American International School art teacher Martin Kane, pictured above with student Henry Wong, 16, returned this week from the College Board Visual Arts Awards Ceremony held in Miami, Florida, after student Pinky Chim So-ting, 19, (left) beat about 25,000 others to finish in the top five in last year's Advanced Placement two-dimensional design examination, part of the visual arts exam.
This was the second time in three years a student from the Kowloon Tong school had reached the top five, despite it only introducing Advanced Placement visual arts five years ago. 'We are the only school outside the US that has had a student in the top five in the past three years, and we have done it twice,' Mr Kane said.
'We have built the art up very quickly. We had just three students in the first year and now have 25. We have a strong emphasis on technical skills in the junior classes and open that to more conceptual skills in the senior.'
Ms Chim is now studying business at Washington State University but Mr Kane said she was still pursuing her interest in art.