POON Tin-Wai of La Salle College surprised his teachers and fellow schoolmates, not only because of his excellent nine As and one B in the HKCEE but also because he got an A2 for Additional Mathematics.
The surprise here is not just that Additional Mathematics is a difficult subject, and a problem for many science students, but that arts student Tin-Wai achieved his high grade by self-studying.
''I was surprised. I was actually quite confident and was expecting seven or eight As, but when it came out as nine, I was delighted,'' exclaimed Tin-Wai.
Explaining why an art student would choose to self-study for Additional Mathematics, Tin-Wai told Young Post that he had a great interest in the subject and also wanted to give himself one more option for Form 6 subjects.
''In addition, I wanted to make constructive use of my spare time, rather than just hanging around,'' said the boy, as classmates crowded around trying to congratulate him.
As for the other subjects, he got eight A1s - in Chinese Language, Chinese Literature, English Language, Mathematics, Chinese History, History, Economics and Geography (he also self-studied for Geography). In Religious Studies he scored a B3.
According to Tin-Wai, working hard is not enough, knowing how to use one's time wisely is also very important.
