As more and more Chinese parents look for ways to give their children a head start in school, a new market for preschool English instruction is emerging, and showing great growth potential, according to an education analyst. "In recent years, parents in China have shown a growing awareness of the need to invest in children's training and education at an early age. They don't want their children to lose their competitiveness at the starting line," said Zhang Yang, an analyst with Huidian Research. The next few years could be a golden age for the development of a preschool English instruction market in China, which is expected to grow at a rate of more than 20 per cent, according to a Huidian report entitled "In-depth Research and Development Forecast of China's Children English Training Market 2013-17". The report finds an enormous potential consumer base for preschool English education services in China, where there are about 180 million children under the age of eight and more than 20 million babies are born annually. Reports China Daily