good enough to meet their parents’ or their own expectations, the report said.

Police ruled that the boys had committed suicide.

China’s education system has often been criticized for its exam-driven curriculum, which focuses on memorizing textbooks and achieving good test scores. Passing the college entrance exam, or gaokao, is seen as the only way for millions of youngsters to achieve a decent career.

The Ministry of Education is currently looking at ways to reform the system and has already taken steps to introduce a more comprehensive measure of children’s abilities.