The brainchild of the college's Tourism and Hospitality Panel, their journey received enthusiastic support from the school community.

The tour kicked off a series of events to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary next year.

Principal Ip Tin-yau hailed the Melaka pilgrimage as a fitting milestone in marking the school's anniversary. He also welcomed support from the school's sponsor, the Church of Christ in China.

The group visited the school in Melaka which Reverend Hoh Fuk Tong attended as a boy. There, they paid homage to the founder of CCC Hoh Fuk Tong College, who was the first Chinese pastor in Hong Kong.

The group also took part in an interactive learning exercise with overseas students from the Inti International University in Melaka. They exchanged ideas and participated in educational and intercultural activities in English.

By all accounts, the students found the trip stimulating, both spiritually and educationally. After visiting their patron's school, they shared their thoughts on the founder and the history of their college.

Many of them said they emerged from the tour with a heightened sense of belonging to their school and renewed pride in its history and traditions.

Teachers said the experience was a significant achievement in the college's push to expose its students to a range of out-of-school English-learning opportunities. The trip also helped to enliven the liberal studies learning process.

'Our students found this overseas interaction very stimulating and extremely educational,' Ip said.

'They learned a lot from the different opinions and views of the international students there. The trip, in fact, will act as a catalyst for further changes in our school's development and student learning as far as OLE [Other Learning Experiences] are concerned.'

Jockey Club Government Secondary School

The Jockey Club Government Secondary School (JCGSS) in Kowloon Tong hosted its annual open day on April 27, starting at 9am.

Creative work by JCGSS students, along with information about a variety of subjects, were on display. Game booths were also set up for everybody to enjoy. Projects ranged from models and scientific experiments to dance performances.

Students only had about two weeks to prepare for the open day, teachers said. Yet they managed to get everything in place efficiently. They were divided into groups to work together on several projects, and they displayed excellent teamwork and a good all-round knowledge.

Alumni, parents and friends as well as prospective students and members of the community attended the open day.

It was a great day for the school, which was praised by the visitors.

St Antonius Girls' College

Form Four students at St Antonius Girls' College watched the Cantonese opera The Three Kingdoms as part of this year's Arts Experience Scheme, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

To help them better understand the show, the students had attended a pre-performance workshop on February 23 at the school hall, where the actors explained the opera's background along with the skills needed on stage, such as movements and postures.

Then on April 26, the students headed to Ko Shan Theatre - which was packed with more than 800 students and teachers from various schools - to enjoy the performance.

The opera was based on the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

There was an enthusiastic discussion after the show in which the audience could ask or answer queries about what they had just seen. Many students said they were particularly impressed by the actors' make-up and costumes, which are a highlight of the Chinese traditional performing art.

They said it was a 'marvellous' experience, and they would like the school to organise this kind of activity again.

To Tsz-ying