A class act
This is my claim to fame: my father - a St Francis Xavier's College graduate - was in the same class as kung fu movie legend Bruce Lee. Like Sam Hui Koon-kit (who is regarded as the father of Canto-pop), Lee also studied at La Salle College before transferring to my father's alma mater.
But enough about me, or rather, my father. Do you know of anyone famous who attended your school?
Those of you at Pui Ching Middle School, for instance, may or may not know that physics Nobel Prize winner Professor Daniel Tsui Chye was an alumnus there. And television actor Ma Chun-wai was once a student at CMA Secondary School.
It would be great to have celebrities like Ma around, say, on a speech day. Or imagine having a Canto-pop star like Gigi Leung Wing-kei giving the solemn occasion a glamorous touch?
Well if you are studying at Maryknoll Convent School, you probably can. Leung is just one of the many 'celebrity old girls' who attended this prestigious establishment. Others include former beauty queen-turned actress Michelle Reis, socialite/model Teresa Cheung and former pop singers Prudence Liew and Sandy Lamb San-san - not to be confused with Sandy Lam Yik-lin who went to Marymount Secondary School, along with former pop queen Priscilla Chan Wai-han.
Rosaryhill School boasts an equally impressive list of alumni: pop and screen idols Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing and Kelly Chen Wai-lam, Canto-pop newcomer Bobo Chan, award-winning stage actress Alice Lau Nga-lai and Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin, one of the members of the pop duo Twins. The other twin, Gillian Chung Yan-tong, graduated from one of the True Light schools.
Other schools that have produced pop (and acting) talents include:
* Shaukeiwan Government Secondary School: 1980s pop icon Alan Tam Wing-lun;
* Ho Lap College: Andy Lau Tak-wah;
* Lai Chack Middle School: Leon Lai Ming;
* Delia Memorial School: Andy Hui Chi-on;
* Salesian School: Aaron Kwok Fu-shing (Primary) and Yip Sai-wing (Secondary);
* Holy Family Canossian College: Miriam Yeung
Chin-wah;
* Pui Ying College/St Francis of Assisi's College: Joey Yung Cho-yee;
* St Joseph's College: Eason Chan Yik-shun, Alex Fong Lik-sun and DJ Jan Lamb;
* Wah Yan College (Hong Kong): Hacken Lee;
* Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School: Sammi Cheng Sau-man;
* Diocesan Girls' School: Karen Mok Man-wai;
* SKH Holy Trinity Church Secondary School: Patrick Tang Kin-wan.
And if you are a student at one of the following schools, you can boast about attending the same school as some of Hong Kong's most popular showbiz personalities.
* Good Hope School: veteran actress Dodo Cheng Yu-ling;
* Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College: radio DJ Jim Yan Chi-hong;
* Kiangsu-Chekiang College: actress Carina Lau Kar-ling;
* St Stephen's Girls' College: actress/DJ Sandra Ng Kwun-yu;
* Heep Yunn School: actresses Sheila Chan Suk-lan and Shek Sze-man;
* La Salle College: DJ Sammi, Hui Koon-man and James Wong Jim;
* Sacred Heart Canossian College: DJ Siu-yee.
Incidentally, Scared Heart Canossian College has also produced some of Hong Kong's most powerful women including former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang. Other schools that nurtured some of the SAR's finest are:
* Ying Wa College: Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung;
* Diocesan Boys' School: Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen;
* St Clare's Girls' School: Chief Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie;
* Queen's College: Secretary for Home Affairs Lam Woon-kwong;
* Queen Elizabeth School: former Fire Services chief John Tsang Kwong-yu.
If you cannot establish any celebrity links to your school, do not worry. Work hard, and who knows, you may be the one to bring your school fame!
Additional reporting by Agatha Ngai
