At a time when students had to pass entrance exams to attend junior high, Laosong became a magnet school due to its high advancement rate. According to news reports, 12 buses transported students to the campus in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) from different parts of what is today New Taipei City.
Some classrooms were packed with more than 90 students. Even the principal’s office was converted into a classroom, forcing the principal to work out of a makeshift space partitioned off in the central hall. Eight additional classrooms were set up in the assembly hall, and in some cases three students shared a single desk. The school eventually split the day into morning and afternoon shifts to accommodate the soaring enrollment.