La Salle College is one of the 114 schools in Hong Kong which bear the "EMI" name. The school curriculum uses English as medium of instruction in all subjects with the exception of Chinese-related subjects and French.
History
Foundation
In 1917 the , who had founded in 1875, opened a junior school on Chatham Road near the Rosary Church. At this time Kowloon was expanding rapidly, demand for school places was rising and Brother Aimar Sauron, the Director of St. Joseph's, realized that a new school building was necessary. He acquired a large plot near Prince Edward Road as a site for the new La Salle College. The site was immediately north of the city boundary, thus was technically in New Kowloon. That section of Boundary Street was not yet a formal road when the school site was bought, and was only gazetted several years after the school opened.
On November 5 1930 Sir , the Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone of the new building. By December 3 1931, the work on the building and the playgrounds was sufficiently advanced to allow the opening of eight classes for 303 pupils, under the management of five Brothers from and four Assistant Masters from the Chatham Road School.
The formal inauguration took place on January 6 1932. Seven Brothers, headed by Brother Aimar as Director, took over and a few days later 40 boarders occupied their quarters to the west of the building. There were then 540 students in 14 classes. About one third of the students had a European connection.
World War II
After La Salle was finally built, its architectural beauty held people in astonishment. However, only after reopening the school for six years, La Salle College's schooling was once again affected when World War II struck Hong Kong in 1939. The British War Department immediately designated the campus as an concentration camp for German enemies. The camp was run for approximately six months, during that time the Brothers managed to run the school in AM and PM sessions in the College Annex across the road .
On 8th December 1941, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, and the school building was taken over by the British Military once again, but this time as a Relief Hospital. As the attacks on Hong Kong went underway, the Japanese also demanded use of the school building. After the surrendering of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941, the Japanese took over the building, and in February 1942, the Brothers were expelled from the College. During the Japanese occupation, the College was believed to be used as a Military Hospital until August 1945. The school's operations was terminated until September 1946.
After the War
For seven years the College thrived under the guidance of Brother Aimar. The students achieved excellent results in the Matriculation Examinations, the were getting into shape, four tennis courts and a full-sized football pitch were built and the statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle that now stands in front of the College was erected. The number of students increased to 805 in 1935 and 1,060 in 1939.
A new Beginning
Post-war development
Brother Felix was appointed Director of the School in 1956 and re-acquired the College buildings from the military authorities on August 1 1959. Student numbers grew steadily and this in turn led to a separation of primary and secondary divisions. La Salle Primary School was founded in 1957 and Brother Henry Pang was appointed Headmaster.
Towards the mid-1970s, the Brothers, under the directorship of Brother Raphael, decided the then aging building was functionally inadequate and would be too costly to refurbish. The old building with its distinctive Majestic Dome was knocked down to make way for progress. While classes were continuing, a portion of the school grounds were used to erect a new superstructure with modern facilities. The project was funded via the sale of part of the school grounds to various property corporations; therefore, the current College is notably smaller than that of the days of the Majestic Dome. The Governor of Hong Kong, , officially opened the new school on February 19 1982, in her Golden Jubilee year.
The current College building stands seven floors high from the "field level" and has an enrollment of almost 1,800 students. Its four blocks surround two s, the lower dotted with benches and greenery and the upper containing a basketball court. The four blocks are named the North, East, South and West Wings after their position on the two quadrangles. There is an extensive range of facilities for academic use and for extracurricular activities, including sporting facilities. The new campus incorporates a standard size football field with artificial turf, a 400 m all-weather track , a 50 m outdoor swimming pool with electronic timing and an air-conditioned gymnasium encompassing 6 badminton courts and a basketball court. In addition, there are two outdoor basketball courts, a tennis court, a volleyball court, and a .
Recent years
To enhance communication between teachers and parents, a Parent-Teacher Association was established in January 1995 and has become an integral part of the life of the school.
In September 1996, the were in urgent need of resurfacing. The La Salle Foundation, with the help of the PTA, raised over five million Hong Kong dollars and the Hong Kong Jockey Club contributed the same amount. The project was completed in October 1998 and the facilities were renamed the La Salle College-Jockey Club Track and Field.
In December 1998, La Salle College hosted the 3rd gathering of the Asia-Pacific Lasallian Educators' Congress; about 130 delegates from the Asia-Pacific region took part. As a direct result, the Hong Kong Office was established in April 1999 with Brother Thomas Lavin as Coordinator. This Office aims to draw together the various members of the Lasallian Family in Hong Kong.
In December 2004 more than 150 Brothers and young Lasallians joined together in Hong Kong for the Seventh Asia-Pacific Lasallian Youth Congress, chaired by Brother Thomas Lavin, under the theme "Together in Faith-Full Service".
During the summer of 2005, the construction work of the School Improvement Program ended with the completion of two new wings, the Aimar Wing and the Cassian Wing, named after the first two principals of the school. The SIP provides an additional 32 rooms, with new facilities including computer rooms and a multi-media learning centre.
Admission
72% of La Salle College's total Form 1 intake is from its feeder school, La Salle Primary School, with 28% from other primary schools. Applicants would attend interviews in English which are conducted by the Supervisor and the Principal. Other criteria include applicants' performance in extracurricular activities, awards and certificates and academic excellence. In addition, La Salle College applicants may apply for as an alternative to Chinese.
School associations
The Old Boys' Association is an organization that unifies old boys around the world, as well as contributing to the College by, for example, sponsoring scholarships, organizing career talks and supporting various school's events; its membership as of 7 June, 2006 reached 5,367.
The Student Association represents current students, and its Executive Committee is chosen through elections open to students of Form 2 and higher every year. It consists of five boards, namely the Clubs Coordinating Board , the Discipline Board , the Class Representatives' Board , the Publications Board , and the Secretariat .
Since the majority of the school buildings are above their standards, the Government is not responsible for the school's maintenance. Replacements of plant and machinery as well as the upkeeping of existing facilities require substantial sums of money. The Brothers, Principal Brother Francis, and some old boys initiated the idea of a Foundation whose sole aim was to provide sufficient funds to do just this. In early 1992, the La Salle Foundation was established with Mr. Michael Sze as the first Chairman.
Layman principals
As Hong Kong education law requires school principals to retire at 60 years of age, Brother Thomas Lavin relinquished the position in 2004, and later flew to Bethlehem for ministerial works in 2005. Dr. Paul Lau then became the first secular principal of La Salle College. Lau had completed his and secondary education at La Salle Primary School and La Salle College in recent years.
Lau resigned in 2006 with effect from August 31 2006, citing personal reasons, and was succeeded by Mr. Wong Yen-Kit as Acting Principal. Shortly after, Brother Thomas Lavin, the School Supervisor, announced that Mr. Wong Yen-Kit would take up the position of the Principal with immediate effect.
Achievements
Academic
Required by Hong Kong law, schools must have two examinations every year: Mid Year and Final Examination. In between the two examinations, students are provided feedback on their performance through continuous assessment, which accounts for 20% of the total subject mark.
In the 1992-1993 academic year, the school produced the first ever Arts 10A in HKCEE history. The event was reported in .
In 2001, four students of the school attained the top score of 10 A's in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination . Two years later, the class of 2003 scored a record total of 501 A's in this examination. La Salle students have also won scholarships.
Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination 2007 was the first ever Certificate Exam implementing the new Chinese and English grading system. In the year's exam, La Salle College had 3 of the 10 students in Hong Kong scoring 8As and two 5*s , while there were only 10 such students in Hong Kong that year.
In 2008, La Salle College had 4 of its students having the result of 8As and 2 5*s. It is the best result in Hong Kong, with the second highest school having only 2 of its students getting the same result. La Salle College also had 3 students scoring 7As and 2 5*s / 8As and 1 5* and the same number for students scoring 6As and 2 5*s / 7As and 1 5* .
Extra-curricular
La Salle College has over 50 clubs and societies which combined, with overlaps, consist of every member of the school. Clubs are divided into academic, cultural, interest, service and sports groups. In addition, joining clubs is mandatory.
The College has won academic, cultural and sports competitions. They also have a Champion record of the Joint School Chinese Debating Competition and a School Grand Prize Winner of the Hong Kong Olympiad in Informatics. The College's students are active in speech, dance and music competitions.
In sports, La Salle College has conquered badminton champions in all grades in 1993-1994, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 in the Kowloon Area. In addition, La Salle has won champions in , badminton, basketball, , fencing, football, hockey, , softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Table tennis team has been named the Overall Champions 7 years in a row during 2001-2007.
The Omega Rose Bowl, and its successor the Bauhinia Bowl, is awarded to the secondary school with the best all-round sporting performance in the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon region. La Salle College has been the Boys School Champions 26 times.
Currently, La Salle College is one of the best schools in Hong Kong in terms of sport and academics.
School Spirit
The Interschool Athletics Meet takes place every year in March. It is not only an external sports event, but also an opportunity for all La Salle students to show their Lasallian spirit.
Most of the top schools take part in this event and ever since the commencement, La Salle and Diocesan Boys' School have been competing to run for championship in the competition. In the academic year of 2007-2008, Diocesan Boys' School was the champion while La Salle came first runner-up, after receiving the Bauhinia Bowl for 8 consecutive years. La Salle College also holds the record of receiving the Rose Bowl, predecessor of the Bauhinia Bowl, for the longest period of 17 years between 1974 and 1991.
Prayers
Classes maintain the tradition of praying before almost every class . The prayers are usually led by students on duty, Catholic boys or sometimes the teacher, and commonly include Hail Mary and The Lord's Prayer which end with the unique Lasallian lines: "St. John Baptist de La Salle - Pray for us; Live Jesus in our hearts - Forever".
Notable Old Boys
All Old Boys are greatly remembered. La Salle College keeps a record of most Students and Old Boys of the past.
;Business
* Dr. John Cho-chak Chan, 陳祖澤, Managing Director of Kowloon Motor Bus
* Peter Wong, , Executive Director of HSBC
* , , Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council
* Paul Ming-fun Cheng, , Former Chairman of The Link REIT
* Peter Hak-yung Yip, 葉克勇, CEO of CDC Corporation
* Dr. Michael Yue-kwong Chan, 陳裕光, Chairman of Café de Coral
* Dr. William Man-wai Mong, 蒙民偉, founder of Shun Hing Group
;Cultural
* Edsel Chiu, 招浩明, International award winning magician, 2nd Runner up at Las Vegas World Magic Seminar 2008
* Bruce Lee, , actor in martial arts films and founder of Jeet Kune Do
* James Wong, , renowned composer, and lyricist of the La Salle College School Song
* Anthony Lun, 倫永亮, Cantopop singer, composer and producer
* Hsien-yung Pai, , Chinese author
* Albert Leung, , Chinese lyricist and writer
* Sammy Leung, , DJ, singer and actor
* Eric Yiu-wai Suen, , singer and actor
* Pong Nan, , singer, lyricist, composer and producer
* Joseph Yau, 丘世文, Chinese writer and co-founder of the "City Magazine" 號外
;Legal
* The Honourable Mr. Justice Robert Ribeiro, Judge in the Court of Final Appeal
* His Honour Judge Patrick Hon-Leung Li, 李瀚良 Chief District Judge, District Court
* His Honour Judge Bruno Chan, 陳忠基 District Judge, District Court
* Peter C.L. Lo, 羅志力, immediate past President of The Law Society of Hong Kong
* Lester G. Huang, 黃嘉純, current President of The Law Society of Hong Kong
* Sir Po-shing Woo, 胡寶星爵士, Non-Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land
;Medicine
* Dr. Choi Kin Gabriel, 蔡堅, 2004-2005 President of The Hong Kong Medical Association
* Dr. Shih Tai Cho Louis, 史泰祖, 2004-2005 Vice-President of The Hong Kong Medical Association
* Dr. Chan Wai Kai, Chairperson of The Hong Kong Ophthalmological Societ during 1969-1971
;Government
* Nicholas Ng, 吳榮奎, Chairman of Public Service Commission, HKSAR Government
* Stephen Kam-chuen Cheong, 張鑑泉, CBE, JP, former member of
* Michael Cho-cheung Sze, 施祖祥, GBS, JP, former Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council
* Sir Roger Lobo, 羅保爵士, CBE, LLD, JP, former member of , Legislative Council , and Urban Council
* Hilton Cheong-Leen, 張有興, CBE, JP, former Chairman of the Urban Council, former member of Legislative Council
* Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, GBM, JP, former Chairman of the Urban Council
* John Tsang, , JP, current Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government
;Sports
* Stephen Xavier, JP, former Hong Kong record holder of men's 100 m and 200 m sprints, the only Hong Kong athletics medal winner in any Asian Games
* Philip Reis, 李菲臘, member of the Hong Kong National Football Team which beat China 2-1 in the "5.19" World Cup Asian Qualifier held on 19 May 1985
Principals
A list of La Salle College Principals since the foundation in 1932.
No comments:
Post a Comment