Wenzhou boasts a long history of education. It started in the Western Jin Dynasty(265-317), boomed in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), peaked in the late Qing Dynasty (about 1890-1911) and has been enjoying great prosperity and diversity in modern China.

Hengyang Academy was founded in the Taikang period of the Western Jin Dynasty(280-290), and Yongjia Prefecture School was founded in early Taining period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (323-326), both of which were the earliest official schools in Zhejiang Province. During the Huangyou period of the Northern Song Dynasty(1049-1054), Wang Kaizu gave lectures at the foot of Dongshan Mountain, also known as Huagai Mountain. In the Southern Song Dynasty, many local scholars, such as Xue Jixuan, Chen Fuliang and Ye Shi, founded and developed the Yongjia School of Thought. More than 1200 people successfully passed the highest imperial examinations and obtained “Jinshi” titles, and 12 academies were established, both of which ranked first in Zhejiang Province. In the late Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination was abolished, and numerous academies were built with flourishing private education. Sun Yirang, a trailblazer of education in south Zhejiang Province, devoted to local education and advocated the establishment of more than 300 academies. His efforts significantly greatly improve the local education scale and form, laying the foundation for modern education in Wenzhou.

Wenzhou’s education has undergone unprecedented expansion in modern China. At the end of 2021, there were 633,100 pupils in 560 primary schools, with 101,600 pupils newly enrolled. The enrollment rate for primary-school-age children is 100%, and the per capita school area for them is 8.81 square meters. There were 288,000 students in 327 junior high schools, with 97,700 students newly enrolled. The per capita school area for them is 19.37 square meters. There were 32,900 students in 39 secondary vocational schools, with 94,500 students newly enrolled . There were 132,100 students in 101 senior high schools, with 45,000 students newly enrolled and 39,000 graduates. A total of 136,300 students were in 11 colleges and universities (including one independent college). There were 61,300 full-time teachers in primary and secondary schools and 6,000 full-time teachers in secondary vocational schools (excluding technical schools). There were 1,341 kindergartens, with an enrollment of 296,500 children.