We left Scotland after I'd taken eight O-levels and had managed to fail French.

In Sydney, I had to take the new equivalent of O-levels. Imagine my surprise to find that I passed French and at a higher level - how was that for improvement? Clydebank High in Glasgow had offered a very broad education that embraced culture and sport and I found I was running with seniors.

At school I did Latin because they thought I had brains but as I believed it to be redundant, I later switched to applied maths which was fantastic.

In Sydney, I found myself one of many immigrants including Greeks, French Jews and even kids from New Caledonia and it was very stimulating.

Because I was big and liked sports, such as basketball, I integrated quickly.

I remember being asked whether I'd placed a bet on 'The Cup', a horse race which is one of the biggest fixtures of the Australian sporting calendar.

I replied: 'What Cup?' and the exasperated reply was: 'The Melbourne Cup.' It was as if I was on another planet.

Rugby league was another example. I'd never played it in my life but when it was discovered I could run, I was put on the wing.

The only trouble was, I didn't know what I should do but was told: 'Mate, you run like hell.' So I did that only to end up being tackled which was painful. When I queried it, they laughed and said: 'Yeah, mate, we didn't tell you that.'

I learned that you have to experience as much as possible in order to understand what makes people tick. As a result, you become more rounded and you're accepted more quickly.

Not only does it toughen you up but why should others change for you in their own country?

I'm grateful to my parents that they gave me time to play sport because I've learned when I'm happy, I'm productive. When you start working, you need activities outside the office so that when you return to the workplace you've renewed vigour.

I also learned the piano though it was painful practising arpeggios. However, now I love going home in Hong Kong to play the blues, jazz and rhythm as a way of unwinding.

Academically, I loved maths and science and hated English, the latter probably because the teacher didn't stimulate me.

When I went on to the University of New South Wales to do finance management, I took English as an elective subject and I'm glad I did.

It was a challenge to stray outside my comfort zone to see how far I could go. I even write poetry now and the lesson there is that unless you do push yourself, you'll never discover whether you have a talent.

The trick is never to assume you know yourself, know everything or have achieved an outcome otherwise you've lost it.

One of my favourite teachers was Mr Bennett who taught history and economics. He treated us as young adults and we communicated on different levels. It was never about being right or wrong.

I attended university part time in the evenings because I wanted to work but the downside was that I missed out on the real culture of university life and that's a regret.

I started work in an insurance company then branched out into marketing which was a new discipline then.

That led to a move into tourism which in turn gave rise to an offer to come to Hong Kong to set up Ngong Ping cable car on Lantau.

It was a challenge I couldn't refuse and I knew I'd kick myself if I didn't have a go at building something from scratch.

Since opening last year, we've had 720,000 visitors in four months which is terrific when the first year's target is 1.5 million. I think it'll also become one of the top tourist attractions in the territory.

I don't have many regrets though I wish I'd learned more languages. Speaking a different tongue can give you a wonderful sense of achievement.

Overall, I think school should be stimulating and place you outside the experiences of your own family. If it doesn't, then you end up risking being a pawn of your parents.

Bill Calderwood is the managing director of Skyrail ITM which operates the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. He was talking to David Phair