An 'alternative' private primary school started last year by a mother for her two children will be incorporating the controversial subject of national education in its curriculum as it welcomes more pupils
Yeo Peck Leng, founder of the Almitas Academy, said she felt the subject was 'very important', teaching pupils to respect the country.
Yeo, from Singapore, who is the wife of executive councillor Bernard Chan, said the civic education she received as a student had built her sense of belonging to the country.
She felt the subject was necessary because 'this generation already thinks Hong Kong is a part of China'.
She said: 'My older son would ask me and his dad sometimes, why we would say 'going back to the mainland', when we travel.
'He said it's like as if we were going to a foreign place, while Hong Kong is a part of China. Hong Kong and the mainland are integrating, so there's an even greater need to learn about the country.' Private schools are not required to provide the subject, which is due to become compulsory in public primary schools in 2015 and in secondary schools in 2016.