New immigrant from China Ho Kam-yee, 13, has found herself under enormous pressure since she went to a local school six months ago.
A primary five student at Po On Commercial Association, she said she had great difficulty with subjects in English.
Kam-yee and her younger brother Kar-kin, who were granted single-entry permits to Hong Kong, left their mother, Leung Ngai-yuk, in Shunde, China, to live with their father, Ho Pat.
In Shunde, Kam-yee was an outstanding primary six student but because of her poor English, she has been put back to primary five.
She said: 'In China, we only start studying English in primary five. All we know is the 26 English letters.
'How am I going to understand the English text here? 'Fortunately, both my classmates and teacher are very helpful. They never laugh at me and are willing to teach me. But I really worry about whether I can be promoted to primary six by the end of the school term, since there is so much to catch up.' Kam-yee goes to extra lessons organised by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong for new immigrants who have problems at school.
