Ten students who achieved excellent results in this year's Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) received $10,000 each at a presentation ceremony in Central.
The 10As scorers were Kelly Chan Kar-li, Carmen Ho Kit- man, Tracy Lai Hiu-ting, Shiobhon Luk Yiu, Caren Tang Pui-yi and Gina Yuen Ching- wan, all from Diocesan Girls' School; Au Yueng Ching-man and Thomas Zhang Shoutong from La Salle College; Li Chung-fai from Queen's College; and Chan Wai-keung from St Paul's College.
The awards have been sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank for the past 11 years.
However, there was double delight for Ching-wan and Shoutong, who both gained 10A1s in the HKCEE. Besides the cash award, each received a gold statuette for their outstanding performance. 'It's the biggest amount of money I have ever received and I'll spend it wisely,' Ching-wan said. She said she would put the money in her savings account and use part of it for tuition fees for her piano lessons and to buy reference books. Ching-wan said the award would help ease her family's financial burden. The 17-year-old said she would place the statuette on her desk to motivate herself to work harder for the Advanced Level Examination.
She has not yet decided what she would study at university.
'I am gathering more information. However, I can tell you that I won't study medicine or law because I don't like the subjects,' Ching-wan said.
Shoutong was also excited about the cash award. 'This is even bigger than my lai see money. I'll take it as a kind of investment for buying reference books for my A-Level studies,' he said. Last year, the 16-year-old spent $20,000 buying reference books for the HKCEE.
