How do youngsters get ahead at school? Etiquette and social polish help many -

AT Wise Studio, the children are on their best behaviour. Jacqueline, for instance, bows every time she addresses her lo sze, or teacher, while Jennifer always sits with her hands clasped together on her knees.

They do not slouch, they do not throw tantrums, they do not pick their noses, and they do not behave like your average five-year-old.

What these children do do at this privately run drawing studio-cum-nursery in Kowloon Tong is to learn the etiquette that, with some hope, will secure them a place at an elite Hong Kong primary school next month for the 1999 academic year.

It is 1.30pm on Friday and a 'Primary One Interview Class' is in progress. Lo sze Wendy Pong Wing-sze, who also runs Wise Studio, is asking her class of seven to tell stories, sing and introduce themselves.

'Good afternoon, lo sze,' Joey says, with a quick bow. 'I am five years old and I am studying at kindergarten. My father is a pharmacist. My mother is a nurse. My song today is London Bridge Is Falling Down.' Joey then picks up the microphone and sings the nursery rhyme in English. When she completes it, she bows again and says: 'Lo sze, I have sung my song.' Jennifer, too, is courteous and bright. 'My father is a lawyer. My mother is a lawyer,' she says.

Ms Pong, 27, asks Jennifer what she wants to do when she grows up. The child answers: 'I want to be a teacher.' And what tasks does she think she can perform better than other children? 'Helping my mother with her housework,' she says.

Next to perform is Jacqueline. But before she sings her song, she needs to answer a few general knowledge questions.