SHANGHAI - The English version of a popular set of math books from Shanghai debuted at the Shanghai Book Fair, attracting a number of readers.

In March, HarperCollins signed an agreement with the Shanghai Century Publishing Group at the London Book Fair to publish an English version of math books used in Shanghai's primary schools. The series of 36 books, called Real Shanghai Mathematics, will be used by students in Britain from September.

Chinese students perform excellently in math in the Program for International Student Assessment, an international study assessing 15-year-olds on key knowledge and skills, mainly in the areas of reading, math and science. According to the study's website, students from Shanghai came first in the PISA in 2012. British participants were 25 places behind. The assessment has been conducted every three years since 2000.