Some are in tears, others cheer but more fear what future holds

There were tears, cheers and more fears than usual after students flocked to their schools in the wake of Severe Tropical Storm Goni and opened the blue and white slips that decide the shape of their future.

Many students and their parents had sleepless nights waiting for a 5am Education Bureau announcement on whether the release of Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations results would go ahead yesterday after the storm blew past Hong Kong.

Parents began queueing outside the popular PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College and Hang Seng School of Commerce before daybreak, as the annual scramble to secure an A-level place got under way.

This year, the battle is tougher than ever, with more than two students fighting for every Form Six place, following a 6 per cent rise in the number of qualifying students and a slight fall in the number of places in government and aided schools.

At La Salle College, which last year claimed four of the 15 students with 10 straight As, result slips were handed out to students around 8.30am, but many arrived an hour early with their parents for the big moment.

There was laughter and cheering coming from the Form Five classrooms of the Kowloon Tong elite boys' school. But some students stormed out in tears, rushing to other schools to secure a place early. This year La Salle College produced one boy who aced all of his 10 exams with eight A grades plus level 5* for both English and Chinese.