Lawyers deliver reading skills to secondary school pupils
Form Three pupils at a Wan Chai school were all ears as Jelita Gardner-Rush put her lawyer's gown away for a day to read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Three lawyers from international law firm Linklaters introduced one of their favourite books to 15 students at CNEC Lau Wing Sang Secondary School last week. The pupils, who are expected to read the book and write a report on it before spelling out their views - in English - in a debating competition, were encouraged to e-mail the lawyers with their questions about the story.
The reading programme was organised by EdExchange - an organisation seeking sponsorship for educational projects - which has paired up Linklaters with two secondary schools, the other being HKCWC Fung Yiu King Memorial Secondary School in Ma On Shan.
Linklaters partner Marc Harvey said the law firm had been involved in other reading schemes in Hong Kong, but was keen to put a more long-term programme in place.
'We aim to support our two partner schools on a longer-term basis in achieving their goals of empowering their students to achieve their full potential,' he said. Mr Harvey added that he would like to form partnerships with more schools upon the success of the project.
Cheng Tak-foo, the principal of CNEC Lau Wing Sang Secondary School, said he appreciated the lawyers' time and effort. Linklaters will also assist the school with running a bazaar for low-income families in the neighbourhood.
'Our students lack an English-learning environment since many of their parents are from lower socio-economic status backgrounds and don't know English,' Mr Cheng said.
Form Three student Lam Yeuk-kan said he hoped to learn from the lawyers. 'I want to speak good English, communicate effectively and acquire good presentation skills,' he said.
