SEMPLE Memorial Secondary School is facing a dilemma: whether to conduct more lessons in Chinese or in English. The Tuen Mun school now has 24 Forms 1 to 3 classes in Chinese aimed at raising students' learning interest and ease the pressure on them. But eight Forms 4 and 5 classes are using English as a medium of instruction. Principal Tsang Hin-ming said: ''Students have shown great improvement academically; they are more attentive during lessons because they can understand instructions easily in Chinese.'' However, despite the good response, Mr Tsang said whether more lessons would be conducted in Chinese was still uncertain as it depended on government policy and parents' preference. ''We all know that using mother-tongue as a teaching medium is better, but society still stresses the importance of English more than Chinese. I'm afraid we will face a lot of pressure and criticism from parents if we changed the medium. ''Besides, a lack of good Chinese textbooks in the market is also posing a problem. Teachers will have to prepare notes, make lots of translations and produce other teaching materials themselves,'' he said. Mr Tsang said students were becoming actively involved in extra-curricular activities as they found the homework easy to handle in Chinese. Founded in 1968 as a Chinese middle school in Mongkok, it is now an English grammar school. The school started with Forms 1 and 4 classes when it moved from Tai Kok Tsui to Tuen Mun in 1989. It has now expanded to 24 Forms 1 to 3 classes, and eight Forms 4 and 5 classes. Two Form 6 classes will be opened in the 1994-95 academic year, and then two Form 7 classes in 1995-96. ''We are excited at the prospect of starting the matriculation course. In our 24-year history, this will be the first time we are offering Forms 6 and 7 classes. ''We hope this will give students a brighter future. They can study hard at the school and gain promotion to higher forms without having to worry about their matriculation education.'' Mr Tsang said the school planned to add two more classrooms in the covered playground in order to accommodate more students, but had yet to receive Education Department approval. Semple Memorial Secondary School Siu Lun Court, Area 14 Tuen Mun, New Territories BACKGROUND The school was founded in 1968 and belongs to the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. DESCRIPTION The co-educational comprehensive grammar school has 1,235 students. The staff comprises 54 full-time teachers and 19 auxiliary staff. HEADMASTER The principal is Mr Tsang Hin-ming who holds BSc and BEd degrees. Mr Tsang has 22 years' experience, nine years as a teacher and 13 as principal. TEACHING LANGUAGE Students are taught in Chinese and English. Chinese is the chief medium of instruction in the junior forms (S1-S3). ACTIVITIES The school offers a wide range of activities, which are divided into five categories. They are - religious, sports, interests, services, and academic. SPORTS Students are encouraged to take part in basketball, volleyball, track and field. RECREATION Students interested in singing or music can join the junior or senior choir. FACILITIES The school has 24 classrooms, 10 special rooms, one Integrated Science laboratory, one Chemistry laboratory, one Physics laboratory and one Biology laboratory. Field trips are organised for Geography. PREFECTS There are 40 prefects who are headed by Leung King-wa, Chan Ka-ka, Lee Yuen-mei and Leung Chi-wai.