Our school is one of the four schools founded by Kiangsu Chekiang and Shanghai Residents (Hong Kong) Association. Guided by the school motto, “Be Orderly and Respectful” and abiding by the education philosophy of attaching equal importance to both Chinese and English languages, arts and science subjects, and both further education and career pursuits, our school has been committed to the provision of quality whole-person education to students for more than 40 years.
In the 2021-22 school year, the COVID-19 epidemic continued unabated. The mutated virus strains that emerged after the Christmas and New Year holidays even made the easing epidemic take a U-turn. Consequently, the face-to-face classes that were originally resumed had to be suspended in late January, and special vacation was arranged in March and April immediately after the Chinese New Year holidays to supplant some of the summer holidays. Individual school activities could not be held, while dates and arrangements of other planned activities were also subject to revision.
In the face of the fluctuating epidemic situation, our teachers and staff keep working with determination and dedication. When the epidemic situation showed signs of easing, we worked together to organize the 39th and 40th Graduation Ceremonies, witnessing the important milestone of our graduates in their academic careers jointly with various stakeholders. In addition, the School History Centre was completed and opened last December. Not only did it mark the achievement of the School Sponsoring Body in promoting learning and nurturing talents, but it also carried the collective memories of school stakeholders in different eras, and allowed later generations to have a better understanding of our school.
During the suspension of face-to-face classes, the special vacation and Easter holidays, our school arranged F.1 to F.5 online classes, senior form subject tutorials, cross-curricular reading, Other Learning Experiences activities, and so on, so that students can learn continuously. Moreover, our school conducted the F.6 Graduation Examination and Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination Intensive Courses in online mode, which not only protected the health and safety of teachers and students during the epidemic, but also provided sufficient preparation and support for students to take the HKDSE Examination 2022. At the same time, the school provided online learning and anti-epidemic resources for parents and students. Class-teachers made phone calls to parents during the holidays to show care for students’ health and emotions, and provide appropriate support.
The Easter holidays ended in late April. Since the vaccination rate of our staff and students has reached the conditions for the Education Bureau (EDB) to consider the resumption of whole-day face-to-face classes for students in stages, and the school has also obtained the consent of the Incorporated Management Committee and the EDB’s approval, the F.1 and F.2 to F.5 students have resumed whole-day face-to-face classes from early May and late May onwards respectively. In order to reduce the burden of teachers, staff and students on purchasing anti-epidemic materials, donations of RAT test kits, masks and other anti-epidemic materials were given by the School Sponsoring Body, the Alumni Association, the EDB, as well as community organizations and individuals. The Parent-Teacher Association also mobilized parent volunteers to assist in handling the anti-epidemic work and provided support for the school to fight against the epidemic on campus.
It is worth mentioning that despite the various challenges brought about by the epidemic, our students have fully demonstrated the spirit of “Be a Person of Integrity and Always be Eager to Learn” and “Never Give Up” as stated in the school’s Student Code, and performed excellently in both academic and non-academic aspects.
In the HKDSE Examination 2022, our students’ results were far better than the Hong Kong averages. A total of 7 students attained 34 marks or more for their best six subjects. Among them, the highest scorer attained 5 Level 5** and 2 Level 5*. There were no more than 59 candidates or 0.2% of all candidates attaining this or better results as per the attainment in the best 6 subjects this year. On the whole, over 91% of our F.6 graduates attained “3322” or better in the four core subjects. The percentage of F.6 students being offered a JUPAS degree or dual degree programme and that of being admitted to The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology reached record highs of over 92% and above 41% respectively. Students were also admitted to mainland universities under the Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong Students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions to pursue degree programmes. Furthermore, in recognition of her outstanding all-round achievements, an HKDSE candidate from our school was awarded by the Home Affairs Bureau the Multi-faceted Excellence Scholarship, a full scholarship covering the programme fee of her undergraduate studies in the territory.
In regard to Other Learning Experiences, despite the cancellation of various inter-school competitions in the school year of 2021-22 due to the epidemic, our students still managed to win a total of 410 prizes and scholarships in different open competitions and territory-wide student award schemes. The brilliant attainment of our students is a perfect reflection of the concerted effort of all the school stakeholders.
Regarding the Form 1 intake in 2022, over 99% of our Pre-form 1 students belong to the first allocation band and over 54% are among the top 20% primary 6 students in Hong Kong in terms of academic ability, an indication of parents’ general recognition of the school’s education philosophy and quality.
Stepping into the school year of 2022-23, the school has drawn up major concerns to align with the trend of education and development of society, as well as cater for the needs of our students. In response to the major concerns, our school has formulated and will implement an array of measures to achieve the goal set so as to foster students’ wellbeing and unleash their potential. The major concerns for the current school year are as follows:
As the saying goes “Dawn comes after the darkness.”, even though the local epidemic has not yet completely eased, I firmly believe that with the joint efforts and full support of all school stakeholders, our school will be able to rise up to difficulties, overcome challenges brought about by the pandemic and lead our students to achieve fruitful learning results continuously.
Chan Nga Lai
Principal