When Mak Chen Wen-ning was drafting a mission statement for the Queen Elizabeth School Old Students' Association Secondary School in 1995, she had no idea that much of it would reappear five years later in the Government's education reform proposals.
The 'through-train' schooling system mooted by the Education Commission only last year underpinned the establishment in 1996 of the secondary school of which she is principal. It was the aim of Ms Mak and the other founders of the school that graduates of the Queen Elizabeth School Old Students' Association's kindergarten and two primary schools in Tin Shui Wai could continue their education in a secondary school with the same philosophy.
An intranet system tailor-made for the school had already been installed three years before the Education Department launched its Education Goes Broadband programme in August last year. The 'flexible time-tabling arrangements' recommended in the latest curriculum reform proposal is standard practice in the association's secondary school.
The proposed curriculum reform's eight key learning areas also bear a striking resemblance to the school's own curriculum design, with their emphasis on humanities, critical thinking, aesthetic and physical education, work-related experiences and a global perspective.
'It seems the direction of the Government's education reform is getting closer to ours,' said 54-year-old Ms Mak. 'Our school does not worry about not being able to catch up with the rapid change of the education system because we are way ahead of it.'
The school has also spearheaded many other curriculum reforms. For example, economic and public affairs, Chinese and world history are combined into one subject called integrated basic humanities. Co-operative learning has been introduced, where teachers of different subjects work together to devise large-scale multi-purpose educational projects for their students. The principal has also incorporated media production into the timetable to develop students' critical awareness of media information.
The school's aims and practices underscore Ms Mak's reputation as a visionary educator. 'Rather than blindly sticking to the syllabus set by the Education Department, we try to foresee what kind of society could await our students in 10 or 20 years time,' she said.